[On February 19, 2022 We celebrate the 205th anniversary of the birth of the first national matronage (head nurse), Zsuzsanna Kossuth. Zsuzsanna Kossuth was characterized by a high degree of empathy, self-sacrifice, exemplary behaviour, and professionalism. She laid the foundation for the processes of nursing and patient care and performed outstanding professional work throughout his life. She made no distinction between man and man, she only saw the suffering patient, in every soldier and injured. She sacrificed his life for his profession. The Hungarian Nursing Association founded the Zsuzsanna Kossuth commemorative medal in 1998, the year of the 150th anniversary of the War of Independence, which is donated every year on February 19.]

[Background and purpose - Data on disease burden of multiple sclerosis from Eastern-Central Europe are very limited. Our aim was to explore the quality of life, resource utilisation and costs of ambulating patients with multiple sclerosis in Hungary. Methods - Cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed in two outpatient neurology centres in 2009. Clinical history, health care utilisation in the past 12 months were surveyed, the Expanded Disability Status Scale and the EQ-5D questionnaires were applied. Cost calculation was conducted from the societal perspective. Results - Sixty-eight patients (female 70.6%) aged 38.0 (SD 9.1) with disease duration of 7.8 (SD 6.7) years were involved. Fifty-five (80.9%) had relapsing-remitting form and 52 (76.5%) were taking immunomodulatory drug. The average scores were: Expanded Disability Status Scale 1.9 (SD 1.7), EQ-5D 0.67 (SD 0.28). Mean total cost amounted to 10 902 Euros/patient/year (direct medical 67%, direct nonmedical 13%, indirect costs 20%). Drugs, disability pension and informal care were the highest cost items. Costs of mild (Expanded Disability Status Scale 0-3.5) and moderate (Expanded Disability Status Scale 4.0-6.5) disease were 9 218 and 17 634 Euros/patient/year respectively (p<0.01), that is lower than results from Western European countries. Conclusion - Our study provides current inputs for policy making and contributes to understanding variation of costof- illness of multiple sclerosis in Europe.]

[The reason of the unfavourable life expectancy of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not only the development of end-stage renal failure but the frequent appearance of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Chronic kidney damage itself is a cardiovascular risk state and the occurrence of CVD/associated diseases is significantly higher in chronic kidney failure. Beside risk stratification and valid treatment of CVD (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease e.g.) we and the international nephrological community have left the cerebrovascular diseases of CKD patients out of consideration. However, up to 50% of patients suffering a stroke will die immediately, only 10% of stroke survivors can continue his/her profession, but the others will be permanently disabled. High blood pressure is a strong predictor of stroke and of other CVD in most of the patients. In stroke risk reduction it is particularly important to reach the target blood pressure values. The main object of the “Live under 140/90 mmHg” programme of the Hungarian Society of Hypertension is to familiarize with target blood pressure itself and how to reach target blood pressure. In 2010, prevention, early diagnosis and management of stroke are the most important challenges of this programme (The Brain Control Programme). We think it is advisable to prepare and publish a clinical practice guideline in collaboration with stroke societies which is similar to the guidelines of international societies and of the Hungarian Society of Stroke but specific for CKD patients. This guideline would help to give a uniform, up-to-date treatment for the cerebrovascular diseases of CKD patients.]

[There is a long history of women in dentistry. Dr. Gizella Barát was the first female dentist in Hungary. She was among the first women admitted to the University in Hungary. Dr. Gizella Barát was a typical example of an emancipated, modern, wo­man, devoted to medical profession in the early 20th century. After graduation she was employed in the Polyclinic and started there her carreer at professor Armin Rott­mann. We follow her life’s story with existing however incomplete biographyc data.]

[The first psychiatric and neurological journal in Hungary is now launched. The support of the Academy of Sciences and the Medical-Health Trade Union made it possible to make up for the omission made by the pseudo-scientific cultural policy of the reactionary period. It has already happened in the past that Hungarian medicine started to flourish. Developments in the fields of neurophysiology, neurology and psychiatry began in the second half of the last century, during which Hungarian researchers were connected to the leading medical discoveries of the time in the world.]