The population based cognitive testing in subjects with SARS-CoV-2 (POPCOV2) study: longitudinal investigation of remote cognitive and fatigue screening in PCR-positive cases and negative controls.

Background: The majority of people infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) only show mild respiratory symptoms. However, some patients with SARS-CoV-2 display neurological symptoms. Data on the exact prevalence and course of cognitive symptoms are often limited to patient reported outcomes or studies recruited at specialized centers.

Sex impacts treatment decisions in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Individual disease-modifying treatment (DMT) decisions might differ between female and male people with MS (pwMS).

Objective: To identify sex-related differences in DMT strategies over the past decades in a real-world setting.

Methods: In this cohort study, data from the Austrian Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Registry (AMSTR), a nationwide prospectively collected registry mandatory for reimbursement, were retrospectively analyzed.

Early intensive versus escalation treatment in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Austria.

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of early intensive treatment (EIT) versus escalation treatment (ESC) in a nationwide observational cohort of almost 1000 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Materials And Methods: The EIT cohort started with alemtuzumab (AZM), cladribine (CLAD), fingolimod (FTY), natalizumab (NTZ), ocrelizumab (OCR), or ozanimod (OZA); whereas, the ESC cohort was escalated from dimethylfumarate (DMF) or teriflunomide (TERI) to AZM, CLAD, FTY, NTZ, OCR, or OZA within the Austrian MS Treatment Registry. Patients had to stay on therapy for at least 3 months and up to 16 years.

Treatment recommendations for glycogen storage disease type IB- associated neutropenia and neutrophil dysfunction with empagliflozin: Consensus from an international workshop.

Glycogen storage disease type Ib (GSD Ib, biallelic variants in SLC37A4) is a rare disorder of glycogen metabolism complicated by neutropenia/neutrophil dysfunction. Since 2019, the SGLT2-inhibitor empagliflozin has provided a mechanism-based treatment option for the symptoms caused by neutropenia/neutrophil dysfunction (e.g.

Multiple sclerosis in the elderly: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: There is a lack of knowledge of disease course, prognosis, comorbidities and potential treatments of elderly MS patients.

Objective: To characterize the disease course including disability progression and relapses, to quantify the use of DMTs and to identify comorbidities and risk factors for progression in elderly multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 1200 Austrian MS patients older than 55 years as of May 1st, 2017 representing roughly one-third of all the MS patients of this age in Austria.

Real-world use of natalizumab in Austria: data from the Austrian Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Registry (AMSTR).

Introduction: With the approval of natalizumab in Europe in 2006, the Austrian Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Registry (AMSTR) was established. Here, we present data from this registry about effectiveness and safety of natalizumab in patients treated up to 14 years.

Patients/methods: Data retrieved from the AMSTR contained baseline characteristics and biannual documentation of annualised relapse rate (ARR) and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score as well as adverse events and reasons for discontinuation on follow-up visits.

Effects of horizontal versus vertical switching of disease-modifying treatment after platform drugs on disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Austria.

Objectives: To compare in a nationwide observational cohort the effectiveness, frequency and reasons for treatment interruption of dimethylfumarate (DMF) and teriflunomide (TERI) (horizontal switchers) versus alemtuzumab (AZM), cladribine (CLAD), fingolimod (FTY), natalizumab (NTZ), ocrelizumab (OCR) and ozanimod (OZA) (vertical switchers) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (pwRRMS) and prior interferon beta (IFN-beta) or glatiramer-acetate (GLAT) treatment.

Materials And Methods: The "horizontal switch cohort" included 669 and the "vertical switch cohort" 800 RRMS patients. We used propensity scores for inverse probability weighting in generalized linear (GLM) and Cox proportional hazards models to correct for bias in this non-randomized registry study.

The Use of Kappa Free Light Chains to Diagnose Multiple Sclerosis.

: The positive implications of using free light chains in diagnosing multiple sclerosis have increasingly gained considerable interest in medical research and the scientific community. It is often presumed that free light chains, particularly kappa and lambda free light chains, are of practical use and are associated with a higher probability of obtaining positive results compared to oligoclonal bands. The primary purpose of the current paper was to conduct a systematic review to assess the up-to-date methods for diagnosing multiple sclerosis using kappa and lambda free light chains.

Experimental laboratory biomarkers in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system; the cause of this condition remains unknown. Researchers have analyzed different biomarkers related to MS. Here, experimental laboratory biomarkers for MS are identified and analyzed.

Laboratory biomarkers of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The diagnosis of the disease is quite challenging due to its variation among patients. As a result, the need to enhance diagnostic procedures, evaluate objective prognostic markers and promote effective monitoring of patients' responses to treatment has prompted the identification of many biomarkers.

Long-term outcome and predictors of long-term disease activity in natalizumab-treated patients with multiple sclerosis: real life data from the Austrian MS Treatment Registry.

Objectives: To evaluate long-term effectiveness of natalizumab (NTZ) and to determine demographic, clinical, and radiological predictors regarding long-term disease activity (≥ 7 years) in a nationwide observational cohort, using data collected prospectively in a real-life setting.

Materials And Methods: We analysed data from 230 patients from the Austrian Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Registry (AMSTR), who had started treatment with NTZ at any time since 2006 and stayed on NTZ for at least 7 years without treatment gap of more than three months.

Results: Estimated mean annualised relapse rates (ARR) over a mean treatment period of 9.

Oral therapies for treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Austria: a 2-year comparison using an inverse probability weighting method.

