Our data suggest that rebound of MS disease activity affects a subgroup of patients (11.9%), especially those with low disease activity before natalizumab therapy and a longer treatment gap after its withdrawal.

Comparing questionnaire and diary assessments of lifestyle and trigger factors in patients with migraine shows that questionnaire assessment of lifestyle is reliable, whereas trigger factors are overestimated and/or underestimated in retrospective questionnaires.

Background: To assess the incidence rate and prevalence ratio of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Austria. Methods: Hospital discharge diagnosis and MS-specific immunomodulatory treatment prescriptions from public health insurances, covering 98% of Austrian citizens with health insurance were used to extrapolate incidence and prevalence numbers based on the capture-recapture method. Results: A total of 1,392,629 medication prescriptions and 40,956 hospitalizations were extracted from 2 data sources, leading to a total of 13,205 patients. The incidence rate and prevalence ratio of MS in Austria based on the capture-recapture method were 19.5/100,000 person-years (95% CI 14.3-24.7) and 158.9/100,000 (95% CI 141.2-175.9), respectively. Female to male ratio was 1.6 for incidence and 2.2 for prevalence. Conclusions: Incidence rates and prevalence ratios of MS in our study are within the upper range of comparable studies across many European countries as well as the United States.

The importance of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of neuroimmunological and neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), has been discussed for a long time. However, markers for oxidative stress in cerebrospinal fluid are hardly detected. The aim of the present study is to assess whether carbonyl proteins as end products of metabolic processes may serve as a marker for oxidative stress in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with neuroimmunological and neurodegenerative diseases. Levels of carbonyl proteins in the CSF were assessed in 15 patients suffering from MS, four patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including one patient with dementia complicated by carcinomatous meningitis due to breast cancer, and four control subjects with no established neurological disease. Levels of carbonyl proteins were measured with a commercially available KIT. A significant difference (P = 0.025) was shown for mean values of various subgroups with highest levels for patients with neurodegenerative diseases (756.1 pmol/mg), followed by the MS (630.8 pmol/mg) and the control group (356.5 pmol/mg). Post-hoc pair wise comparisons showed significant differences between the MS group and healthy controls (P = 0.016) as well as for patients with neurodegenerative diseases and healthy controls (P = 0.02). This pilot trial showed that carbonyl proteins might serve as measure for oxidative stress in the CSF of relapsing as well as progressive MS patients and in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Larger trials have to show whether they may serve as biomarkers and be helpful in monitoring patients with MS or neurodegenerative diseases.

Menstruation is the most prominent factor increasing the risk of aura as well as that of HoA and MoA. Smoking shows the most striking difference increasing the risk of aura, but decreasing the risk of HoA and MoA.