Abstract The term Tourettism refers to Tourette Syndrome (TS)-like symptoms which appear secondary to a variety of both acquired and congenital neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders or ...following an exposure to several drugs. The association between Tourettism and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is very rare. Only two cases of patients affected by MS who also showed a simple phonic tic and complex vocal tics respectively have been reported. The case here described reports of a 30 year-old woman affected by secondary-progressive MS who developed, 7 years after the onset of the disease, TS-like symptoms which were responsive to quetiapine. At that time her brain MRI, when compared with the previous scan, showed an increased lesion burden and an increased atrophy in the regions around Sylvian fissures. Considering recent findings on TS, the increased atrophy in these strategic brain regions could be responsible for the tics onset in our patient. At the same time, the diffuse involvement of the white matter and the progressive brain atrophy which we observed could have impaired the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits consistently implicated in the pathogenesis of TS. In conclusion, we can hypothesize that in our case Tourettism and MS could be considered causal related more than coincidentally associated.
Abstract High dose glucocorticoid (GC) treatment has been demonstrated to have a short-term beneficial effect on functional recovery in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients but the exact ...mechanism of action of GCs in MS is unclear. We found that high dose intravenous GCs strongly reduced T-bet and pSTAT1 expression in CD4+, CD8+, CD14+ circulating cells in RRMS patients in relapse. pSTAT1and T-bet reduction was associated with the decline of IFNγ production by PBMCs. A significant increase of AV-positive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was detectable after GC treatment without any variation in the percentage of annexin V-positive monocytes. By in vitro analysis, patients during relapse, either before or after GC treatment, exhibited a lower proportion of apoptotic lymphocytes than remitting patients and controls. Our study suggests that GCs can modulate T-bet and STAT1 expression and that IFNγ signalling inhibition contributes to anti-inflammatory action of GCs in the treatment of relapses of MS patients.
Fructosamine-3-Kinase (FN3K) is an enzyme phosphorilating fructoselysine (FL) residues on glycated proteins, resulting in the production of protein-bound FL-3-phosphate. The pathological role of the ...non-enzymatic modification of proteins by reducing sugars has become increasingly evident in various types of disorders, including the cancer. In this study, our aim was to study FN3K enzyme activity, as well as its mRNA in human colorectal cancer (CRC). Thirty consecutive CRC patients undergoing surgery of the colon were enrolled in the study. FN3K enzymatic activity and gene expression were analyzed using a radiometric assay and quantitative RT-PCR, respectively. FN3K is a functionally active enzyme in human colon tissue, without significant differences between normal mucosa and cancer. The mean level of FN3K mRNA was significantly lower in cancer than in the corresponding normal colorectal mucosa The colorectal tumors located on the left side showed lower levels of both enzymatic activity and mRNA FN3K than tumors located in the right side of colon. This paper is the first studying FN3K enzyme activity in human CRC, showing a significant relationship between enzymatic activity, its mRNA and tumor side.
Retrospective examination.
To define the clinical characteristics and response to therapy of spinal multiple sclerosis (MS).
Italy.
Retrospective review was performed on 563 patients with clinical ...definite MS. Selection criteria were two or more spinal cord lesions in the presence of normal magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
Spinal MS was diagnosed in 13 patients (2.3%) out of 563 with clinical definite MS. There were seven female and six male patients; nine had a relapsing-remitting (RR) and four, a primary progressive (PP) course. All patients were treated with immunosoppressive or immunomodulatory therapy. Mean disease duration in patients with RR-MS was 13.1+/-10.1 years with a mean age at onset of 29.5+/-14.3 years; the mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) at the time of the study was 3.5+/-2.5 with a progression index of 0.28. Mean disease duration in patients with PP course was 7+/-6.2 years with a mean age at onset of 56.7+/-10.4 years; the mean EDSS at the time of the study was 6.2+/-2.0 with a progression index of 1.48.
Patients with spinal RR-MS are characterised by an early disease onset with minimal or moderate disability progression; patients with spinal PP-MS show a late disease onset and more rapid disability progression. In our series of spinal MS patients, disability progression seems to be mainly due to the disease course and age at onset rather than to the site of lesion.
