Department of Neuroscience, Multiple Sclerosis Center, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
BMC Neurol. 2010 Nov 1;10:105. doi: 10.1186/1471-2377-10-105.
Temporal, i.e., 24-hour, weekly, and seasonal patterns in the occurrence of acute cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events are well documented; however, little is known about temporal, especially seasonal, variation in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its relapses. This study investigated, by means of a validated chronobiological method, whether severe relapses of MS, ones requiring medical specialty consultation, display seasonal differences, and whether they are linked with seasonal differences in local meteorological variables.
We considered 96 consecutive patients with severe MS relapse (29 men, 67 women, mean age 38.5 ± 8.8 years), referred to the Multiple Sclerosis Center, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy, between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008. Overall, we analyzed 164 relapses (56 in men, 108 in women; 115 in patients aged < 40 years, 49 in patients ≥40 years). Relapses were more frequent in May and June (12.2% each) and the least frequent in September (3.7%). Chronobiological analysis showed a biphasic pattern (major peak in May-June, secondary peak in November-December, p = 0.030). Analysis of monthly mean meteorological data showed a significant seasonal pattern in ambient temperature (peak in July, p < 0.001), relative humidity (peak in January, p < 0.001), and wind speed (peak in June, p = 0.011).
In this Italian setting, we found a biphasic pattern (peaks in spring and autumn) in severe MS relapses requiring medical consultation by doctors of the MS specialty center, apparently unrelated to meteorological variables. Confirmations of the findings on larger multi-center populations residing in different climatic conditions are needed to further explore the potential seasonality of MS relapses and associated environmental triggers.
急性心脑血管事件的发生存在时间性，即 24 小时、每周和季节性模式；然而，关于多发性硬化症（MS）及其复发的时间性，尤其是季节性变化，知之甚少。本研究采用经过验证的时间生物学方法，调查了需要医学专业咨询的多发性硬化症严重复发是否存在季节性差异，以及它们是否与当地气象变量的季节性差异有关。
我们考虑了 2007 年 1 月 1 日至 2008 年 12 月 31 日期间在意大利博洛尼亚贝拉里亚医院多发性硬化症中心就诊的 96 例连续严重 MS 复发患者（29 名男性，67 名女性，平均年龄 38.5 ± 8.8 岁）。总体而言，我们分析了 164 例复发（56 例男性，108 例女性；115 例患者年龄 < 40 岁，49 例患者年龄 ≥ 40 岁）。复发最频繁的月份是 5 月和 6 月（各占 12.2%），最少的是 9 月（3.7%）。时间生物学分析显示出双峰模式（主峰在 5-6 月，次峰在 11-12 月，p = 0.030）。对每月平均气象数据的分析表明，环境温度（7 月高峰，p < 0.001）、相对湿度（1 月高峰，p < 0.001）和风速（6 月高峰，p = 0.011）存在显著季节性模式。
在意大利，我们发现需要医学专业咨询的严重 MS 复发呈双峰模式（春、秋高峰），这与气象变量无关。需要在更大的多中心人群中进行证实，这些人群居住在不同的气候条件下，以进一步探索 MS 复发的潜在季节性和相关的环境触发因素。
