Introduction to the history of multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was initially described in a Scandinavian document and two centuries later in the diary of a Dutch Saint. Long after, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, an isolated case was reported and it was not until the nineteenth century that cases were most frequently reported. During the first half of this century a patient was referenced, for the first time, in the medical literature and two atlas of pathology reported the disease. Thereafter, during the second half of the nineteenth century, the modern conception of MS is developed, based on the stories of Frerichs, in Germany, and later Charcot’s, head of the Pitié-Salpêtrière. However, it was during the past century that MS reached maturity with the emergence of the diagnostic criteria, the concept of remyelination, neuroimage and pharmacological treatment. In the XXI century, based on technological advancement and a better understanding of the disease, new diagnostic criteria are proposed as well as alternative therapies and oral monoclonal antibodies. In this century, advances in genetics represent a great challenge, as well as biomarkers and more medications of a wider effectiveness