Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Disorders

Featured article: Antibodies in acquired demyelinating disorders in children

Armangue et al. 2016

"To establish the correct diagnosis and prognosis after a first demyelinating episode in a child is challenging as, at this age, different acquired demyelinating disorders (ADS) can present with similar clinical features ... More recently, the discovery that several ADS may be associated with autoantibodies to astrocytes, myelin, and/or synaptic proteins opens the possibility of utilizing these as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and choice of appropriate therapies. Here we review the current knowledge about the antibodies associated with ADS in children."

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Aims and scope

Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Disorders publishes high-quality, original, basic, and clinical research in the field of multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica and all other demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system.

Main areas of interest include: biochemistry, epidemiology, genetics, health services research, molecular biology, neuroimaging, neuroimmunology, neurology, neuropathology, neuropsychology, neurorehabilitation, pharmacology, physiology, political science, protein chemistry, psychiatry, public policy, sociology, and therapeutics.

The Journal also focuses on areas of research underrepresented in the existing literature, such as the economics and sustainability of multiple sclerosis clinical care, the role of advanced nursing on clinical care of demyelinating disorders, and the impact of stakeholder’s associations on the management of multiple sclerosis.

About the Editor

Luigi M E Grimaldi obtained his MD and board certification in neurology at the University of Catania (Italy). He was research fellow in neuroimmunology at the Department of Neurology of the Pritzker School of Medicine of the University of Chicago. In 1988, he joined the Department of Neurology of the Istituto San Raffaele of Milano as a Clinical and Research Assistant, and then Associate. In 1992 he founded the Neuroimmunology Unit of the Department of Biotechnology (DIBIT), which he ran until 2000. He is currently Head of Neurology at the Fondazione Istituto San Raffaele “G Giglio” of Cefalù (Italy) where he runs a multiple sclerosis clinic, a dementia center and a stroke unit involved in over 50 pharmaceutical clinical trials. His main research interests are the neuroimmunological basis of chronic, degenerative and infectious neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, herpes simplex virus encephalitis, and myasthenia gravis. His work has resulted in 150 peer-reviewed journal articles.