1,721,081 research outputs found
Psychiatric disorders in multiple sclerosis
No full textBackground: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by a large spectrum of symptoms, involving all functional systems. Psychiatric symptoms are common in people with MS (pwMS) having an important impact on quality of life and on some features of MS (fatigue, sleep, disability, adherence to disease-modifying drugs). The main psychiatric disturbances in MS are depressive, bipolar, anxiety, schizophrenic and obsessive–compulsive syndromes. Methods: Literature search for original articles and review in the databases, including PubMed and Scopus from 1959 to 2019. Results and conclusion: Studies answering the aim of this review were selected and reported. Epidemiological and clinical aspects of psychiatric syndromes (PS) in MS as well as self-report diagnostic scales and radiological correlates of PS in MS are described. Moreover, some radiological studies about primary psychiatric disorders (PD) are reported to underline how gray matter atrophy, white matter abnormalities and corpus callosum involvement in these diseases, as features in common with MS, may explain the more frequent occurrence of PD in MS than in the general population
IMPIEGO DI GONADOTROPINA CORIONICA EQUINA NEL PROTOCOLLO DI SINCRONIZZAZIONE DEGLI ESTRI IN BUFALE SOTTOPOSTE AD INSEMINAZIONE STRUMENTALE
No full textEquine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is secreted by specific areas of the chorion of the equine placenta, i.e., the endometrial cups, from the 36th up to the 140th day of pregnancy. ECG plays an FSH- and LH-like activity, with prevalence of the latter in equine species and of the former in other livestock. This hormone has been widely used to enhance follicle growth in estrus synchronization and superovulatory regimes.
We evaluated the effect of eCG on pregnancy rate in buffalo cows which were submitted to a regime for timed artificial insemination (TAI). During the interruption of sexual promiscuity outside the breeding season, from January to February, 80 buffalo cows, reared on one farm in the Salerno district, were submitted to gynaecological examination by rectal palpation in order to select animals with an empty, disease-free genital tract. These animals were separated into two groups (n= 47 and 33) which were submitted to TAI 20 days apart. Each group was further subdivided into control and eCG-treated groups. All the animals received a first dose of GnRH, i.e., 50 ug lecirelin acetate, which marked day-0 of the treatment. After 7 days, a PGF2 treatment, i.e., 150 ug D-cloprostenol, was administered and 2 days later all the animals received another 50 ug lecirelin acetate dose. Two dosages of eCG (Ciclogonina, Fort Dodge Animal Health), i.e., 400 vs 800 IU, were administered at the time of PGF2-induced luteolysis in the eCG treated subgroups of the first and the second experimental period, respectively. Approximately 17 and 41 hours after the last GnRH injection, all the animals were artificially inseminated twice with frozen/thawed semen of two buffalo bulls. The animals were homogeneously distributed within groups, i.e., treated vs control and bull 1 vs bull 2, in relation to age, parity and number of days open. Pregnancy was diagnosed by rectal palpation after 50 days post-TAI. Statistical analysis was performed by the Yates’ Chi square test.
Pregnancy rate significantly differed between the two experimental periods (42.6% vs 72.7%; P< 0.02). Since apart from the eCG dosage, we did not change the experimental procedure from the first to the second period, we can argue that the higher pregnancy rate recorded in the second experimental period may be due to either a change in climatic conditions or to the biostimulatory effect played by the cows in heat in the first estrus-induced group versus the cows from the second group.
The administration of eCG did not significantly affect pregnancy rate at either 400 IU (35% vs 50% in eCG-treated and control groups) or 800 IU (82% vs 63% in eCG-treated and control groups) dosages. However, the increase in the pregnancy rate using 800 IU of eCG suggests repeating the trial with a higher number of animals in order to establish a definitive result. On the other hand, the repeated use of this treatment in the same animals may have some limitations due to anti-eCG antibody formation.
In conclusion, neither 400 UI nor 800 UI eCG administration at the time of PGF2 treatment in a timed artificial insemination regime affected pregnancy rate in buffalo cows. The good results recorded with 800 UI eCG administration, however, encourage us to replicate this trial in the future with a larger number of animals
Family planning in people with multiple sclerosis: A plain language summary
No full textWhat is this summary about? This is a plain language summary of an article originally published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology. People with multiple sclerosis (often shortened to MS) may have concerns about pregnancy and fertility. To understand more about these concerns, 332 people with MS in the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain took a survey with questions about how they made family planning decisions. What were the results? Most of the survey participants (around 82%) were women. The survey found that people with MS were less likely to have children than people without MS. Over half (56%) of people with MS said the disease impacted their family planning decisions in some way, almost one quarter (22%) significantly changed their plans for the timing of their pregnancy or number of children, and 14% decided against having children. For almost 4 out of 5 (81%) people with MS the main source of family planning information was healthcare professionals. What do the results of the study mean? Overall, MS significantly impacted patients' decisions about family planning
A disease in the age of the web: How to help people with Multiple Sclerosis in social media interaction.
