Be Cool: A Holistic and Innovative Approach to Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

(1) Background: Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) have to deal with numerous symptoms that adversely impact their quality of life. While pharmaceutical treatments offer some relief, they often fall short of addressing the full spectrum of MS symptoms. To bridge this gap, we introduce the Be Cool rehabilitation program, a comprehensive protocol designed to enhance the well-being and life quality of MS individuals.

A Prospective, Observational Study Assessing Effectiveness, Safety, and QoL of Greek Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Under Treatment with Fingolimod.

Introduction: Fingolimod is the first approved oral therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The present study aimed to further characterize fingolimod's safety profile, and to assess the patient-reported treatment satisfaction and impact of fingolimod on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated in routine care in Greece.

Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, observational, 24-month study conducted in Greece by hospital-based and private practice neurologists who specialize in MS.

Deciphering anti-MOG IgG antibodies: Clinical and radiological spectrum, and comparison of antibody detection assays.

IgG antibodies to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) detected by cell based assays (CBA) have been identified in a constantly expanding spectrum of CNS demyelinating disorders. However, a universally accepted CBA has not been adopted yet. We aimed to analyze the clinical and radiological features of patients with anti-MOG IgG1-antibodies detected with a live-cell CBA and to compare the three most popular MOG-CBAs.

Switching from fingolimod to alemtuzumab in patients with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: Α case series.

Background: The management of "aggressive" and "highly-active" relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis remains problematic. Although a number of highly efficacious agents are currently available, the optimal timing of their use and the balancing between efficacy and immediate and long-term consequences are still a matter of conjecture.

Methods: We describe the clinical, radiological and immunological profile of three multiple sclerosis patients with persistent clinical and radiological disease activity under fingolimod treatment.

Cognitive and brain reserve in multiple sclerosis--A cross-sectional study.

Background: Cognitive impairment (CI) is detected in 40-70% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but only 33-50% of the CI variance is explained by the disease burden assessed by MRI. The cognitive reserve (CR) hypothesis has been postulated to account for this discrepancy. So far, most previous studies have confirmed the CR hypothesis in MS but failed to examine CR indices collectively or use clinically relevant neuropsychological assessments.

[Artistic expression and Psychiatry in Greece: Prominence highlights (1950-2011)].

The art of the confined began to be studied by psychiatrists in the late 19th century for diagnostic purposes, while the first studies of aesthetic interest were found in the first decades of the 20th century, when psychiatrists as the Swiss W. Morgenthaler and the Austrian H. Prinzhorn published studies on mentally ill artworks, having mainly aesthetic approach.

Polyneuropathy and myopathy in beta-thalassemia major patients.

The thalassemias are the most common single gene disorder in the world. Nowadays, the average life expectancy of patients in developed countries has increased significantly, while, there was an increase of complications. We aimed to investigate peripheral neuropathy and myopathy in this patient group using a neurophysiological study.

Multiple Sclerosis Patients Valuing Their Own Health Status: Valuation and Psychometric Properties of the 15D.

An ongoing debate on decision and cost-utility analyses is whether to use preferences of general public or patients. The aim of this study was to replicate the valuation procedure of the multi-attribute utility generic measure, 15D, using a sample of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and to assess its psychometric properties. Consecutive outpatient MS patients were recruited from two MS centers in Greece.

A case of peduncular hallucinosis due to a pontine infarction: a rare complication of coronary angiography.

Background: Cerebral thromboembolism is a rare, but well-recognized complication of angiographic procedures. Peduncular hallucinosis (PH) is a form of complex visual hallucinations usually associated with lesions in the midbrain and thalamus.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 79-years-old male patient with internuclear ophthalmoplegia and vivid lilliputian visual hallucinations (peduncular hallucinations), caused by a pontine infarction following coronary artery catheterization.

Cognitive impairment as a central cholinergic deficit in patients with Myasthenia Gravis.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate with neurophysiological and neuropsychological methods such as pupillometry, cognitive test and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) the hypothesis of Central Nervous System (CNS) cholinergic involvement in patients with Myasthenia Gravis (MG).

Methods: Thirty-two patients (32) with MG and a mean age of 51.1 ± 17.

Neurological complications of beta-thalassemia.

The thalassemias are the most common single gene disorder in the world. Over the last years, several reports have demonstrated neurological complications in beta-thalassemia patients. In most cases, these complications remained subclinical and were detected only during neuropsychological, neurophysiological, or neuroimaging evaluation.

Learning of a novel visuo-postural co-ordination task in adults with multiple sclerosis.

Objective: A behavioural study was conducted to investigate how cerebellar dysfunction associated with multiple sclerosis affects the ability to learn a novel visuo-postural co-ordination task.

Design: A prospective design, 2 group by 1 treatment (4 practice blocks).

Subjects: Ten patients with multiple sclerosis diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia and 10 age-matched healthy controls.

A pilot, open label, clinical trial using hydroxyzine in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of myelin destruction. Blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption precedes pathological or clinical findings and could involve mediators from perivascular brain mast cells, such as histamine and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Mast cells could be activated by many triggers, including acute stress that has been correlated with MS exacerbations.

Escalating immunotherapy of multiple sclerosis--new aspects and practical application.

Recent clinical studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) provide new data on the treatment of clinically isolated syndromes, on secondary progression, on direct comparison of immunomodulatory treatments and on dosing issues. All these studies have important implications for the optimized care of MS patients. The multiple sclerosis therapy consensus group (MSTCG) critically evaluated the available data and provides recommendations for the application of immunoprophylactic therapies.

A comparison of platelet monoamine oxidase activity and phosphatidylserine content between chronic paranoid schizophrenics and normal controls.

Mitochondrial monoamine oxidase (MAO), type B, has been implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia. We have found the phospholipid, phosphatidylserine (PS) to be a highly specific inhibitor of MAO-B, which has led us to postulate that the PS-MAO interaction might offer a basis for the lower MAO levels observed in platelets from certain schizophrenic populations. In this study we compared platelet MAO activity with phospholipid composition in a group of normals and chronic paranoid schizophrenics.