Immunomodulatory effects of IFN-beta1a treatment alone or associated with pentoxifylline in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Interferon-beta1a (IFN-beta1a) and pentoxifylline (PTX) are reported to be active in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but the mechanisms are not completely understood. In two groups of RRMS patients, we studied the phenotype of peripheral lymphocytes and the level of several cytokines both in sera and in supernatants of activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) before and after 8 months of therapy with IFN-beta1a alone or associated with PTX. Our data indicate that patients with RRMS, treated with IFN-beta1a, exhibited a significant increase in CD4(+)CD25(++) T suppressor cells, accompanied by a significant decrease in cytotoxic lymphocytes (CD8(+)CD28(-) and natural killer [NK] cells) and IFN-gamma production, which could both contribute to an explanation of the previously described beneficial effects of IFN-beta treatment in MS.

Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis: a single case report.

A case of the association of multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease in a 47 year old patient is reported. A possible relationship between these two diseases has been widely documented, both sporadically and at a familial level. Albeit in the absence of precise experimental data, it is legitimate to presume that the two diseases share common pathogenetic traits.

Palatal "myoclonus" and inferior olive hypertrophy with one-sided cerebellar lesion. Clinico-pathological report of one patient.

A case of palatal myoclonus and inferior olive hypertrophy is reported. Lesions located other than in the medulla were cerebellar infarction, lymphomatous infiltrates and, supratentorially, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. It is suggested that double innervation of the olives from either side dentate nucleus may be why in the case reported here and in several cases in the literature, one-sided supra-olivary lesions can produce bilateral hypertrophy.

Hemispheric prevalence changes in partial epileptic patients on perceptual and attentional tasks.

In relation to the general issue of the long-term effects of epileptic activity on the higher nervous functions, monohemispheric epileptic patients--divided into "lesional" [i.e., with computed tomography (CT) scan-visible lesions] and "nonlesional" (i.