The relationship between Plaque Pathology and Disease Duration was examined in 15 patients with Multiple Sclerosis who died early in the course of their illness.
Myelin-stained sections revealed that most plaques examined in patients who died during the first month of their illness showed evidence of ongoing Myelin destruction accompanied by a loss of Oligodendrocytes.
Plaques containing large numbers of Oligodendrocytes where not observed in these patients, but were relatively common in patients who died more than 1 month after clinical Onset.
Findings
ReMyelination affecting more than:
- 10% of the plaque area was observed in 3 of the 82 plaques in patients who died
- within 10 weeks of clinical Onset
- in 38 of 105 plaques in 5 patients who died
- 3 to 10 months after clinical Onset
- in 19 of 92 plaques in 5 patients who died
- 18 months or longer after clinical Onset
Conclusion
The study provides new evidence that both Oligodendrocytes and Myelin are destroyed in new lesions.
That this activity ceases completely in many Lesions within a few weeks, and that ReMyelinating frequently ensues following repopulation of the plaque by Oligodendrocytes.
The findings suggest that new lesions normally ReMyelinate unless interrupted by recurrent activity and that ReMyelinated shadow plaques are the outcome of a single previous episode of focal DeMyelination.