Objectives: To compare the efficacies, frequencies and reasons for treatment interruption of fingolimod (FTY), dimethyl fumarate (DMF) or teriflunomide (TERI) in a nationwide observational cohort.

Materials And Methods: Two cohorts of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) having started treatment with FTY, DMF or TERI documented in the Austrian MS Treatment Registry (AMSTR) since 2014 and either staying on therapy for at least 24 months (24 m cohort) or with at least one follow-up visit after start of treatment (total cohort). The 24 m cohort included 629 RRMS patients: 295 in the FTY, 227 in the DMF and 107 in the TERI group.

Correction to: Switching from natalizumab to fingolimod treatment in multiple sclerosis: real life data from the Austrian MS Treatment Registry.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. First and last names of the authors were interchanged. The correct author names are given below.

Switching from natalizumab to fingolimod treatment in multiple sclerosis: real life data from the Austrian MS Treatment Registry.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of natalizumab (NTZ) and fingolimod (FTY) in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in sequential use in common and as a function of transition periods in a nationwide observational cohort using prospectively collected data from a real-life setting.

Materials And Methods: We included 195 patients from the Austrian MS Treatment Registry, who had started treatment with NTZ at any time since 2006 and stayed on NTZ for at least 24 months, switched afterwards within 1 year to FTY and stayed on FTY for at least another 12 months. Transition periods between NTZ and FTY were grouped into three different intervals: < 3 months (135 patients), 3-6 months (44 patients), and 6-12 months (16 patients).

Real-life use of oral disease-modifying treatments in Austria.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy, frequencies and reasons for treatment interruption of fingolimod, dimethyl fumarate (DMF) or teriflunomide in a nationwide observational cohort using prospectively collected data.

Materials And Methods: Two cohorts of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) starting treatment with fingolimod, dimethyl fumarate or teriflunomide documented in the Austrian MS Treatment Registry (AMSTR) since 2014 and either staying on therapy for at least 12 months (12m cohort) or having at least one follow-up visit (total cohort). The 12m cohort included 664 RRMS patients: 315 in the fingolimod, 232 in the DMF and 117 in the teriflunomide group.

Month-of-birth-effect in multiple sclerosis in Austria.

Background: The month-of-birth-effect (MoBE) describes the finding that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients seem to have been born significantly more frequently in spring, with a rise in May, and significantly less often in autumn and winter with the fewest births in November.

Objectives: To analyse if the MoBE can also be found in the Austrian MS population, and if so, whether the pattern is similar to the reported pattern in Canada, United Kingdom, and some Scandinavian countries.

Methods: The data of 7886 MS patients in Austria were compared to all live births in Austria from 1940 to 2010, that is, 7.

Do elevated autoantibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis matter?

Objectives: The incidence and clinical impact of serum autoantibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are controversially discussed. The aim of the study was to reassess the value of elevated serum autoantibodies in our MS study cohort.

Material & Methods: In total, 176 MS patients were retrospectively analyzed for coexistence and clinical impact of increased serum autoantibody levels.

Real-life clinical use of natalizumab and fingolimod in Austria.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of natalizumab or fingolimod in a nationwide observational cohort using prospectively collected data.

Materials And Methods: We included all patients starting treatment with natalizumab or fingolimod documented in the Austrian MS Treatment Registry (AMSTR) from 2011 and staying on therapy for at least 24 months. We used propensity scores for several matching methods and as a covariate in multivariate models to correct for the bias of this non-randomized registry study.

Late age onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is often not considered in elderly people.

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease causing an upper and lower motor neuron loss. It is neurology textbook knowledge that the mean age of onset is about 60 years. However, recent investigations show an increasing incidence in older persons.

Long-term outcome following upper extremity replantation after major traumatic amputation.

Background: Amputations in general and amputations of upper extremities, in particular, have a major impact on patients' lives. There are only a few long-term follow-up reports of patients after macro-replantation. We present our findings in contrast with the existing literature.

Mitochondrial Haplogroup T Is Associated with Obesity in Austrian Juveniles and Adults.

Background: Recent publications have reported contradictory data regarding mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation and its association with body mass index. The aim of the present study was to compare the frequencies of mtDNA haplogroups as well as control region (CR) polymorphisms of obese juveniles (n = 248) and obese adults (n = 1003) versus normal weight controls (njuvenile = 266, nadults = 595) in a well-defined, ethnically homogenous, age-matched comparative cohort of Austrian Caucasians.

Methodology And Principal Findings: Using SNP analysis and DNA sequencing, we identified the nine major European mitochondrial haplogroups and CR polymorphisms.

Circadian rhythmicity of inflammatory serum parameters: a neglected issue in the search of biomarkers in multiple sclerosis.

Inflammatory serum parameters are intensely investigated in the search of biomarkers for disease activity and treatment response in multiple sclerosis (MS). A reason for contradictory results might be the timing of blood collection for analyzing serum concentrations of inflammatory parameters which are subject to diurnal changes. We included 34 untreated patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 34 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in stroke with and without sleep apnea.

Objective: Although sleep apnea (SA) is a risk factor for ischemic stroke and an important prognostic factor in affected patients, the exact pathophysiological link between SA and stroke is unknown. We investigated whether the plasma concentration of biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, including soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 and -2 (sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2), tumor necrosis factor-β (TNF-β), soluble intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) are increased in patients with acute stroke and SA compared with stroke patients without SA.

Design/methods: In total, 76 patients with ischemic stroke admitted to the stroke unit were included in this study.