Differences in Intercellular Communication During Clinical Relapse and Gadolinium-Enhanced MRI in Patients With Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Study of the Composition of Extracellular Vesicles in Cerebrospinal Fluid.

This study was designed based on the hypothesis that changes in both the levels and surface marker expression of extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be associated with the clinical form, disease activity, and severity of multiple sclerosis (MS). The analyzes were performed on subjects affected by MS or other neurological disorders. EVs, which were isolated by ultracentrifugation of CSF samples, were characterized by flow cytometry.

Frequency and determinants for hemorrhagic transformation of posterior cerebral stroke : Posterior ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic transformation.

Background: hemorrhagic transformation is a threatening ischemic stroke complication. Frequency of hemorrhagic transformation differs greatly among studies, and its risk factors have been usually studied in patients with anterior ischemic stroke who received thrombolytic therapy. We evaluated, in a hospital-based series of patients with posterior ischemic stroke not treated with thrombolysis, frequency and risk factors of hemorrhagic transformation.

Association between multiple sclerosis, cancer risk, and immunosuppressant treatment: a cohort study.

Background: The association between multiple sclerosis (MS) and cancer has long been investigated with conflicting results. Several reports suggest an increased cancer risk among MS patients treated with immunosuppressant (IS) drugs.

Methods: We performed a cohort study including MS patients recruited at the Neurological Department of the University of Palermo.

Effects of More-Affected vs. Less-Affected Motor Cortex tDCS in Parkinson's Disease.

: To evaluate therapeutic potential of different montages of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients with asymmetric motor symptoms. : Fourteen patients with asymmetric PD underwent, while on treatment, seven separate sessions including electrophysiological and clinical evaluation at baseline and after anodal, cathodal and sham tDCS of the primary motor cortex (M1) of the two hemispheres. Changes in motor cortical excitability were evaluated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Effect of organizational features on patient satisfaction with care in Italian multiple sclerosis centres.

Background And Purpose: Receiving clear, complete and up-to-date information and having a satisfying relationship with the health professional (HP) are of primary importance for MS patients. Healthcare organization plays a key role in promoting an effective relationship and communication between patients and HPs. The present study aims to explore which care organization and service characteristics provided by Italian MS centres best predict patients' satisfaction with healthcare.

Mercaptopurine Treatment in an Adult Man with Orbital and Intracranial Rosai-Dorfman Disease.

. Rosai-Dorfmann disease (RDD) is a rare, idiopathic non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis, affecting children and young adults, that commonly presents as painless, massive cervical lymphadenopathy with fever, weight loss, and polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia. Cervical lymphadenopathy and extranodal involvement are the main presentations.

In patient's with Parkinson disease, autonomic symptoms are frequent and associated with other non-motor symptoms.

Background: Autonomic symptoms and sleep disorders are common non-motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), which are correlated with poor quality of life for patients.

Purpose: To assess the frequency of autonomic symptoms in a consecutive series of PD patients and to correlate them with other motor and non-motor symptoms.

Methods: All consecutive non-demented PD patients who underwent an extensive evaluation including Hoehn and Yahr staging, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Beck's Depression Inventory, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, PDQ-39 Scale, the Parkinson's diseases Sleep Scale, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and SCOPA-AUT scale were enrolled.

Lesion load may predict long-term cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques provided evidences into the understanding of cognitive impairment (CIm) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Objectives: To investigate the role of white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) in predicting long-term CIm in a cohort of MS patients.

Methods: 303 out of 597 patients participating in a previous multicenter clinical-MRI study were enrolled (49.

Identification of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of multiple sclerosis patients by immunoproteomics approach.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. At present, the molecular mechanisms causing the initiation, development and progression of MS are poorly understood, and no reliable proteinaceous disease markers are available. In this study, we used an immunoproteomics approach to identify autoreactive antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients to use as candidate markers with potential diagnostic value.

Migraine and cranial autonomic symptoms in children and adolescents: a clinical study.

