The Oslo Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Registry was established in 1990, and this is the first report on the prevalence and incidence of MS in the city of Oslo, Norway. The prevalence rate of definite MS on 1 January 1995 was 120.4/10(5). Inclusion of patients of native Norwegian ancestry only and exclusion of non-Norwegian immigrants yielded a prevalence rate of 136.0/10(5). A similar prevalence rat...

UNLABELLED We present a case of a young female patient with a rare cause of relapsing and remitting Cushing's syndrome due to ectopic ACTH secretion from a thymic neuroendocrine tumour. A 34-year-old female presented with a constellation of symptoms of Cushing's syndrome, including facial swelling, muscle weakness and cognitive impairment. We use the terms 'relapsing and remitting' in this case...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The considerable clinical effect of natalizumab in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis might be explained by its possible beneficial effect on axonal functioning. In this longitudinal study, the effect of natalizumab on absolute concentrations of total N-acetylaspartate, a marker for neuronal integrity, and other brain metabolites is investigated in patie...

Conduction along the optic nerve is often slowed in multiple sclerosis (MS). This is typically assessed by measuring the latency of the P100 component of the Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) using electroencephalography. The Visual Evoked Spread Spectrum Analysis (VESPA) method, which involves modulating the contrast of a continuous visual stimulus over time, can produce a visually evoked response...

Memory and naïve B cells are considered to play distinct roles in immune regulation. However, the roles of memory and naïve B-cell subsets in multiple sclerosis (MS) have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we examined whether memory and naïve B-cell subsets differ between patients with MS and healthy subjects and whether interferon beta (IFNbeta)-1b can affect these subsets in patients wit...

CONTEXT Hypointense lesions on T1-weighted spin-echo magnetic resonance images (T1 lesions) represent destructive multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions, consisting of axonal loss and matrix destruction. These lesions are being used as a secondary outcome measure in phase III clinical trials. Clinical determinants of T1 lesions may differ between subgroups of patients with MS and subsequently may have...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE For cases of multiple sclerosis (MS), magnetization transfer (MT) imaging may provide more pathologically specific and accurate estimates of the disease process than does conventional imaging. In this study, we evaluated changes of the MT ratio (MTR) of newly enhancing lesions, the MTR of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM), the average lesion MTR, and the MT histogram-d...

OBJECTIVE To identify clinical and demographic factors associated with long-term disability in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. DATA SOURCES We searched the MEDLINE (1966-May 2005), EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane, and PsycINFO computerized databases, and reviewed reference lists of retrieved articles. STUDY SELECTION We included studies that examined predictors of long-term d...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To determine whether occult disease fluctuates with macroscopic lesions during the natural history of multiple sclerosis (MS) and whether therapeutic interventions affect occult disease, we performed serial monthly magnetization transfer (MT) imaging in patients with relapsing-remitting MS in a crossover trial with interferon beta-lb. METHODS Serial whole-brain magnetiz...