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The Emergence of Multiple Sclerosis as a “Treatable” Condition; An Historical Perspective

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Multiple Sclerosis

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Abstract

Implicit in the statement that a disease is treatable is the idea that its course can be favourably modified by some kind of intervention. Until recently multiple sclerosis (MS) quite certainly has not been in this category. There is a widespread conviction that it now is, but such convictions have been held before and have proved unfounded. How can we be sure that our present confidence is justified? In this short review I shall trace the evolution of our attempts to treat MS, emphasizing strategies designed to arrest its progress. The development of the complementary and no less important approaches to relieving symptoms lies beyond my present scope.

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Authors
  1. W. Ian McDonald
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The UCSF/Mount Zion Multiple Sclerosis Center, University of California at San Francisco, 1600 Divisadero Street, 94115, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Donald E. Goodkin MD

  2. Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, 44195-5244, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Richard A. Rudick MD

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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McDonald, W.I. (1996). The Emergence of Multiple Sclerosis as a “Treatable” Condition; An Historical Perspective. In: Goodkin, D.E., Rudick, R.A. (eds) Multiple Sclerosis. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1271-6_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1271-6_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-85233-033-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-1271-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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