BACKGROUND Cognitive impairment (CI) is a frequent symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS); its prevalence is reported to be 43-70%. It is one of the most important determinants of MS patients' quality of life, as it is one of the main factors for MS patients becoming unemployed. AIM We aimed to determine the prevalence of CI among the relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and clinically isolated syndrome...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE When to start disease-modifying treatment (DMT) in patients with a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) requires individual weighing of benefits versus possible burden of side effects and costs. How this occurs in a routine setting is barely known. The aim of the study was to investigate the decision-making process regarding immediate or later DMT and the ensuing impact on ...

Infections may be harmful for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), resulting in fever, “pseudo-exacerbations,” and increased risk of relapses. Can infections ever be beneficial for MS? The long-held yet unproven “hygiene hypothesis” proposes that certain infections early in life might reduce the risk of developing autoimmune diseases by inducing protective immunity. In addition, parasitic intes...

BACKGROUND Cognitive deficits are frequent in multiple sclerosis (MS) and have been associated with morphologic brain changes. Less information exists on their extent and relation to MRI findings in clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). It is also unclear if structural changes as detected by magnetization transfer (MT) imaging may provide an additional explanation for cognitive dysfunction. OBJ...

BACKGROUND Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) represents first neurological symptoms suggestive of demyelinating lesion in the central nervous system (CNS). Currently, there are no sufficient immunological or genetic markers predicting relapse and disability progression, nor there is evidence of the efficacy of registered disease modifying treatments (DMTs), such as intramuscular interferon bet...

BACKGROUND Netrin-1, a secreted laminin-related protein, is known to regulate not only axonal guidance and neuronal cell migration, but also blood-brain barrier integrity and inflammation. Two preliminary studies reported altered serum netrin-1 levels in multiple sclerosis; however, associations with longitudinal clinical and magnetic resonance imaging activity have not been investigated. OBJ...

Background: Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is a polymorphic disease which may show various clinical manifestations. Although genetic variability of the parasite is suggested to be one of the factors influencing clinical manifestations in leishmaniasis, no data exist regarding genetic polymorphism of Leishmania major. Therefore, determination of genetic variation within the species of L....

Glatiramer acetate (GA) represents one of the most common disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis. GA is currently approved for patients at high risk of developing clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS) after having experienced a well-defined first clinical episode (clinically isolated syndrome or CIS) and for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). GA's e...