Research/History of MS
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.
1400 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 RobertCarswell identified changes in the appearance of the spinal cord specimens. Carswell noted areas of scarring which he referred to as “a peculiar disceased state” and “patches” of a “remarkable lesion of the spinal cord,” and documented these pathological findings in a series of drawings.
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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.
1860-1870: First studies of Myelin and Glial cells in brain tissue.
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1868: French Neurologist Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot publishes his landmark description of classical MS. It was Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot who first scientifically described, documented, and named the discease process, we still call Multiple Sclerosis.
1869: First attempts to treat MS with gold chloride, zinc, sulfate, silver nitrate, strychnine and electrical stimulation (by Clarcot)
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1878: Myelin was discovered by Dr. Ranvier
1890′s: Caused by the supression 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.
1928: Discovery that Myelin is produced by oligodendrocyte glial cells
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1933: American neurologist Thomas Rivers, MD, a researcher at Rockerfeller University in New York, develops an animal model for a disease similar to MS, called “experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE)”, for studying causes of and treatments for.
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 Sclersosis, during this time period.
1940′s: Caused by blood clots & poor circulation; treated with drugs that improve circulation; life expectancy after diagnosd was 18 years.
1943: First detailed description of the composition of myelin.
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1946: Sylvia Lawry founds National MS Society
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1947: Elvin Kabat, MD and colleagues discover abnormal immunologic proteins in the spinal fluid of people with MS, contributing to the development of a lab test for diagnosing MS.
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1950: Society funds first major survey of MS in the U.S. and Canada.
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1954: First Fellowship programs to train MS scientists offered.
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1955: American John Kurtzke, MD, develops the Disability Status Scale (DSS) to classify the severity of MS. A 1983 revision of this scale (EDSS) includes other functional systems and is still in use today.
1960′s: Caused by allergic reaction; treated with Vitamins & Antihistimines; life expectancy after diagnosis was 25 years.
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1970: A team headed by Augustus Rose, MD, of UCLA shows that the steroid “Adrenocorticotropin hormone” (ACTH) can hasten the recovery from MS flare-ups. (ACTH becomes the first drug shown to speed recovery from MS relapses.)
By the late 1970s, scientists believe that MS results from an autoimmune disturbance, possibly triggered by a viral infection. This view still holds today.
1974: Society convinces U.S. Congress to appoint commission on MS; resulting report increases federal funding for MS research.
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1978: Lawrence Jacobs, MD, and colleague’s initiate pilot study in MS patients using a form of interferon beta.
1980: Society funds first large trial of any form on interferon (interferon alpha), stimulating interest in interferons for treating MS.
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1981: Scientists produce the first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of an MS-affected brain, revolutionizing scientist.
1983: Society supports studies of the anti-cancer agent mitoxantrone in an animal model of MS. In 2000, this drug (Novantrone) is approved by FDA to treat worsening MS.
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1984: First modern documentation of cognitive problems in MS.
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1988: First demonstration, using MRI, that there is significant lesion activity in the brain in MS, even when the disease is clinically quiescent.
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1992: Society supports first comprehensive search for GENES that make people susceptible to MS, initiating a targeted research program in MS GENETICS.
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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.
1996: Society grantees find that aerobic exercise improves physical and psychological well-being in persons with MS.
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1996: “Avonex” (interferon beta 1a) is introduced for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. It is the first drug to slow the progression of the disability and also reduce the frequency of relapses.
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1996: “Copaxone” (glatiramer acetate for injection) is introduced and FDA approved for treatment of relapsing-remitting MS (Formerly known as copolymer-1) This is the drug I have been on since Feb. 2000. www.copaxone.com If you have any questions please call or e mail me and I will be glad to help you the best I can.
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1996: MS 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.
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1997: Zanaflex (tizanidine) approved for treatment of spasticity.
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1997: Sylvia Lawry Physician Fellowship Program established to train doctors in conducting clinical trials in MS.
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.
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1998: Society launches targeted research initiative into gender difference in MS.
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1999: Society grantees first to isolate immature cells in the adult brain capable of developing into replacements for myelin-making cells destroyed by MS.
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1999/2000: Society initiates new clinical trials in estrogen treatment for women with MS and T-cell vaccination, both of which had their origins in early fundamental NMSS research.
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2000: Society initates international collaborative research efforts to better correlate the MS lesion with disease state and MRI: The MS Lesion Project.
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.
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2001: Society task force develops new diagnostic criteria for MS, which may shorten the time it takes a person to receive a firm diagnosis.
2001: Society collaborates with NIH on a $20 million research initiative on gender-based differences in immunce responses to increase understanding and treatments.
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2002: “Rebif” (interferon Beta-1-a) received FDA approval March, 2002 for treatment of Relapsing Forms 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.
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2002: New Career Transition Fellowship Program launched to foster promising young MS investigators.
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2003: Italian researchers transplant cells to enchance nerve tissue repair in mice with MS.
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2005: “McDonald Criteria” for diagnosing MS updated by Society Task Force, speeding time to diagnosis for many.
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2006: “Tysabri” was first approved November 11, 2004 and taken off the market from February 28, 2005 until Approved again July 2006. It is generally recommended for patients that have not been helped enough by, or cannot tolerate, another treatment for MS.
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2007: Society and MS Society International Federation convene a Stem Cell Research Summit of leading stem cell and MS experts to explore the potential of all types of stem cell research for MS and to set research priorities.
First large-scale trial of sex hormone estriol gets underway in women with MS, a result of the Society’s targeting of gender differences.
With support from Society to International MS Genetics Consortium, two genes are confirmed to be linked to MS susceptibility.
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2007/2008: Congressional MS Caucus launched to raise awareness and generate discussion about access to health care, increase in research funding, disability rights and other MS issues, with members from the House and Senate.
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2008: MS activists secure a place for MS research in the $50 million Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program administered through the Department of Defense, plus $5 million restricted to research within the CDMRP
International MS Genetics Consortium undertakes a whole genome scan involving 10,000 individuals around 20 regions in the genome that are associated with MS risk. Society funds second study of 10,000 cases to validate the findings.
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2009: International task force convened by Society publishes landmark guidelines on the complex process of telling MS from look-alike disorders (“differential diagnosis”)
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2009: Extavia is approved by the FDA as a new brand of interferon beta-1b
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2010: “Gilenya“ Sept. 22, 2010 — The FDA today approved Novartis’ Gilenya, the first oral drug for multiple sclerosis (MS). Gilenya (formerly spelled Gilenia, generic name fingolimod) last June received the overwhelming approval of an FDA expert advisory panel
2010: Ampyra approved to improve walking ability in people with all types of MS.
Fast Forward juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Axxam Spa join Forces to Accelerate Development of Treatments
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2010: Nuedexta and Botox approved to treat specific symptoms that interfere with quality of life in people with MS.
Conclusion: There is still no single test or examination that can definitively diagnose multiple sclerosis. The diagnosis of MS remains a complex task, and NO set of criteria developed to date is without criticism of some sort. Advances in imaging technologies in recent times have greatly increased the certainly with which the diagnosis can be made, but have not completely eliminated the possibility of confusing MS with some other neurological disorder. The need for clinicians to exercise their judgement, “at the bedside” and to evaluate the patient over time, as opposed to diagnosing on the basis of a single radiograph, will likely persist into the foreseeable future.
Please contact me with any questions at 1-208-773-9372, cell phone 1-208-818-2150 or my e mail beth.wobbles@gmail.com