Multiple sclerosis as a distinct disease
Esclerosis múltiple como enfermedad distinta
- Date
- 1868 · confidence high
- Place
- Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Paris, France
- Credited to
- Jean-Martin Charcot
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
At the Salpêtrière, Charcot correlated clinical signs (nystagmus, intention tremor, scanning speech) with demyelinating plaques found at autopsy, isolating multiple sclerosis as a distinct neurological disease.
What it led to
- The foundation of modern clinical neurology based on clinicopathological correlation
- Description of Charcot's triad as a diagnostic criterion
- The rise of the Salpêtrière school in the study of nervous system diseases