[Affective temperaments (cyclothymic, hypertymic, depressive, anxious, irritable) are stable parts of personality and after adolescent only their minor changes are detectable. Their connections with psychopathology is well-described; depressive temperament plays role in major depression, cyclothymic temperament in bipolar II disorder, while hyperthymic temperament in bipolar I disorder. Moreover, scientific data of the last decade suggest, that affective temperaments are also associated with somatic diseases. Cyclothymic temperament is supposed to have the closest connection with hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension is higher parallel with the presence of dominant cyclothymic affective temperament and in this condition the frequency of cardiovascular complications in hypertensive patients was also described to be higher. In chronic hypertensive patients cyclothymic temperament score is positively associated with systolic blood pressure and in women with the earlier development of hypertension. The background of these associations is probably based on the more prevalent presence of common risk factors (smoking, obesity, alcoholism) with more pronounced cyclothymic temperament. The scientific importance of the research of the associations of personality traits including affective temperaments with somatic disorders can help in the identification of higher risk patient subgroups.]

Background - The aim of this study was to compare ischemic stroke subtypes with the effects of risk factors, the relationship between grades of kidney disease and the severity of stroke subtypes. Methods - The current study was designed retrospectively and performed with data of patients who were hospitalised due to ischemic stroke. We included 198 subjects who were diagnosed with ischemic stroke of Grade 3 and above with chronic kidney disease. Results - In our study were reported advanced age, coronary artery disease, moderate kidney disease as the most frequent risk factors for cardioembolic etiology. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking and alcohol consumption were the most frequent risk factors for large-artery disease. Female sex and anaemia were the most frequent risk factors for small-vessel disease. Dialysis and severe kidney disease were the most frequent risk factors in unknown etiologies, while male sex, diabetes mellitus, prior stroke and mild kidney disease were the most frequent risk factors for other etiologies. National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores were lower for small-vessel disease compared with other etiologies. This relation was statistically significant (p=0.002). Conclusion - In order to improve the prognosis in ischemic stroke with chronic kidney disease, the risk factors have to be recognised and the treatment options must be modified according to those risk factors.

[Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a member of the proangiogenic VEGF-family; it is mainly produced by throphoblast cells. During the last years numerous studies have shown that circulating PlGF-level in maternal plasma is decreased and its suluble receptor sFlt-1 shows increased expression. In the present study we examined the prognostic accuracy of Alere Triage® PlGF-Assay in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and its relation with the length of pregnancy. 130 pregnant women were involved in this case-control study (PE: 23, HELLP-syndrome: 20, superimposed praeeclampsia: 17, chronic hypertension: 25, gestational hypertension: 18 and normal control: 27). Blood draw occured between the 22nd and 34th gestational week. PlGF levels were measured by the Alere Triage® PlGF Assay using samples from the maternal plasma. The plasma PlGF-levels of women whose pregnancies were complicated by hypertensive disorders were significantnormotoly lower compared to those who had uncomplicated pregnancies and the decrease were greater in those patients who delivered before the 35th gestational week. The PlGF-test was positive in 93,7% of those women who delivered before the 35th gestational week and in 90,5% of those who delivered before the 37. gestational week. The vast majority of preeclamptic (PE: 95,7%, SIPE: 82,4%) and HELLP-syndrome (95%) patients had positive PlGF tests, the 60% of the chronic hypertension and the 44,4% of the gestational hypertension patients have also shown positive results. The main conclusion of this study is that the PlGF levels using maternal plasma are lower in those pregnancies which are complicated by hypertension and show strong correlation with the severity of the hypertensive disorder. We perceived high sensitivity values in detecting preeclampsia, HELLP-syndrome and superimposed preeclampsia. In the future we may use this method to separate high risk women for hypertensive disorders and it may improve the perinatal outcome]

[Background - We tested whether in diabetic polyneuropathy the temperature dependence of the median nerve conduction parameters reflects the severity of neuropathy. Methods - We validated an electrophysiological score against clinical signs of polyneuropathy. Electroneurography was performed at temperatures from 20-40 °C in diabetic patients with mild, moderate and severe neuropathy and controls. Results - The electrophysiological score reflected the clinical severity of polyneuropathy. At room temperature there were significant differences among groups in almost all parameters. In thermal sensitivity studies were significant differences in distal and proximal motor and sensory areas and in sensory conduction velocities. These four parameters normalized to 1 °C change in temperature also significantly differed among the four groups and were largest in controls and smallest in severe polyneuropathy. Conclusions - The use of an integral parameter - areas are essentially amplitudes integrated over time - increases the probability of detecting decreased thermal sensitivity of peripheral nerves in diabetes.]

[The aging of the population, the high prevalence of chronic diseases and the consequent rapid increase of healthcare expenditures present a difficult challenge for the medical care system and for the society in the developed countries. Sleep disorders are increasingly recognized as very frequent chronic diseases with significant pathophysiological and psychosocial consequences. In the last 20 years an increasing number of studies reported high prevalence of sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome in patients with kidney disease. Chronic renal failure is the most common condition presenting with secondary restless legs syndrome. It is associated with insomnia, depressive symptoms and anxiety, impaired quality of life, as well as elevated cardiovascular risk. Compliance of the patients with restless legs syndrome is decreased, and it is more likely that they discontinue dialysis treatment. This may be related to higher mortality in kidney disease patients with restless legs syndrome.]