Presse Med
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Patients with multiple sclerosis, despite advances in therapy, often suffer from locomotor impairment that limits their mobility and affect quality of life. Rehabilitation is part of the treatment of MS and has shown its beneficial effects in numerous studies. While traditional rehabilitation techniques remain in the limelight, new technologies are emerging and make it possible to improve the management of disabling symptoms. ⋯ Action observation training in real or virtual situations is also effective. Finally, under certain conditions the constraint induced movement therapy is proposed. The effects of rehabilitation are not only positive on the pyramidal symptoms and fatigue but also increase neuroplasticity and perhaps a neuroprotective effect as shown in some studies.
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Over the past decades, MRI has become a major tool in the diagnosis and the follow-up of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), especially for monitoring the effectiveness of therapy. The recent international recommendations issued for the standardization of neurological and radiological clinical practices converge on many points. In this setting, recommendations made by the "Observatoire français de la sclérose en plaques", the French MS registry, can be distinguished by its interdisciplinary complementarity, its longevity, its size, and its positions in direct connection with the clinic. ⋯ The result of this round table bringing together neurologists and neuroradiologists from specialized centers was published in the form of a recommendation in early 2020. The interest of this project also lies in the constant improvement of the management of patients with MS and the possibility of developing advanced techniques to assist the clinician. The aim of this review is to explain to the neurologist, the interest of following this imaging protocol both in his/her clinical practice and in the possibilities that this opens up.
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Multiple sclerosis is a major socio-economical burden as it represents the most common cause of non-traumatic neurological disability in young adults [1]. It affects also children with a lower prevalence and incidence but remains a major concern as disability may occur later during their adulthood. Therefore, there is an absolute need for earlier diagnosis and treatment. In this review, we would focus on how these objectives can be achieved.
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Despite immense progress of imaging and updates in the MacDonald criteria, the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis remains difficult as it must integrate history, clinical presentation, biological markers, and imaging. There is a multitude of syndromes resembling multiple sclerosis both clinically or on imaging. The goal of this review is to help clinicians orient themselves in these various diagnoses. We organized our review in two categories: inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that are close or can be confused with multiple sclerosis, and non-inflammatory syndromes that can present with symptoms or imaging mimicking those of multiple sclerosis. ⋯ Review of literature CONCLUSION: Progress of imaging and biological sciences have drastically changed the approach and management of multiple sclerosis. But these developments have also shined a light on a variety of diseases previously unknown or poorly known, therefore greatly expanding the differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. While autoimmune, many of these diseases have underlying biological mechanisms that are very different from those of multiple sclerosis, rendering MS therapies usually inefficient. It is crucial to approach these diseases with utmost thoroughness, integrating history, clinical exam, and evolving ancillary tests.
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Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare connective tissue disease characterized by vascular remodeling, fibroblast activation and extra-cellular matrix production in excess and autoimmunity. Environmental factors including mainly silica and solvents have been assumed to contribute to the development of SSc, together with genetic factors including gene variants implicated in innate immunity such as IRF5 and STAT4, and epigenetic factors including histone post-translational modifications, DNA hypomethylation, and microRNAs or long- non coding RNAs system were reported to participate in immune activation and fibrosis processes in patients with SSc. A number of animal models of SSc have been set up over the years, including genetic and induced SSc models. ⋯ Alongside the pathophysiological process of SSc, several cellular and molecular actors are involved, such as dysregulations in the innate and adaptive immune cells, of the fibroblast, the implication of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrosing signaling pathways such as the Wnt, TGF-β pathways or other cytokines, with a strong imprint of oxidative stress. The whole lead to the overactivity of the fibroblast with genetic dysregulation, apoptosis defect, hyperproduction of elements of extracellular matrix, and finally the phenomena of vasculopathy and fibrosis. These advances contribute to open new therapeutic areas through the design of biologics and small molecules.