Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory neurological disease of the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by demyelination, neurodegeneration and astroglial proliferation, with complex genetic factors exerting a profound influence. Despite major advances in the current understanding of the pathogenesis of MS, the inflammatory cascade involved in MS remains unknown; although there is considerable evidence implicating the involvement of mitochondria in axonal and glial injury mechanisms.
Similarly to MS, neuromylitis optica (NMO), or Devic’s disease, is a demyelinating disease of the CNS characterized by optic neuritis (ON) and myelitis (My) associated with anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies detectable in the serum. Several siblings with NMO have been reported, raising the possibility of a genetic predisposition, but no pathogenic mutations have been identified in the AQP4 gene…