Anti-CD20 therapies for pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.

Background: Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) cases, defined as multiple sclerosis (MS) with onset before the age of 18, represent between 3 and 5 % of all MS patients. Anti-CD20 drugs mainly rituximab, ocrelizumab, and ofatumumab are being widely used in adult-onset MS. Their use in POMS is also being increasingly considered by experts.

Epidemiological and clinical features of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis: A population-based study in Isfahan, Iran, between 1997-2020.

Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS), affecting individuals younger than 18 years of age. We sought to characterize the epidemiological and clinical features of patients with POMS in Isfahan, Iran, from April 1997 to March 2020. The medical records of patients with POMS in the databases of Isfahan Department of Public Health and Isfahan Multiple Sclerosis Society (IMSS) were retrospectively reviewed.

Autoimmune encephalitis: the first observational study from Iran.

Background: Even within the most populous countries in the Middle East, such as Iran, autoimmune encephalitis cases have been rarely reported.

Objective: We aimed to describe the demographic, clinical, and paraclinical characteristics of Iranian patients with autoimmune encephalitis positive for anti-neuronal autoantibodies.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included all patients diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis and referred to our hospital, in Isfahan, Iran, from March 2016 to May 2020.

Conus medullaris involvement in demyelinating disorders of the CNS: A comparative study.

Background: Differentiation of the demyelinating disorders of the CNS seems challenging in practice. Conus medullaris, the cone-shaped end of the spinal cord, is more involved in anti-MOG patients based on preliminary studies, a possibly helpful detail in its differentiation. Nevertheless, the evidence is still limited and the underlying cause is unclear and undiscussed in previous studies.

COVID-19 and the Risk of Relapse in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Fight with No Bystander Effect?

Background: COVID-19 is speculated to increase the likelihood of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) exacerbation.

Objective: To investigate the association between contraction of COVID-19 and incidence of acute MS attacks in RRMS patients six months post-infection.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study compares the risk of relapse in RRMS patients with (n=56) and without COVID-19 (n=69).

Mitochondrial Medicine: Genetic Underpinnings and Disease Modeling Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology.

Mitochondrial medicine is an exciting and rapidly evolving field. While the mitochondrial genome is small and differs from the nuclear genome in that it is circular and free of histones, it has been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, type 2 diabetes, aging and cardiovascular disorders. Currently, there is a lack of efficient treatments for mitochondrial diseases.

MRI signs of CNS demyelinating diseases.

The differential diagnosis of the central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating diseases can be greatly facilitated by visualization and appreciation of pathognomonic radiological signs, visualized on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. Given the distinct therapeutic approaches for each of these diseases, a decisive and reliable diagnosis in patients presenting with demyelination-associated symptoms is of crucial value. Multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are major examples of such conditions, each possessing a number of MRI signs, closely associated with the disorder.

Mitochondrial DNA: Hotspot for Potential Gene Modifiers Regulating Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a prevalent and untreatable cardiovascular disease with a highly complex clinical and genetic causation. HCM patients bearing similar sarcomeric mutations display variable clinical outcomes, implying the involvement of gene modifiers that regulate disease progression. As individuals exhibiting mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) present cardiac phenotypes, the mitochondrial genome is a promising candidate to harbor gene modifiers of HCM.

Analysis of alternative lengthening of telomere markers in BRCA1 defective cells.

Telomeres are specialized structures responsible for the chromosome end protection. Previous studies have revealed that defective BRCA1 may lead to elevated telomere fusions and accelerated telomere shortening. In addition, BRCA1 associates with promyelocytic leukemia (PML) bodies in alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALTs) positive cells.