This book is based on the papers delivered at an International Workshop on Multiple Sclerosis held in Erice, Italy from 29th August to 1st September 1983. The Meeting was organized with great efficiency in the delightful setting of the Centro di Cultura Scientifica Ettore Mahorana, by its Director, Antonino Zichichi, and was directed by the Editors of the Proceedings and by Professor C. Alvisi of the University of Bologna. The emphasis was deliberately on the contributions of laboratory science to the understanding of mUltiple sclerosis, its etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. Where so much is unknown, disagreement was expected and indeed welcome, and it is regrettable that it was not possible to publish verbatim the often animated and always interesting discussion. Differing views on the relevance of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis to multiple sclerosis were expressed by Dr. Wisniewski, Professor Seitelberger and Professor Alvord, who graphi­ cally illustrated his changing beliefs over the years. Professor Seitelberger laid much greater emphasis on remyelination in remission in mUltiple sclerosis than had previously been the accepted view. The disorder of both humoral and cellular immunity in multiple scler­ osis was discussed by Dr. Roos and Professor Link. Dr. Gilden described how recombinative techniques might be applied to the detec­ tion of a virus in multiple sclerosis. The continued inability to detect any antigen to match the oligoclonal IgG bands in the CSF in multiple sclerosis patients was disappointing and there was an increasing tendency to regard the bands as "nonsense" antibodies.

Pathogenesis of Perivenous and Demyelinating Encephalomyelitis and its Relevance for Multiple Sclerosis Research.- Comparative Neuropathology and Pathogenetic Aspects of Chronic Relapsing Experimental Encephalomyelitis and Multiple Sclerosis.- What Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis Teaches us about Multiple Sclerosis.- Antigen and Antibody Studies in Demyelinating Disease.- Studies on B-Lymphocyte Function in Multiple Sclerosis.- Varicella-Zoster Virus Latency in the Nervous System.- The Myelin associated Glycoprotein in Demyelinating Diseases.- Cerebrospinal Fluid Immunoelectrophoretic Findings in Multiple Sclerosis.- Multiple Sclerosis: An Abiotrophy with Heuristic Implications.- Plasticity of Conduction Processes in Demyelinated Nerve Fibers: Implications for Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis.- Recent Status of Epidemiological Studies on Multiple Sclerosis in Italy.- Recent Descriptive Surveys on Multiple Sclerosis in Sardina and in the Province of Ferrara, Italy.- Evoked Potentials in the Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis.- Clinical Implications of Studies Involving Cerebrospinal Fluid T Cell Subpopulations.- Immunological Treatments in Multiple Sclerosis: Rationale, Results and New Avenues.