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I lost where I had got this from but months later found the page I had saved which was at:
 http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/3468/neuro-exam.html#MS Historical Facts:
or maybe Glen and I got it from the same source! Its an interesting page though.
 

1868  French neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot, first described multiple sclerosis as a distinct disease.  Although MS was known to be neurological in nature, it was treated unsuccessfully with gold chloride, silver nitrate, zinc sulfate, strychnine, belladonna, ergot, hydrotherapy and electrical stimulation.

1878  Myelin was discovered by Louis Ranvier.  Later researchers discovered its role in nerve conduction and identified the cell that makes myelin (oligo-dendrocytes)

1880s  MS attributed to overexertion.  Treated with bed-rest and electrical stimulation.

1890s  MS attributed to suppression of sweat.

early 1900s  MS attributed to an "unknown toxin" or to a metabolic abnormality, and was treated with purgative cathartics, stimulants, enzymes and tonsillectomy.

1916  Diseased brain tissue was examined under a microscope by James Dawson, who described the basic processes at work in MS.

1920s  MS could be diagnosed reliably only by post-mortem examination of brain tissue.  MS was thought at the time to be a "male disease".  Women later discovered to have had MS (upon post-mortem exam) had typically been diagnosed with "hysteria".

1920s - 90s  MS attributed to various infectious agents, and treated with typhoid and other vaccines, anti-syphilis drugs, antibiotics and blood transfusions.

1930s  "Hot bath test" used to diagnose MS.

1930s - 40s  MS attributed to poor circulation of blood in the brain and to blood clots.  Treated with anticoagulants.

1940s  Abnormal immune system antibodies discovered in spinal fluid of patients suspected of having MS and other neurological problems. (Elvin Kalbat et al, 1948.)

1946  NMSS founded.

1965  White blood cells discovered reacting to a protein in the myelin of MS patients.

1950s - 70s  MS attributed to allergy and treated with antihistamines, vitamins and steroids.

1969 - 70  ACTH first used in controlled treatment trials for MS.

1970s - present.  MS attributed to auto-immune reaction, possibly triggered by a virus.  Treatment started to focus on curbing destructive immune responses with steroids and with immune system regulators.

1981  MRI was invented.
late 1993  Betaseron was approved by FDA for treatment of relapsing-remitting form of MS.

early 1996  Avonex was approved by FDA for treatment of relapsing-remitting form of MS.

1995--96  Clinical trials began on use of Betaseron and Avonex for ambulatory secondary progressive MS.

1995 - 96  Clinical trials began on the use of bovine myelin, methotrexate, 4-AP, Cop-1, and several other drugs for the treatment of MS.

8/96  International research team announced the identification of 19 candidate DNA regions that may contain the genes that act in concert with each other and with environmental factors to cause MS.  The study relied on statistical analysis of the genetic makeup of affected and unaffected members of 75 different families of which at least two members have been diagnosed definitely as having MS and not another disease with similar symptoms.  While there is no single "MS gene", further research is expected to implicate certain genes in MS, which would then lead to identification of the proteins made by the implicated genes, and then of the biochemical pathway whereby a person begins to exhibit MS symptoms.

1996  Researchers in Europe and in South America claim improvement in MS patients treated with Linomide, a derivative of Thalidomide.