Bookedited by Douglas S. Goodin.
Summary: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is generally understood to be an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. While we still are not certain of the root cause of MS, research results suggest that unknown environmental factors and the presence of specific genes seem the most probable targets. MS causes an inflammatory response in the central nervous system leading to neurodegeneration, oligodendrocyte death, axonal damage, and gliosis. Over the past five years ongoing research has greatly expanded our understanding of the pathogenesis of MS, detailed insight into the epidemiology.