Aging with multiple sclerosis: prevalence and profile of cognitive impairment.

Background: The increase in life expectancy of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) requires a better knowledge of disease features in the older patients group.

Objective: To describe the prevalence and profile of cognitive impairment (CI) in older patients with MS and perform a comparison with younger patients.

Methods: Patients were consecutively recruited for 6 months.

Clinical, laboratory features, and prognostic factors in adult acute transverse myelitis: an Italian multicenter study.

Objectives: We compared the clinical, laboratory, and radiological features of different subgroups of acute transverse myelitis (ATM) diagnosed according to the criteria established by the Transverse Myelitis Consortium Working Group (TMCWG) as well as of non-inflammatory acute transverse myelopathies (NIATM) to identify possible short- and long-term prognostic factors.

Methods: A multicenter and retrospective study comprising 110 patients with ATM and 15 NIATM admitted to five Italian neurological units between January 2010 and December 2014 was carried out.

Results: A significantly higher frequency of isolated sensory disturbances at onset in ATM than in NIATM patients (chi-square = 14.

Correction to: Cognitive assessment in multiple sclerosis-an Italian consensus.

In the original article, Maria Pia Amato's second affiliation was not included. The second affiliation is IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy. The correct affiliation is presented here.

Correction to: The Italian multiple sclerosis register.

Unfortunately in the original publication, the affiliation of the author Maria Pia Amato was incorrect. The author inadvertently missed out to include her second affiliation.

Management of dysphagia in multiple sclerosis: current best practice.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by extreme variability in both severity and clinical course. It can show severe disabling symptoms, and among them dysphagia is frequently described. However, its management still represents a challenge in the daily care.

Newest evidence for tetrahydrocannabinol:cannabidiol oromucosal spray from postapproval pragmatic studies.

Postapproval studies have an essential role in demonstrating that an intervention is effective and well tolerated during use in daily clinical practice. Numerous large observational and registry studies of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC):cannabidiol (CBD) oromucosal spray have been conducted subsequent to its approval in Europe in 2011. Collectively, these studies provide valuable insight into various aspects of THC:CBD spray during real-world use in patients with multiple sclerosis spasticity, including its long-term effectiveness and tolerability.

Chiral optical tweezers for optically active particles in the T-matrix formalism.

Modeling optical tweezers in the T-matrix formalism has been of key importance for accurate and efficient calculations of optical forces and their comparison with experiments. Here we extend this formalism to the modeling of chiral optomechanics and optical tweezers where chiral light is used for optical manipulation and trapping of optically active particles. We first use the Bohren decomposition to deal with the light scattering of chiral light on optically active particles.

Discontinuation of teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate in a large Italian multicentre population: a 24-month real-world experience.

Background: Teriflunomide (TRF) and Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) are licensed drugs for relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS).

Objectives: We aimed to compare the rate and the time to discontinuation among persons with RRMS (pwRRMS), newly treated with TRF and DMF.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study on prospectively collected data was performed in nine tertiary MS centers, in Italy.

Effectiveness and safety of Rituximab in demyelinating diseases spectrum: An Italian experience.

Background: Rituximab (RTX), a monoclonal antibody targeting the CD20+ B lymphocytes, deserves major attention as therapeutic option in the treatment of demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system (DDCNS). We reported our clinical experience with the use of RTX in terms of efficacy and safety in persons suffering from DDCNS.

Methods: An Italian single-center observational analysis of patients who underwent RTX treatment between 2011 and 2017 was performed at MS center of Catania, Italy.

The Italian multiple sclerosis register.

The past decade has seen extraordinary increase in worldwide availability of and access to several large multiple sclerosis (MS) databases and registries. MS registries represent powerful tools to provide meaningful information on the burden, natural history, and long-term safety and effectiveness of treatments. Moreover, patients, physicians, industry, and policy makers have an active interest in real-world observational studies based on register data, as they have the potential to answer the questions that are most relevant to daily treatment decision-making.

Noise⁻Seeded Developmental Pattern Formation in Filamentous Cyanobacteria.

Under nitrogen-poor conditions, multicellular cyanobacteria such as sp. PCC 7120 undergo a process of differentiation, forming nearly regular, developmental patterns of individual nitrogen-fixing cells, called heterocysts, interspersed between intervals of vegetative cells that carry out photosynthesis. Developmental pattern formation is mediated by morphogen species that can act as activators and inhibitors, some of which can diffuse along filaments.

No evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) and disability improvement after alemtuzumab treatment for multiple sclerosis: a 36-month real-world study.

In this retrospective, multicenter, real-world study we collected clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of all patients (n = 40) with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) treated with alemtuzumab according to a "free-of-charge" protocol available before the drug marketing approval in Italy. Almost all (39/40) started alemtuzumab after discontinuing multiple disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) because of either lack of response or safety concerns. We considered the proportion of alemtuzumab-treated patients who had no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) and disability improvement over a 36-month follow-up period.

Static postural control disturbances among the different multiple sclerosis phenotypes: A Neurocom Balance Manager evaluation study.

