Multiple Sclerosis: Pathogenesis, Symptoms, Diagnoses and Cell-Based Therapy

Ghasemi, Nazem; Razavi, Shahnaz; Nikzad, Elham

doi:10.22074/cellj.2017.4867

Multiple Sclerosis: Pathogenesis, Symptoms, Diagnoses and Cell-Based Therapy

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

¹ Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

² Jesus Son of Mary Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

10.22074/cellj.2017.4867

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by central nervous system (CNS) lesions that can lead to severe physical or cognitive disability as well as neurological defects. Although the etiology and pathogenesis of MS remains unclear, the present documents illustrate that the cause of MS is multifactorial and include genetic predisposition together with environmental factors such as exposure to infectious agents, vitamin deficiencies, and smoking. These agents are able to trigger a cascade of events in the immune system which lead to neuronal cell death accompanied by nerve demyelination and neuronal dysfunction. Conventional therapies for MS are based on the use of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory drugs, but these treatments are not able to stop the destruction of nerve tissue. Thus, other strategies such as stem cell transplantation have been proposed for the treatment of MS. Overall, it is important that neurologists be aware of current information regarding the pathogenesis, etiology, diagnostic criteria, and treatment of MS. Thus, this issue has been discussed according to recent available information.

Keywords