MS and excitotoxicity

Abstract

In this section, it will be studied how excitotoxicity contributes to neurodegeneration in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS has long been regarded as an autoimmune inflammatory disease targeting oligodendrocytes of the central nervous system (CNS). However, recent advancement in research questioned whether MS is merely an inflammatory disease despite pathological evidences of degeneration are clearly present. More recent findings further challenge the research focus of MS which previously thought oligodendrocytes as the main target, whereas current debate points towards pathology of MS being primarily dysfunctional glial interaction, i.e., astrocytes and microglia. Herein, a brief overview will be provided on how various aspects of excitotoxicity are evident in MS pathology and its possible roles between interactions of cells in the CNS that ultimately lead to neurodegeneration in inflammatory condition of MS.