Objectives: To determine whether plantarflexor (PF) spasticity or ankle strength best predicts variance in walking capacity or self-perceived limitations in walking in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) and whether persons with MS with PF spasticity are weaker and have greater walking dysfunction than do persons with MS without PF spasticity.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: University research laboratory.
Participants: Forty-two adults with MS (mean age, 42.9±10.1y; Expanded Disability Status Scale score, median=3.0, range=0-6) and 14 adults without disability (mean age, 41.9±10.1y).
Intervention: Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures: PF spasticity and dorsiflexion and PF maximum voluntary isometric torque were assessed using the modified Ashworth Scale and a computerized dynamometer, respectively. The Timed 25-Foot Walk Test was the primary outcome measure of walking capacity. Secondary measures included the 6-Minute Walk Test and the 12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale.
Results: PF strength was the most consistent predictor of variance in walking capacity (Timed 25-Foot Walk Test: R(2) change=.23-.29, P≤.001; 6-Minute Walk Test: R(2) change=.12-.29, P≤.012), and self-perceived limitations of walking (12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale: R(2) change=.04-.14, P<.18). There were no significant differences (P>.05) between persons with MS with PF spasticity and persons with MS without PF spasticity for any of the outcome measures.
Conclusions: Our study suggests a unique contribution of PF weakness to walking dysfunction in persons with MS, and highlights the importance of evaluating PF strength in this clinical population.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2014.01.030 | DOI Listing |
JAMA Netw Open
December 2024
Department of Cell Biology, The Province and Ministry Cosponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Importance: Patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) may develop adult rheumatic diseases later in life, and prolonged or recurrent disease activity is often associated with substantial disability; therefore, it is important to identify patients with JIA at high risk of developing adult rheumatic diseases and provide specialized attention and preventive care to them.
Objective: To elucidate the full extent of the genetic association of JIA with adult rheumatic diseases, to improve treatment strategies and patient outcomes for patients at high risk of developing long-term rheumatic diseases.
Design, Setting, And Participants: In this genetic association study of 4 disease genome-wide association study (GWAS) cohorts from 2013 to 2024 (JIA, rheumatoid arthritis [RA], systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], and systemic sclerosis [SSc]), patients in the JIA cohort were recruited from the US, Australia, and Norway (with a UK cohort included in the meta-analyzed cohort), while patients in the other 3 cohorts were recruited from US and Western European countries.
JAMA Netw Open
December 2024
Department of Epidemiology and Health Care Atlas, Central Research Institute of Ambulatory Health Care, Berlin, Germany.
Importance: A growing body of literature suggests the presence of a prodromal period with nonspecific signs and symptoms before onset of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Objective: To systematically assess diseases and symptoms diagnosed in the 5 years before a first MS- or central nervous system (CNS) demyelinating disease-related diagnostic code in pediatric patients compared with controls without MS and controls with another immune-mediated disorder, juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, matched case-control study included children and adolescents (aged <18 years) in Germany with statutory health insurance from January 2010 to December 2020.
Elife
December 2024
Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, United States.
Inhibition of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) has proven to be highly effective in the treatment of B-cell malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), autoimmune disorders, and multiple sclerosis. Since the approval of the first BTK inhibitor (BTKi), Ibrutinib, several other inhibitors including Acalabrutinib, Zanubrutinib, Tirabrutinib, and Pirtobrutinib have been clinically approved. All are covalent active site inhibitors, with the exception of the reversible active site inhibitor Pirtobrutinib.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTomography
December 2024
Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
Using a pediatric-focused lens, this review article briefly summarizes the presentation of several demyelinating and neuroinflammatory diseases using conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences, such as T1-weighted with and without an exogenous gadolinium-based contrast agent, T2-weighted, and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR). These conventional sequences exploit the intrinsic properties of tissue to provide a distinct signal contrast that is useful for evaluating disease features and monitoring treatment responses in patients by characterizing lesion involvement in the central nervous system and tracking temporal features with blood-brain barrier disruption. Illustrative examples are presented for pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and neuroinflammatory diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxins (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences-Campus Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, 08907 Barcelona, Spain.
Epsilon toxin (ETX) from is a pore-forming toxin (PFT) that crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds to myelin structures. In in vitro assays, ETX causes oligodendrocyte impairment, subsequently leading to demyelination. In fact, ETX has been associated with triggering multiple sclerosis.
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