Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D, but not the bioavailable fraction of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, is a risk factor for multiple sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels correlate with higher disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, it is not clear whether low 25(OH)D levels directly contribute to increased disease activity or merely represent a consequence of reduced endogenous vitamin D synthesis in more disabled MS patients. Furthermore, recent data suggest that bioavailable vitamin D, which also integrates the levels of vitamin D binding proteins and albumin, could be a biologically more relevant parameter than 25(OH)D.

Severe cognitive impairment associated with intrathecal antibodies to the NR1 subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor in a patient with multiple sclerosis.

Importance: Some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) can either present with or develop severe cognitive impairment during the course of their disease. However, the mechanisms underlying severe cognitive dysfunction in MS are not well understood.

Observations: We report on a woman who was diagnosed as having MS at age 33 years and who after giving birth at age 37 years developed cognitive impairment with severe memory dysfunction as the leading symptom.

Multiple sclerosis: modulation of toll-like receptor (TLR) expression by interferon-β includes upregulation of TLR7 in plasmacytoid dendritic cells.

Interferon-β is an established treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) but its mechanisms of action are not well understood. Viral infections are a known trigger of MS relapses. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are key components of the innate immune system, which sense conserved structures of viruses and other pathogens.

Retinal ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer thinning in clinically isolated syndrome.

Background: Axonal and neuronal damage are widely accepted as key events in the disease course of multiple sclerosis. However, it has been unclear to date at which stage in disease evolution neurodegeneration begins and whether neuronal damage can occur even in the absence of acute inflammatory attacks.

Objective: To characterize inner retinal layer changes in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Systemic sclerosis without antinuclear antibodies or Raynaud's phenomenon: a multicentre study in the prospective EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database.

Objective: To assess patients with SSc who present without circulating ANAs or RP.

Methods: Five thousand three hundred and ninety patients who fulfilled the ACR criteria for SSc and were enrolled in the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database were screened for the absence of both RP and circulating ANA. To differentiate SSc from its mimics, additional information was gathered using a standardized questionnaire.

Six-minute walk distance as a marker for disability and complaints in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: The role of the six-minute walk distance (6MWD), measured by a six-minute walk test (6MWT), in the assessment of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients remains to be evaluated. Here, we have analysed whether 6MWD is associated with clinical parameters obtained by an extended standardised assessment of SSc patients.

Methods: In 101 consecutive SSc patients, 6MWD was correlated with disease activity, Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire (SHAQ) score, nutrition status, age, ESR, haemoglobin values, and several lung function parameters.

Neuroimaging by 320-row CT: is there a diagnostic benefit or is it just another scanner? A retrospective evaluation of 60 consecutive acute neurological patients.

320-row CT enables dynamic CT angiography (4D CTA) of the entire intracranial circulation and whole-brain perfusion imaging (CTP). Sixty acute patients with neurological symptoms underwent various 320-row CT-specific protocols, including combined 4D CTA and CTP. Clinical and neuroradiological records were assessed for presumptive diagnoses, final diagnoses, supplementary and follow-up imaging studies.