BACKGROUND Within the past 10 years, several immunomodulatory agents (IMAs) have become available for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), making therapeutic decisions more complex. We performed a systematic review of the literature to assess the efficacy and safety of these agents on physical, inflammatory, and cognitive measures of disease activity. METHODS We identified rele...

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of immunomodulatory treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) on lymphocyte surface immunomarkers. The special attention was given to TCR alpha/beta, gamma/delta and alpha/beta HLA-DR markers. Peripheral blood was obtained from 39 patients with clinically definite R-R MS, fulfilling the criteria of McDonald et al.[5]. The group of 15 patients was treat...

The manner by which the trans-acting factor encoded by the 1,828-base-pair (bp) BamHI DNA fragment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) suppresses the production of human beta interferon was determined. Steady-state levels of RNA specific for human beta interferon were decreased in cells that contained the 1,828-bp BamHI DNA fragment of HBV. The reduced accumulation of interferon-specific RNA was due to ...

The combined effects of tamoxifen, a competitive inhibitor of estrogen, and type I or II interferons on the proliferation of several human breast cancer cell lines in vitro were examined. Additive antiproliferative effects were observed with interferons and tamoxifen, in two estrogen receptor positive cell lines, MCF-7 and T-47D. In MCF-7 cells neither beta ser interferon, gamma interferon, nor...

Many women with multiple sclerosis (MS) ask about the risks of pregnancy before starting (or while on) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). At least twothirds of patients with MS are women, and the majority are in their childbearing years at the time of clinical onset and diagnosis. DMTs taken during pregnancy could have direct or indirect toxicity (through immunomodulating properties) on pregna...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope glycoprotein-2 (E2) inhibits the interferon (IFN)–induced, double –stranded RNA activated protein kinase (PKR) via PKR eukaryotic initiation factor-2α phosphorylation homology domain (PePHD). Present study examined the genetic variability of the PePHD in patients receiving interferon therapy. The PePHD region from HCV genotype 1a/1b infected patients receiving I...

The differential diagnoses of ring-enhancing lesions the brain parenchyma is broad, but complete often indicate a neoplastic or infectious process. We present case 70-year-old female with history multiple sclerosis (MS) who was not on current disease-modifying therapy (DMT) and found to have lesion that mimicked high-grade glioma. patient underwent gross total resection, histopathologic molecul...

Interferons (IFNs) have been used to treat mucosal lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, such as intraepithelial precursor lesions to cancer of the uterine cervix, genital warts or recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, to potentially reduce or eliminate replicating HPV plasmid genomes. Mucosal HPVs have evolved mechanisms that impede IFN-beta synthesis and downregulate genes i...

Antibodies against myelin oligodendrocyte antigens have been found in the immunoreactive brain lesions of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Recently it has been proposed that these antibodies can be used as a prognostic marker in the course of disease. However, the serum levels of these autoantibodies during different phases of disease activity or after an immunomodulatory therapy have been poo...

BACKGROUND The anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab reduces disease activity in previously untreated patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. We aimed to assess efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab compared with interferon beta 1a in patients who have relapsed despite first-line treatment. METHODS In our 2 year, rater-masked, randomised controlled phase 3 trial, we enrolled ad...