The findings point to a possible informative new way to efficiently test the potential of therapies to stop nerve degeneration, and they identify culprits involved in tissue damage that might be targeted by new therapies in the future.

Using powerful MRI brain scans, researchers have recently identified brain lesions, or spots of MS activity and damage, that have surrounding rims that show up in the scans because of their iron content. These rims, which have been linked to progressive disability in MS, can form around lesions that did not naturally heal and seem to signify continuing inflammation and nervous tissue damage.

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