Detection of Neoehrlichia mikurensis in 11 persons who attribute their persistent health complaints to a tick-borne disease.

Background: Neoehrlichia mikurensis infections can cause symptomatic disease, particular among immunosuppressed persons. Long-lasting asymptomatic carriage of N. mikurensis may be common in endemic areas.

Increasing age of multiple sclerosis onset from 1920 to 2022: a population-based study.

Objective: To study the age at onset of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) during the past century.

Methods: This is a population-based cohort study of persons diagnosed with RRMS in Hordaland, Møre, and Romsdal counties, Western Norway, from 1920 to 2022. Individual patient data were available and assessed from previously conducted prevalence and incidence studies in addition to hospital records up until October 31, 2022.

Cancer related mortality in multiple sclerosis. A population based cohort study.

Background: Cancer is a major cause of death, but how cancer influences mortality risk in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is unclear.

Objectives: Determine all-cause mortality and mortality following a cancer diagnosis among MS patients compared with matched population controls.

Methods: Norwegian MS patients born 1930 - 1979 (n= 6950) followed-up 1953 - 2016, were matched with 37 922 controls.

Mortality and cause of death in multiple sclerosis in western Norway 1950-2021: a registry-based linkage study.

Background: Persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) have higher risk of mortality compared with the general population. Longitudinal studies are important for understanding the evolution of survival in pwMS.

Objective: Examine changes in mortality among pwMS during the past seven decades.

The Effect of Smoking on Long-term Gray Matter Atrophy and Clinical Disability in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Objectives: The relationship between smoking, long-term brain atrophy, and clinical disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is unclear. Here, we assessed long-term effects of smoking by evaluating MRI and clinical outcome measures after 10 years in smoking and nonsmoking patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).

Methods: We included 85 treatment-naive patients with RRMS with recent inflammatory disease activity who participated in a 10-year follow-up visit after a multicenter clinical trial of 24 months.

Serum neurofilament as a predictor of 10-year grey matter atrophy and clinical disability in multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study.

Background: The predictive value of serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) on long-term prognosis in multiple sclerosis (MS) is still unclear.

Objective: Investigate the relation between sNfL levels over a 2-year period in patients with relapsing-remitting MS, and clinical disability and grey matter (GM) atrophy after 10 years.

Methods: 85 patients, originally enrolled in a multicentre, randomised trial of ω-3 fatty acids, participated in a 10-year follow-up visit.

Incidence of cancer in multiple sclerosis before and after the treatment era- a registry- based cohort study.

Background: Whether disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) influence cancer in multiple sclerosis (MS) is uncertain.

Objectives: Assess incidence of cancer diagnosis among Norwegian MS patients compared to the general population in 1953 to 1995 and 1996 to 2017-reflecting era before and after introduction of DMTs.

Methods: We performed a nationwide cohort study comprising 6949 MS patients and 37,922 controls, matched on age, sex and county.

Low vitamin D, but not tobacco use or high BMI, is associated with long-term disability progression in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Low vitamin D levels, tobacco use and high body mass index (BMI) have been linked to adverse disease outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS), but their influence on long-term disability progression remains unclear. Therefore, we explored whether these modifiable lifestyle factors were associated with 10-year clinical disability progression in patients with MS.

Methods: In this prospective study, a cohort of 88 patients with relapsing-remitting MS completed a randomized controlled study on ω-3 fatty acids between 2004 and 2008.

Factors influencing employment after minor stroke and NSTEMI.

Aim: To study the effect of cognitive function, fatigue and emotional symptoms on employment after a minor ischemic stroke compared to non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

Material And Methods: We included 217 patients with minor ischemic stroke and 133 NSTEMI patients employed at baseline aged 18-70 years. Minor stroke was defined as modified Rankin scale (mRS) 0-2 at day seven or at discharge if before.

High incidence and prevalence of MS in Møre and Romsdal County, Norway, 1950-2018.

Objective: To determine prevalence and longitudinal trends in incidence of MS in Møre and Romsdal County, Western Norway, from 1950 to 2018.

Methods: Retrospective longitudinal population-based observational study. All patients diagnosed, or living, with MS in Møre and Romsdal were identified as incident or prevalent cases from local, regional, and national sources.

Gut microbiota composition during a 12-week intervention with delayed-release dimethyl fumarate in multiple sclerosis - a pilot trial.

Introduction: Patients with multiple sclerosis may have a distinct gut microbiota profile. Delayed-release dimethyl fumarate is an orally administered drug for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, which has been associated with gastrointestinal side-effects in some patients.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine if dimethyl fumarate alters the abundance and diversity of commensal gut bacteria, and if these changes are associated with gastrointestinal side-effects.

Risk of cancer among multiple sclerosis patients, siblings, and population controls: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Risk of cancer in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients compared to their siblings is unknown.

Objective: The objective was to prospectively investigate the risk of cancer among MS patients compared to siblings without MS and to population controls.

Methods: We retrieved data on MS patients born between 1930 and 1979 from the Norwegian Multiple Sclerosis Registry and population studies and on cancer diagnosis from the Cancer Registry of Norway.

