Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Medication

Multiple Sclerosis Slideshow Pictures Medical Illustrations of the MS Image Collection Take the MS Quiz

Medical Author:

Fernando Dangond, MD

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

View Full Profile

• What is Multiple Sclerosis?
• What Causes Multiple Sclerosis?
• What Are the Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis?
• Medical Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
• Corticosteroids for MS
• Immune-modulating Drugs (Interferons) for MS
• Immunosuppressants for MS
• Miscellaneous Therapies for MS
• Investigational Drugs for MS
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can be thought of as an inflammatory process involving different areas of the central nervous system (CNS) at various points in time.

What Causes Multiple Sclerosis?

The cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) is not known. Both environmental and genetic factors are thought to predispose a person to develop MS.

Multiple sclerosis results in the destruction of the myelin that surrounds the nerves of the CNS. Myelin is a fatty substance that insulates the nerves and allows them to transmit information to and from the brain. If the myelin is damaged, the transmitted information is not only delayed but also may be misinterpreted by the brain. The myelin destruction, also known as demyelination, is thought to be caused by the body's immune cells entering the CNS. The disruption of the normal barrier to the entry of these cells, termed the blood-brain barrier, leads to local swelling (known as edema). Also damaged are the nerve cell bodies (termed neuronal loss) or their prolongations (termed axonal loss). A plaque (area of inflammation, demyelination, axonal loss, edema or scarring) represents a typical multiple sclerosis lesion, or area of injury.

What initially triggers the immune system attack is not known. Microglia are cells in the CNS that take up fragments of myelin and present these fragments to the immune cells. In healthy individuals, this presentation of myelin fragments is not thought to trigger the immune cells to attack the CNS. In people with multiple sclerosis, this presentation of myelin fragments may trigger an exaggerated response by immune cells that leads to the formation of plaques around the blood vessels in the CNS.