The intersection of race and sex on the clinical and cognitive progression of multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Black populations show increased incidences of diagnosis, worse disease severity, and earlier likelihood of mortality due to MS. Clinical outcomes are also linked to biological sex and as with Black individuals, MS characteristics between sexes have also shifted overtime. This study examined whether clinical disease progression differed by race and sex for patients with MS.

Cytomegalovirus and varicella zoster virus coinfection-associated central hypoventilation syndrome (Ondine's Curse).

Central hypoventilation syndrome (CHS) is a rare condition resulting from damage to the respiratory centers in the central nervous system (CNS). It can be congenital or acquired and can cause hypoventilation, inadequate gas exchange, and respiratory failure, often during sleep but sometimes even while awake. CHS can lead to respiratory failure and life-threatening complications if not identified promptly.

Autoimmune Myelitis and Myocarditis in a Patient With Anti-Aquaporin-4, Antinuclear, and Antiphospholipid Autoantibodies: The Neuromyelitis Optica-Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (NMO-SLE) Overlap Syndrome.

The coexistence of two or more autoimmune diseases is well-known, e.g., a person can have neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at the same time.

Altered mental status predicts length of stay but not death in a community-based cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: Altered Mental Status (AMS) is a common neurological complication in patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of COVID-19 (Umapathi et al., 2020; Liotta et al., 2020).

Neurological complications of COVID19 during March 2020 at LCMC health university medical center: Dataset.

Unlabelled: We reviewed the electronic medical records (EMR) of patients hospitalized during the peak of the pandemic, March 1st through March 31st, to document the type and frequency of neurological problems seen in patients with COVID-19 at presentation to the emergency room. Secondary aims were to determine: 1) the frequency of neurological complaints during the hospital stay; 2) whether the presence of any neurological complaint at presentation or any of the individual types of neurological complaints at admission predicted three separate outcomes: death, length of hospital stay, or the need for intubation; and 3) if the presence of any neurological complaint or any of the individual types of neurological complaints developed during hospital stay predicted the previous three outcomes.

Setting: The Louisiana Health Sciences Center - New Orleans Institutional Review Board and the University Medical Center Clinical Research Review Committee approved the study protocol.

Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease Presenting as Recurrent and Migrating Focal Cortical Encephalitis.

Although pediatric myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease is increasingly well-recognized, its full clinical spectrum is still being defined. Cortical encephalitis is emerging as a distinct clinico-radiologic syndrome of adult MOG antibody-associated disease. We describe a 12-year-old girl who presented with new onset seizures and left-sided hemiparesis.

A hypothesis-generating scoping review of miRs identified in both multiple sclerosis and dementia, their protein targets, and miR signaling pathways.

Cognitive impairment (CI) is a frequent complication affecting people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The causes of CI in MS are not fully understood. Besides MRI measures, few other biomarkers exist to help us predict the development of CI and understand its biology.

Neurological complications in a predominantly African American sample of COVID-19 predict worse outcomes during hospitalization.

People with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, COVID-19, can have neurological problems including headache, anosmia, dysgeusia, altered mental status (AMS), ischemic stroke with or without large vessel occlusion, and Guillen-Barre Syndrome. Louisiana was one of the states hit hardest by the pandemic with just over 57,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 by the end of June 2020. We reviewed the electronic medical records (EMR) of patients hospitalized during the peak of the pandemic, March 1st through March 31st, to document the type and frequency of neurological problems seen in patients with COVID-19 at presentation to the emergency room.

Cultural Adaptation, Validity, and Factor Structure of the Jalowiec Coping Scale in Iranian Women with Multiple Sclerosis: Which Coping Strategies Are Most Common and Effective?

Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS) psychometrically in Iranian women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and to identify the most frequent and efficacious coping strategies.

Methods: A total of 306 women with MS participated in a cross-sectional study. A demographics questionnaire, the JCS, and the Perceived Stress Scale were administered.

Sleep and its associations with perceived and objective cognitive impairment in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Problems with sleep and cognitive impairment are common among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study examined the relationship between self-reported sleep and both objective and perceived cognitive impairment in MS. Data were obtained from the baseline assessment of a multi-centre intervention trial (NCT00841321).

Low-fat, plant-based diet in multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The role that dietary interventions can play in multiple sclerosis (MS) management is of huge interest amongst patients and researchers but data evaluating this is limited. Possible effects of a very-low-fat, plant-based dietary intervention on MS related progression and disease activity as measured by brain imaging and MS related symptoms have not been evaluated in a randomized-controlled trial. Despite use of disease modifying therapies (DMT), poor quality of life (QOL) in MS patients can be a significant problem with fatigue being one of the common disabling symptoms.

Perioperative management of a morbidly obese pregnant patient undergoing cesarean section under general anesthesia - case report.

