Meningeal T cells associate with diffuse axonal loss in multiple sclerosis spinal cords.

Objective: A link between diffuse axonal loss and diffuse inflammation has been established in the brain of patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). In the present paper, we sought to determine whether such a link could be similarly demonstrated in the spinal cord of patients with progressive MS.

Methods: A neuropathological quantitative assessment of inflammation and axonal loss was performed in the cervical spinal cord of 18 patients with progressive MS and 5 control subjects.