90K Mac-2BP glycoprotein is involved in the immune defense against a variety of neoplasms and viral infections, modulating the activity of several effectors such as natural killer cells. Quite ...interestingly, 90K Mac-2BP is associated to a poor response to interferon (IFN) α in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients. Here, in 70 consecutive HCV chronic patients, we have evaluated 90K basal levels as a response predictor to combined therapy with Peginterferon and Ribavirin. We have found higher 90K levels in genotype 1 4 than in genotype 2 3 (p = 0.006) and in 62.5% of non-responders than in 20% of responders (p < 0.001). Genotype 1 4, higher 90K and gamma glutamyl transferase (γGT) levels resulted independently associated to a status of refractoriness to therapy. Consequently, evaluation of 90K serum levels seems to be a promising useful marker of response to combined therapy in HCV disease.
Melon represents the most widespread cucurbit in Italy. In recent years melon has been subjected to significant losses in yield and quality due to an increasing number of soil-borne fungal diseases. ...The collapse of melon, caused by a complex of fungal pathogens, including Monosporascus cannonballus, Acremonium cucurbitacearum, Plectosporium tabacinum and Rhizopycnis vagum, represents one of most destructive diseases worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the occurrence of collapse throughout melon-producing areas in Italy in recent years, to verify the identification of isolates collected, and to test their pathogenicity on melon and other cucurbits. Several fungi were isolated from symptomatic roots of melons in the Italian production areas. The identification was supported by PCR with a species-specific primer and DNA sequence data. RFLP and sequence analyses showed the existence of a substantial homogeneity among Italian M. cannonballus isolates. Given the self-incompatibility of these isolates it is impossible to ascertain vegetative compatibility groups (VGC) and consequently genetic relatedness cannot be studied. The frequency of isolation of fungal species varied with geographic locations, M. cannonballus being present mainly in Central Italy, while A. cucurbitacearum and P. tabacinum were most common in Apulia. In pathogenicity tests under greenhouse conditions M. cannonballus, A. cucurbitacearum and P. tabacinum caused collapse symptoms and root rots, whereas R. vagum was found to be a weak pathogen.
Leptin, a hormone synthesized mainly by adipocytes, can modulate the immune response and seems to be involved in the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an animal model of ...multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the possible role of leptin in MS pathogenesis has not yet been elucidated. In this study we investigated the effect of leptin on cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of MS patients (either in the acute or in the stable phase of the disease) and healthy controls. We also analyzed leptin effects on cytokine production by monocytes in relapsing MS patients. Our data showed that leptin induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and interleukin-10 production by PBMCs of patients in an acute phase of disease but not in patients in a stable phase or in healthy controls. Moreover, we found no effect of leptin in monocytes from relapsing MS patients. Therefore we conclude that leptin may modulate the MS inflammatory process during relapses.
Results are reported of a three-year survey carried out on asparagus turions intended for fresh use and IV-gamma products from 22 fields in the provice of Foggia (Apulia, Southern Italy). The ...investigation consisted in colleting weekly 100 asparagus turions from each field during April-June 2007-2009. All turions were first inspected for external symptoms such as spots with purple or hydropic haloes and bent apices ("pastorale") then, they were analysed mycologically. Visual observations detected symptoms associated with attacks by Stemphylium spp. (8.0 to 25.4% incidence) and Altemaria spp. (3.0 to 8.0% incidence). Turions with curved apices ranged from 0.4 to 2.3%. Isolations in culture showed that Fusarium spp. occurred with a frequency ranging from 5.8 to 42.7%, Altemaria spp. ranged from 3.75 to 38.7%, Stemphylium spp. ranged from from 2.35 to 8.9% and Phialophora spp. from 0.25 to 2.35%. Other fungal species belonging to the genera Cladosporium, Mucor, Aerobasidium, Plectosporium and Botrytis were isolated with variable frequencies. F. proliferatum and F. oxysporum were the most frequent species recovered from turions.
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