Background And Objectives: The increased prevalence of obesity in the general population extends to women of reproductive age. The aim of this study is to report the perioperative management of a morbidly obese pregnant woman, body mass index >50kg/m(2), who underwent cesarean section under general anesthesia.

Case Report: Pregnant woman in labor, 35 years of age, body mass index 59.

Polyphenon E, non-futile at neuroprotection in multiple sclerosis but unpredictably hepatotoxic: Phase I single group and phase II randomized placebo-controlled studies.

Objectives: Phase I (PhI): assess the safety of Polyphenon E in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and determine the futility of Polyphenon E as a neuroprotective agent. Correlate plasma levels of EGCG with neuroprotective effects. Phase II (PhII): Further assess safety and confirm the neuroprotective effects of Polyphenon E.

Cognitive Impairment and Community Integration Outcomes in Individuals Living With Multiple Sclerosis.

Objectives: To determine the association between unique domains of cognitive impairment and community integration in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), and to determine the contributions of cognitive impairment to community integration beyond the influence of demographic and clinical variables.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of objective neuropsychological assessment and self-report data. Data were collected during baseline assessment of a randomized, multisite controlled trial of ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment in MS.

[Perioperative management of a morbidly obese pregnant patient undergoing cesarean section under general anesthesia - case report].

Background And Objectives: The increased prevalence of obesity in the general population extends to women of reproductive age. The aim of this study is to report the perioperative management of a morbidly obese pregnant woman, body mass index > 50 kg/m(2), who underwent cesarean section under general anesthesia.

Case Report: Pregnant woman in labor, 35 years of age, body mass index 59.

Tumefactive multiple sclerosis and hepatitis C virus 2a/2C infection: Dual benefit of long-term interferon beta-1a therapy?

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been implicated in triggering acute disseminated encephalomyelitis but not tumefactive multiple sclerosis. We report the case of a 17-year-old female who presented with a 5-day history of left hemiparesis and hemisensory loss followed by a right third nerve palsy. Tumefactive multiple sclerosis was diagnosed based on the absence of encephalopathic signs, the presence of tumefactive brain lesions, the exclusion of neoplastic and infectious causes of the lesions by biopsy, and the occurrence of relapse after a period of remission.

Fatigue is associated with poor sleep in people with multiple sclerosis and cognitive impairment.

Background. Fatigue is the most common symptom in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Poor sleep also occurs in this population.

Stress in multiple sclerosis: review of new developments and future directions.

In the experimental autoimmune encephalitis model of multiple sclerosis, the effects of stress on disease severity depend on multiple factors, including the animal's genetics and the type of stressor. The studies in humans relating stress to the risk of developing multiple sclerosis have found discordant results. The studies looking at the association of stress with relapses show a fairly consistent association, where higher stress is associated with a higher risk of relapse.

Ginkgo biloba does not improve cognitive function in MS: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To determine whether Ginkgo biloba extract (ginkgo) improves cognitive function in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: Persons with MS from the Seattle and Portland VA clinics and adjacent communities who scored 1 SD or more below the mean on one of 4 neuropsychological tests (Stroop Test, California Verbal Learning Test II [CVLT-II], Controlled Oral Word Association Test [COWAT], and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task [PASAT]) were randomly assigned to receive either one 120-mg tablet of ginkgo (EGb-761; Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co, Germany) or one placebo tablet twice a day for 12 weeks. As the primary outcome, we compared the performance of the 2 groups on the 4 tests at exit after adjusting for baseline performance.

Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis.

Cognitive impairment (CI) is a serious complication of multiple sclerosis (MS), and the domains affected are well established, but new affected domains such as theory of mind are still being identified. The evidence that disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) improve and prevent the development of CI in MS is not solid. Recent studies on the prevalence of CI in MS among people treated with DMT, although not as solid as studies completed prior to DMT introduction, suggest that CI remains a problem even among people on DMTs and that CI occurs frequently even at the very earliest stages of MS.

A randomized trial of stress management for the prevention of new brain lesions in MS.

Objectives: This trial examined the efficacy of a stress management program in reducing neuroimaging markers of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity.

Methods: A total of 121 patients with relapsing forms of MS were randomized to receive stress management therapy for MS (SMT-MS) or a wait-list control condition. SMT-MS provided 16 individual treatment sessions over 24 weeks, followed by a 24-week post-treatment follow-up.

American ginseng does not improve fatigue in multiple sclerosis: a single center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover pilot study.

This study examined the safety and efficacy of an escalating dose (100 mg, 200 mg, 400 mg/day) of American ginseng over 6 weeks in a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial with 56 subjects with multiple sclerosis and fatigue. There were no serious adverse events but fatigue on ginseng, as assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale, was not significantly different from fatigue on placebo.