Ideggyogyaszati Szemle-Clinical Neuroscience

Recurrent simultaneous central nervous system demyelination with possible peripheral demyelination / nodopathy in a seronegative patient
Inan B, Bekircan-Kurt CE, Yildiz FG, Gocmen R, Temucin CM, Tuncer A, Tan E and Erdem-Ozdamar S

Combined central and peripheral demyelination (CCPD) is a rare disease entity. Onset with the simultaneous central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) involvement and its recurrence are exceptional. Anti-neurofascin antibodies have been shown to be present in up to 70% of cases, yet seronegative patients also exist. We present a case of seronegative recurrent CCPD. The PNS involvement was compatible with two episodes of recurrent Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), whereas the CNS involvement pattern was not typical for either multiple sclerosis (MS) or acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. The prognosis was excellent with pulse methylprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasmapheresis. This case highlights the varied clinical presentations of CCPD, extending beyond the realms of MS and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and underscores the potential for relapse. Importantly, to the best of our knowledge, this represents the inaugural instance of CCPD featuring PNS involvement in the form of recurrent GBS.

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The effect of body position, leg dominance, and automatic releasing mechanism on quadriceps muscle tone assessed by Pendulum Test in able-bodied persons
Mayer P, Bodor A, Szabó D, Laczkó J and Zentai N

Quadriceps femoris muscle spasticity is commonly measured by the Wartenberg pendulum test. It is generally assumed that lower values of the number of swings of the leg and lower relaxation indexes are associated with higher muscle tone and more spasticity. Still, there is incoherence regarding the test’s applications with various body positions and starting mechanisms. This study aims to investigate the influence of body position, leg dominance, and automatic leg-releasing mechanism on muscle tone measured by pendulum test in healthy population whose muscle tone is often compared to the spastic muscle tone of patients with neurologic disorders. 

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Predictors of pneumonia in stroke patients with dysphagia: A Turkish study
Kaşikçi HÖ, Üçgül Erçin E, Karaci R, Ülker M and Domaç Mayda F

Dysphagia, characterized by difficulty in swallowing due to neurological deficits, stands out as the foremost contributor to stroke asso­ciated pneumonia (SAP) development. Recent investigations have explored the utility of blood tests, including parameters like neutrophil count, leukocyte count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and the CRP to albumin ratio (CAR), at the time of admission as potential markers for predicting SAP development. This study is set out to assess predictors of SAP in patients with acute ischemic stroke and dysphagia. 

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Evaluating vertebrobasilar insufficiency and Meniere's disease: Insights from cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential and video head impulse test
Surmeli M, Surmeli R, Yalcin D, Yilmaz Sahin AA, Cirik Adnan A, Gunay G and Kulali F

This prospective study aimed to investigate diffe-rences in video head impulse test (vHIT) and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic poten-tial (cVEMP) findings between patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI) and Meniere’s disease (MD) who experience episodic vertigo attacks.

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[Combined epilepsy with generalized and focal seizures]
Clemens B and Dömötör J

Combined epilepsy (with generalized and focal seizures) is a recently accepted and yet underreported epilepsy type. We intended to review the literature of combined epilepsy and to report the individual findings of the 31 combined epilepsy patients in our database. Thereafter, we investigated the characteristics of the patients at the group level.

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Effect of inflammatory response before mechanical thrombectomy on prognosis in stroke patients
Aytaç E, Balgetir F, Genç ŞK, Gönen M, Dogan H and Akpinar CK

Mechanical thrombectomy is the most important treatment modality in acute stroke; despite successful thrombectomy, good functional outcome is not achieved in a significant proportion of patients. This study examined the effect of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) values at admission on functional outcomes in successfully recanalized patients.

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[Quality of life in acute ischaemic stroke patients treated with recanalisation]
Kovács B, Szapáry L, Kajos FL, Jozifek JE, Erdősi P, Szántóri P and Boncz I

Stroke is a serious health problem that has a significant impact on health-related quality of life. Despite the increasing popularity of measuring quality of life among patients, it is not routinely measured in clinical practice, and therefore little is known about how well clinical measures reflect quality of life after stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of life of patients with acute ischaemic stroke.

