Cognitive impairment differs between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To compare the frequency and pattern of cognitive impairment (CI) between patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: A total of 82 NMOSD patients, 58 MS patients, and 45 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a neuropsychological assessment.

Results: CI was observed in 29% of NMOSD and 50% of MS patients (p < 0.

Assessment of Breast Cancer Patients' Knowledge and Decisional Conflict Regarding Tamoxifen Use.

Breast cancer is the most common type of female cancer. Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, is widely used to decrease breast cancer recurrence and mortality among patients. However, it also increases the risk of endometrial cancer.

Trends in the Use of Chemotherapy before and after Radical Cystectomy in Patients with Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer in Korea.

We investigated trends in perioperative chemotherapy use, and determined factors associated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) use in Korean patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). We recruited 1,324 patients who had MIBC without nodal invasion or metastases and had undergone radical cystectomies (RC) between 2003 and 2013. The study's cut-off time for AC was three months after surgery, and the study's timespan was divided into three periods based on NAC use, namely, 2003-2005, 2006-2009, and 2010-2013.

Treatment Outcomes With Rituximab in 100 Patients With Neuromyelitis Optica: Influence of FCGR3A Polymorphisms on the Therapeutic Response to Rituximab.

Importance: Despite the increased use of rituximab therapy in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), the overall efficacy and safety of long-term rituximab treatment in a large group of patients is uncertain. Furthermore, the identification of a predictor of rituximab response is an important issue for assessing the individual risk-benefit of therapy and making treatment decisions.

Objective: To assess the long-term clinical efficacy and safety of rituximab treatment in patients with NMOSD and the influence of fragment c gamma receptor 3A (FCGR3A) polymorphisms on rituximab response.

Anticoagulant from Taraxacum platycarpum.

An anticoagulant was purified from a Chinese herb, Taraxacum platycarpum. Its activity was heat-labile, and was decreased by incubation with subtilisin Carlburg or proteinase K, indicating that the active component was a protein. The protein had a molecular mass of 31 kDa by gel filtration and 33 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, so it probably was a monomer.