Do you expect that, with recent medical advancements, a definitive and permanent cure for multiple sclerosis will be found, as well as a treatment for regenerating myelin, within this year?
Only those who comprehend Jean-Martin Charcot's unmistakable & comprehensive pictorial definition of multiple sclerosis (autopsy sketches Mme Leruth, 19th June 1866) will tell you how MS is definitely and permanently cured.
The Librairie Charcot (Paris, Hôpital Salpétrière) can send a copy of it.
Dear Dr. Schelling,
Thank you deeply for your valuable insights and for referencing the remarkable anatomical illustrations from Charcot’s era, particularly those drawn by M. Leloir in 1866. Your dedication to revisiting the historical and vascular dimensions of Multiple Sclerosis is both inspiring and thought-provoking.
Please allow me, with utmost respect, to humbly express that I am someone who, until recently, has been primarily focused on contemporary MS research—especially concerning remyelination and immune-modulatory therapies being trialed in the United States and the UK. I am now beginning to open my eyes to broader contributions such as your own, which approach MS from foundational anatomical and vascular perspectives.
If possible, I would be grateful if you could kindly clarify the following:
1. When you say that one "who understands Leloir’s drawing" would know how MS can be stopped completely—are you referring to a specific mechanism visible in the drawing that reveals the pathogenesis?
2. Has any experimental or clinical evidence in recent years supported your interpretation regarding venous insufficiency or vascular blockage in MS lesions?
3. Are there current research efforts (perhaps even unpublished or experimental) building upon your CCSVI hypothesis, or directions where you feel young researchers should look?
I extend my appreciation for your scholarship and would be honored to learn more about your perspective. Your work has opened a new window for me—one that connects historical neurology with modern curiosity.
With all respect and warm regards,
Dr. Islam Abdullah Abdelghani Ghanem
PhD in Social Anthropology – Expert in Heritage Protection – UNESCO
Dear Dr. Islam Abdullah Abdelghani Ghanem,
Since the 1970s, I have increasingly wondered why the dynamics of the vein-centered spread of periventricular lesions first illustrated by Charcot is nowhere spoken about.
As an Expert in the Heritage Protection of UNESCO, you may enjoy casting a glance at the archetypal pieces of MS evidence, concluding
www.ms-info.net.
I hope to explain the radical difference between cerebral and spinal MS in my nineties and highly appreciate your interest in this field of research.
Yours gratefully,
Franz Schelling, former anatomist, and moonlighting pathologist
Dear Dr. Franz Schelling,
Thank you for sharing your valuable insights on the historical and anatomical perspectives of multiple sclerosis. The concept of vein-centered periventricular lesion spread is indeed intriguing, and I appreciate your dedication to highlighting its significance.
I will certainly review the materials available on the provided website, as understanding the distinctions between cerebral and spinal MS is of great interest to me. Your decades of research contribute greatly to the field, and I look forward to further discussions on this topic.
Best regards,
Dr. Islam Abdullah Abdelghani Ghanem
Dear Dr. Islam Ghanem,
I highly appreciate your preparedness to look into these inveterate problems.
In case you find the page of Charcot's lectures that defined ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, by Mme. Lhermitte's spinal cord pathology: Please would you be so kind as to give me the quote?
Best wishes!
Franz Schelling
Dear Dr. Franz Schelling,
Thank you very much for your kind message and for the thoughtful recognition of my interest in the challenges related to neurodegenerative diseases. I truly appreciate the scientific depth and historical awareness reflected in your request regarding Charcot's lectures and Mme. Lhermitte's work.
I would like to clarify that my academic background is in social anthropology, with a special focus on cultural and heritage studies. While I am not a specialist in medicine or laboratory science, my anthropological interest in medical history and public health narratives is what drives my engagement with such topics.
As part of my commitment to interdisciplinary dialogue, I am also actively involved in international programs through UNESCO, specifically in youth programs and heritage protection initiatives.
Please feel free to share any historical sources or directions, and I will be happy to support the search from an anthropological or historical angle when possible.
With my best wishes and appreciation,
Dr. Islam Abdullah El-Ghani Ghanem
Member, UNESCO Youth and Heritage Programs
Dear Dr. Islam Ghanem,
It would be marvelous if you could gain access to it and provide me with Charcot's earliest documentation of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The case history of Mme Leruth ends with the illustrations that served in part as Charcot's definition of multiple sclerosis in
Ordenstein, L.:Sur la paralysie agitante et la sclérose en plaques généralisée, pp. 49-81, Plate II.Paris, Martinet, 1867
The entire original case history is given at
https://dropsu.sorbonne-universite.fr/s/gknXoFedYZqWkeD
Two years later, Charcot referred only to the same Mme Leruth's spinal cord findings in his original exemplification of ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, that was given in
Désiré-Magloire Bourneville, Leçons sur les maladies nerveuses: faites à la Salpêtrière. Paris: Paul Dupont, 1869
It would be marvelous if you could help me gain access to the page of Charcot's 1869 lectures that originally defined ALS.