Identifying Cladribine prescription pattern in MS: an Italian multicentre study.

Background: Characterizing Cladribine tablets prescription pattern in daily clinical practice is crucial for optimizing multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment.

Objectives: To describe efficacy, safety profile and new disease-modifying therapy (DMT) prescriptions following Cladribine treatment.

Design: Independent retrospective cohort study in patients followed at six Italian MS centres.

Rigidity in Parkinson's Disease: The Objective Effect of Levodopa.

Background: Quantitative evidence of levodopa-induced beneficial effects on parkinsonian rigidity in Parkinson's disease (PD) is lacking. Recent research has demonstrated the velocity-dependent nature of objective rigidity in PD and revealed its neural underpinning.

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the effect of levodopa on objective rigidity in PD.

Dysphagia in multiple sclerosis: pathophysiology, assessment, and management-an overview.

Dysphagia is a frequent and life-threatening complication of multiple sclerosis (MS). Swallowing disturbances may be present at all stages of MS, although their prevalence increases with age, with disease duration, and in progressive phenotypes. The pathophysiology of dysphagia in MS is likely due to a combination of factors, including the involvement of corticobulbar tracts, the cerebellum, and the brainstem.

Recognizing Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy to avoid delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis.

Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) is a maternally inherited optic nerve disease primarily caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The peak of onset is typically between 15 and 30 years, but variability exists. Misdiagnosis, often as inflammatory optic neuritis, delays treatment, compounded by challenges in timely genetic diagnosis.

Disease-Modifying Symptomatic Treatment (DMST) Potential of Cannabinoids in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

With the recent introduction of a number of highly effective disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) and the resulting almost complete prevention of acute relapses in many patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the interest of MS clinicians has gradually shifted from relapse prevention to counteraction of disease progression and the treatment of residual symptoms. Targeting the cannabinoid system with nabiximols is an approved and effective strategy for the treatment of spasticity secondary to MS. Recently, the concept of spasticity plus syndrome (SPS) was introduced to account for the evidence that spasticity often appears in MS patients in clusters with other symptoms (such as pain, bladder dysfunction, sleep, and mood disorders), where cannabinoids can also be effective due to their broader action on many immune and neuronal functions.

An IL-5 Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Influences Neuroinflammation and Prospective Disease Activity in Multiple Sclerosis.

(1) Multiple sclerosis (MS) is identified by a complex interaction between central inflammation and neurodegeneration. Genetic individual variability could play a significative role in clinical presentation. The interleukin-5 (IL-5) rs2069812 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) seems to define the clinical course of Th2 autoimmune diseases, while its role in MS has never been investigated.

Inflammatory signature in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis predicting disease progression.

Experimental studies identified a role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the role of inflammatory molecules as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in patients with ALS is unclear. In this cross-sectional study, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of a set of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were analyzed in 56 newly diagnosed ALS patients and in 47 age- and sex-matched control patients without inflammatory or degenerative neurological disorders.

Cortical plasticity in AQP4-positive NMOSD: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study.

Aquaporin-4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4-NMOSD) is an autoimmune disease characterized by suboptimal recovery from attacks and long-term disability. Experimental data suggest that AQP4 antibodies can disrupt neuroplasticity, a fundamental driver of brain recovery. A well-established method to assess brain LTP is through intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS).

Interleukin-10 contrasts inflammatory synaptopathy and central neurodegenerative damage in multiple sclerosis.

Proinflammatory cytokines are implicated in promoting neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) by affecting excitatory and inhibitory transmission at central synapses. Conversely, the synaptic effects of anti-inflammatory molecules remain underexplored, despite their potential neuroprotective properties and their presence in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients. In a study involving 184 newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting (RR)-MS patients, we investigated whether CSF levels of the anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 were linked to disease severity and neurodegeneration measures.

Comprehensive Observational and Longitudinal study on the Outbreak of Stroke-related Spasticity focusing on the Early Onset management with Botulinum NeuroToxin (COLOSSEO-BoNT): protocol for a real-world prospective observational study on upper limb spasticity.

