title: Relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis: pathology of the newly forming lesion.
abstract: The study describes the clinical and pathological findings in 12 patients with relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis, who died during or shortly after the onset of a relapse. Pathological changes not previously associated with the formation of new symptomatic lesions were observed in seven cases, namely, extensive oligodendrocyte apoptosis and microglial activation in myelinated tissue containing few or no lymphocytes or myelin phagocytes. No current laboratory model of multiple sclerosis, in particular, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, is known with these features, which raises the possibility of some novel process underlying new lesion formation in multiple sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Department of Medicine, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Prineas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017628:Microglia / Q000473:pathology; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000473:pathology*; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000473:pathology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology*