Recent studies have reported autonomic dysfunction (AD) in multiple sclerosis (MS), and bladder and/or bowel dysfunction, orthostatic hypotension, and cardiac adaptation disorders have been observed in a wide range of patients (15-80%). The primary aim of this study is to investigate the frequency and association of AD in MS patients, assessed by sympathetic skin response (SSR) and a symptoms q...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We assessed the prevalence and potential association of hypertension with multiple sclerosis (MS)-related disability progression. METHODS This was a retrospective study of 2,813 patients who were followed for 20 years. We modeled the associations of several risk factors with the pattern of disability progression. The primary end point was the rate of disability progress...

BACKGROUND The Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS) is obtained by normalising the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score for disease duration and has been a valuable tool in cross-sectional studies. OBJECTIVE To assess whether use of age rather than the inherently ambiguous disease duration was a feasible approach. METHOD We pooled disability data from three population-based coh...

Cognitive dysfunction affects 40-65% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and can occur in the early stages of the disease. This study aimed to explore cognitive functions by means of the Italian version of the minimal assessment of cognitive function in MS (MACFIMS) in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients with very mild clinical disability to identify the primarily involved cognitive function...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of 4-aminopyridine sustained release (4AP SR) (fampridine, EL-970) using quantitative measures of motor function in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. BACKGROUND In vitro, 4AP improves conduction through demyelinated axons. A previous multicenter trial of 4AP SR using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) as the primary outcome was unable to establish c...

BACKGROUND Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with their potential to differentiate into mesodermal and non-mesodermal lineages have several immunomodulatory characteristics. These properties make them promising tools in cell and gene therapy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential therapeutic applications of autologous MSC in improving clinical manifestations of MS patients. METHODS Ten patients w...

Most of Urban Wastewater Systems (UWS) have been managed separately, without considering any interaction between sewer systems, Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) and the receiving waters. Nowadays, the conventional practice has changed, introducing the integrated management concept into the river basin scale. The goal of the project is to develop a modular Environmental Decision Support Syste...

Environmental decision support systems (EDSSs) are an emerging tool used to integrate the evaluation of highly complex and interrelated physicochemical, biological, hydrological, social, and economic aspects of environmental problems. An EDSS approach is developed to address hot-spot concerns for a water quality trading program intended to implement the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosp...

BACKGROUND Patient outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS) have generally been measured by their neurological impairment using specific scales such as the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). However, this scale does not measure the multiple dimensions of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) such as functional status and general well-being, which are also important outcomes along with...

The objective of this study was to evaluate relationships between subjective and objective measures of balance in multiple sclerosis (MS). In 54 subjects with MS, balance was measured objectively with the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) using dynamic posturography and subjectively with the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). MS-...