Introduction: Poststroke spasticity (PSS) affects up to 40% of patients who had a stroke. Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) has been shown to improve spasticity, but the optimal timing of its application remains unclear. While several predictors of upper limb PSS are known, their utility in clinical practice in relation to BoNT-A treatment has yet to be fully elucidated.

Interaction between miR-142-3p and Val/Met Polymorphism Regulates Multiple Sclerosis Severity.

MiR-142-3p has recently emerged as key factor in tailoring personalized treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with heterogeneous pathophysiology and an unpredictable course. With its involvement in a detrimental regulatory axis with interleukin-1beta (IL1β), miR-142-3p orchestrates excitotoxic synaptic alterations that significantly impact both MS progression and therapeutic outcomes. In this study, we investigated for the first time the influence of individual genetic variability on the miR-142-3p excitotoxic effect in MS.

Interleukin-9 protects from microglia- and TNF-mediated synaptotoxicity in experimental multiple sclerosis.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by inflammation-driven synaptic abnormalities. Interleukin-9 (IL-9) is emerging as a pleiotropic cytokine involved in MS pathophysiology.

Methods: Through biochemical, immunohistochemical, and electrophysiological experiments, we investigated the effects of both peripheral and central administration of IL-9 on C57/BL6 female mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of MS.

Network Meta-analysis of Ravulizumab and Alternative Interventions for the Treatment of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder.

Introduction: Anti-aquaporin-4 antibody-positive (AQP4-Ab+) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a complement-mediated autoimmune disease in which unpredictable and relapsing attacks on the central nervous system cause irreversible and accumulating damage. Comparative efficacy of new NMOSD therapies, such as ravulizumab, with established therapies is critical in making informed treatment decisions.

Methods: Efficacy of ravulizumab relative to established AQP4-Ab+ NMOSD treatments, such as eculizumab, inebilizumab, and satralizumab, was evaluated in a Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA).

NEDA-3 achievement in early highly active relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients treated with Ocrelizumab or Natalizumab.

Background: in the early stages of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), initiating high-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (HE DMTs) may represent an optimal strategy for delaying neurological damage and long-term disease progression, especially in highly active MS patients (HAMS). Natalizumab (NAT) and Ocrelizumab (OCR) are recognized as HE DMTs with significant anti-inflammatory effects. This study investigates NEDA-3 achievement in treatment-naïve HAMS patients receiving NAT or OCR over three years.

Ocrelizumab and ofatumumab comparison: an Italian real-world propensity score matched study.

Background: The management of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has undergone transformative evolution with the introduction of high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), specifically anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, such as ocrelizumab (OCR) and ofatumumab (OFA).

Materials And Methods: This is an independent retrospective cohort study in Relapsing MS (RMS) patients followed at eight Italian MS centers who initiated treatment with OCR or OFA in the participating centers and with at least 12 months on therapy. A generalized linear regression model inverse probability of treatment weight (IPTW) PS-adjusted was performed to evaluate the relationship between annualized relapse rate (ARR) and treatment groups.

Prognostic value of scalp EEG ictal patterns in epilepsy surgery of hippocampal sclerosis.

Background: Temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) is a surgically treatable epileptic syndrome. While the core of pre-surgical evaluations rely on video-EEG, recent studies question the necessity of recorded seizures denying a possible role of ictal EEG in surgical decision. This study aims to retrospectively assess the prognostic value of EEG ictal patterns in TLE-HS, in order to identify which patients need further investigations before offering surgery.

Low-contrast visual acuity test is associated with central inflammation and predicts disability development in newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients.

Introduction: The visual system is a prominent site of damage in MS since the earliest phases of the disease. Altered low-contrast visual acuity (LCVA) test has been associated with visual impairment and retinal degeneration, predicting medium- and long-term disability. However, it is unclear whether LCVA may also represent a reliable measure of neuroinflammation and a predictor of disease evolution in the very early stages of MS.

Pharmacological blockade of 2-AG degradation ameliorates clinical, neuroinflammatory and synaptic alterations in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is critically involved in the pathophysiology of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Over the past decade, researchers have extensively studied the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of the ECS. Inhibiting the degradation of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) has emerged as a promising strategy to mitigate brain damage in MS.