Disease severity and response to treatment in Iranian patients with myasthenia gravis.

PURPOSE: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a potentially fatal neuromuscular disorder if left untreated. In this study, we tried to address the possible demographic, clinical, and laboratory determinants of severity and outcome in Iranian MG patients over a follow-up period of more than 5 years. METHODS: Demographic and diagnostic data (age, age of onset, antibody status, thymus pathology, and duration of the disease) of the patients with MG were extracted. Maximal disease severity and post-intervention status were assessed according to the recommendations of the task force of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. RESULTS: In our series of 146 patients, MG was more severe in older, anti-muscle specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) positive, and thymomatous patients. Seropositivity to the MuSK antibody and the presence of thymoma determined the need for immunosuppressive drugs. However, the number of patients requiring more than one immunosuppressive was not significantly different among various subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: The overall outcome was favorable in the majority of patients, despite differences in the disease course and severity. In contrary to the previous reports, anti-MuSK positive patients in our series did not need a more vigorous treatment regimen comparing other serologic subtypes of MG.

Association of HLA Class II Alleles with Disease Severity and Treatment Response in Iranian Patients with Myasthenia Gravis.

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease with a multifactorial etiology. A major part of the genetic susceptibility belongs to the HLA encoding genes. In this study, we investigated the role of HLA class II polymorphism in disease severity, and treatment response. In our 146 patients, 15 DRB1, 7 DQA1, and 9 DQB1 alleles, and 19 haplotypes were found. Adjusted p-values did not show any significant associations between these loci, disease severity and treatment outcome. Further studies in different populations with a larger number of patients are needed to determine the exact contribution of HLA class II alleles to MG prognosis.

Temporal trend analysis of stroke and salt intake: a 15-year population-based study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate temporal trends of salt intake with stroke incidence, stroke subtypes, and blood pressure in an adult population.Methods: Data were extracted from Isfahan Salt Study. The stroke incidence rate, average salt intake, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults, aged over 18 years were considered from 2000 to 2014. The Average Annual Percent Changes (AAPC), parallelism, and the coincidence of trends were estimated, using a permutation test.Results: The trend of salt intake was increased from 2010 to 2014 (AAPC = +1.59, P-value = 0.004). The trend of the stroke incidence rate was nonlinear with two change points in 2003 and 2009. The overall stroke incidence rate increased by 6.65% per year (95% CI: 1.66, 11.8, P-value = 0.015). The temporal trend changes of stroke incidence rate were steeper in patients who aged 40-45 and over 50 years (+6 to +11.5%) than in patients who aged 19-40 and 45-50 (range: -3.3% to 0). The parallelism hypothesis of longitudinal changes between salt intake and ischemic stroke was accepted in patients, aged <50 years (P-value = 0.871).Conclusions: The average salt intake and its cone-shaped variance over 15 years of the study, indicated that salt intake reduction programs and policies were effective to stop associating intake increase until 2007, however, associated intake was increased since that time, which necessitates performing preventive programs. More importantly, the trend of salt intake and ischemic stroke was similar in patients who aged <50 years, regardless of considering their blood pressure.

Predictive role of adiponectin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein for prediction of cardiovascular event in an Iranian cohort Study: The Isfahan Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have been conducted on the predictive effects of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) on cardiovascular events. Few studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of adiponectin for the prediction of the incident of cardiovascular events in the Middle East area. This study compared the predictive effect of hs-CRP and adiponectin on healthy volunteers for the prediction of cerebrovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: This nested case-control in original Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) was conducted from 2001 to 2011. Participants were selected from ICS. The case group included participants with CVD while the control group included participants without CVD. The level of hs-CRP and adiponectin was measured in the blood samples collected in the year 2007. Thereafter, the statistical analyses were performed to determine the predictive value of hs-CRP and adiponectin in CVD prediction. RESULTS: The results showed that before the elimination of diabetes effect; there was a significant difference between the two groups, in terms of the mean of adiponectin (P = 0.019) and no significant difference was observed in hs-CRP levels (P = 0.673). However, after eliminating the factor of diabetes, there was no significant difference between the case and control groups in adiponectin and hs-CRP levels (P = 0.184, P = 0.946). The results showed that the odds ratio (OR) of the adiponectin level was 0.879 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.719-1.075, P = 0.210] while the OR of hs-CRP was 1.045 (95% CI: 0.922-1.185, P = 0.491). Furthermore, it was shown that after adjustment for age, sex, and diabetes; the OR of adiponectine was 0.875 (95% CI: 0.701-1.091, P = 0.235) and that of hs-CRP was 1.068 (95% CI: 0.935-1.219, P = 0.333). CONCLUSION: The results show that adiponectin and hs-CRP cannot be predictors for cardiovascular events in a healthy population. Risk factors such as diabetes limit the use of adiponectin as a CVD predictor.

Elevated troponin T after acute ischemic stroke: Association with severity and location of infarction.

BACKGROUND: Serum troponin elevation, characteristic of ischemic myocardial injury, has been observed in some acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Its cause and significance are still controversial. The purpose of this study is to find determinants of troponin elevation and its relationship with stroke severity and location. METHODS: Between January 2013 and August 2013, 114 consecutive AIS patients confirmed by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging were recruited in this study. Serum troponin T level was measured as part of routine laboratory testing on admission. Ten lead standard electrocardiogram (ECG) was performed and stoke severity was assessed based on National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). RESULTS: Troponin T was elevated in 20 (17.6%) of 114 patients. Patients with elevated troponin were more likely to have higher age, higher serum creatinine and ischemic ECG changes. Troponin levels were higher in patients with more severe stroke measured by NIHSS [7.96 (6.49-9.78) vs. 13.59 (10.28-18.00)]. There was no association between troponin and locations of stroke and atrial fibrillation. There were 6 (5%) patients with elevated troponin in the presence of normal creatinine and ECG. CONCLUSION: Stroke severity, not its location, was associated with higher troponin levels. Abnormal troponin levels are more likely, but not exclusively, to be due to cardiac and renal causes than cerebral ones.