[Paroxysmal dysarthria and ataxia - unusual MS manifestation].

Multiple sclerosis is a common inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Although many patients present permanent symptoms, a number of them suffer of deficits of paroxysmal character. One unusual manifestation of paroxysmal nature is episodes of dysarthria and ataxia known as PDA (paroxysmal dysarthria and ataxia).

Reinventing machines: the transmission history of the Leibniz calculator.

This paper argues that we should take into account the process of historical transmission to enrich our understanding of material culture. More specifically, I want to show how the rewriting of history and the invention of tradition impact material objects and our beliefs about them. I focus here on the transmission history of the mechanical calculator invented by the German savant Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

Ankylosing spondylitis functional and activity indices in clinical practice.

Background: Clinicians have at hand several indices to evaluate disease activity and functionality in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), in order to evaluate the prognostic and the treatment of AS patients.

Objectives: to examine the relationship between functional and activity scores in AS; to note whether disease activity is associated with any clinical or laboratory variables.

Methods: the study included AS patients, classified according to the revised New York criteria; data recorded: demographics, disease duration, type of articular involvement, HLA B27 presence, history of uveitis, calculation of BASFI, BASDAI and ASDASCRP, quantification of inflammation markers.