There is no correlation between RNFL thickness and P(100) response in patients with MS. PVEP seems to be a more reliable biomarker in determining visual pathway involvement in patients with no history of optic neuritis.

Our results show that 1 g intravenous magnesium sulfate is an efficient, safe, and well-tolerated drug in the treatment of migraine attacks. It is possible that magnesium sulfate could be used in a broader spectrum of patients than other drugs commonly used for attack treatment. In view of these results, the effect of magnesium sulfate in acute migraine should be examined in large-scale studies.

Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) is a non-invasive diagnostic tool enabling evaluation of blood fl ow characteristics of basal intracerebral vessels via thin calvarian regions. Several factors may affect the normal values of cerebral hemodynamic parameters, and standard reference values for each laboratory are needed for precise interpretation of the results. The aims of this study were to determine normal values of fl ow velocities of basal cerebral arteries of our TCD laboratory, and to study the infl uence of age and gender on normal values. We studied 63 healthy volunteers (30 male and 33 females; age range, 5 -69 years old) with TCD with a 2-MHz transcranial probe. The subjects were divided into 7 age groups: 5-10 years, 11-20 years, 21-30 years, 31-40 years, 41-50 years, 51-60 years and > 60 years. Mean velocity (V mean), peak systolic velocity (PSV), and end-diastolic velocities (EDV) were determined in middle, anterior and posterior cerebral arteries. No signifi cant gender difference was found. However, there was a decrease in blood fl ow velocities in all vessels with advancing age, which was signifi cant when subjects older than 40 years and 40 years old were compared. V mean, PSV and EDV values were highest in the age group of 5 -10 years old and lowest in volunteers older than the age of 60 ( p < 0.05). As a conclusion, fl ow velocities in basal cerebral arteries range widely and are signifi cantly age-related. Age matching of TCD data is a requirement for clinically relevant conclusions.transcranial Doppler sonography; basal; cerebral arteries; normal values; healthy subjects. Tohoku

No abstract

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the human central nervous system. In the present study, we aimed to determine adiponectin, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-12p70, and IL-13 levels in the sera of patients with MS and to investigate the effects of interferon (IFN), glatiramer acetate (GA), and immunosuppressive treatment regimens on these parameters. Methods: Fifty-seven patients with MS and 34 healthy controls were enrolled into the study. Serum cytokine levels were measured using enzyme immunoassay. Results: Significantly elevated levels of IL-12p70 and IL-13 were found in the sera of patients with MS, but decreased adiponectin levels were found in patients’ sera compared to healthy controls. The levels of IL-12p70 and IL-13 in the IFN therapy group were higher than those of the healthy controls. However, the IL-12p70 and IL-13 levels in the GA therapy group were not different from those of the healthy controls. There were no differences with regard to adiponectin levels among the subgroups of patients with MS according to therapy regimen and the healthy controls. At the end of a 2-year follow-up period, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) values were found to be increased in the IFN therapy group but unchanged in the GA therapy group. Conclusions: These findings suggest that adiponectin, IL-12p70, and IL-13 may play a role in the pathogenesis of MS. Additionally, GA therapy regimens in MS are more effective than IFN therapy with respect to decreasing the levels of IL-12p70 and IL-13 and stabilizing the EDSS value.