We are proud and pleased to announce that “Aktualności Neurologiczne” (Current Neurology) has joined the elite group of periodicals with an Impact Factor (IF). Our IF for 2022 is <0.1.

On March 1, 2023, a new submission system has been launched. The manuscripts with all their attachments should be submitted via publishing platform Journals System.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, characterised by progressive death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The prevalence of Parkinson’s disease is increasing and becoming a major health problem nowadays due to the aging of society. The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature exploring the association between Parkinson’s disease and specific dietary components such as vitamin B₁₂, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin E, and probiotics.

Multiple sclerosis, also known as sclerosis multiplex, is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that occurs in over 2.9 millions individuals worldwide, most commonly in young to middle-aged adults, with a greater prevalence in females than males and in higher latitudes. There are different types of multiple sclerosis, varying in the presence and frequency of relapses and remissions. Various risk factors for the disorder have been identified as well – both modifiable and unmodifiable. 

Many studies have investigated the interplay between Parkinson’s disease and diabetes mellitus, suggesting that glucose metabolism impairment may worsen the clinical course of Parkinson’s disease. This study aimed to explore the association between diabetes mellitus and the course of Parkinson’s disease. A retrospective study was performed by analysing the clinical data of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease who were hospitalised in University Clinical Centre of the Medical University of Silesia from 2019 to 2021. The study group comprised 241 patients selected according to the study’s inclusion and exclusion criteria. Their clinical conditions were assessed using body mass index, the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), the Hoehn–Yahr scale, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Data were collected on current anti-parkinsonian treatment, fasting glycaemia, lipid panel, and thyroid stimulating hormone, homocysteine and vitamin D₃ levels. 

We investigated the impact of 2D (2D_seg) and 3D (3D_seg) segmentation on the accuracy of prediction models in the radiomics analysis to determine the presence or absence of methylation in the O⁶-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene promoter region of gliomas. Magnetic resonance imaging images of gliomas were obtained from the Cancer Imaging Archive for 50 methylated and 50 unmethylated cases respectively. For each case, 2D_seg and 3D_seg were performed, and 788 radiomics features, including wavelet transform, were obtained. Ten features were selected by LASSO regression. The coefficients of determination (R²) and root mean squared error (RMSE) were calculated by multiple regression analysis. Discriminant boundaries to discriminate methylation were created by linear discriminant analysis, and the sensitivity and specificity of each method were calculated. The discriminant accuracy of both methods was evaluated by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis.

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) describes a group of extremely rare hereditary disorders with an estimated prevalence of 1–3/1,000,000. Mitochondrial membrane protein associated neurodegeneration (MPAN) is the third most common form of NBIA, accounting for 10% of NBIA cases globally and up to 50% of cases in Poland. This survey was conducted by the Association NBIA Poland to collect data on the functioning of patients with NBIA/MPAN based on selfreported EQ-5D-5L (EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level) scores. A total of 50 patients living in Poland, including 26 patients with NBIA/MPAN, participated in the study. The mean age of NBIA/MPAN patients was 22 years; the mean age at symptom onset is 10 years.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, irreversible, progressive neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system leading to dementia. Despite very intensive and multidirectional research efforts toward finding an effective form of therapy, the current approach remains primarily focused on symptomatic treatment. The effectiveness of procognitive drugs (acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine) is limited to a minor contribution to improving cognitive abilities, but the drugs do not stop or slow the progression of the disease. 

Regardless of the aetiology of dementia, its terminal phase has a similar clinical picture. This is when progressive multi-organ dysfunction and, ultimately, death occur. At this stage, the therapy of cognitive dysfunction loses its dominant role in favour of treatment that reduces the severity of behavioural disorders and, above all, efforts to intensify the care and ensure the comfort of the patient. Dementia usually coexists with other conditions, presenting a difficult and complex medical and care problem.

Extracellular amyloid deposition in brain tissue is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite being the most common neurodegenerative disorder, it poses a major diagnostic challenge due to the lack of disease-specific biomarkers. Additionally, plaque-forming amyloid deposits are not unique to Alzheimer’s disease, but are also present in a high proportion of the elderly, as well as in patients with other neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia with Lewy bodies.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that progresses over time, leading to disability. The condition is still incurable, but available therapies are increasingly effective. Ocrelizumab is the first anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. In the article, based on the results of the OPERA and ORATORIO clinical trials, their extensions, and post-hoc and meta-analyses, the evidence for long-term high effectiveness of the molecule is presented.

Treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis, despite the availability of many therapies, remains a challenge. The introduction of ocrelizumab, a highly effective therapy, has significantly improved the control of disease activity. The article discusses four different cases of patients treated with ocrelizumab, including one patient with newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, one case of treatment modification after ineffective first-line therapy, and two cases of long-term follow-up of patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. 

Ocrelizumab is the first anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Ocrelizumab is administered intravenously (i.v.) at a dose of 600 mg every six months. It is a highly effective drug strongly inhibiting inflammatory changes in the central nervous system, which nearly completely prevents the development of new active magnetic resonance imaging lesions and clinical relapses. Pharmacokinetic studies and data from post hoc analyses of ocrelizumab pivotal studies suggest that a higher dose than the current dose level might have a stronger therapeutic impact. 

In this review, we discuss some practical strategies that can be useful for clinicians in the interdisciplinary and individualised management of patients with burning mouth syndrome. Burning mouth syndrome (stomatodynia, glossodynia) is a chronic, idiopathic pain syndrome accompanied by a sensation of pain or burning, scalding, pinching, numbness or stinging without clinical changes in oral cavity mucosa in the absence of abnormalities in additional tests. In addition to the above symptoms, burning mouth syndrome is characterised by a sensation of oral dryness (xerostomia), distortion of the sense of taste (dysgeusia), and food hypersensitivity. 

The differential diagnosis of conversion speech disorders and dysarthria is difficult, and publications on the topic are scarce. This study describes the case of a 47-year-old woman with conversion disorders mimicking post-stroke dysarthria. A speechlanguage pathologist analysed the record of the woman’s speech.