Journal of the neurological sciences
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating inflammatory disease of the central nervous system originated by a complex interplay of environmental and genetic factors. The association of MS with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles was investigated in MS patients in northwest Greece, in the geographical region of Epirus. ⋯ This is the first study to investigate genetic susceptibility to MS in Greece. Our results are in line with previous reports in North European and North American patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Efficacy and safety of incobotulinumtoxinA (NT 201, XEOMIN®, botulinum neurotoxin type A, without accessory proteins) in patients with cervical dystonia.
IncobotulinumtoxinA differs from available formulations in that it does not have accessory proteins. IncobotulinumtoxinA has previously shown non-inferiority to onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of CD with a 1:1 dosing regimen. The objective of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of incobotulinumtoxinA (120 U, 240 U; Merz Pharmaceuticals) to placebo in subjects with cervical dystonia (CD). ⋯ IncobotulinumtoxinA (at doses of 120 U or 240 U) is a safe and effective treatment for CD in previously-treated as well as toxin-naïve subjects.
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The particular vulnerability of the developing nervous system for low-level exposure to chemicals is well established. It has been argued that some degree of developmental neurotoxicity was found for a large number of industrial chemicals. However, for only few of these, namely inorganic lead, arsenic, organic mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), human evidence is available to suggest that these may cause neurodevelopmental adversity and may, thus, be involved in contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, attention-deficit disorder, mental retardation or cerebral palsy. ⋯ Several prospective cohort studies-including our Düsseldorf study-have demonstrated that pre- and early postnatal exposure to PCBs is associated with deficit or retardation of mental and/or motor development, even after adjusting for maternal intelligence and developmental effects of the quality of the home environment. The pathophysiology is still unclear, although interference with thyroid metabolism during brain development is being discussed. Based on these reviews, three aspects, namely pre- vs. postnatal impact, effect scaling for comparative purposes, and integration of neurobehavioral findings into clinical and neuroscience contexts, are outlined as lessons learned from neurodevelopmental observations in children environmentally exposed to lead or PCBs.
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Comparative Study
Does statin in the acute phase of ischemic stroke improve outcome after intravenous thrombolysis? A retrospective study.
In recent years, the medical literature has shown that statin treatment before and in the acute phase of ischemic stroke has a positive impact on outcome. The possible effect of statins during the acute phase has never been assessed in thrombolysed patients, and the few studies investigating a possible association between prior statin use and outcome after thrombolysis have reported controversial results. The aim of the present study was to assess whether statin treatment started in the acute phase of stroke (within 24h) or before stroke and continued during the acute phase may influence short- and long-term outcome in patients receiving intravenous (IV) thrombolysis. ⋯ Our data suggest that statin treatment started within 24h after IV thrombolysis, but not statin treatment started before stroke and continued in the acute phase, may improve short- and long-term outcome.
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Behavioral changes in early ALS correlate with voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multisystem disorder with impairment of frontotemporal functions such as cognition and behavior, but the behavioral changes associated with ALS are not well defined. ⋯ ALS patients exhibited apathy during the early course of the illness, the severity of which was significantly associated with frontal lobe involvement. These findings support the view that a continuum exits between ALS and frontotemporal dementia.