Journal of neurology
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Journal of neurology · Dec 2009
HLA class II alleles in patients with multiple sclerosis in the Biscay province (Basque Country, Spain).
Genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with genes of the major histocompatibility complex, particularly with the HLA DRB1*1501-DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602 haplotype in Caucasians. To investigate the association of DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 alleles and haplotypes with MS in Biscay, Basque Country, northern Spain, we examined 197 patients and 200 regionally matched controls. High resolution HLA class II typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction followed by sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization. ⋯ On the other hand, several alleles showed lower frequencies in the MS group: DRB1*0101, DQA1*0101, DQB1*0303, and DQB1*0501, but only DRB1*0101 and DQB1*0303 maintained a negative association with the disease in the regression analysis. Three haplotypes were identified as potentially predisposing for MS in our population: DRB1*1501-DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602, DRB1*0402-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302, and HLA-DRB1*013-DQA1*05-DQB1*0301. Additionally, three haplotypes associated with a lower risk for MS were identified, exhibiting DRB1*0101-DQA1*0101-DQB1*0501 the strongest negative association with MS [12% in controls vs. 3.8% in MS, Pc = 0.00047, OR = 0.290 (95% CI = 0.160–0.528)], and suggesting, therefore, a putative protective role for this haplotype in the population under study.
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Choreathetosis due to thyrotoxicosis is a rare movement disorder of acute onset. Here we present the first report of choreathetosis secondary to abuse of levothyroxine. A 35-year-old woman with autoimmune thyroiditis tripled her daily levothyroxine intake and lost 20 kg of weight during the following 6 months. ⋯ When levothyroxine was reduced to her usual dosage, all symptoms vanished in 7 days. The prompt effect of dose correction points towards a direct influence of levothyroxine on the basal ganglia; alternatively, the effects of levothyroxine might have been indirect and, possibly, autoimmune-mediated. Abuse of levothyroxine and related thyroid-tropic substances should be included into the differential diagnosis of acute choreathetosis.