Hemorrhagic colloid cyst with sudden coma.

Background: Third ventricle colloid cysts are regarded as benign lesions. They may, however, present with dramatic and rapidly deteriorating neurological signs, leading to sudden death. Although the exact cause of this clinical course is unknown, acute hydrocephalus caused by occlusion of Monro's foramina has been suggested.

Association between protective and deleterious HLA alleles with multiple sclerosis in Central East Sardinia.

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex on chromosome 6p21 has been unambiguously associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). The complex features of the HLA region, especially its high genic content, extreme polymorphism, and extensive linkage disequilibrium, has prevented to resolve the nature of HLA association in MS. We performed a family based association study on the isolated population of the Nuoro province (Sardinia) to clarify the role of HLA genes in MS.

Association between the ACCN1 gene and multiple sclerosis in Central East Sardinia.

Multiple genome screens have been performed to identify regions in linkage or association with Multiple Sclerosis (MS, OMIM 126200), but little overlap has been found among them. This may be, in part, due to a low statistical power to detect small genetic effects and to genetic heterogeneity within and among the studied populations. Motivated by these considerations, we studied a very special population, namely that of Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy.

Risk for relatives of patients with multiple sclerosis in central Sardinia, Italy.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, disabling disease of the central nervous system, known for its complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. We used life table techniques to calculate age-adjusted recurrence risks for different categories of relatives of MS patients from Central Sardinia (Italy), a genetically homogeneous, stable population with a high degree of consanguinity. We included 313 probands and a total of 12,717 relatives in the analysis.

An ecologic study of geographical variation in multiple sclerosis risk in central Sardinia, Italy.

We carried out an ecological study in the most archaic area of Sardinia to obtain a reliable estimate of the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) and to investigate the geographical variation in the prevalence across the 100 administrative communes. To estimate the area-specific prevalence rate, we adopted a Bayesian approach that makes it possible to filter out the random variation from the estimates and to obtain a map that reflects the true geographical variation in MS prevalence. 428 resident cases were identified by the case register, including 69 multiplex families.