[Assessment of the size of the thalamus as a method for the evaluation of the activity of neurodegenerative process after the treatment with cerebrolisin in young patients with multiple sclerosis].

The aim of the study was to describe the atrophy of the thalamus in young patients with active relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with cerebrolysin. Eighteen MS patients (mean age 20.10±0.45 years) with disease onset in childhood or adolescence were studied. Neurological examination using the EDSS, neuropsychological testing and MRI were used. At baseline, MRI revealed the hypotrophy of the thalamus that was not correlated with the performance on neuropsychological tests. After treatment with cerebrolysin, there was the decrease in the level of atrophy that suggested the neuroprotective effect of this drug. This effect was more prominent in younger patients with the high frequency of previous relapses.

[The role of dopamine in the regulation of the interaction between nervous and immune systems in multiple sclerosis].

A complex neurological and neuropsychological examination, including the detection of depression, was conducted in 71 patients with multiple sclerosis aged from 23 to 62 years (mean age 43 ± 9 years). An immunobiochemical study included the analysis of expression of CD80 and CD86 on monocytes and B-cells, expression of TLR2 and TLR4 on monocytes, expression of D3 and D5 dopamine receptors on monocytes and B-cells, using flow cytometry, and the determination of Il-6, Il-10, IL-12p40 and dopamine plasma levels as well as vanillylmandelic acid (VMA, dopamine metabolite) urine levels measured with immunoenzyme assay. The results suggest the involvement of dopamine in the pathogenesis of depression in MS as assessed by dopamine and its metabolites levels. The role of dopamine and monocyte activation (by TLR2) in the pathogenesis of cognitive disturbances was specified as well.

[Data of MRI and neuropsychological tests predict the course of typical remitting multiple sclerosis during five years].

A complex study of 50 patients with active typical remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) was carried out. Neuropsychological testing using Wechsler and Stroop tests and MRI of the brain with the morphometric analysis of focal and diffusive changes were used in the study. Patients were stratified into two subgroups by the changes in the performance of neuropsychological tests. The disease course was assessed during five years. In all cases, the natural course of the disease, i.e. when patients did not receive disease modifying drugs, was analyzed. The transition to secondary progressive MS and the marked increase in MS severity on the EDSS were found in the subgroup of patients who demonstrated changes in the neuropsychological test performance. The strongest correlation was observed between EDSS scores and the diffusive atrophy of the brain white matter on MRI. The data of neuropsychological testing and some brain MRI parameters may be recommended as a predictive test in remitting MS.