The frequency of cranial autonomic symptoms in children affected by primary headaches is uncertain. The aim of our study was to estimate the frequency of symptoms in pediatric headaches and correlate it with main migraine characteristics. A questionnaire investigating the presence of cranial autonomic symptoms was administered to all children with primary headache for 2 years.

Transcranial direct current stimulation for treatment of freezing of gait: a cross-over study.

Background And Objective: Progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) is frequently characterized by the occurrence of freezing of gait (FOG) representing a disabling motor complication. We aim to investigate safety and efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation of the primary motor cortex of PD patients with FOG.

Methods: In this cross-over, double-blind, sham-controlled study, 10 PD patients with FOG persisting in "on" state underwent anodal and sham direct current stimulation for 5 consecutive days.

Oligodendroglioma cells synthesize the differentiation-specific linker histone H1˚ and release it into the extracellular environment through shed vesicles.

Chromatin remodelling can be involved in some of the epigenetic modifications found in tumor cells. One of the mechanisms at the basis of chromatin dynamics is likely to be synthesis and incorporation of replacement histone variants, such as the H1˚ linker histone. Regulation of the expression of this protein can thus be critical in tumorigenesis.

Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging predictors of disease progression in multiple sclerosis: a nine-year follow-up study.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to identify clinical or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) predictors of long-term clinical progression in a large cohort of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Methods: A total of 241 relapsing-remitting (RR) MS patients were included in a nine-year follow-up (FU) study. The reference MRIs were acquired at baseline (BL) as part of a multicenter, cross-sectional, clinical-MRI study.

Early and late mortality of spontaneous hemorrhagic transformation of ischemic stroke.

Background: Hemorrhagic transformation (HT), a complication of ischemic stroke (IS), might influence patient's prognosis. Our aim is to evaluate, in a hospital-based series of patients not treated with thrombolysis, the relationship between HT and mortality.

Methods: We compared mortality of individuals with spontaneous HT with that of individuals without.

Clinical features and lifestyle of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Campania: brief overview of an Italian database.

Background: Physical activity and occupational exposures appeared to play a relevant role in pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease of unknown origin.

Materials And Methods: We aimed to make an overview of the clinical characteristics and lifestyle (occupation and sport) of a population of 395 patients with ALS from Campania, in southern Italy.

Results: ALS onset resulted anticipated of about 11 years in industry workers, whilst the more frequent site of onset among farmers was upper limbs.

Sleep quality in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease and its relationship to quality of life.

Background: Knowledge about sleep complaints of caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) is limited, and we lack information about the relationship between caregivers' sleep problems and their quality of life (QoL).

Methods: We evaluated subjective sleep quality and its relationship to QoL in a group of 80 caregivers of patients with AD (ADCG, n = 40) and PD (PDCG, n = 40), and in 150 controls. Information about night-time complaints was collected using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Tumor diagnosis preceding Alzheimer's disease onset: is there a link between cancer and Alzheimer's disease?

Studies reporting an inverse association between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cancer are scant. Available data are mostly based on ancillary findings of mortality data or obtained from studies evaluating frequency of neoplasms in AD patients independently if they occurred before or after AD. Moreover, some studies estimated frequencies of neoplasms in demented individuals, who were not necessarily AD patients.

Incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Sicily: A population based study.

Our objective was to investigate incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Sicily, southern Italy, by means of a population based study. We included people with ALS resident in five Sicilian provinces, whose onset occurred in the two-year period 2005-2006 (population at 31 December 2006: 3,481,096 inhabitants). A multisource case-finding procedure was adopted and patients were classified as affected by ALS according to revised El Escorial criteria.

Cholesterol levels and risk of hemorrhagic transformation after acute ischemic stroke.

Background: The association between cholesterol levels and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) is still controversial. Studies investigating this issue are influenced by treatments as some are characterized by a higher risk of HT. The aim of our study was to evaluate, in a hospital-based series of patients not treated with thrombolysis, the relationship between cholesterol levels and HT.