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Role of the video head impulse test in the evaluation of vestibulo-ocular reflex in individuals with Parkinson's disease
Sonkaya R, Karababa E, Bozkurt HK and Satar B

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common movement disorder and the second most common neu­rodegenerative disease of the central ner­vous system. Dizziness is frequently reported by PD patients, yet there is a paucity of research focusing on the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in this population using high-frequency vestibular testing. This study aims to investigate the VOR in individuals with PD using the video head thrust test with and without suppression. 

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Cervical syringomyelia associated with cervical disc disease
Celal Iplikçioğlu A, Latifaci I and Karabağ H

Syringomyelia is a neurological condition in which a longitudinal fluid-filled cavity is formed within the spinal cord. It usually occurs in the cervical region and is associated with Chiari malformation, infections, trauma, and tumors of the spinal cord. However, syringomyelia associated with cervical disc disease (SCD) is very rare and only a few cases have been reported so far. This case report presents the clinical and radiological findings of 13 cases of SCD to describe the properties of SCD and explore the nature of the relationship between syringomyelia and cervical disc disease.

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Effect of surgical mask and N95 respirator mask use on cerebrovascular reactivity
Yaman Kula A, Meşe S, Güzel V, Yabaci Tak A, Yiğit M, Balsak S and Asil T

Face masks are crucial parts of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of respiratory infections. The COVID-19 outbreak has increased healthcare workers’ use of face masks. This study aimed to evaluate changes in cerebrovascular response among healthcare workers using surgical and N95 respirator masks. 

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Determination of hemorrhagic transformation risk in acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease: The relationship between ADC values and GRE hemo sequence microhemorrhage
Yakupoglu E and Mayda Domac F

To determine the risk of hemorrhagic transformation in patients with acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease, we investigated the relationship between Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Magnetic Resonance Imaging values measured within the infarct area and microbleeds observed on Gradient Echo Sequence Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

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Risk factors of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in patients with preeclampsia or eclampsia: A retrospective review
Tulin Gesoglu D, Murat C, Dilek A, Ozlem E and Sibel S

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is characterized by vasogenic edema, usually reversible, with the prominent involvement of the parietal and occipital lobes. The exact etiopathogenesis leading to PRES is unknown. Because signs of eclampsia and preeclampsia in neuroimaging often overlap and manifest as PRES, we aimed to evaluate whether demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters predict PRES in patients with preeclampsia or eclampsia.

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An update on approved and emerging drugs for the treatment of postpartum depression
Çulcu EA, Demiryürek Ş and Demiryürek AT

Depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders are common perinatal mental health disorders in the postpartum period. Depressive symptoms that occur postpartum are also present in the prenatal period in 50% of patients. Risk factors for the development of postpartum depression include poor relationship with the partner, lack of social support, mother’s low socioeconomic status and multiparity. It has been determined that reproductive hormones change significantly during peripartum. Progesterone is one of these hormones and acts on the central nervous system starting from the fetal period; neurogenesis, neuromodulation, sedation are some of these effects. It has also been observed that progesterone has positive effects on learning, memory and mood. Progesterone exerts its effects on the central nervous system by converting into its metabolite allopregnanolone. Allopregnanolone is one of the neuroactive steroids, and found in similar amounts in the circulation of pregnant women and fetuses. It acts on synaptic and extrasynaptic γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors and is a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor. Allopregnanolone increases both the receptor’s opening frequency and its open duration and improves GABAergic current. Low serum allopregnanolone levels in the second trimester are predictive of postpartum depression. Each 1 ng/mL increase in serum allopregnanolone level reduces the risk of development of postpartum depression by 63%. Brexanolone and zuranolone are synthetic allopregnanolone preparations approved by the FDA for use in female patients with postpartum depression. They act via positive allosteric modulation on the GABAA receptor. Brexanolone is administered via intravenous infusion at varying infusion rates in a healthcare facility over 60 hours. Its effect starts immediately after treatment and continues until the 30th day of follow-up, and depressive mood does not recur. Zuranolone was developed for oral use, and administered as a single dose of 50 mg after a fatty meal. Their effectiveness has been demonstrated in patients with treatment-resistant depression. The development of other novel agents that act on the GABAA receptor and other pathways for the treatment of postpartum depression is in progress.

