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Introduction: It remains a matter of debate whether traditional concepts regarding the nature of food affect the development and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).To date, there are limited studies that have investigated the association between MS and dietary patterns based on the categories of food nature (hot, cold, or balanced) defined in traditional medicine.Method: This case-control study was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020. In total, 60 patients diagnosed with MS within the preceding 6 months and referred to our neurology outpatient clinic were included in our case group. The control group included 180 patients who were referred to the same center for general or orthopedic surgery. Dietary intake was assessed in both groups through a reliable and valid semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Data were assessed using principal component analysis.Results: The mean age of the participants was 44.9 ± 17.33 years. The analysis showed that four food patterns were distinguished (eigenvalue > 1), namely "additives and cold-natured foods", "hot and balanced foods and nuts", "dairy and legumes", and "hot and balanced starches". These food patterns explained 57.8% of the total variance. After adjusting all confounding factors, individuals in the highest quartile and medium quartile of "additives and cold-natured foods" had an elevated MS risk compared with the lowest quartile (OR = 7.21, 95%CI = 2.01-12.38 and OR = 3.37, 95%CI = 1.02-11.35, respectively). Furthermore, individuals in the highest quartile of the "hot and balanced foods and nuts" group were protected against MS compared with its lowest quartile (OR = 0.28, 95%CI = 0.08-0.90). Moreover, a protective effect against MS was seen in the highest quartile of the "hot and balanced starches" group relative to its lowest quartile (OR = 0.34, 95%CI = 0.12-0.98). No significant association was found between "dairy and legumes" and the risk of MS.Conclusion: This study revealed that dietary patterns based on the traditional concept of food nature might be associated with the risk of developing MS. This represents the first work in this area, so further research is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantics and accessibility are naturally part of HTML by design. Therefore, there is a must to significantly leverage the standard markup language and write the cleanest code possible. The purpose of this work is performing HTML validity check in terms of compliance with W3C standards for home pages of Iranian digital and electronic libraries in order to pave way for applying semantic technologies in Iranian Library websites. This is a comparative survey. 82 library software-based digital libraries and 68 electronic libraries were identified via Google search in the domains of .ir, .ac.ir, .org and .com. Data collected via an automatic tool developed by authors in which W3C Markup Validation Service is used for validation tests. Besides, total tags of URLs are counted through it to be able to normalize HTML error frequencies for each home page. Data were analyzed using nonparametric tests via IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Validation test results in about 50 percent failure rate. 38 out of 70 valid libraries are digital libraries and 32 are electronic ones. Mean of HTML error has dramatically decreased in 2017 in comparison with 2015; however Standard Deviation has increased sharply. Moreover, the distribution of HTML error scores is similar across digital and electronic libraries. Regarding conformance to HTML standards, it seems essential to revise the web design of Iranian digital and electronic libraries to fulfill semantic web potentialities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and its epidemiology has changed in recent years. Previously, Iran was considered to have a low MS prevalence. In this study, we aimed to update the prevalence and incidence of MS in Iran. Patients and Methods: This study was conducted based on the data derived from the new report of Iran's Ministry Of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) regarding the patients who have registered to obtain support for treatment in Iran till the end of 2013. Results: Among the 42,200 registered patients, 32,477 were female and 9,723 were male (sex ratio: 3.34: 1), and 4,545 were diagnosed in 2013. This resulted in a prevalence of 54.51 and an incidence of 5.87 per 100,000. Conclusion: According to our study results, Iran has a medium-to-high prevalence rate of MS. According to the previous epidemiologic studies from Iran, it seems that the prevalence of MS significantly has increased during recent years. This rate is similar to what is seen in many western countries. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study which examined the relationship between month of birth (MOB) and season of birth (SOB) and the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in life in an Iranian population. The researchers examined a total of 1,558 patients with a definite MS diagnosis according to McDonald's criteria. They found no significant difference between the cases and controls regarding the time of birth in the different seasons of the year.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article related to central nervous system disease multiple sclerosis in Iran in the March, 2014 issue.