No full textAssociation between relapses, stress, and depression in people with multiple sclerosis during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textBackground: Stress is a potential trigger for clinical and radiological activity in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). COVID-19 pandemic has been a relevant source of mental distress in people with MS (pwMS) and deeply impacted on disease management. Objective: To investigate the association between stress, anxiety, depression, and risk of relapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: From an electronic database used for clinical practice, we extracted data of relapsing–remitting (RR) or relapsing-progressive (RP) MS patients and calculated the annualized relapse rate (ARR) during 2019 and 2020. From 01/12/2020 to 30/12/2020, enrolled patients were invited to fill in a Google Forms survey to investigate depression, anxiety, stress, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Results: We selected 216 patients with RR or RP-MS to calculate ARR: compared to 2019, in 2020 there was a significant increase in ARR (p = 0.0142). Over 216 selected pwMS, 154 completed the survey. Matching the survey responses and incidence of relapses in 2020, there was a significant association between relapses and stress (p = 0.030) and relapses and depression (p = 0.011), but not between relapses and anxiety (p = 0.130) or PTSD (p = 0.279). Conclusions: Our results support the hypothesis that pandemic-related stress is associated to clinical exacerbations, both as a possible consequence of the COVID-19 impact on MS care
Miglioramento dell'efficienza riproduttiva nella bovina e nella bufala mediante intervento sull'attività luteale
No full textLuteal dysfunctions, e.g., premature luteolysis and corpus luteum with low progesterone secretion, are common causes of reproductive failure in cattle. They may be due to: (1) inadequate growth of the preovulatory follicle; (2) decrease in luteotropic aids; and (3) premature luteolysis. Both non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (FANS) and GnRH agonists have been successfully used at different times post-insemination in order to support luteal activity by either preventing PGF2α release or developing a supplementary corpus luteum, respectively. This study is aimed at evaluating the effect of the two treatments affecting luteal activity on artificial insemination efficiency in bovine and buffalo cows.
A GnRH agonist, buserelin (20 μg/head), and a FANS, ketoprofen (1.5 g/head), were administered 10-d post-insemination in bovine and buffalo cows. Bovine cows were reared on three farms and, when ready to breed, artificially inseminated at spontaneous estrus and, 10-d later, randomly submitted to these two treatments or used as control. Bovine bulls were chosen in relation to breeding schedules previously arranged on each farm and randomly distributed within groups. Buffalo cows, which were separated from bulls two months earlier and diagnosed empty and free from evident reproductive disorders, were divided into three homogeneous groups in relation to age, parity and days open, and submitted to fixed time insemination through two replicates 20-d apart. Briefly, an agonist of GnRH, lecirelin (50 μg/head), was first administered; after 7 days these animals received 150 μg D-cloprostenol/head and, two days later, again 50 μg lecirelin/head. Buffaloes were artificially inseminated after 17 hours and again 41 hours after the last lecirelin treatment. Two buffalo bulls were used in each replicate. Pregnancy was evaluated by rectal palpation on 50-d post-insemination. Data were analyzed by ANOVA after arcsine transformation of percentage values.
A preliminary analysis of data found a homogeneous distribution of both bovine and buffalo cows within groups in relation to age, parity and days open. In buffalo, the bull effect did not significantly affect results. In bovine, a total number of 15 different bulls were used randomly distributed among groups and farms, and the bull effect was negligible. In bovine cows (n=102), both treatments gave a significantly higher conception rate than control (52±2% and 52±9% vs 32±5; P<0.01). In spite of an evident farm effect (P=0.08), treatments showed a consistent effect within farms. In buffalo cows (n=94), the conception rate significantly improved in the case of buserelin treatment (53±4 vs 37±6%; P<0.05), whereas ketoprofen treatment showed results similar to control group (41±5%).
In conclusion, in bovine cows both ketoprofen and buserilin treatments at 10-d post-insemination significantly increased the conception rate whereas in buffalo cows this improvement was only observed in the case of buserelin treatment
Digital triage for people with multiple sclerosis in the age of COVID-19 pandemic
No full textWe propose a possible approach for the remote monitoring of infection risk in people with multiple sclerosis, especially those on immunosuppressant drugs, during COVID-19 pandemic. We developed a digital triage tool to be sent to patients to quickly identify people with high risk of COVID-19 infection. This tool will also limit unnecessary accesses to the MS centers reducing the risk of spreading the infection
Heidenhain variant of Creutzefeldt-Jackob disease in a patient carrying the V210I mutation with asymmetric MRI abnormalities
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Understanding and managing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown on patients with multiple sclerosis
No full textIntroduction: Covid-19 has been sweeping over the world for more than a year. People with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) might be particularly vulnerable either for the disease iteself or for the ongoing immune treatment. The aim of this review is to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown on patients with MS and to provide evidence-based advice to ensure them a high standard of care even during the pandemic. Areas covered: Literature search was conducted in the Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed electronic databases, and articles reference lists to investigate the effect of Covid-19 on MS patients’ treatment, access to health-care services and mental-health.The search terms ‘multiple sclerosis’ AND ‘Covid-19’ were combined with each of the following term ‘disease modifying treatment,’ ‘steroids,’ ‘vaccination,’ ‘mental health,’ ‘stress,’ ‘quality of life,’ ‘management,’ ‘impact,’ ‘recommendations,’ Expert opinion: To ensure MS control during the pandemic, minimizing the risk of Covid-19 contagion, face-to-face visits may be implemented with televisits. Management of relapses and DMTs schedule should be adapted based on the specific benefit/risk ratio for each patient, considering disease activity, disability, comorbidities. Vaccination should be strongly recommended. Telerehabilitation and online psychological support programs should be encouraged to preserve motor performances and mental health
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