Sars-CoV2 infection in pregnant women with multiple sclerosis.

Background: In the general population, maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is associated with worse maternal outcomes; however, only one study so far has evaluated COVID-19 clinical outcomes in pregnant and postpartum women with multiple sclerosis, showing no higher risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes in these patients.

Objective: In this multicenter study, we aimed to evaluate COVID-19 clinical outcomes in pregnant patients with multiple sclerosis.

Methods: We recruited 85 pregnant patients with multiple sclerosis who contracted COVID-19 after conception and were prospectively followed-up in Italian and Turkish Centers, in the period 2020-2022.

Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Clinical outcomes of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been thoroughly investigated, but a further analysis on main signs and symptoms and their risk factors still needs attention. The objective of this study was to group together and describe based on similarity the most common signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in MS patients and identify all factors associated with their manifestation.

Method: Logistic and linear regression models were run to recognize factors associated with each pooled group of symptoms and their total number.

A multiparametric score for assessing the individual risk of severe Covid-19 among patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Background: Many risk factors for the development of severe forms of Covid-19 have been identified, some applying to the general population and others specific to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. However, a score for quantifying the individual risk of severe Covid-19 in patients with MS is not available. The aim of this study was to construct such score and to evaluate its performance.

Cannabis-Based Products in a Neurological Setting: A Clinical and Pharmacokinetic Survey.

Background And Aim: Limited data are available in clinical settings on the pharmacokinetics of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). We investigated the use of cannabis-based products in neurological practice, monitoring patients' steady-state cannabinoids (CBs) plasma concentrations matched with different preparations.

Methods: This was a prospective, single-center, observational study.

COVID-19 Severity in Multiple Sclerosis: Putting Data Into Context.

Background And Objectives: It is unclear how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the severity of COVID-19. The aim of this study is to compare COVID-19-related outcomes collected in an Italian cohort of patients with MS with the outcomes expected in the age- and sex-matched Italian population.

Methods: Hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death after COVID-19 diagnosis of 1,362 patients with MS were compared with the age- and sex-matched Italian population in a retrospective observational case-cohort study with population-based control.

The effect of air pollution on COVID-19 severity in a sample of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Some studies have shown that air pollution, often assessed by thin particulate matter with diameter below 2.5 µg/m (PM2.5), may contribute to severe COVID-19 courses, as well as play a role in the onset and evolution of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Natalizumab is associated with early improvement of working ability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients: WANT observational study results.

Background: The Work Ability in Natalizumab-Treated MS Patients (WANT) study assessed work ability, quality of life, and cognitive processing speed during natalizumab treatment.

Methods: WANT was a 1-year, prospective, multicenter observational study conducted in Italy. Inclusion criteria included relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), natalizumab treatment, full-time worker status, and loss of working hours due to MS as measured by the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire for MS (WPAI:MS).

Health-related quality of life in clinically isolated syndrome and risk of conversion to multiple sclerosis.

Background And Objectives: A few studies have found that low scores on self-rated health and quality of life measures are associated with following worsening disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). We wanted to estimate the association between self-rated quality of life scores among patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and the risk of subsequent conversion to definite MS.

Methods: One hundred sixty-two patients from the GERONIMUS cohort with a symptom or sign suggestive of MS and without a definite diagnosis of MS at the time of inclusion were asked to evaluate their health-related quality of life according to MSQoL-54 scale.

Tetrahydrocannabinol/Cannabidiol Oromucosal Spray in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study on the Plasma Concentration-Effect Relationship.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the potential relationship between intrasubject 9-tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol (THC/CBD) oromucosal spray plasma profiles and clinical effects elicited by subacute dosing in chronically treated patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: The study design was pilot, single center, open, and prospective. The patients were challenged with a morning test dose of 2 THC/CBD sprays at a 15-minute interval.

Teeth loss after teriflunomide treatment: Casual or causal? A short case series.

Background: Teriflunomide is a once-daily oral immunomodulator approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with a consistent safety profile in clinical trials. We report three cases of multiple teeth loss during teriflunomide treatment.

Case Reports: Case 1: a 39 year-old woman started teriflunomide for RRMS, switching from interferon beta.

Long-term follow-up of pediatric MS patients starting treatment with injectable first-line agents: A multicentre, Italian, retrospective, observational study.

Background: Few data are available on very long-term follow-up of pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with disease modifying treatments (DMTs).

Objectives: To present a long-term follow-up of a cohort of Pediatric-MS patients starting injectable first-line agents.

Methods: Data regarding treatments, annualized relapse rate (ARR), Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, and serious adverse event were collected.

Risk of multiple sclerosis following clinically isolated syndrome: a 4-year prospective study.

The aim of the study was to estimate the rate of conversion from clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to multiple sclerosis (MS) and to investigate variables predicting conversion in a cohort of patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of MS. Patients with a first symptom suggestive of MS in the preceding 6 months and exclusion of other diseases were enrolled in an observational prospective study from December 2004 through June 2007. Conversion from CIS to MS according to both McDonald and Clinically Defined Multiple Sclerosis (CDMS) criteria was prospectively recorded until March 2010.

Refining an automatic EDSS scoring expert system for routine clinical use in multiple sclerosis.

The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) has been the most widely used measure of disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials. Although EDSS has the advantage of familiarity with respect to recent proposals, and remains the de facto standard, it is difficult to use consistently between evaluators. Automatic EDSS (AEDSS) is an expert system designed to overcome this problem.

An expert system for the evaluation of EDSS in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of unknown aetiology. Despite several advances in therapy in recent years, some problems such as the prognostic criteria are imperfectly understood. Several experimental trials of therapy in multiple sclerosis are in course in order to discover a successful treatment.