[Brain abscesses are potentially serious, life-threatening diseases that pose a complex diagnostic challenge not only to neurosurgeons but also to clinical microbiologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, infectologists. The etiology of brain abscess is usually polymicrobial, most commonly involving a variety of aerobic and obligate anaerobic bacteria. Epidemiological studies on the anaerobic etiology of brain abscesses are common between the time period of 1960s and 1980s, but today there are very few new publications on the subject. The role of anaerobic bacteria in this disease was presumably underdiagnosed for a very long time, as many laboratories did not have the adequate laboratory capabilities for their cultivation and identification. The purpose of this review is to summarize the available literature on the etiology of obligate anaerobic bacteria in brain abscesses, including their prevalence and current therapeutic recommendations.]

[Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a rare disease of the central nervous system considering the total population, the prevalence in Hungary is 83.9/100.000. The first MS registry was established in Denmark in the middle of the 1950’s. This was followed by the establishment of several national, then international databases with the number of enrolled patients in the hundred-thousands. At the beginning, the primary goal of the registries were the epidemiological surveys, focusing on the number of patients, the prevalence, the incidence, the mortality and the co-morbidity. As of today, however, with the rapid advancement and development of new disease modifying therapies (DMT) with different effectiveness and adverse reactions, the therapeutic use of the registries became even more essential: the modern, up-to-date, well established registries become integral part of the DMTs’ monitorization. The Multiple Sclerosis Registry of Szeged was first established as a “paper-based” database, then, in 2012, it was upgraded to an electronic, easily contactable and useable internet-based registry. As of today, it contains the socio-demographic and clinical data of more than 600 patients; we constantly add new patients as well as keep the registry up-to-date with the refreshment of old patients’ data. Aside from the “classical” clinical data, it can be used for the recording and assessment of the MRI scans and the data on psychopathological and quality of life assessments, which are becoming more and more important in everyday MS management. The establishment of the internet-based registry incredibly helped both the monitorization of the effectiveness of DMTs, and the success of the new epidemiological and psychopathological surveys. ]

[Stroke is one of the most frequent causes of death and the most important cause of permanent disability worldwide and also in Hungary. The Hungarian medical literature has mentioned this disease and has been giving recommendations for its treatment since 1690. Initially folk medicines, herbal preparations and phlebotomy were used as standard therapy. Later, cooling the head joined these methods. Pharmacy preparations emerged at the middle of the 19th century. From the middle of the 20th century, products of the pharmaceutical industry like blood flow enhancers and neuroprotective drugs were in the frontline of the acute care. Anti­hy­per­ten­sive, antithrombotic and lipid-lowering medications became part of stro­ke prevention. Imaging techniques – mainly computer tomography of the brain and ultrasound examination of the cervical large arteries – have radically changed the diagnostics of cerebrovascular diseases from the middle of the 1980s. Since the 1990s, diagnostic and therapeutic decisions are based on reliable evidence from good quality clinical trials. Since the beginning of the 21st century, reperfusion treatments (intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy) re­present the most effective emergency care. The current direction is the extension of the therapeutic time-window of reperfusion treatments based on sophisticated neruoimaging. This review provides a brief summary of the development of stroke care in the last three and a half centuries as reflected in the Hungarian medical literature. ]

[Objective - The purpose of our communication was to determine the total cost of cerebral paretic patients in Hungary between 0 and 18 years and to assess their impact on the national budget. Methods - Based on the data of Borsod county we calculated the CP characteristics. The cost of CP was determined by routine care of individuals. Lost Parental Income and Tax were calculated on the basis of average earnings. The ratio of GDP, Health and Social Budget and Health Budget to CP is based on CP annual average cost and frequency. We have developed a repeatable computational model. Results - Of the risk groups, premature birth (30.97%), low birth weight (29.64%), perinatal asphyxia (19.47%) were the most common. Source is unknown of 37.61% of the cases. CP prevalence was 2.1‰. The two-sided (59.7%) and the one-sided (19.0%) spastic pareses dominated. The most serious form is the two-sided spastic paresis (42.5% GMFCS 3-5 degrees). Epilepsy was 22.0%, incontinence was 27%, mental involvement was 46%. Care for one child up to 18 years of age costs an average of 73 million HUF (€ 251,724). The lost family income was 27.36 million HUF (€ 94,345), and lost tax and health care contributions were 14.46 million HUF (€ 49,862). Additionally, 0.525% of the GDP, 0.88% of the full health and social budget and 1.83% of direct medical costs were spent for CP families. Conclusion - The cost of CP disease is significant. Costs can be reduced by improving primary prevention. From the perspective of the family and government, it is better to care for families so they can take care of their disabled children.]

[Hypertension, which is the most important independent risk factor of cardiovascular mortality, affects approximately 3.5 million people in Hungary. Among them the rate of the unknown, known, but untreated or uncontrolled hypertensive patients is more, than 50%, a fact, which underlines the importance of screening and proper treatment. Since 2017, there is a difference in the classification of hypertension between Europe and the United States, based mostly on SPRINT study, which was pub­lished in 2015. However, in the treatment recommendations more similarities are present. Risk stratification must be the part of hypertension care. In risk communica­tion as an alternative, the concept of vascular age was introduced, which mirrors more suggestively the patients' vascular hazard. In this review the author overviews the novelties in hypertension epidemiology, classification, and risk stratification.]