introduction various types of dermatological manifestations have been reported due to hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection and anti­hcv therapy. some of them have been described during ifn-based therapies. peg-ifn-α-2a/rbv combination is used as the international standard of treatment for hcv infection for a long time. the combination therapy yields an adverse-event profile similar to standard int...

Chemokines play an important role in pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), mediating migration of leukocytes into the central nervous system. CCL2 (MCP-1) chemokine is expressed in astrocytes in MS lesions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of a two-year treatment with IFN-beta 1a on serum CCL2 level in MS patients. CCL2 concentration in sera of 18 relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS...

OBJECTIVE To determine relevant HLA-DRB1 alleles associated with the susceptibility of anti-interferon beta antibody development in a large patient cohort. DESIGN In a case-control study, HLA-DRB1 genotyping was performed in a discovery cohort (n = 268) and a validation cohort (n = 825). SETTING Patients were recruited in Germany by primary care physicians and neurologists and were mainly o...

Alemtuzumab (previously known as Campath(®)) is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the CD52 antigen on mature lymphocytes that results in lymphopenia and subsequent modification of the immune repertoire. Here we explore evidence for its efficacy and safety in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. One Phase II and two Phase III trials of alemtuzumab versus active comparator (inte...

BACKGROUND Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are of African descent experience a more aggressive disease course than patients who are of white race/ethnicity. In phase 3 clinical trials (Natalizumab Safety and Efficacy in Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis [AFFIRM] and Safety and Efficacy of Natalizumab in Combination With Interferon Beta-1a in Patients With Relapsing Remitting Mult...

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by elevation of mean pulmonary artery pressure to values conceivably approaching those seen in the systemic vascular bed. This occurrence is associated with a poor prognosis. PAH may result from a variety of causes, some of which are related to pharmacotherapy. Herein, we present a case of a 39-year-old female patient with relapsing-remitti...