Extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN, CD147) is an inducer of matrix metalloproteinases and has roles in leukocyte activation and migration. We reported previously that in MS and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, cell surface-associated EMMPRIN was significantly elevated in leukocytes around inflammatory perivascular cuffs in the CNS. In this study ...

Background: Multiple sclerosis is the most common autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a cytokine with both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory activities that implicated in the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to determine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL-33, rs1929992, in patient’s gene ...

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is an oral DNA base synthesis inhibitor that has profound immunosuppressive effects on activated T cells, B cells and macrophages. MMF selectively inhibits inosine 50-monophosphate dehydrogenase type II, responsible for de novo synthesis of the purine nucleotide guanine. The drug has been used for anti-rejection therapy in organ transplantation and also for immunothe...

BACKGROUND Functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling is used by spinal cord injury patients to facilitate neurologic recovery and may also be useful for progressive MS patients. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of home FES cycling in progressive MS and to explore how it changes cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokine levels. METHODS Five patients with primary or se...

BACKGROUND Progressive MS is associated with a high frequency of cognitive impairment. However, it is not clear to what extent this reflects global dysfunction, or independent deficits in specific functions. OBJECTIVE To characterise patterns of cognitive impairment in progressive MS on a multi-dimensional cognitive assessment tool well established in neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS Pat...

OBJECTIVE To examine retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, macular volumes (MV), and visual acuity in multiple sclerosis (MS) eyes, with and without history of acute optic neuritis (ON). METHODS RNFL thickness was measured in 326 MS and 94 control eyes using optical coherence tomography (OCT). MV and vision testing were done in a subset of the cohort. MS subtype was classified as relaps...

Objective to investigate whether optical coherence tomography (OCT) could demonstrate axonal loss through thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Furthermore, the degree of RNFL loss was compared in the different MS subgroups (with or without optic neuritis, affected or fellow eye, single episode or recurrent optic neuritis, relapsing remitting or p...

OBJECTIVE To explore the occurrence and characteristics of aggressive multiple sclerosis (AMS) in adult-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. METHODS Prospectively collected data (1980-2009) from British Columbia, Canada, were retrospectively analysed. AMS was defined in three different ways (AMS1, 2 and 3): 'AMS1'--confirmed Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) ≥ 6 within 5 years of MS ...