Multiple sclerosis and environmental risk factors: a case-control study in Iran.

Studies have shown an increase in the incidence of MS in Iran. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between environmental exposure and MS in Iran. This case-control study was conducted on 660 MS patients and 421 controls. Many environmental factors are compared between the two groups. Our findings demonstrated that prematurity ([OR = 4.99 (95% CI 1.34-18.68), P = 0.017]), history of measles and mumps ([OR = 1.60 (95% CI 1.05-2.45), P = 0.029; OR = 1.85 (95% CI 1.22-2.78), P = 0.003, respectively]), breast feeding [OR = 2.90 (95% CI 1.49-5.65), P = 0.002], head trauma in childhood ([OR = 8.21 (95% CI 1.56-43.06), P = 0.013]), vaccination in adulthood ([OR = 4.57 (95% CI 1.14-18.41), P = 0.032, respectively]), migraine ([OR = 3.50 (95% CI 1.61-7.59), P = 0.002]), family history of MS, IBD, migraine, and collagen vascular diseases ([OR = 2.73 (95% CI 1.56-4.78), P < 0.001], [OR = 3.14 (95% CI 1.460-6.78), P = 0.004; OR = 3.18 (95% CI 1.83-5.53), P < 0.001; OR = 1.81 (95% CI 1.03-3.20), P = 0.040, respectively]), stressful events ([OR = 32.57 (95% CI 17.21-61.64), P < 0.001]), and microwave exposure ([OR = 3.55 (95% CI 2.24-5.63), P ≤0.001]) were more in the MS group. Sun exposure ([OR = 0.09 (95% CI 0.02-0.38), P = 0.001]), dairy and calcium consumption ([OR = 0.44 (95% CI 0.27-0.71), P = 0.001]), diabetes mellitus ([OR = 0.11 (95% CI 0.01-00.99), P = 0.049], and complete vaccination during childhood appeared to decreased MS risk. Our results investigated many risk factors and protective factors in Iran.

Risk factors of Multiple sclerosis and their Relation with Disease Severity: A Cross-sectional Study from Iran.

BACKGROUND: Many risk factors have been investigated in multiple sclerosis (MS); however, few studies have focused on the association between risk factors and the disease severity. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between some of these risk factors and MS severity in a population sample of Iranian patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 660 patients with MS. In addition to demographic variables, many potential risk factors were recorded. To compare the severity, progression index (PI) was calculated. This index is created by current Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) /disease duration. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that active smoking status is related with MS severity. (P-value = 0.012). Furthermore, our findings demonstrated that age at the disease onset [P < 0.001; OR = 1.05 (95% CI: 1.03-1.07)], female gender [P = 0.002; OR = 1.86 (95% CI: 1.24-2.77)] and marital status [P = 0.002; OR = 1.71 (95% CI: 1.21-2.41)] correlated with the severity of MS in the adjusted model. MS severity was observed to be related with high school and academic studies ([P = 0.004; OR = 0.56 (95% CI: 0.38-0.83)], [P = 0.001; OR = 0.52 (95% CI: 0.35-0.78)]) (Primary/secondary school studies are used as reference). Moreover, there was an association between MS severity and occupation (white collar, pink collar) ([P = 0.006; OR = 0.32 (95% CI: 0.14-0.73)], [P = 0.007; OR = 0.47 (95% CI: 0.27-0.81)]) (Student is used as reference). Furthermore, the results showed a significant correlation between vision and motor symptoms as an initial symptom and PI (P = 0.001, P = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Due to high cost of MS care and its moderate to severe disability, identification of factors influencing the MS severity is important. Our results demonstrated that the major modifiable factors related with MS severity in Iranian population, some protective and some promotive, were smoking, education, marital status and occupation. Prospective studies on larger scale are needed for further proof of these results.

The efficacy of the ketogenic diet on motor functions in Parkinson's disease: A rat model.

BACKGROUND: The ketogenic diet (KD), high in fat and low in carbohydrate and protein, provides sufficient protein but insufficient carbohydrates for all the metabolic needs of the body. KD has been known as a therapeutic manner intractable epilepsy. In recent years, the effectiveness of KD drew attention to the treatment of some other disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). This study has evaluated the efficacy of KD on motor function in Parkinsonian model of rat and compared it with pramipexole. METHODS: A total of 56 male Wistar rats weighing 200-240 g between 12 and 14 weeks of age were randomized in seven 8-rat groups as follows: Control group; sham-operated group; KD group; Parkinsonian control group; KD-Parkinsonian group; pramipexole-Parkinsonian group; and KD-pramipexole-Parkinsonian group. The results of bar test, beam traversal task test, and cylinder task test were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The mean number of ketone bodies had increased significantly in the rats blood after KD. Regarding the results of the triad tests, no statistically significant difference was found between the controls and the sham-operated group. Among the Parkinsonian rats, better results were found in KD groups compared to the non-KD group. The KD enhanced the effect of pramipexole for motor function but did not reach a statistically significant level. CONCLUSION: The KD reinforced the motor function in Parkinsonian rats in our study. When the diet was combined with pramipexole, the effectiveness of the drug increased in enhancing motor function.