Preferences for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder treatments: A conjoint analysis with neurologists in Spain.

Background: The treatment landscape for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) has changed in recent years with the approval of therapies with different efficacy, safety and administration profiles.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess neurologists' preferences for different NMOSD treatment attributes using conjoint analysis (CA).

Methods: We conducted an online, non-interventional, cross-sectional study in collaboration with the Spanish Society of Neurology.

Therapeutic inertia in the management of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

Introduction And Objective: Limited information is available on how neurologists make therapeutic decisions in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), especially when new treatments with different mechanisms of action, administration, and safety profile are being approved. Decision-making can be complex under this uncertainty and may lead to therapeutic inertia (TI), which refers to lack of treatment initiation or intensification when therapeutic goals are not met. The study aim was to assess neurologists' TI in NMOSD.

Prevalence of Anemia and Iron Deficiency in Women of Reproductive Age in Cuba and Associated Factors.

This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency in women of reproductive age and the association with inflammation, global overweight, adiposity, and menorrhagia. A sample design of women of reproductive age from the Eastern, Central, and Havana Regions was carried out. Biochemical determinations of hemoglobin, serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptors, leukocytes, C-reactive protein, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein, and homocysteine were performed.

Association between Genes Variants and Risk for Multiple Sclerosis.

Several recent works have raised the possibility of the contribution of the lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3) protein in the inflammatory processes of multiple sclerosis (MS). Results of studies on the possible association between gene variants and the risk of MS have been inconclusive. In this study, we tried to show the possible association between the most common single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the and genes (these two genes are closely related) and the risk of MS in the Caucasian Spanish population.

Influence of Inflammation on Assessing Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Cuban Preschool Children.

Introduction: Anemia is a public health problem worldwide and is most prevalent in preschool children, for whom it is the most frequent cause of nutritional deficits. In turn, iron deficiency is the main cause of anemia, affecting 43% of children globally. Previous studies in Cuba show rates of iron deficiency in preschool children between 38.

Socioeconomic position and the health gradient in Cuba: dimensions and mechanisms.

Background: To throw light on the under-researched association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health in Cuba, this study examined SEP gradients in health and their underlying mechanisms among urban Cuban adults aged 18-65.

Methods: By applying linear regressions to data from the 2010 National Survey on Risk Factors and Chronic Diseases, the analysis explored the SEP-health gradient along three SEP dimensions - education, occupation, and skin colour - using ten health measures: self-reported health (SRH), general and abdominal obesity, hypertension, high glucose, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, and cumulative risk factors. Regressions also included behaviours and health-related risk perceptions (tobacco and alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, and risk-related behaviours).

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) rs2070744 polymorphism and risk for multiple sclerosis.

The possible role of oxidative stress and nitric oxide (NO) in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been suggested by several neuropathological, biochemical, and experimental data. Because the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2070744 in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS or NOS3) gene (chromosome 7q36.1) showed association with the risk for MS in Iranians, we attempted to replicate the possible association between this SNP and the risk for MS in the Caucasian Spanish population.

Predictive Value of Serum Antibodies and Point Mutations of AQP4, AQP1 and MOG in A Cohort of Spanish Patients with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders.

The detection of IgG aquaporin-4 antibodies in the serum of patients with Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) has dramatically improved the diagnosis of this disease and its distinction from multiple sclerosis. Recently, a group of patients have been described who have an NMO spectrum disorder (NMOsd) and who are seronegative for AQP4 antibodies but positive for IgG aquaporin-1 (AQP1) or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies. The purpose of this study was to determine whether AQP1 and MOG could be considered new biomarkers of this disease; and if point mutations in the gDNA of , and genes could be associated with the etiology of NMOsd.

Influence of supracrestal tissue attachment thickness on radiographic bone level around dental implants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to determine the extent to which supracrestal tissue attachment (STA) thickness affects marginal bone loss (MBL) around dental implants. An electronic search was conducted in PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, and complementary sources covering the period up to June 2018. The studies were meta-analyzed based on implant position with respect to the alveolar bone crest (crestal/supracrestal).

Peripheral CD39-expressing T regulatory cells are increased and associated with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in relapsing patients.

CD39, an ectonucleotidase that hydrolyses pro-inflammatory ATP, is a marker of highly active and suppressive T regulatory cells (Tregs). Although CD39 has a role in Treg suppression and might be important in the control of neuroinflammation in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS), to date, there are contradictory reports concerning the Tregs expression of CD39 in RR-MS patients. Thus, our objectives were to assess the activity and expression of CD39, especially in Tregs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of relapsing RR-MS patients compared with control subjects and to evaluate the association of CD39+ Tregs with disability and the odds of RR-MS.

Recurrent pseudotumoral relapses in multiple sclerosis: a case report.

