Cognitive dysfunction (CD) is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Alexithy­mia is a still poorly understood neuropsychiatric feature of PD. Cognitive impairment (especially visuospatial dysfunction and executive dysfunction) and alexithymia share com­mon pathology of neuroanatomical structures. We hypo­thesized that there must be a correlation between CD and alexithymia levels considering this relationship of neuroanatomy. Objective – The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between alexithymia and neurocognitive function in patients with PD. Thirty-five patients with PD were included in this study. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale–20 (TAS-20), Geriatric Depression Inventory (GDI) and a detailed neuropsychological evaluation were performed. Higher TAS-20 scores were negatively correlated with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) similarities test score (r =-0.71, p value 0.02), clock drawing test (CDT) scores (r=-0.72, p=0.02) and verbal fluency (VF) (r=-0.77, p<0.01). Difficulty identifying feelings subscale score was negatively correlated with CDT scores (r=-0.74, p=0.02), VF scores (r=-0.66, p=0.04), visual memory immediate recall (r=-0.74, p=0.01). VF scores were also correlated with difficulty describing feelings (DDF) scores (r=-0.66, p=0.04). There was a reverse relationship bet­ween WAIS similarities and DDF scores (r=-0.70, p=0.02), and externally oriented-thinking (r=-0.77,p<0.01). Executive function Z score was correlated with the mean TAS-20 score (r=-62, p=0.03) and DDF subscale score (r=-0.70, p=0.01) Alexithymia was found to be associated with poorer performance on visuospatial and executive function test results. We also found that alexithymia was significantly correlated with depressive symptoms. Presence of alexithymia should therefore warn the clinicians for co-existing CD.

Over the past year, many cases with newly onset or significantly exacerbated tic disorders were observed worldwide, where some aspects of the clinical presentation or the symptomatology were atypical for established tic diagnoses. Our purpose was to describe the atypical cases and raise relevant diagnostic issues. Consecutive cases with atypical tic presentations were documented. Five atypical tic cases are described. These cases shared some common characteristics, most notably the fact that all of them had been exposed to online presentation of ticking behaviour on social media platforms prior to the de novo development or exacerbation of their tics. Even though the order of events suggests causality and therefore the diagnosis of a functional tic disorder, unambiguous criteria for classifying atypical tics as functional symptoms are lacking. Differentiating neurodevelopmental and functional tics in childhood is currently problematic. Based on the currently unresolved issues in differential diagnosis, the importance of watchful waiting and behavioural interventions is highlighted to avoid unwarranted pharmacotherapy.

Liver transplantation is the only curative treatment in patients with end-stage liver failure. It has been associated with neurological disorders more frequently than other solid organ transplantations. We aimed to detect neurological disorders in liver transplantation patients and determine those that affect mortality. One hundred eighty-five patients, 105 with and 80 without neurological disorders, were included in this study. The follow-up was categorized into three periods: preoperative, early postoperative and late postoperative. We analyzed all medical records, including demographic, laboratory, radiological, and clinical data. Neurological disorders were observed in 52 (28.1%) patients in the preoperative period, in 45 (24.3%) in the early postoperative, and in 42 (22.7%) in the late postoperative period. Hepatic encephalopathy in the preoperative and altered mental state in the post­operative period were the most common neurological disorders. Both hepatic encephalopathy (37.5%) and altered mental state (57.7%) caused high mortality (p=0.019 and 0.001) and were determined as indepen­dent risk factors for mortality. Living donor transplantation caused less frequent mental deterioration (p=0.049). The mortality rate (53.8%) was high in patients with seizures (p=0.019). While mortality was 28.6% in Wilson’s disease patients with neurological disorders, no death was observed in patients without neurological disorders. We identified a wide variety of neurological disorders in liver transplantation patients. We also demonstrated that serious neurological disorders, including hepatic encephalopathy and seizures, are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, in order to avoid poor outcomes, hepatic encephalopathy should be considered as a prioritization criterion for liver transplantation.

We aimed to analyze the clinical, laboratory and neuroimaging findings in patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in a single center as well as to review other published cases in Turkey. Between January 1st, 2014 and June 31st, 2017, all CJD cases were evaluated based on clinical findings, differential diagnosis, the previous misdiagnosis, electroencephalography (EEG), cerebrospinal fluid and cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in our center. All published cases in Turkey between 2005-2018 were also reviewed. In a total of 13 patients, progressive cognitive decline was the most common presenting symptom. Two patients had a diagnosis of Heidenhain variant, 1 patient had a diagnosis of Oppenheimer-Brownell variant. Seven patients (53.3%) had been misdiagnosed with depression, vascular dementia, normal pressure hydrocephalus or encephalitis. Eleven patients (87%) had typical MRI findings but only 5 of these were present at baseline. Asymmetrical high signal abnormalities on MRI were observed in 4 patients. Five patients (45.4%) had periodic spike wave complexes on EEG, all appeared during the follow-up. There were 74 published cases in Turkey bet­ween 2005 and 2018, with various clinical presentations. CJD has a variety of clinical features in our patient series as well as in cases reported in Turkey. Although progressive cognitive decline is the most common presenting symptom, unusual manifestations in early stages of the disease might cause misdiagnosis. Variant forms should be kept in mind in patients with isolated visual or cerebellar symptoms. MRI and EEG should be repeated during follow-up period if the clinical suspicion still exists.

[To assess the rehabilitation outcome after severe traumatic brain injury. Retrospective evaluation of the rehabilitation process and prospective follow-up five years after discharge. Patients – Patients treated in 2013 at the Traumatic Brain Injury Unit, National Institute for Medical Rehabilitation were included in the study (n = 232). Ninety-nine of 232 patients were treated with severe traumatic brain injury. Data were available for 66/99 patients (67%). Fifty patients (13 women and 37 men) were successfully contacted for follow-up (51%), three patients deceased. The mean age of the patients was 42 years (range: 22-72). The majority of them (36/50) was injured in traffic accidents. The mean duration of coma and post-traumatic amnesia were 19 (1-90) and 45 days (5-150), respectively. Patients were admitted for rehabilitation on the 44th (11-111) day after the injury and were rehabilitated for 95 days (10-335). Thirty-eight patients became independent at daily living activity during the rehabilitation period, and none during the follow-up. Two patients needed moderate and one a little help for the daily life. After successful rehabilitation 4 patients continued their higher education, 24 patients worked (six in sheltered, six in the original, 12 in other workplaces). Twenty-two patients did not have permanent jobs, two of whom were retired. The majority of the patients were successfully reintegrated into society. More than half of the patients returned to work or continued their studies. These successes were greatly facilitated by the 40 years of experience and the multidisciplinary team working in the National Institute for Medical Rehabilitation. ]