Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory, demyelinating disease that also causes neuronal dysfunction and axonal damage leading to motor dysfunction, cognitive deficits and chronic pain. The goal of the investigations conducted in the department is to delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal dysfunction and axonal injury and define the contribution of neuroinflammation to neuronal damage. In particular, the investigations address 1) the role of the neuronal calcium pump, plasma membrane calcium ATPase 2 (PMCA2), in neuronal dysfunction and death in the inflamed spinal cord in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a well-established animal model that mimics features of multiple sclerosis 2) the identification of the inflammatory signals that modulate PMCA2 function in the spinal cord in EAE and in vitro 3) the contribution of astrocytes and microglia to the modulation of PMCA2-mediated neuronal dysfunction and death 4) the involvement of PMCA2 in mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain in EAE.

Stella Elkabes, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Neurosurgery