History of Multiple Sclerosis

SOURCE: Many websites

Many friends have asked me if I knew any of the pasts of Multiple Sclerosis. So here is what I have found and hopes it answers a lot of questions. I have also learned that MS is a Northern Europe Descent Chronic Illness and in Geography the Higher Latitudes have Higher MS Incidence.

(The information below is from multiple sties.)

1305 AD: Lydwina of Schieden - Dutch patron Saint of Ice Skaters (1400 AD) The earliest written record of someone with MS.

1830: Probable cases of MS start showing up in European medical literature. A Scottish doctor named Robert Carswell identified changes in the appearance of the spinal cord specimens. Carswell noted areas of scarring which he referred to as "a peculiar diseased state" and "patches" of a "remarkable lesion of the spinal cord," and documented these pathological findings in a series of drawings.

1838: Medical drawings clearly show what we today recognize as MS, but with 19th century doctors did not understand what they saw and recorded.

1849: MS diagnosed in a living person by Dr. Friedrich Theodore von Freriches, MD.

1868: First correlation of clinical MS symptoms with pathology of the central nervous system by French Neurologist Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot. He publishes his landmark description of classical MS. It was Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot who first scientifically described and documented  The disease is designated by Jean-Martin Charcot as "sclérose en plaques" and he named the disease process, we still call Multiple Sclerosis or now called as MS.

1878: The roll of myelin in nerve conduction was discovered by Dr. Louise Ranvier.

1890's: Caused by the suppression of sweat; treated with Herbs & Bedrest; life expectancy after diagnosed was 5 years.

1910's: Caused by an unknown blood toxin; treated with Purgatives & Stimulants; life expectancy after diagnosed was 10 years.

1916: First detailed microscopic description of tissue properties in a lesion of the central nervous system in diseased brain tissue by James Dawson.

1919: Abnormalities in the spinal fluid were discovered in MS, but their significance remained puzzling for decades.

1920: Men were thought to be more susceptible to MS than women.
                                  Why?....
Because women were often mistakenly diagnosed with "hysteria". - MS symptoms tend to flair each month for most female MSers, about 2 weeks before each Menstrual Cycle for many.

1925: Lord Edgar Douglas Adrian recorded the first electrical nerve transmissions, which helped prove demyelinated nerve cannot sustain electrical impulses.

1928: Discovery that myelin is formed by glia cells of the oligodendrocytes.

1925: Lord Edgar Douglas Adrian recorded the first electrical nerve transmissions, which helped prove demyelinated nerve cannot sustain electrical impulses.

1935: American neurologist Thomas Rivers, MD, a researcher at Rockerfeller University in New York, demonstrated that nerve tissue, not viruses, produced a MS-like illness.  This animal form of MS, called EAE or experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, paved the way to our present theories of auto- immunity, for it demonstrated the body  can generate an immunologic attack against itself.

Before 1935: Around 30 "therapies" for MS had been tried out, including some anti-infection and anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as physical manipulations, psychiatric treatments and "alternative" therapy methods without unequivocal justification. Controlled studies which document a benefit vis-à-vis placebos are not yet carried out.

1933: "Acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis" (EAE) is developed as model for MS.

1935: American neurologist Thomas Rivers, MD, a researcher at Rockerfeller University in New York, discovers a veterinary disease which is similar to MS.  He develops an animal model for a disease similar to MS, called "experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE)", for studying causes of and treatments for.  In the final analysis, this indicates an auto-immune factor in the disease, whereby myelin is attacked in the central nervous system.

1935-50: The attempts at treatment of MS concentrate on improving circulation (vasodilative agents, anticoagulants, circulation stimulants), vitamin therapy; anti-allergenic therapies and diets and physical manipulation (electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, massage, radicotomy). None of these treatments was carried out in the context of controlled studies; a clear benefit could not be determined

1937: MS is diagnosed using sensitivity to temperature: "The hot-bath test".

1938: Described a case of Optic Neuritis, caused by severe DeMyelination and attributed it to Devic's Syndrone. This Syndrone was considered to be a subclass of Multiple Sclerosis, during this time period.

1940's: Caused by blood clots & poor circulation; treated with drugs that improve circulation; life expectancy after diagnosed was 18 years.

1946: The world's first MS organization: The Association for Advancement of Research in MS, forerunner of today's US National MS Society was found.

1948-49: Elvin Kabat, MD and colleagues discover raised antibody values in the spinal fluid of people with MS.  Elvin Kabat and others discover oligoclonal bands in the spinal fluid. As a result, a diagnostic test is available which indicates MS and establishes a connection with a disease of the immune system.

1950's: Discovery that viruses are involved in many neurological diseases

1952: Discovery that EAE can be suppressed by anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs.

1953: First investigations of myelin decay in MS lesions.

1954-55: First precise and defined diagnostic criteria for MS (clinical and according to laboratory figures) and development of quantitative methods for classifying the disability.

1955: American John Kurtzke, MD, develops the Disability Status Scale (DSS) to classify the severity of MS. A 1983 revision of this scale (EDSS) is formed by glia cells of the oligodendrocytes.

1960's: Caused by allergic reaction; treated with Vitamins & Antihistamines; life expectancy after diagnosis was 25 years.

1970: A team headed by Augustus Rose, MD, of UCLA shows that the steroid "Adrenocorticotropic Hormone" (ACTH) can hasten the recovery from MS flare-ups.

