Asthma control conundrum in clinical practice - Data from a two-stage Delphi survey and literature review.

Definitions and measures of asthma control used in clinical trials and practice often vary, as highlighted in the manuscript, "Is asthma control more than just an absence of symptoms? An expert consensus statement". Furthermore, the authors discussed differences between patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in terms of understanding and managing asthma. Given these disparities, there is a need for consensus regarding what constitutes well-controlled asthma and, especially, how best it can be measured and recorded.

Is asthma control more than just an absence of symptoms? An expert consensus statement.

Purpose: Definitions and measures of asthma control used in clinical trials and in clinical practice vary considerably. There is also misalignment between patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in terms of understanding and managing asthma control. This study aimed to progress towards a consensus definition of asthma control, and evaluate disparities between HCP and patient perspectives.

Clinical features and disease course of neurological involvement in Behcet's disease: HUVAC experience.

Background/aim: Neurological involvement (Neuro-Behcet's Disease: NBD) is a rare manifestation of Behcet's Disease (BD) and it is related with significant mortality and morbidity. We aimed to evaluate disease course and outcome of NBD patients registered in Hacettepe University Vasculitis Center (HUVAC) prospective database starting from October 2014.

Methods: Totally, 419 patients (329 of the patients had fulfilled the International Study Group (ISG) criteria and 90 patients were considered as incomplete BD) were recorded as BD to March 2018.

Comparative analysis of fingolimod versus teriflunomide in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Background: Fingolimod and teriflunomide are commonly used in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). These have not been compared in controlled trials, but only in observational studies, with inconclusive results. Comparison of their effect on relapse and disability in a real-world setting is therefore needed.

The Glycosylation Site of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Affects Autoantibody Recognition in a Large Proportion of Patients.

Autoantibodies to myelin oligodendrocytes glycoprotein (MOG) are found in a fraction of patients with inflammatory demyelination and are detected with MOG-transfected cells. While the prototype anti-MOG mAb 8-18C5 and polyclonal anti-MOG responses from different mouse strains largely recognize the FG loop of MOG, the human anti-MOG response is more heterogeneous and human MOG-Abs recognizing different epitopes were found to be pathogenic. The aim of this study was to get further insight into details of antigen-recognition by human MOG-Abs focusing on the impact of glycosylation.

Susac Syndrome: Clinical characteristics, diagnostic findings and treatment in 19 cases.

Susac's Syndrome (SS), which was first described in 1979, is a rare and presumably autoimmune disorder characterized by encephalopathy, hearing loss, and visual disturbance resulting from branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO). This study reports 19 SS patients' clinical characteristics, MRI features, CSF analysis, treatment strategies and outcomes. At initial presentation, only three of 19 patients demonstrated the complete clinical triad.

Progressive Onset Multiple Sclerosis: Demographic, Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics of Patients With and Without Relapses in the Course.

AmaÇ: Primer progresif multipl skleroz (PPMS) ve progresif relapsing multipl skleroz (PRMS) başlangıçtan beri olan progresyon ile karakterize MS tipleridir. Nadir görülmelerinden dolayı, literatürde diğer MS formlarına göre daha az bilgi bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı progresif başlangıçlı MS (PBMS) hastalarında klinik ve laboratuvar özelliklerini ortaya koymaktır.

Retinal degeneration is associated with brain volume reduction and prognosis in radiologically isolated syndrome.

Background: The extent of neurodegeneration in the earliest stages of central nervous system (CNS) demyelination is not known. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful tool to study neurodegeneration in demyelinating disorders.

Objectives: To study neuroaxonal loss in the retina of individuals with radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) and investigate whether OCT measurements are associated with brain volumetrics and clinical conversion to multiple sclerosis (MS).

Neuroinvasive Listeriosis: Could Petechial Hemorrhages be a Diagnostic Clue?

Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes-related central nervous system infections may involve the cerebral parenchyma. Meningitis and meningoencephalitis are the most commonly seen forms and mainly affect immunocompromised patients; however, a less frequent form, rhombencephalitis, can occur in otherwise healthy people. Early treatment with appropriate antibiotic therapy is crucial for this otherwise fatal disorder.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in a patient with lymphoma and presumptive hyper IgE syndrome.