Background: The computerized stabilometric platform can be used and privileged over clinical scales, as self-administered questionnaires to asses postural control and balance evaluation in Multiple sclerosis (MS). Aim of our study was to evaluate static postural control assessed by Neurocom Balance Manager® through the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB) in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), progressive MS (PMS) and CIS, compared to healthy controls (HC).

Methods: We screened MS patients consecutively referring to our MS Center at University of Catania, during July 2013-June 2014 diagnosed as CIS, RRMS and PMS.

Comparable efficacy and safety of dimethyl fumarate and teriflunomide treatment in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: an Italian real-word multicenter experience.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the achievement of 'no evidence of disease activity' (NEDA) over a 12-month period in a large multicenter population with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) treated with delayed-release dimethyl fumarate (DMF) and teriflunomide (TRF) using a propensity-score adjustment.

Methods: A time-to-event method was used to determine the percentages of patients with RRMS (pwRRMS) in both groups achieving NEDA 3 (no relapses, no 12-week confirmed disability progression, and no new T2/gadolinium-enhancing brain lesions). We described the safety profile of the investigated drugs.

Predictors of relapse and disability progression in MS patients who discontinue disease-modifying therapy.

Background: Discontinuation of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for MS is common. MSBase, a large global observational registry, affords a unique opportunity to investigate predictors of 'post-DMT' relapses and confirmed disability progression (CDP) in a diverse group of patients exposed to different DMTs.

Materials/methods: Main inclusion criteria: clinician-confirmed MS diagnosis (2010 McDonald criteria); age ≥ 18 at index DMT start; ≥12 months on index DMT prior to discontinuation; ≥24 months of follow-up post-discontinuation; did not restart DMT for ≥6 months.

Patient and caregiver involvement in the formulation of guideline questions: findings from the European Academy of Neurology guideline on palliative care of people with severe multiple sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Patient and public involvement in clinical practice guideline development is recommended to increase guideline trustworthiness and relevance. The aim was to engage multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and caregivers in the definition of the key questions to be answered in the European Academy of Neurology guideline on palliative care of people with severe MS.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used: an international online survey launched by the national MS societies of eight countries, after pilot testing/debriefing on 20 MS patients and 18 caregivers, focus group meetings of Italian and German MS patients and caregivers.

Late-onset and young-onset relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: evidence from a retrospective long-term follow-up study.

Background And Purpose: Late-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) has a prevalence of about 10-20% in natural history MS studies. Few data have been published about the long-term disease trajectory in the cohort of late-onset relapsing-remitting MS (LORRMS). The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for reaching an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of 6.

Cognitive assessment in multiple sclerosis-an Italian consensus.

The aim of this consensus paper was to define the state of the art on cognitive assessment of persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), with the purpose of providing recommendations for the Italian centers involved in MS management. While there are no formal guidelines published regarding the assessment of cognitive function in MS, on the basis of an expert opinion meeting, held in Milan (Italy) on July 4, 2016, we report the recommendations of a panel of Italian experts including MS neurologists and neuropsychologists for the assessment and follow-up of cognitive function in adult MS subjects.

eMSQOL-29: Prospective validation of the abbreviated, electronic version of MSQOL-54.

Background: We recently devised a shortened version of the 54-item Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life (MSQOL-54) in paper (MSQOL-29, consisting of 25 items forming 7 subscales and 4 single items, and one filter question for 3 'sexual function' items) and electronic format (eMSQOL-29).

Objectives: To prospectively assess eMSQOL-29 psychometric properties, acceptability/equivalence versus MSQOL-29.

Methods: Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients ( n = 623; Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) range 0.

Hopping in the Crowd to Unveil Network Topology.

We introduce a nonlinear operator to model diffusion on a complex undirected network under crowded conditions. We show that the asymptotic distribution of diffusing agents is a nonlinear function of the nodes' degree and saturates to a constant value for sufficiently large connectivities, at variance with standard diffusion in the absence of excluded-volume effects. Building on this observation, we define and solve an inverse problem, aimed at reconstructing the a priori unknown connectivity distribution.

Robust stochastic Turing patterns in the development of a one-dimensional cyanobacterial organism.

Under nitrogen deprivation, the one-dimensional cyanobacterial organism Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 develops patterns of single, nitrogen-fixing cells separated by nearly regular intervals of photosynthetic vegetative cells. We study a minimal, stochastic model of developmental patterns in Anabaena that includes a nondiffusing activator, two diffusing inhibitor morphogens, demographic fluctuations in the number of morphogen molecules, and filament growth.

Lateral switch to IFN beta-1a 44 mcg may be effective as escalation switch to fingolimod in selected persons with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis: a real-world setting experience.

Background: The efficacy of lateral and escalation switch is a challenge in MS. We compared in a real-world setting the efficacy of switching to IFN beta-1a 44 mcg or to fingolimod in persons with relapsing remitting MS (pwRRMS) who failed with others injectable IFNs or glatiramer acetate.

Research Design And Methods: retrospective analysis of 24 months prospectively-collected data at the MS center of the University of Catania, Italy was performed.