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[Theoretical approach and prognostic significance of high disease activity in multiple sclerosis]
Mátyás K

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system with demyelination and neurodegeneration. In addition to the inflammatory immune processes that characterise the onset of the disease with relapses, chronic inflammation is also present from the onset of the disease. The catabolic processes induced by chronic inflammation are responsible for the axonal degeneration that causes the progression of the disease. The activity of the disease is well defined, an important prognostic factor, and a determining factor in the indication of disease-modifying therapies. It is important to establish disease activity at the time of diagnosis and to monitor it continuously during patient care, both clinically and radiologically, as it is the basis for deciding on the current treatment. If detected on the basis of the professional guideline, it is necessary to start or switch to a highly effective therapy. 

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[Vertebral artery dissection during traumatic injury of the cervical spine, two case reports]
Oláh ZC, Nagy D, Sas A, Oláh B, Czabajszki M, Tamáska P and Demeter B

If severe cervical spinal cord injury or severe cervical vertebral fracture, subluxation or luxation is confirmed, 20-40% of the cases have vertebral artery dissection or occlusion. These can be asymptomatic, but can cause additional neurological damage in addition to cervical myelon and cervical nerve root symptoms. Vertebral artery dissection can be caused by direct injuries, stab wounds or gunshot wounds. Indirect vertebral artery dissection can occur at the same time as subluxation, luxation, or complex fractures of the cervical vertebra. CTA is the examination procedure of choice. In many cases, digital subtaction angiography examination and, if necessary, neurointerventional treatment must precede open neurosurgery. In our report, in the first patient, complete luxation of the C.VI vertebra caused unilateral vertebral artery 2-segment dissection-occlusion, while in our second patient, a stab injury caused direct vertebral artery compression and dissection. The occlusion of the vertebral artery did not cause neurological symptoms in any of the cases. In both of our cases, parent vessel occlusion was performed at the level of the vertebral artery injury before the neurosurgical operation.

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Effect of COVID-19 on seizures and patient behavior in people with epilepsy
Akdağ G, Uysal N, Çetiner M, Akkoyun Arikan F and Canbaz Kabay S

To evaluate the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on seizure frequency and levels of mental distress in individuals with epilepsy and identify potential risk factors associated with increased seizure frequency.

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A comparison of quantitative parameters of axial posture and spinal mobility between motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease
Riza S, Mustafa YE, Buse K, Betül K, Zeynep SZ, Bilgin Ö and Ömer K

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder characterized by contradictory clinical outcomes among its several subtypes. The disease can manifest with a tremor-dominant (TD) or a non-tremor-dominant (NTD) phenotype. Although the TD subtype may show a better prognosis, there is limited information on the phenotypic differences regarding the level of axial symptoms. For this reason, in this study it was aimed to make a quantitative comparison of axial posture and spinal mobility between PD with TD and NTD. 

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Statistical evaluation of measured biomechanical properties of human brain aneurysm samples
Tóth KB, Lengyel A and Nyáry I

Human brain aneurysms may often prove fatal if not re­cognized in time and treated accordingly. The understanding of development and rupture of aneurysms can significantly be improved by the application of numerical modelling, which in turn, requires the knowledge of mechanical properties of vessel wall. This study aims to identify assumed differences with respect to age, sex, spatial orientation, and rupture by utilizing detailed statistical analysis of uniaxial tensile measurements of human brain aneurysm samples, performed by the authors in a previous project.

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Study on the relationship between peripheral nerve fiber types and levodopa usage in Parkinson's disease
Nan L and Jie Z

The aim of this study is to comprehensively determine the types of affected fibers in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients by employing nerve conduction studies (NCS), sympathetic skin response (SSR) examinations, and current perception threshold (CPT) testing and to analyze the correlation between levodopa use and nerve involvement.

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Fibrinogen to albumin ratio's prognostic value in ischemic stroke patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy
Derya O, Onur UK, Miray E, Elif SB, Ilker O, Akkan A and Zulfikar A

Fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) is thought to have a predictive effect in diseases such as cancer and myocardial infarction. We aimed to elucidate the prognostic value of FAR in ischemic stroke patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy.

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Cognitive impairment in long-COVID
Julide T, Cigdem T and Baris T

Long Covid is a complex con­dition characterised by symptoms that per­sist for weeks and months after the Co­vid infection, accompanied by cognitive im­pairment that negatively affects daily life. Understanding this complex condition is im­portant for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of cognitive impairment in long-COVID, including its definition, symptoms, pathophysiology, risk factors, assessment tools, imaging abnormalities, potential biomarkers, management strategies, long-term outcomes, and future directions for research.




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