Differential Exposure to spp. and Spotted Fever Group in Serbia and North Macedonia: A Comparative Study.

Several diseases caused by tick-borne pathogens, including Lyme borreliosis (LB) and spotted fever group rickettsioses, are endemic in the Balkan Peninsula, positioned between Central Europe and the Middle East. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess serological exposure to spp. and spotted fever group (SFGR) among individuals with recent tick bites and healthy controls in two Balkan countries-Serbia and North Macedonia.

Paramagnetic rim lesions are associated with choroid plexus inflammation and expansion over 5 years in people with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Chronic active white matter inflammation is linked with multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical severity and is likely integral in MS progression. It has also been associated with choroid plexus (CP) inflammation in vivo, pointing to a potential pathophysiological link between the two phenomena. However, how these aspects of the disease co-evolve over time remains poorly understood nor has their relationship been specifically assessed in people with progressive MS (pwPMS).

Evaluating the role of anti-EBV antibodies as biomarkers for the evolution of multiple sclerosis: A longitudinal study.

Background: Epstein-Barr virus seropositivity has been strongly associated with the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS); however, the utility of measuring EBV-antibodies as biomarkers for MS progression remains uncertain.

Objectives: To determine if baseline anti-EBV antibody titer levels are associated with mid-term evolution of MS.

Methods: A total of 237 participants (187 MS patients and 50 healthy controls, HC) were tested for anti-EBNA1 and anti-VCA IgG levels, whose relative concentrations were categorized into lower and highest quartiles.

Neuroimaging phenotype characterization of early aggressive and late severe multiple sclerosis: a case-control study.

A subgroup of multiple sclerosis patients experiences a severe form of the disease. Although there is a lack of consensus regarding the definition of severe multiple sclerosis, it can follow two distinct temporal disability trajectories. Early aggressive multiple sclerosis is characterized by reaching an Expanded Disability Status Scale score of ≥6.

Sensitivity of Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping for Clinical Research in Deep Gray Matter.

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) is an advanced MRI technique for assessing iron, calcium, and myelin tissue levels based on magnetic susceptibility. QSM consists of multiple processing steps, with various choices for each step. While QSM is increasingly applied in neurodegenerative disease research, its reproducibility and sensitivity in detecting susceptibility changes across groups or over time, which underpin the interpretation of clinical outcomes, have not been thoroughly quantified.