Background: World Health Organization declared pandemic phase of human infection with novel influenza A (H1N1) in April 2009. There are very few reports about the neurological complications of H INI virus infection in the literature. Occasionally, these complications are severe and even fatal in some individuals. The aims of this study were to report neurological complaints and/or complications associated with H1N1 virus infection. Methods: The medical files of all patients with H INI influenza infection admitted to a specified hospital in the city of Shiraz, Iran from October through November 2009 were reviewed. More information about the patients were obtained by phone calls to the patients or their care givers. All patients had confirmed H1N1 virus infection with real-time PCR assay. Results: Fifty-five patients with H1N1 infection were studied. Twenty-three patients had neurological signs and/or symptoms. Mild neurological complaints may be reported in up to 42% of patients infected by H1N1 virus. Severe neurological complications occurred in 9% of the patients. The most common neurological manifestations were headache, numbness and paresthesia, drowsiness and coma. One patient had a Guil- lain-Barre syndrome-like illness, and died in a few days. Another patient had focal status epilepticus and encephalopathy. Conclusions: The H1N1 infection seems to have been quite mild with a self-limited course in much of the world, yet there appears to be a subset, which is severely affected. We recommend performing diagnostic tests for H INI influenza virus in all patients r with respiratory illness and neurological signs/symptoms. We also recommend initiating treatment with appropriate antiviral drugs as soon as possible in those with any significant neurological presentation accompanied with respiratory illness and flu-like symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooccurrence of a seizure in a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) may complicate the management process. Questions, which may complicate the management process of a patient with MS and seizure, include "how should we approach to the patient", "how should we treat the patient", "how should we modify the patient's MS treatment strategy", etc. We searched the electronic database PubMed on March 30, 2018 for articles in English that included the following search terms: "epilepsy" AND "multiple sclerosis" or "seizure" AND "multiple sclerosis" since 2013, to obtain the best recent relevant scientific evidence on the topic. A working group of 6 epilepsy and 5 MS experts took part in two consensus workshops in Tehran, Iran, in 2018. The final consensus manuscript was prepared and approved by all participants. The search with words "seizure" and "multiple sclerosis" yielded 121 entries; 10 were relevant to the topic. The search with words "epilepsy" and "multiple sclerosis" yielded 400 entries; 7 were relevant to the topic. We reviewed these 17 articles and also some other references, derived from these articles or relevant to the topic, for the purpose of our review. Cooccurrence of a seizure in a patient with MS may complicate the management process. In this review, we tried to provide answers to the frequently asked questions, considering the best available scientific evidence and expert opinion. • Cooccurrence of a seizure in a patient with MS may complicate the management process. • The objective of our endeavor was to reach to a consensus on how to manage seizure(s) in patients with MS. • We reviewed these 17 articles and also some other references for the purpose of our review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the prevalence, clinical manifestations, and laboratory features of Neuro-Behçet's disease., Methods: This prospective study was carried out in the Behçet's Research Clinic in Shiraz (south-west Iran) and included the patients referred from 1990-1999. The patients' clinical records, images, CSF analyses, and electrodiagnostic studies were reviewed., Results: Eighteen (15 males and 3 females) out of 690 Behcet s patients (2.6%, 95% CI = 1.4-3.8%) were found to have neurological involvement. The mean +/- standard deviation age of these patients was 34.7 +/- 8.6 years. All fulfilled the criteria of the International Study Group of Behcet s Disease. Central nervous system involvement was more common than peripheral nervous system manifestations. Headache, weakness, tingling, and numbness were the most common symptoms. Hyperreflexia, upward plantar reflex, and somatosensory findings were the most frequent signs. Hemispheral and brainstem stroke-like syndromes and cerebral venous thrombosis were the major neurologic presentations. There were also cases of myelitic, pure meningoencephalitic, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-like, multiple sclerosis-like, and Guillain Barre syndromes., Conclusion: Neuro-Behçet's disease must be considered in the differential diagnosis of stroke in young adults, chronic meningitis, intracranial hypertension, multiple sclerosis, myelopathies, and peripheral neuropathies.