With remarkable foresight, the very first research grant from what was then called The Society for the Advancement of Multiple Sclerosis Research was awarded to study the immunology of MS—the relationship between the body’s immune defense system and the impact of MS on the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).

This 1947 grant went to Dr. Elvin Kabat at Columbia University. He subsequently identified abnormal immunologic proteins in the spinal fluid of people with MS. In lab tests, these proteins appeared as patterns known as oligoclonal bands. Oligoclonal bands not only proved to be a valuable diagnostic test for MS but also a major demonstration that MS and the immune system are connected.

Reference

Written by Loren A. Rolak, MD. Reproduced by permission from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, USA. © NMSS, 2003