Environmental enrichment as a promising strategy for aiding multiple sclerosis treatment

Multiple sclerosis(MS)is a complex chronic disease of the central nervous system(CNS)which includes three main anatomopathological characteristics:inflammation,demyelination,neurodegeneration.This pathology induces many clinical symptoms,depending on the site of the lesions,such as motor,sensitive,visual,urinary and cognitive manifestations.In addition,MS is a very heterogeneous disease that displays different clinical courses or phenotypes(relapsing/remitting MS,primary progressive MS(PPMS)and secondary progressive MS(SPMS).Both neurodegeneration and inflammation are present along the natural history of the disease.However,the balance of both phenomena varies according to the course of the disease.In relapsing/remitting MS form,the acute inflammation,mainly adaptive immunity,predominates over the neurodegeneration,being the main cause of the relapses.In SPMS and PPMS,the neurodegeneration predominates over the inflammation,which appears as chronic inflammation,being innate immunity(microglia and astroglia)the main feature in the neurodegenerative process.

Neuroinflammation in cortical and meningeal pathology in multiple sclerosis:understanding from animal models

Multiple sclerosis(MS)is a neurodegenerative and inflammatory disease usually presenting with acute demyelinating events that can start as,or progress to,chronic damage.The development of animal experimental models,specific for each stage of MS will aid in the design of new drugs specific for the different forms of the disease.Animal models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis successfully reflect the pathophysiological mechanisms of the early phases of MS.However,few models resemble the features of the progressive forms of MS such as cortical demyelination and meningeal inflammation.Recently,a few auspicious animal models recapitulating many of the characteristics of progressive MS,aimed at a better understanding of the pathology of these forms of the disease,have been developed.In this review,we will summarize the latest developments in animal models reflecting the cortical and meningeal pathological features of progressive MS,as well as their response to drugs specifically targeting these forms.