Multiple sclerosis is a complex and chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that causes damage to the myelin sheath surrounding neurons, disrupting normal cell-to cell signaling in the brain and spinal cord. Although little is known about the etiology of MS, one hypothesis is that the disease is mediated by a dysfunctional immune system. A recent publication in the New England Journal of Medicine investigates this possibility, searching for specific autoantibody responses associated with the disease. Their results suggest that an antibody against the inwardly rectifying potassium ion channel KIR4.1 may contribute to the pathology.
