Second-line therapy with fingolimod for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in clinical practice: the effect of previous exposure to natalizumab.

Background: To evaluate efficacy and safety of fingolimod for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, particularly in patients previously exposed to natalizumab.

Method: Prospective observational single-centre second-line cohort study.

Results: Among 71 patients treated with fingolimod 0.

The detection of neural autoantibodies in patients with antiepileptic-drug-resistant epilepsy predicts response to immunotherapy.

Background And Purpose: The detection of antibodies binding neural antigens in patients with epilepsy has led to the definition of 'autoimmune epilepsy'. Patients with neural antibodies not responding to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may benefit from immunotherapy. Aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of autoantibodies specific to neural antigens in patients with epilepsy and their response to immunotherapy.

Growth hormone and disease severity in early stage of multiple sclerosis.

Evidence suggests that neurohormones such as GH and IGF-I are involved in the neuroreparative processes in multiple sclerosis (MS). GH and IGF-I blood levels in naïve MS patients with different disease courses were investigated in this study. Serum GH and IGF-I in untreated MS patients (n = 64), healthy controls (HC, n = 62), and patients affected by other neurological diseases (OND, n = 46) were evaluated with a solid-phase-enzyme-labeled-chemiluminescent-immunometric assay.

Circulating CD56dim NK cells expressing perforin are increased in progressive multiple sclerosis.

In this study we evaluated the percentages of CD3(-)CD56(bright), CD3(-)CD56(dim), CD3(-)CD56(bright)perforin(+) and CD3(-)CD56(dim)perforin(+) Natural Killer (NK) cells in peripheral blood from untreated secondary progressive (SP) and primary progressive (PP) multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and age and sex matched healthy subjects. Both PPMS patients and SPMS patients showed increased percentages of circulating CD3(-)CD56(dim)perforin(+) NK cells than healthy subjects. The increased percentage of CD3(-)CD56(dim) NK cells expressing perforin in patients affected by the progressive forms of MS suggests a possible role of this NK cell subpopulation in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Severe disability in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis is associated with profound changes in the regulation of leptin secretion.

Objectives: Experimental evidences indicate that leptin is involved in the neuroinflammatory process sustaining multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the relationship between leptin and body fat, as assessed by body mass index (BMI), in MS was not previously evaluated. It was the aim of this study to compare serum leptin levels between patients with MS and healthy controls and to evaluate the possible relationship between circulating leptin levels and disease severity.