Multiple sclerosis and related disorders
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Mult Scler Relat Disord · Oct 2017
Multicenter StudyAnti-aquaporin-4 titer is not predictive of disease course in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: A multicenter cohort study.
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare autoimmune disease associated with a serological antibody to aquaporin-4 (AQP4) detectable in up to 80% of patients. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is one of the most popular methods of testing for anti-AQP4 antibodies that results with a titer in which < 3 Units/ml is negative, 3-5 is borderline and 5+ is positive. The value of the positive titer in predicting long term disease course is currently unknown. ⋯ Beyond a positive/borderline/negative result, the titer of the anti-AQP4 antibody ELISA assay is not predictive in the disease course for patients with NMOSD. Low titer patients experience the same disease course as medium-titer and high-titer anti-AQP4 antibody patients with NMOSD.
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Mult Scler Relat Disord · Oct 2017
Review Meta AnalysisVitamin B12, folate, and homocysteine levels and multiple sclerosis: A meta-analysis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating and disabling inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Several factors contribute to MS pathogenesis including genetic-environmental interactions. Case-control studies suggest that there might be associations between MS and homocysteine (Hcy), vitamin B12, and folate blood levels. ⋯ MS patients tend to have elevated Hcy blood levels compared to healthy controls. Hcy may contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease.