[The problems caused by the COVID-19 epidemic have the worst impact on chronic patient populations. People with chronic pain are one of the most vulnerable groups due to stress, disruption of daily routine, family problems, illness and difficulty in hospital care. It is therefore essential to assess the situation and mental well-being of this group. The aim of this survey was to assess chronic pain patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing psychological background factors that might affect pain symptoms, such as depression, emotion regulation, alexithymia, well-being, health literacy and social support.

158 people participated in the survey, reporting pain for at least 3 months but had not received medical treatment. Data was collected at two dates: February and December 2021. Participants completed an online questionnaire due to the pandemic situation. The following six psychological questionnaires were used in the survey: Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Beck Depression Inventory 9-item version, Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Chew-questions measuring health literacy, WHO Well-being Index.

The participants ranged from 20 to 80 years in age, of whom 140 (88%) were female. 42 participants (27%) achieved severe alexithymia. 118 people (75%) had depression, of which 72 people (46%) had mild depression, 26 (16%) had moderate depression, and 20 (13%) had severe depression. The degree of pain and alexithy­mia (r(158) = 0.16, p = 0.004), depression (r(158) = 0.41, p < 0.001), difficulties in emotion regulation (r(158) = 0.26, p = 0.004), and health literacy, and difficulties in emotion regulation (r(158) = 0.25, p = 0.001) were positively and significantly related.

In addition to the characteristic comorbidities of people living with pain (e.g. anxiety, emotion disorder, sleep disorder), the epidemic-induced prolonged social isolation, stress and fear of illness may explain the proportion of high depression, emotion regulation difficulties or health literacy problems in the study sample which exacerbate alexithymia and the degree of pain. Based on these results it is important to draw the attention of professionals to the appropriate health care and educational needs of those affected.]

Background - The research of alexithymia - the inability to express or understand emotions - has recently become of great importance in clinical practice, mainly in the field of doctor-patient and psychologist patient communication. Many studies have proven the correlation between alexithymia and the development of functional somatic symptoms, i.e. somatization. Purpose - The aim of this clinical study was to examine the emotion-recognition and emotion communication patterns of patients suffering from chronic pain (e.g., headache, low back pain, arthralgia, neuropathy). Moreover, the participants received access to the Hungarian adaptation of a new international online educational site (www.retrainpain.org) dealing with pain management. Methods - Data were collected from the Headache and Chronic Pain Outpatient Clinic, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Hungary (tertiary care - Group 1) and from a general practice in district 2, Budapest, Hungary (primary care - Group 2) from March, 2017 to April, 2018. Patients received a test package containing a pain-specific questionnaire, then the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the shortened Hungarian version of the WHO-Well-being (WBI-5) had to be completed. After filling out the questionnaires, all patients got access to the Hungarian adaptation of the www.retrainpain.org website. Results - Altogether 92 patients participated in the study (Group 1 n=50; Group 2 n=42). Based on the TAS-20 re­sults, 35 patients reached a pathological score (≥60 points), which indicates the diagnosis of alexithymia. The mean TAS-score was lower in Group 2 (primary care) than in Group 1 (tertiary care) (p=0.003). The DERS disclosed pathological results in 19 cases (p=0.009). As regards the www.retrainpain.org chapters, we received feedback only from 25 out of 92 patients (27%) (Group 1 n=20; Group 2 n=5). Conclusions - Although the examined patients have been suffering from different chronic pain syndromes for years and 50% of them confirmed that symptoms placed at least moderate or heavy burden on their everyday life, the available educational programme was studied only by a smaller proportion of patients than expected. Additionally, those who surveyed the Hungarian adaptation of the www.retrainpain.org website were mainly patients from primary care (Group 2), in spite of the fact that patients from specialized medical care (Group 1) had worse subjective conditions. Our future objective is to extend our database with follow-up results and to improve patients’ response willingness.

[This is a survey on the function of parallel visual pathway with a special emphasis on its clinical implications. It is based on data in the literature and own results of our group. The paper primarily deals with the X, Y, W pathways and by the magnocellular, parvocellular and koniocellular visual pathways characterized by cells of various size as well as by nerve fibers of various thickness. Electrophysiological, microelectrode recording of single-unit activity makes the distinction between the pathways available in animal modell. Much more difficulties arise if we intend to characterize the pathways in humans or to detect the selective damage of one of these pathways in patients. The non-invasive diagnostic methods that could be used in the diagnosis are detailed here, too. Finally, the neurological, ophtalmological and psychological diseases are discussed in which a selective damage of any visual pathway is suspected. Summing it up, the survey provides evidences for the introduction of the novel concept of parallel pathways into the diagnostic aspects of ophthalmology, neurology and psychiatry.]

[The role of sleep in different memory processes is debated. Probably it plays an active role in the memory consolidation or possibly it prevents forgetting by protecting against interference or it makes the memory performance more efficient by facilitating the forgetting. The beneficial effect of sleep in explicit memory is well demonstrated, while the role of sleep in implicit mechanisms has not been comprehensively characterized so far. There are several factors which affect the appearance of sleep effect, such as the structure, the length and the complexity of sequence being used, the awareness of the sequence, the length of the learning blocks and the offline period. Besides the classical sleep deprivation methods with healthy participants, examining patients with sleep disorders could be a new method of the investigation of the sleep effect which enables us to enrich our knowledge not only about the sleep-dependent memory consolidation but also the cognitive dysfunction related to sleep pathologies. This new line of research can help the development of more effective rehabilitation programs.]

[The cerebral vascular damage caused by hypertension is manifested primarily in cognitive dysfunction, which is caused by hypoperfusion of brain tissue, ischemic, or bleeding stroke, or white matte injury. Hypertension may not only result in cerebral damage to the vascular background - dementia -, but may also contribute to the development and progression of classical gene-related Alzheimer’s disease. Blood pressure gradually increases in the elderly and in the very elderly, and the frequency of hypertension-mostly as isolated systolic hypertension - is 50% to 70%. High blood pressure predominately, or in full, means not only an increase in the circulatory resistance of the small children, but also, as part of the aging of the body, the rigidity (stiffness) of the arteries. At the same time, the incidence of dementia, along with age, rises sharply - up to 20% in those over 65 years of age, and over 40% in 80-90 years of age. The relationship between high blood pressure and dementia from the young age to the very old age may change as a function of current age. In the very old age of life, the varying influence of other pathological factors other than hypertension is becoming more and more important in the deterioration of both the vascular structure and the brain function. In this late stage of life, the very advanced rate of aging and nutritive blood flow often require higher perfusion pressure, and the not enough thought-out blood pressure reduction can be more damaging than a protective effect on brain condition or function. SPRINT MIND - the Intense Blood Pressure Reduction - hasn’t resolved the question, and we can legally assume that the 130-140 Hgmm SBP. Is the most favorable for dementia. The value of DBP 70 Hgmm is definitely unfavorable.]