Another theory on why some people's MS is benign

The question of why some people with MS incur disability more slowly than others has been addressed in a couple of imaging studies that have looked at damage to normal appearing brain tissue. The jury is still out on that hypothesis, but in the meantime there is a new paper that presents another idea: that severity of MS is due to *where* the damage is specifically located.

This study compared MRI data from subjects with benign MS and with relapsing-remitting MS. Measurements of the whole brain did not differ between the two groups. However, measurements taken in specific areas did. For example, lesions in benign MS subjects were more often found in the posterior lobes, whereas the frontal lobe was more affected in RRMS subjects. I think it would be a good idea to also check the spinal cord ... maybe that can be the next study?