Two new studies have examined the effect of vitamin D in women during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Neurology
CCSVI 2010: The Year in Review
January 18, 2011January 2010:
– Internet blogs, Facebook friends and chatroom klatsches discuss CCSVI following a W-5 news program on the procedure broadcast on November 19, 2009.
– The International Union of Phlebology votes unanimously to include CCSVI lesions in its new guidelines.
– An online petition calling for governments to approve CCSVI collects 12,000 signatures.
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Saliva amyloid proposed as Alzheimer disease biomarker
January 12, 2011A pilot study of potential Alzheimer disease biomarkers has proposed that highly sensitive ELISA testing of amyloid levels in saliva may help to distinguish AD from other types of dementia at an early stage of the disease process (Bermejo-Pareja et al. BMC Neurol 2010; 10: 108).
EDSS may underrepresent progression
January 12, 2011Researchers in the Netherlands report that combining different outcome measures in MS may be more useful in assessing disease progression than change in EDSS score alone (Kragt et al. Mult Scler 2010; epublished October 26, 2010). Clinical changes were assessed in 553 patients using EDSS, the Nine-Hole Peg test, the Timed 25-Foot walk, and the MS Impact Scale.
Topiramate vs. phenytoin in new-onset epilepsy
December 8, 2010A 1-month trial comparing topiramate 100 mg/day versus phenytoin (1000 mg on day 1, 300 mg/day maintenance) in 261 patients with new-onset epilepsy has found that the two treatments are comparable. The primary objective of non-inferiority could not be established (Ramsay et al. Epilepsia 2010; 51: 1970-1977).