Serum soluble lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 levels in patients with restless legs syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the predisposition for atherosclerosis in patients with RLS through serum sLOX-1 (serum Lectin-Like Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-1) measurements. BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiological studies have suggested an association of RLS with certain chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus (DM), obesity, hypertension (HT), and hyperlipidemia. LOX-1 is expressed in endothelial cells, macrophages, and in smooth muscle cells under the effect of proatherogenic conditions. METHODS: This study was a prospective, cross-sectional, case-controlled. We measured the serum sLOX-1 levels in 37 restless legs syndrome patients and 38 controls. RESULTS: Serum sLOX-1 level was significantly lower in the patient group. The two groups were similar in glucose, HbA1c, creatinine, LDL cholesterol, TG, HDL, total protein, albumin, AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, HGB, HCT, MCV, transferrin saturation rate (TSR), ferritin, CRP, TSH, FT4, FT3, B12, and folic acid levels. Also the two groups were similar with respect to age at menarche, number of previous births, number of abortions and/or curettage, total duration of breastfeeding, percentage of patients in menopause, and age at menopause. CONCLUSION: Our results may suggest a lower atherosclerotic risk among RLS patients as compared to the general population (Tab. 3, Ref. 33).

Managing atypical and typical herpetic central nervous system infections: results of a multinational study.

There have been many studies pertaining to the management of herpetic meningoencephalitis (HME), but the majority of them have focussed on virologically unconfirmed cases or included only small sample sizes. We have conducted a multicentre study aimed at providing management strategies for HME. Overall, 501 adult patients with PCR-proven HME were included retrospectively from 35 referral centres in 10 countries; 496 patients were found to be eligible for the analysis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis using a PCR assay yielded herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 DNA in 351 patients (70.8%), HSV-2 DNA in 83 patients (16.7%) and undefined HSV DNA type in 62 patients (12.5%). A total of 379 patients (76.4%) had at least one of the specified characteristics of encephalitis, and we placed these patients into the encephalitis presentation group. The remaining 117 patients (23.6%) had none of these findings, and these patients were placed in the nonencephalitis presentation group. Abnormalities suggestive of encephalitis were detected in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 83.9% of the patients and in electroencephalography (EEG) in 91.0% of patients in the encephalitis presentation group. In the nonencephalitis presentation group, MRI and EEG data were suggestive of encephalitis in 33.3 and 61.9% of patients, respectively. However, the concomitant use of MRI and EEG indicated encephalitis in 96.3 and 87.5% of the cases with and without encephalitic clinical presentation, respectively. Considering the subtle nature of HME, CSF HSV PCR, EEG and MRI data should be collected for all patients with a central nervous system infection.