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic disabling disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in young adults. It is characterized by the presence of multiple demyelinating inflammatory lesions disseminated in the CNS. Pseudotumoral lesions (PL) are rarely observed in patients with MS.

The rise in obesity in Cuba from 2001 to 2010: An analysis of National Survey on Risk Factors and Chronic Diseases data.

Using two waves of the National Survey on Risk Factors and Chronic Diseases in Cuba, we identify demographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated with obesity among urban adults aged 18+ and decompose the change in obesity within this 9-year period using both the mean-based Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition and a nonlinear approach. Our results reveal significant increases in overweight and obesity (2.3, 3.

Melatonin reduces inflammatory response in peripheral T helper lymphocytes from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory disease of the central nervous system in which the immune system plays a central role. In particular, effector populations such as T helper (Th) 1, Th9, Th17, and Th22 cells are involved in disease development, whereas T regulatory cells (Tregs) are associated with the resolution of the disease. Melatonin levels are impaired in patients with MS, and exogenous melatonin ameliorates the disease in MS animal models by modulating the Th1/Th17/Treg responses and also improves quality of life and several symptoms in patients with MS.

Comparative Analysis for the Presence of IgG Anti-Aquaporin-1 in Patients with NMO-Spectrum Disorders.

Detection of IgG anti-Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) in serum of patients with Neuromyelitis optica syndrome disorders (NMOSD) has improved diagnosis of these processes and differentiation from Multiple sclerosis (MS). Recent findings also claim that a subgroup of patients with NMOSD, serum negative for IgG-anti-AQP4, present antibodies anti-AQP1 instead. Explore the presence of IgG-anti-AQP1 using a previously developed cell-based assay (CBA) highly sensitive to IgG-anti-AQP4.

Heme Oxygenase-1 and 2 Common Genetic Variants and Risk for Multiple Sclerosis.

Several neurochemical, neuropathological, and experimental data suggest a possible role of oxidative stress in the ethiopathogenesis of multiple sclerosis(MS). Heme-oxygenases(HMOX) are an important defensive mechanism against oxidative stress, and HMOX1 is overexpressed in the brain and spinal cord of MS patients and in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE). We analyzed whether common polymorphisms affecting the HMOX1 and HMOX2 genes are related with the risk to develop MS.

A new role for reticulon-4B/NOGO-B in the intestinal epithelial barrier function and inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by an impaired intestinal barrier function. We aimed to investigate the role of reticulon-4B (RTN-4B/NOGO-B), a structural protein of the endoplasmic reticulum, in intestinal barrier function and IBD. We used immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, real-time PCR, and Western blotting to study tissue distribution and expression levels of RTN-4B/NOGO-B in control and IBD samples from mouse and humans.

An immunoassay that distinguishes real neuromyelitis optica signals from a labeling detected in patients receiving natalizumab.

Background: Cell-based assays for neuromyelitis optica (NMO) diagnosis are the most sensitive and specific methods to detect anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies in serum, but some improvements in their quantitative and specificity capacities would be desirable. Thus the aim of the present work was to develop a sensitive quantitative method for detection of anti-AQP4 antibodies that allows clear diagnosis of NMO and distinction of false labeling produced by natalizumab treatment.

Methods: Sera from 167 individuals, patients diagnosed with NMO (16), multiple sclerosis (85), optic neuritis (24), idiopathic myelitis (21), or other neurological disorders (13) and healthy controls (8), were used as the primary antibody in an immunofluorescence assay on HEK cells transfected with the M23 isoform of human AQP4 fused with enhanced green fluorescent protein.

Pseudotumoral forms of multiple sclerosis: report of 14 cases and review of the literature.

Background: The pseudotumoral form of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a rare condition with few descriptions in the literature. It supposes a diagnostic challenge especially when appearing at the onset of disease.

Methods: We retrospectively describe a case series of pseudotumoral MS patients that attended our hospital from 2004, analyzing demographic, clinical and radiological variables.

NQO1 gene rs1800566 variant is not associated with risk for multiple sclerosis.

Background: A possible role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis has been suggested. The detoxification enzyme NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, quinone 1 (NQO1) has been found up-regulated in MS lesions. A previous report described an association between the SNP rs1800566 in the NQO1 gene and the risk for MS in the Greek population.

MAPT gene rs1052553 variant is not associated with the risk for multiple sclerosis.

Background/objectives: Some experimental data suggest a possible role of tau protein in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible influence of the SNP rs1052553 in the MAPT gene in the risk for relapsing bout onset (relapsing-remitting and secondary progressive) MS.

Methods: We analyzed the allelic and genotype frequency of MAPT rs1052553, which has been associated with some neurodegenerative diseases, in 259 patients with relapsing bout onset MS and 291 healthy controls, using TaqMan Assays.