Assessing the Impact of IL-6 and Serotonin on Pain and Symptomatology in Fibromyalgia: An Exploratory Clinical Study.

Background And Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome characterized by widespread pain and a variety of other symptoms, including fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and sleep disturbances. Recent research has highlighted the potential role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and neurotransmitters in the pathophysiology of FM. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and serotonin with the clinical parameters observed in patients with fibromyalgia.

Association between human leukocyte antigen class II-DR-DQ and narcolepsy: a case control study.

Study Objectives: Narcolepsy is a neurologic disorder characterized by irresistible sleep attacks. Although its etiology is unknown, it is strongly associated with genetic variances in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex. We investigated the association of HLA class II-DR-DQ alleles in a sample of patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy (narcolepsy type 1 [NT1]) and patients with narcolepsy without cataplexy (narcolepsy type 2) with a control group.

Comparison between a handheld ultrasound device and a traditional ultrasound for performing transcranial sonography in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare a portable ultrasound (US) device and a traditional US for performing transcranial ultrasonography (CCT) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: This is a cross-sectional, observational, and analytical study. The study recruited a total of 129 individuals from two public hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro in a prospective and non-randomized manner between September 2019 and July 2021 as follows: group A with 31 patients with PD, group B with 65 patients with PD, and group C with 64 healthy individuals.

Cognitive Complaints Assessment and Neuropsychiatric Disorders After Mild COVID-19 Infection.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze cognitive impairment associated with long-term coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome and its correlation with anxiety, depression, and fatigue in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 127 patients with COVID-19. Tests to screen for neuropsychiatric symptoms included the Fatigue Severity Scale, Mini-Mental State Exam 2 (MMSE-2), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Diagnosis and classification of optic neuritis.

There is no consensus regarding the classification of optic neuritis, and precise diagnostic criteria are not available. This reality means that the diagnosis of disorders that have optic neuritis as the first manifestation can be challenging. Accurate diagnosis of optic neuritis at presentation can facilitate the timely treatment of individuals with multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease.

Major depression favors the expansion of Th17-like cells and decrease the proportion of CD39Treg cell subsets in response to myelin antigen in multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: Mood disorders have been associated with risk of clinical relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS), a demyelinating disease mediated by myelin-specific T cells.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the impact of major depressive disorder (MDD) and cytokine profile of T-cells in relapsing remitting MS patients.

Methods: For our study, plasma and PBMC were obtained from 60 MS patients (30 with lifetime MDD) in remission phase.

Optic neuritis in Asian type opticospinal multiple sclerosis (OSMS-ON) in a non-Asian population: A functional-structural paradox.

Background: Biomarkers have improved the classification of autoimmune inflammatory disorders, including optic neuritis (ON) as a frequent presentation of multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis spectrum disorders, MOG antibody-related disease (MOGAD), and opticospinal multiple sclerosis (OSMS). The phenotype of OSMS in non-Asian populations is less well known.

Objective: We investigated the clinical features and prognosis of OSMS-ON in a Brazilian cohort.

Accuracy of the Brazilian version of the DYMUS questionnaire for the screening of oropharyngeal dysphagia in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common symptom of many neurological diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Early identification of the risk of dysphagia in neurological patients is very important for early referral for specialized evaluations of oropharyngeal swallowing and treatments. The Dysphagia in Multiple Sclerosis (DYMUS) questionnaire has been translated and validated in different countries over the last 10 years.

CLINICAL course of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in adults from Rio de Janeiro: Retrospective study of 23 cases and literature review.

Background: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a rare inflammatory demyelinating disorder. Most studies involve white children in developed countries in the northern hemisphere. The authors aimed to describe the clinical course and prognostic of a cohort of adult patients with ADEM from Rio de Janeiro city, where most of the population is Afro-descendant.

Author Correction: A systematic literature review on the European, African and Amerindian genetic ancestry components on Brazilian health outcomes.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

TLR-2 and TLR-4 agonists favor expansion of CD4 T cell subsets implicated in the severity of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.

Background: High frequency of circulating Th17 cell subsets expressing TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9 was observed in Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients, a severe humoral autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Our objective was to evaluate the direct effects of different TLR ligands on CD4 T-cells form those patients.

Methods: CD4 T-cell cultures from NMOSD and healthy individuals were stimulated with different TLR ligands and the cell proliferation and cytokine profile was analyzed by [H] TdR up take and ELISA/ cytometry, respectively.

Neuromyelitis optica and pregnancy-puerperal cycle.

Introduction: Since neuromyelitis optic is a disease associated with humoral immunity (Th2), it is speculated that the pregnancy period is associated with increased relapses of the disease, as well as the presence of aquaporin 4 in the placental tissue, could lead to gestational loss. The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of the puerperal pregnancy cycle on the course of NMO.

