1,721,032 research outputs found
Fucosyl-oligosaccharides decrease mononuclear cells in vitro activation, particularly in multiple sclerosis
No full text
Constitutive Expression of human endogenous retroviruses in normal and multiple sclerosis brains and glial cell cultures
No full textDetection of MSRV in MS patients from different European populations and in relation to clinical activity
No full text
Multiple sclerosis and hygiene hypothesis: reduced Toll-like receptor 9 expression in MS in response to P. falciparum
No full textSeasonal fluctuation of multiple sclerosis births in Sardinia
No full textStudy results from different
geographical areas provide
some circumstantial evidence that,
when compared with the general
population, people who later in life
develop multiple sclerosis (MS)
have a pattern of birth excess numbers
in spring and late summer,
which may disclose an association
with MS-predisposing environmental
agents. To identify the presence
of season-related cluster of
MS birth in Sardinia we have designed
a case-control study in the
province of Sassari,Northern Sardinia,
insular Italy, an area at veryhigh
and increasing risk for MS.
Mean birth incidence rate of people
with MS (810 cases) on a threeand
six-months basis were compared
with that of two control populations:
the MS unaffected siblings
(1069), sharing genetic material
with patients, and a representative
number of births (247,612) of the
general population of the study
area.We found that the birth in
months peaking in spring significantly
represents one risk factor for
future MS development. This seasonal
deviation of MS births reveals
an intriguing epidemiological
overlap with common environmental
agents,which may open a
new scenario of hypothetical explanations
for environmental factors
perhaps affecting the CNS at the
crucial time of myelination or
shaping the newborn immune system
Intrathecal chitotriosidase and the outcome of multiple sclerosis
No full textActivated macrophages are major effectors at all stages of lesion formation in multiple sclerosis (MS) brain. Here, we report that the macrophage enzyme chitotriosidase (Chit) is significantly elevated both in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with MS as compared to healthy controls and other neurological patients (P<0.001). Furthermore, the Chit activity in blood significantly associates with the MS clinical course (higher in secondary progressive relative to relapsing-remitting, P = 0.01) and the clinical severity as measured by Kurtkze's Expanded Disability Status Scale (P<0.001). Also, we found that Chit activity is compartmentalized in the central nervous system of early MS patients and that its CSF/plasma quotient, in the presence of a preserved albumin quotient, correlates with the extent of future clinical deterioration (r = 0.91; P<0.001). These findings confirm that innate immunity, here represented by Chit, is clinically relevant in MS and allows, if confirmed, reconsidering novel MS therapeutic strategies specifically aimed at this branch of the immune response. © 2006 SAGE Publications
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