Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: An animal model for multiple sclerosis

The first section reviews the current knowledge about the neuropathology, pathophysiology, clinical symptomatology, diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Where possible, the text will refer to animal models of MS with a special emphasis on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). EAE serves as an animal model for the human inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS): acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and MS. Both the histopathological characteristics and the clinical picture of EAE are very similar to MS. Taken together with the fact that the genetic background of the animals determines susceptibility for EAE, it demonstrates that this model is in many aspects very reminiscent of MS. However, EAE is an induced disease with a known autoantigen, whereas the autoimmune nature of MS and the causative autoantigen(s) are still a matter of debate. Extrapolation of findings in EAE to MS should be done cautiously, especially when immune-specific mechanisms are involved.