Oct 2, 20224 min read

History of MS Research

As seen in other articles from Address MS, information about the understanding of multiple sclerosis is vast and endless. In the past, scientists have learned so much about this autoimmune disease, but the journey has been a long and confounding one. Nevertheless, people have tirelessly worked to do research, learn about MS, and work on treatments and diagnosis techniques that will help those with symptoms resembling it. Multiple sclerosis has a great, extensive history, and this article will touch on some of the many significant discoveries, people, institutions, and technologies that have been involved in this process.

Multiple sclerosis is thought to have been discovered around 1882 in France. Neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot began giving lectures at the University of Paris about a disease he called “sclerose en plaques” or “multiple sclerosis.” Specifically, he spoke of a case study in which a woman exhibited symptoms of the disease, which included poor coordination, uncontrolled eye movement, and slurring of speech. Once she had passed away, he found that she had damage to the central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord, which is now known to be how multiple sclerosis develops. When the brain has lesions, it can affect the nervous system and subsequently cause negative effects to how the neurons behave and interact.

However, before Charcot found this out, there were other ways that people observed or saw signs of multiple sclerosis before it was understood. Pathologists, whose job is to study bodily tissue, like Jean Cruveilhier and Robert Carswell have seen these kinds of lesions that are likely due to MS. Furthermore, people like Augustus d’Este and St Lidwina of Schiedam have been recorded as having symptoms such as difficulty with mobility, numbness, and pain throughout the body that are associated with MS.

Behind this research, many scientists of various fields have conducted experiments and made progress in order to understand MS to a better degree. These scientists include Dr. James Dawson, Lord Edgar Douglas Adrian, and Dr. Thomas Rivers. All of them have done research during the 20th century and have made big discoveries that have added to the base of knowledge for MS research. James Dawson, a Scottish pathologist, looked at brain matter and made precise observations about the extent of damage that occurred to the brain, specifically to the myelin sheath and nerves that are typical of people with MS. Edgar Douglas Adrian concentrated in neurology and electrophysiology, specifically looking into nerve transmission and the interactions of nerves within the nervous system. WIth his Nobel Prize winning work, he was the first to make the connection between deteriorated myelin and dysfunction of nerves. This fact is vital in understanding why MS has the type of varied, unspecific impact it has on the body.

Another important figure, Thomas Rivers, was a virologist who created a demonstration that showed how immune cells can attack the nerves and cause MS. This was very different from the previous reigning theory that its source was a virus that can be caught. An important discovery that showed that multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, this model, which will eventually be called “experimental allergic encephalomyelitis,” would be used to study MS and its connection to the immune system later on. Besides that, important institutions have been created or focused on multiple sclerosis to help initiate research on the misunderstood disease. Pre-existing organizations like the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Diseases brought to attention the lesser-known parts of MS that needed to be researched like cause and characteristics. In turn, this focus allowed surveys to be done that demonstrated its prevalence in the world. Other organizations were developed later on, like the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This group is more focused on raising funds and providing them to scientists who will be able to conduct studies and find out more about MS (currently, treatment and diagnosis options are being examined).

More recently, many techniques and procedures have been used to diagnose MS and address its effects. Lumbar punctures, in which fluid in the spine is taken, can be used to find multiple sclerosis’ impact on the body. More specifically, proteins found in the fluid can be a result from harm to the myelin that is found around the nerves in the nervous system. Imaging, as in CT and MRI scans, are able to produce images of the brain along with other parts of the body, and they have been used beginning in the 70s to recognize lesions to the brain. In addition, markers given to a patient during MRI scans can reveal parts of the brain that have been more recently damaged as opposed to being from past lesions. Finally, neurofilaments are proteins that can be found in neurons. These proteins can be an indicator of how MS is progressing with a patient’s body. A relatively new technique for understanding MS progression, scientists hope that with enough studies being done, a blood test finding neurofilaments will be able to replace the more invasive, uncomfortable lumbar puncture.

As said before, the history of research pertaining to multiple sclerosis is ongoing and extensive. It is very significant to keep track of how MS has been studied and understood in the past. Even more so, we need to continue seeing how studies are done to find out more about treatments, therapies, and the particular cause of MS in relation to the immune system.

Sources:

Address M.S.

History of MS Research

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