Effects of a Short Physical Exercise Intervention on Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Background: The aim of this prospective randomized controlled trial was to investigate if a short-term endurance or combined endurance/resistance exercise program was sufficient to improve aerobic capacity and maximum force in adult patients (18-65 years) with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: All patients performed a three-month exercise program consisting of two training sessions per week, lasting 40 min each, with moderate intensity. All patients had a maximum value of 6 (low to moderate disability) on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

Effects of pedunculopontine area and pallidal DBS on gait ignition in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Freezing of gait is a disabling feature of Parkinson's disease, and so far no established treatment exists. Deep brain stimulation of the pedunculopontine area has been proposed to treat refractory gait disorders, yet data on measurable effects, especially in combination with stimulation of other targets, are scarce.

Methods: Acute effects of either low frequency pedunculopontine stimulation or high frequency stimulation of the posteroventral lateral globus pallidus internus and a combination of both in a 66-year-old man with advanced Parkinson's disease were assessed.

Early identification of interferon-beta responders by ex vivo testing in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Interferon-beta (IFN-beta) is an effective treatment for a subgroup of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The mechanism of action as well as the pathophysiological basis of responsiveness to IFN-beta is not well understood. To improve treatment considerations in MS patients predictive markers for response to IFN-beta therapy at early timepoints are needed.

Effects of interferon-beta on co-signaling molecules: upregulation of CD40, CD86 and PD-L2 on monocytes in relation to clinical response to interferon-beta treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Interferon-beta (IFN-beta) reduces disease activity in a subgroup of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The mechanism of action as well as the pathophysiological basis of responsiveness to IFN-beta is not well understood. Since T-cell activation plays an important part in the pathophysiology of MS, we here investigated the effect of IFN-beta on the expression of co-signaling pathways (CD28-CD80/CD86, CD154-CD40, ICOS-ICOSL, PD-1-PD-L1/2) in MS patients and correlated the results with the clinical response to IFN-beta in individual patients.

Treatment of hepatitis C virus-associated inflammatory polyneuropathy with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin.

Peripheral neuropathy is common in patients with hepatitis C virus infection and cryoglobulinemia. Here, we report a patient with axonal polyneuropathy associated with type III mixed cryoglobulinemia and hepatitis C virus infection without significant liver disease, who was successfully treated with pegylated interferon-alpha-2a and ribavirin. This case illustrated that clinical improvement was paralleled by a decrease of cryocrit but not necessarily by a decrease of viral replication rate.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension: correlation of imaging findings with clinical features.

Background: Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is increasingly recognized as a clinically variable and likely underdiagnosed syndrome caused by non-traumatic CSF leaks. The aim of this study was to correlate the findings of imaging studies - magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radionuclide cisternography - with clinical features and CSF pressure in SIH in order to improve the diagnostic yield and management in patients with SIH.

Methods: Clinical case study of 10 consecutive cases of SIH, MRI, radio-isotope cisternography.

The 77C->G mutation in the human CD45 (PTPRC) gene leads to increased intensity of TCR signaling in T cell lines from healthy individuals and patients with multiple sclerosis.

The 77C-->G mutation in exon A of the human CD45 gene occurs with low frequency in healthy individuals. An enhanced frequency of 77C-->G individuals has been reported in cohorts of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, autoimmune hepatitis, and HIV-1. To investigate the mechanisms by which the variant allele may contribute to disease susceptibility, we compared T cell reactivity in heterozygous carriers of the mutation (healthy individuals and multiple sclerosis patients) and wild-type controls.

Interferon-beta increases the stimulatory capacity of monocyte-derived dendritic cells to induce IL-13, IL-5 and IL-10 in autologous T-cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key regulators of immune responses and have been associated with autoimmunity in animal models and human disease. The effects of interferon beta (IFN-beta), an immunomodulatory cytokine used in multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy, on DCs are not well understood. Monocyte-derived DCs at different stages of maturation were stimulated with IFN-beta and DC-phenotype and stimulatory function were measured.