Novel therapeutic targets for axonal degeneration in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a devastating neurological condition that mainly affects young adults and is associated with long-standing morbidity. The pathophysiology of MS is believed to involve immune-mediated multifocal lesions in the CNS that are characterized by inflammation, demyelination, and axonal injury. Most research efforts to date have concentrated on the mechanisms of immune-mediated demyelination, whereas mechanisms of axonal injury, the major determinant of neurological deficits in MS patients, have been elusive beyond observational analyses.