We, herein, report a 23-year-old male with a rare inherited immunodeficiency disease, hyperimmunoglobulin IgE syndrome (HIES), who developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and lymphoma simultaneously. Primary immunodeficiency of the patient has remained undiagnosed until adulthood. PML is a severe demyelinating disease of the central nervous system caused by John Cunningham virus.

Effects of different exercise modalities on ataxia in multiple sclerosis patients: a randomized controlled study.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of different exercise protocols on ataxia in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Method: A total of 42 MS patients, 17 male and 25 female (Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS): 3-5), were enrolled in this randomized controlled study. The patients were divided into three groups: a balance training (BT) group, a lumbar stabilization (LS) group and a task-oriented training (TT) group.

Unfavorable outcome of pediatric onset multiple sclerosis: Follow-up in the pediatric and adult neurology departments of one referral center, in Turkey.

Background: The prevalence of MS starting under 18 years of age ranges between 2-10% of the total MS population.

Objective: We aimed to examine the clinical and long term follow-up data of pediatric-onset cases in our institutional MS database.

Method: We evaluated the clinical data from the MS database of the Departments of Neurology and Pediatric Neurology of Hacettepe University Hospital.

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis after Oral Therapy with Herbal Extracts: A Case Report.

Background: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a rare demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, commonly attributed to infections or vaccinations. Toxic or allergenic compounds can also trigger a response in the immune system and may cause demyelination. We present a case with ADEM after using oral herbal medications.

Urinary detection of toscana virus nucleic acids in neuroinvasive infections.

Background: Toscana virus (TOSV) is a sandfly-borne pathogen causing febrile diseases and neuroinvasive infections in humans. Definitive diagnosis of TOSV infections frequently requires the detection of viral RNA in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or in circulation, which can be achieved prior to seroconversion.

Objectives: To evaluate TOSV excretion in urine and impact of urine as a diagnostic specimen.

Fulminant Central Plus Peripheral Nervous System Demyelination without Antibodies to Neurofascin.

Background: Combined central and peripheral nervous system demyelination is a rare and poorly described phenomenon. Recently, anti-neurofascin antibodies were reported to be positive in 86% of these patients in a Japanese cohort. Yet, there seems to be a clinical, radiological, and serological heterogeneity among these patients.

Assessment of the effect of cigarette smoking on regional brain volumes and lesion load in patients with clinically isolated syndrome.

Purpose: Smoking has been associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis, disease progression and clinical disability. We detected the effects of smoking on regional brain volumes and lesion load in patients with clinically isolated syndrome using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.

Materials And Methods: Smoker patients (n = 16), smoker healthy controls (n = 13), non-smoker patients (n = 17) and non-smoker healthy controls (n = 14) underwent magnetic resonance imaging and neocortical volumes were measured.

Promotion of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis upon neutrophil granulocytes' stimulation with formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) peptide.

It has been acknowledged that neutrophil granulocytes, the common mediators of immune responses against extracellular bacteria, can also intercede autoimmune reactions such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) is a microbial peptide that can be well-tolerated when intravenously administered and can directly lead to activation and accumulation of neutrophils into the blood circulation. Here, this antigenic peptide was injected to the mice at the induction of EAE, and the immunological and pathological outcomes were assessed.

Voltage gated calcium channel antibody-related neurological diseases.

Voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) antibodies are generally associated with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. However the presence of this antibody has been associated with paraneoplastic as well as non-paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration. Most patients with VGCC-antibody-positivity have small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

A rare cause of radiculomyelitis: dural arteriovenous fistula.

Importance: Dural arteriovenous fistula is a very rare cause of myelitis that can only be treated interventionally or surgically.

Observations: A man in his 30s with paraparesis and urinary incontinence had a long-segment thoracic lesion on spinal magnetic resonance imaging. Transverse myelitis was the initial diagnosis.

Progressive neurodegenerative syndrome in a patient with X-linked agammaglobulinemia receiving intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

A progressive encephalopathy of unknown etiology has been described in patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders. In this report, we characterize the clinical features of this progressive neurodegenerative dementing disorder in a young man with Bruton agammaglobulinemia, through neuropsychological tests and a video sequence. The clinical course of the encephalopathy seems rather uniform: Cognition, especially frontal lobe function, is affected in the early stages, and some patients develop movement disorders.