Demyelination, a pathological hallmark of multiple sclerosis, may be a necessary but not a
sufficient condition for motor dysfunction associated with this disease. We favor a
neurodegenerative model of multiple sclerosis and suggest that demyelination creates a
permissive environment wherein the denuded axon becomes susceptible to immune-
mediated injury. Unfortunately, the cellular effectors responsible for eliciting such axonal
injury are currently unknown. Based on previous observations implicating cytotoxic T cells in …