Behnaz Ansari; Masoud Etemadifar; Mohammadreza Najafi; Maryam Nasri; Rokhsareh Meamar
Volume 18, Issue 1 , January 2019, , Pages 13-18
Abstract
Background: This study was designed to investigate the difference in the prevalence of neuronal autoantibodies in patients diagnosed with established temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) of unknown cause with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) and patients with TLE without MTS.
Methods: In an observational cohort ...
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Background: This study was designed to investigate the difference in the prevalence of neuronal autoantibodies in patients diagnosed with established temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) of unknown cause with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) and patients with TLE without MTS.
Methods: In an observational cohort study design, we included thirty-three consecutive adult patients and divided them into two groups with and without MTS. We evaluated anti-neuronal and nuclear antibodies with immunofluorescence (IF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively.
Results: From the thirty-three consecutive patients with epilepsy 17 (51.1%) had MTS of which 12 had unilateral and 5 had bilateral MTS. No significant difference was detected between seropositive and seronegative patients in MTS versus non-MTS groups. The studied autoantibodies were present in 16 patients, including gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor (GABA-R) antibodies being the most common in 11 (33.3%), followed by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R) in 2 (6.1%), glutamic acid decarboxylase receptor (GAD-R) in 1 (3.0%), anti-phospholipid (APL) antibody in 1 (3.0%), CV2 in 1 (3.0%), Tr in 1 (3.0%), recoverin in 1 (3.0%), and double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) antibody in 1 (3.0%) of our patients with focal epilepsy. In both MTS and non-MTS groups, eight patients were positive for antibodies; four patients were positive for GABA in the MTS group and seven for GABA in the non-MTS group.
Conclusion: Neuronal antibodies were presented in half of patients with focal epilepsy, GABA antibody being the leading one. No specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were found in the seropositive group. Our results suggest that screening for relevant antibodies may enable us to offer a possible treatment to this group of patients.
Mehri Salari; Omid Mirmosayyeb; Masoud Etemadifar; Vahid Shaygannejad; Fariborz Khorvash; Mohammad Reza Najafi; Fereshteh Ashtari; Ahmad Chitsaz
Volume 17, Issue 1 , January 2018, , Pages 6-10
Abstract
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Its worldwide incidence rate varies between 18 and 418 cases per 100000 annually. This cross-sectional study was carried out with the aim to identify the clinical characteristics and demographic features of a ...
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Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Its worldwide incidence rate varies between 18 and 418 cases per 100000 annually. This cross-sectional study was carried out with the aim to identify the clinical characteristics and demographic features of a huge number of patients with PD in Isfahan, Iran.Methods: The study was conducted on 987 patients with PD in Isfahan city and checklists were used to evaluate the demographic features and clinical characteristics of the patients.Results: The mean age of the patients at the time of sampling was 65.40 ± 11.90 years. The study results indicated that the rate of PD among men with 67.3% was twice that of women with 32.7%. The mean duration of the disease was 4.91 ± 4.60 years.Conclusion: This study showed a considerable rate of PD among the individuals in Isfahan city. In addition, the incidence ratio of men to women was more than the previous studies.
Mehri Salari; Ahmad Chitsaz; Masoud Etemadifar; Mohammad Reza Najafi; Omid Mirmosayyeb; Maryam Bemanalizadeh; Fatemeh Panahi; Hosna Mirzajani
Volume 16, Issue 3 , July 2017, , Pages 118-124
Abstract
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is diagnosed on the basis of motor symptoms, but non-motor symptoms (NMS) have high prevalence in PD and often antecede motor symptoms for years and cause severe disability. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of NMS in patients with PD.Methods: ...
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Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is diagnosed on the basis of motor symptoms, but non-motor symptoms (NMS) have high prevalence in PD and often antecede motor symptoms for years and cause severe disability. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of NMS in patients with PD.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in Isfahan, Iran, on patients with PD. The prevalence of NMS was evaluated by the NMS questionnaire, the NMS scale, and Parkinson's disease questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). The Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) was used for assessing cognition.Results: A total of 81 patients, including 60 men and 21 women, were recruited for this study. The prevalence of NMS was 100%, and the most commonly reported symptom was fatigue (87.7%); there was a strong correlation between NMS and the quality of life (QOL) of patients with PD (P < 0.001).Conclusion: This study showed that NMS are highly prevalent in the PD population and adversely affect QOL in these patients. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve QOL and can help in disability management of patients with PD.