Methods: Interviewed women with gestation after diagnosis of optic neuromyelitis and submitted to questionnaires with data on the disease, such as annualized rate of relapses and EDSS score before, during and after gestation.

A systematic literature review on the European, African and Amerindian genetic ancestry components on Brazilian health outcomes.

The variables such as race, skin colour and ethnicity have become intensely discussed in medicine research, as a response to the rising debate over the importance of the ethnic-racial dimension in the scope of health-disease processes. The aim of this study was to identify the European (EUR), African (AFR) and Amerindian (AMR) ancestries on Brazilian health outcomes through a systematic literature review. This study was carried out by searching in three electronic databases, for studies published between 2005 and 2017.

Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis in Rio de Janeiro: Secondary Progression and Disability.

Background: The onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2% to 10% of cases occurs prior to 18 years of age. Early age onset appears to affect some aspects of multiple sclerosis. The objective of our study was to evaluate the prevalence, the clinical and demographic characteristics, and the disease progression in a sample of pediatric multiple sclerosis patients from a mixed population.

The expansion of circulating IL-6 and IL-17-secreting follicular helper T cells is associated with neurological disabilities in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.

Due to their function in assisting B cells, T cells may be involved in the production of pathogenic IgG in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). In the present study, the proportion of IL-6 and IL-17 T cell subsets was higher in NMOSD patients than healthy individuals. The frequency of both T cell subsets were directly associated with disease activity.

Neuropsychiatric assessments in patients with multiple sclerosis in early phases and with low disability.

Background: In the early phases of multiple sclerosis (MS), patients exhibit slight neuropsychiatric deficits that can only be detected using reliable tools.

Aim: The present investigation aimed to examine neuropsychological performance in 35 patients with incipient MS.

Patients And Methods: For the MS group, the inclusion criteria included time of disease <3 years and low disability.

Different interleukin-17-secreting Toll-like receptor T-cell subsets are associated with disease activity in multiple sclerosis.

Signalling through Toll-like receptors (TLRs) may play a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). In the present study, the expression of TLR-2, -4 and -9 was significantly higher on CD4 and CD8 T-cells from MS patients compared to healthy individuals. Following in-vitro activation, the proportion of interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-6 CD4 and CD8 T-cells was higher in the patients.

Benign multiple sclerosis: aspects of cognition and neuroimaging.

The existence of a benign multiple sclerosis (BMS) form is a controversial subject. Recent studies of these patients reveal different levels of cognitive impairment, despite the apparent preservation of motor function. The objective of this study was to review and analyze a number of publications that discuss the general aspects of this disease form, such as the definition criteria, prevalence, and clinical and neuroimaging markers.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with and without neurofibromatosis type 1.

Objective: In this study, we review the institution's experience in treating malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). A secondary aim was to compare outcomes between MPNSTs with and without neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

Methods: Ninety-two patients with MPNSTs, over a period of 20 years, were reviewed.

Expansion of IL-6 Th17-like cells expressing TLRs correlates with microbial translocation and neurological disabilities in NMOSD patients.

Different microbial antigens, by signaling through toll-like receptors (TLR), may contribute to Th17-mediated autoimmune diseases, such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of different Th17-like cell subsets that express TLR in NMOSD patients. For this study, the frequency of different Th17 cell subsets expressing TLR subsets in healthy individuals (n=20) and NMOSD patients (n=20) was evaluated by cytometry.

Malignant multiple sclerosis: clinical and demographic prognostic factors.

Patients with malignant multiple sclerosis (MMS) reach a significant level of disability within a short period of time (Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 6 within five years). The clinical profile and progression of the disease were analyzed in a Brazilian cohort of 293 patients. Twenty-five (8,53%) patients were found to have MMS and were compared with the remaining 268 (91,47%).

Fatigue favors in vitro Th1 and Th17-like cell expansion and reduces corticoid sensitivity in MS patients.

Fatigue is a common "ghost" symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease mediated by T cells that target myelin antigens of the central nervous system. As fatigue has been associated with inflammatory states, its occurrence may negatively impact MS progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of fatigue on the cytokine profile of patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS.

Disability and progression in Afro-descendant patients with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) prevalence is higher in Caucasian (CA) populations, narrowing the analysis of the impact of Afro-descendant (AD) populations in disease outcomes. Even so, recent studies observed that AD patients have a more severe course. The main objective of this study is to confirm and discuss, through a systematic review, that being AD is a risk factor for disability accumulation and/or severe progression in patients with MS.

Vitamin D modulates different IL-17-secreting T cell subsets in multiple sclerosis patients.

Vitamin D deficiency is an environmental risk factor for MS, a Th17 cell-mediated autoimmune disease that results in demyelination in the CNS. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the ability of in vitro 1,25(OH)2D in modulating different Th17 cell subsets in MS patients in remission phase. In the present study, the production of Th17-related cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, IL-22), as well as GM-CSF, was significantly higher in cell cultures from MS patients than in healthy subjects (HS).