By the late 1970s, scientists believe that MS results from an autoimmune disturbance, possibly triggered by a viral infection. This view still holds today.

1963-65: Discovery of factors in blood which are toxic vis-à-vis myelin and which block nerve signals at the synapsis.

1964: First electron-microscope examination of MS lesions.

1965: White blood cells that react against a protein in nerve insulating myelin were discovered in MS.

1967: Sylvia Lawry founds the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), which today numbers 42 national MS societies among its members.

1969: Completion of the first controlled clinical studies on intramuscular ACTH in acute MS attacks; they demonstrate faster recovery from attacks than without ACTH. This is the first carefully controlled study of a successful therapy for MS using standardized diagnostic criteria and assessment scales for MS patients.

Before1970: Therapies addressing circulation and metabolic processes are tested and abandoned; various diets proposed, of which none shows any benefit. First treatment attempts for MS using ImmunoSuppression via drugs and X-rays.

1972: First use of visual recording and otherwise elicited potentials for the support of MS diagnosis.

1978: Lawrence Jacobs, MD, and colleague's initiate pilot study in MS patients using a form of interferon beta.

1978: Use of computer tomography to image MS lesions in living patients.

1978: Development of a model of EAE illustrating chronic and intermittent progress using genetically modified and easy-to-use mouse stems; determination of the important role of the immuno-regulatory system in this MS model.

1980's: Execution of a large number of precisely defined clinical trials in pilot or concluding studies, e.g.: Copolymer-I pilot study for intermittently progressing disease (possible effect identified); Copolymer-I studies for the chronically progressive disease (no effect); Cyclosporin A (slight effect with substantial toxicity); Alpha- and Beta-Interferon (possible effect; studies are still in progress); 4-Aminopyridin and 3,4-Diaminopyridin (possible effect in terms of improvement of symptoms); use of oral myelin to increase tolerance (possible effect).

1981: Scientists produce the first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of an MS-affected brain, revolutionizing MS diagnosis.  The invention of MRI revolutionizes the diagnosis of MS, and further research with this method have since led to the speculation that MS is sooner a permanently active disease rather than a relapsing one.

1981: Consensus on the significant role of placebo-controlled clinical double-blind studies for new therapeutic trials for new therapeutic agents in MS.

1982: MRI is used for the first time to image lesions in living patients.

1984: Use of MRI for identifying clinically silent lesions in MS patients.

1988: Using MRI, first proof that there is substantial lesion activity in the brains of MS patients, even when the disease is clinically silent.

1989: First use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy for monitoring chemical changes over time in individual MS lesions.

1989: Initials attempts to carry out MRI annually or more frequently in order to monitor the efficacy of new MS drugs.

1990-92: First valid studies on life expectancy and mortality factors in the case of MS.

1992: Berlex Laboratories applies to the FDA for a license to market an Interferon Beta-1-b product for relapsing/remitting MS. The license is granted in 1993. Betaseron/Betaferon is the first new drug to influence the disease cause since ACTH at the end of the sixties.

1993: "Betaseron" (interferon beta 1b) is approved in the United States to reduce the frequency of exacerbation's in ambulatory patients with relapsing-remitting MS.

1993-2002: Avonex, Copaxone, Rebif and Novantrone, the "general disease-modifying therapies", are licensed for the treatment of MS after Betaseron/Betaferon in Europe, America and worldwide.

1996: "Avonex" (interferon beta 1a) is introduced for the treatment of relapsing facts of MS. It is the first drug to slow the progression of the disability and also reduce the frequency of relapses.

1996: "Copaxone" (glatiramer acetate for injection) is introduced and FDA approved for treatment of relapsing-remitting MS (Formerly known as copolymer-1).

1996: Caused by AutoImmune reaction possibly linked to a Virus; treated with Steroida & Immune System regulating drugs; life expectancy after a diagnosis is essentially normal for most.

1998: National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) breaks it's 50 year silence when it's Medical Advisory Board advises that people with relapsing-remitting MS should begin the use of one of the four disease modifying agents as soon as possible and continue the therapy once started.

2000: "Mitoxantrome" (Novantrone) received approval on Jan. 28, 2000 from the FDA Advisory Panel, an immune-suppressing drug treatment of worsening Relapsing-remitting, Secondary Progressive, progressive relapsing MS. Novantrone is NOT indicated for primary progressive. It was FDA Approved Oct. 13, 2000.

2001: An international group of experts led by Ian McDonald publishes new and reliable diagnostic criteria that include MRT findings.  The so-called McDonald criteria considerably speed up diagnosis. This means that patients can start treatment sooner and their chances of a slower disease progression increase.

2002: "Rebif" (interferon Beta-1-a) received FDA approval March, 2002 for treatment of Relapsing facts of MS. It should be used in caution by people who have depression, seizure disorders, and liver problems. Common side effects include injection-site reactions and flu-like symptoms. Rebif is available in ready-to-use prefilled syringes requiring no needle assembly.

2004: "Tysabri" formerly known as Antegren got FDA approved Nov. 23, 2004. It is treatment for Relapsing facts of MS and is given by I.V. once a month. It was taken off the market 2-28-05. It is before the FDA, at present, and waiting to see the out come if it will be available again...Pending for April 2006.  It is now back on the market.

Information about the history of MS can also be found History Of MS.org