Spasticity, gait, and balance in patients with multiple sclerosis: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: More than 80% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are affected by spasticity. Spasticity is known to reduce quality of life and contribute to additional symptoms, such as pain and reduced mobility, but the association between spasticity, balance, and mobility has not yet been established. Our aim was to examine whether a relationship exists between spasticity in the lower limbs, balance, and gait, as well as to explore the involvement of different muscle groups.

The development of cognitive and emotional impairment after a minor stroke: A longitudinal study.

Objectives: To study the development of cognitive and emotional symptoms between 3 and 12 months after a minor stroke.

Material And Methods: We included patients from stroke units at hospitals in the Central Norway Health Authority and from Haukeland University Hospital. We administered a selection of cognitive tests, and the patients completed a questionnaire 3 and 12 months post-stroke.

Cognitive and Emotional Impairment after Minor Stroke and Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI): A Prevalence Study.

Aim: To study the prevalence of cognitive and emotional impairment following a minor ischemic stroke compared to an age-matched group with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

Methods: We included patients aged 18-70 years with a minor ischemic stroke defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0-2 at day 7 or at discharge if before and age-matched NSTEMI patients with the same functional mRS. We applied a selection of cognitive tests and the patients completed a questionnaire comprising of Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) at follow-up 12 months after the vascular event.

Serum levels of leptin and adiponectin are not associated with disease activity or treatment response in multiple sclerosis.

Adipokines secreted by fatty tissue have inflammatory properties and are suggested biomarkers of MS disease activity. To assess this, 88 MS patients were followed with nine repeated measurements of leptin and adiponectin and 12 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for two years; six months without any immunomodulatory treatment followed by 18 months during interferon-beta (IFNB) treatment. Serum levels of leptin dropped and adiponectin increased upon initiation of IFNB-therapy, but were not associated with clinical or MRI disease activity or with treatment response.

α-Linolenic acid is associated with MRI activity in a prospective cohort of multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: The plant-based ω-3 fatty acid α-linolenic acid (ALA) has been associated with lower MS risk. It is currently unknown whether ALA affects disease activity.

Objective: To investigate the association between ALA levels and disease activity.

Preclinical disease activity in multiple sclerosis: A prospective study of cognitive performance prior to first symptom.

Objective: To prospectively investigate potential signs of preclinical multiple sclerosis (MS) activity and when they are present prior to first symptom using data from a historical cohort.

Methods: We linked the cognitive performance of all Norwegian men born 1950-1995 who underwent conscription examination at age 18 to 19 years to the Norwegian MS registry to identify those later developing MS, and randomly selected controls frequency-matched on year of birth from the Norwegian Conscript Service database. In this nested case-control study, cognitive test scores were available for 924 male cases and 19,530 male controls.

No association of tobacco use and disease activity in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To study whether tobacco use is associated with MRI and clinical disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 87 patients with relapsing-remitting MS originally included in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of omega-3 fatty acids in MS (the OFAMS Study). Serum levels of cotinine (biomarker of tobacco use) were analyzed at baseline and every 6 months for 2 years.

Level of education and multiple sclerosis risk over a 50-year period: Registry-based sibling study.

Background: The conflicting results from studies on socioeconomic status (SES) and multiple sclerosis (MS) risk might be due to a change in the distribution of environmental exposures over time or to methodological limitations in previous research.

Objective: To examine the association between SES and MS risk during 50 years.

Methods: We included patients registered in Norwegian MS registries and prevalence studies born between 1930 and 1979, and identified their siblings and parents using the Norwegian Population Registry.

Vitamin D, HLA-DRB1 and Epstein-Barr virus antibody levels in a prospective cohort of multiple sclerosis patients.

Background And Purpose: Our objective was to study the association between serum levels of anti Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) antibody and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in a prospective cohort of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Method: The study comprised 90 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, all participants in a randomized clinical trial of ω-3 fatty acids (the OFAMS study). Repeated, paired measurements of serum 25(OH)D and serum EBNA-1 immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were obtained at baseline and every 6 months for 24 months.

Body mass index influence interferon-beta treatment response in multiple sclerosis.

Obesity is a possible risk factor of multiple sclerosis (MS), but the association between obesity and MS disease activity has not been explored. In a cohort of 86 MS patients, 80% of overweight or obese patients (BMI≥25kg/m(2)) had MRI activity compared to 48% of the normal-weight patients (BMI<25kg/m(2)) (p=0.001) during interferon-beta treatment.

WT1 and interferon-β-vitamin D association in MS: a longitudinal study.

Background: It has been suggested that polymorphisms in the WT1 gene modulate the effect of IFN-β treatment in multiple sclerosis (MS) through regulation of the relationship between IFN-β and vitamin D.

Objective: To examine whether WT1 modulates the relationship between IFN-β and vitamin D in a longitudinal study with repeated assessment of vitamin D before and after initiation of IFN-β.

Methods: In a prospective study of 85 patients with relapsing remitting MS, 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured at month 0, 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 18 and 24.

Vitamin D status and effect of interferon-β1a treatment on MRI activity and serum inflammation markers in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

To explore if vitamin D modulates interferon-β1a treatment effects in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, we examined relationships between serum vitamin D and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity and ten systemic inflammation markers in 88 patients, before and during treatment. Odds ratios for all MRI parameters were negatively associated with vitamin D levels before therapy, but converged to equally low values irrespective of vitamin D status during treatment. During therapy, similar alterations of MRI activity and inflammation markers were found across patients categorized by mean vitamin D values.