ABSTRACT
Disorders of central nervous system (CNS) demyelination (loss or destruction of the myelin sheath that covers the nerve axon), of which multiple sclerosis is the prototypic example, may present with psychiatric symptoms at some point in their course. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by the formation of plaques, focal areas of demyelination of white matter tracts (axons) in either the brain and spinal cord. The nerve cell bodies (gray matter) are rarely affected. MS is a chronic disorder that may be characterized either by discrete episodes of relapses and remissions or by a slow progression of neurologic deficits (i.e., visual difficulties, spasticity, tremor, and urinary difficulties).
