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A History of Multiple Sclerosis Investigations in Canada Between 1850 and 1950

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2014

Aravind Ganesh  and
Frank W. Stahnisch
Aravind Ganesh*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Frank W. Stahnisch
Affiliation:
Departments of History and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
*
*Neurology Department, Foothills Medical Centre, 1403 29 Street N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 2T9, Canada. Email: aganesh@ucalgary.ca
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Abstract

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The medical profession's modern quandaries with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) largely began in 1849, with Friedrich von Frerichs' (1819–1885) early description of the clinical and pathological features of what he termed Hirnsklerose (“brain sclerosis”). This manuscript is an overview of the century of research (1850–1950) that followed the emergence of this clinical entity, with a focus on the hitherto under-explored English Canadian perspective. Using journal articles, reviews, and case studies, this historiographical paper reviews what may be some of the earliest recorded cases of MS in Canada, and outlines the diagnostic challenges that confronted early Canadian physicians in their encounters with MS. Early Canadian attempts to characterize the aetiology and epidemiology of MS and treat it are also discussed. These activities were influenced by developments in the field in Europe and the United States, and helped set the stage for the modern era of immunologic and therapeutic research on MS.

Type
Historical Review
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , May 2014 , pp. 320 - 332
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Journal of Neurological 2014

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