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The brains of 46 patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni were studied. Eggs of Schistosoma mansoni were found in 12 brains (26 per cent). The parasite location, brain reaction, clinical features and the possible paths by which the eggs of S. mansoni reach the nervous system are discussed. Our data and those of the literature suggest that brain involvement is common in hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the human central nervous system. Although its etiology is unknown, the accumulation and activation of mononuclear cells in the central nervous system are crucial to its pathogenesis. Chemokines have been proposed to play a major role in the recruitment and activation of leukocytes in inflammatory sites. They are divided into subfamilies on the basis of the location of conserved cysteine residues. We determined the levels of some CC and CXC chemokines in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 23 relapsing-remitting MS patients under interferon-ß-1a therapy and 16 control subjects using ELISA. MS patients were categorized as having active or stable disease. CXCL10 was significantly increased in the CSF of active MS patients (mean ± SEM, 369.5 ± 69.3 pg/mL) when compared with controls (178.5 ± 29.1 pg/mL, P < 0.05). CSF levels of CCL2 were significantly lower in active MS (144.7 ± 14.4 pg/mL) than in controls (237.1 ± 16.4 pg/ mL, P < 0.01). There was no difference in the concentration of CCL2 and CXCL10 between patients with stable MS and controls. CCL5 was not detectable in the CSF of most patients or controls. The qualitative and quantitative differences of chemokines in CSF during relapses of MS suggest that they may be useful as a marker of disease activity and of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Correspondence

Movement disorders occurring in association with multiple sclerosis (MS) are rare. Among them paroxysmal dystonia is the most common, although chorea, ballism, palatal myoclonia, spasmodic torticollis, writer's cramp and generalized dystonia have been reported. We describe a 34-year old woman with MS who developed simple phonic tic characterized by throat-clearing sounds. Magnetic resonance imaging showed demyelinating lesions involving the thalamus and basal ganglia. This is the first report of tic disorder occurring as a manifestation of MS.

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