OBJECTIVE To identify clinical and immunological markers associated with HTLV-I associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). METHOD 237 HTLV-I infected individuals were clinically assessed. They were classified according to the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and Osames Motor Disability Score (OMDS). Cytokine levels were determined in HTLV-I seropositive individuals. ...

BACKGROUND The Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC) provides a focused and sensitive evaluation of disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) that may be more responsive to change than that provided by the Expanded Disability Status Scale. EXPERT CLINICAL OPINION The MSFC is a 3-part quantitative instrument that measures arm, leg, and cognitive function with the 9-Hole Peg ...

Recent studies have reported autonomic dysfunction (AD) in multiple sclerosis (MS), and bladder and/or bowel dysfunction, orthostatic hypotension, and cardiac adaptation disorders have been observed in a wide range of patients (15-80%). The primary aim of this study is to investigate the frequency and association of AD in MS patients, assessed by sympathetic skin response (SSR) and a symptoms q...

background: although the precise etiology of multiple sclerosis (ms) is unknown, it seems that both genetic and environmental factors are important. recent studies suggest that low serum vitamin d levels are important environmental factor in ms. the aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of vitamin d between ms patients and healthy subjects, and to determine its association with disa...

PURPOSE The aim is to explore the association between self-rated health and employment status in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) when controlling for age, gender, functional disability, disease duration, anxiety and depression. METHOD One hundred eighty-four people with MS completed a sociodemographic questionnaire that included questions on employment status, the first item of the Shor...

BACKGROUND Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is a vascular condition characterized by anomalies of the primary veins outside the skull that has been reported to be associated with MS. In the blinded Combined Transcranial (TCD) and Extracranial Venous Doppler Evaluation (CTEVD) study, we found that prevalence of CCSVI was significantly higher in multiple sclerosis (MS) vs. healt...

OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate the role of oxidative stress in the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS We determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry nonenzymatic (F2-isoprostanes) and enzymatic oxidation products of arachidonic acid (prostaglandin F2α [PGF2α]) in plasma and CSF of 45 controls (other neurologic disease [OND] with no signs of inflammation) and 6...

BACKGROUND Behavioral changes are common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), however not as readily recognized as cognitive impairments. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze behavioral changes and its relation to disease characteristics, disability, and cognitive impairments in patients with MS. METHOD This is a single-center cross-sectional study. A detailed neuropsychologi...

Stem cell therapy, an evolving, progressive field of therapeutics has shown several successes in areas where classic treatments failed to prevent or stop disability. Starting in 2009, twenty two sequential patients with progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS) courses were treated with Autologous Bone Marrow Mononuclear stem cells (BM-MNSCs). The cells were given both intravenously and intrathecally...