Acta neurologica Belgica最新文献

Clarify the relationship between the use of statins and the risk of dementia, and further guide the clinical application of statins. This paper uses computer search Chinese and foreign language databases Pubmed, Medline, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, Weipu, CBM, Wanfang, CNKI, etc., to include the literature that meets the standards from the establishment of the library to December 2020, and uses Revman 5.1 software and Stata15.0 software for meta-analysis. Of the 34 included observational studies, stratified subgroup analyses were performed based on the type of clinical trial, sex of participants, presence or absence of apolipoprotein E-4 (ApoEε4) allele, and duration of use. The conclusions showed that (1) the use of statins can significantly reduce the risk of dementia; (2) There is no significant sex difference in reducing the risk of dementia; (3) Continuous use of statins for ≥ 1 year can significantly reduce the risk of dementia compared with the time of taking the drug for < 1 year; (4) Compared with subjects with negative ApoEε4 allele, the use of statins has a more significant effect on reducing the risk of dementia in subjects carrying the ApoEε4 allele.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis involves both environmental and genetic factors. Any stage of life, including the prenatal and perinatal years, may be impacted by environmental factors linked to the onset and progression of MS. It is essential to assess these environmental elements in order to avoid the start of illness. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of parental smoking before childbirth.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between MS and parental cigarette consumption before childbirth.

Design and methods: We conducted a case-control study at Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from June 2023 to June 2024. MS diagnosis was confirmed using 2017 revised McDonald's criteria. Experts created a questionnaire to gather information on parental smoking habits, sex, and age. Patients with incomplete questionnaires or parents with MS were not included in the analysis. The control group comprised patients' companions at the Surgical Ward of Sina Hospital. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for MS onset due to paternal and maternal cigarette smoking, adjusting for potential confounders.

Results: A total of 379 MS patients and 379 controls were included in the study. The mean age of the MS patients was 37.97 ± 9.09 years, while the control group had a mean age of 36.13 ± 12.93 years. Our findings indicated that paternal daily cigarette consumption before pregnancy, adjusted for age and sex, increased the risk of MS onset in offspring by 65% (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.17-2.31, p < 0.004). Furthermore, paternal daily cigarette consumption during maternal pregnancy increased the risk by 71% (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.21-2.42, p < 0.002). However, no significant association was found between maternal cigarette smoking, either before or during pregnancy, and the onset of MS in offspring.

Conclusions: Paternal cigarette smoking, before and during pregnancy, significantly increased the risk of MS in offspring. These findings highlight the need for further investigation and public awareness, as paternal smoking may represent a preventable risk factor for MS development.

Introduction: Recent studies suggest a link between gut microbiota and neurological diseases, implicating the microbiome's role in neurological health. However, the specific alterations in the microbiome associated with migraine remain underexplored. This study aims to systematically review the existing literature to determine whether migraine patients are associated with changes in gut microbiota composition.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement. We included original empirical studies investigating the microbiome in migraine patients. Data extracted included study design, participant demographics, microbiome differences at various taxonomic levels, and measures of microbial diversity (alpha and beta diversity). The search and selection process involved four independent reviewers who assessed abstracts and full texts to ensure eligibility. The gut microbiota was evaluated using relative abundance and diversity indices.

Results: Six studies, encompassing various regions including China, Korea, and Italy, were included in the analysis. The results indicated significant differences in gut microbiota between migraine patients and controls. Key findings include a reduction in Faecalibacterium, a genus known for its anti-inflammatory properties, in migraine patients, including those with chronic migraine. Conversely, Veillonella exhibited elevated abundance compared to controls. Other taxa, such as Prevotella and Parabacteroides, showed variable associations with migraine across different studies, suggesting a dysbiotic gut environment in migraine patients.

Conclusion: This review highlights that migraines are associated with specific alterations in gut microbiota, including decreased microbial diversity and changes in the abundance of key taxa. These findings suggest that gut microbiota dysbiosis may play a role in migraine pathophysiology. Further research is needed to explore the potential causal relationships and therapeutic implications, particularly targeting the microbiome in migraine management.

We report here a very rare case of a 54-year-old patient admitted for acute headache, vertigo and dizziness, 48 h after a sudden episode of transient low back pain. Noncontrast CT scan of the head and brain MRI showed several fat droplets with a distribution in the subarachnoid spaces, the lateral ventricles and basal cisterns. Because no underlying intracranial fat-containing lesion was found on brain MRI, a lumbosacral spine MRI scan was performed and showed an intrathecal multilobulated lesion within the spinal canal at the L4 level highly suggestive of a partial rupture of a dermoid cyst with communication into the adjacent CSF space, explaining the transthecal fat migration. Resection of the cyst was recommended to prevent further cranial fat embolism. However, she decided not to undergo surgery. At her 3-months follow-up visit, she was still asymptomatic. The detection of intracranial fat droplets should initiate prompt investigations to discover the source of the emboli to prevent potential complications.