[In this paper we present the Comprehensive Aphasia Test-Hungarian (CAT-H; Zakariás and Lukács, in preparation), an assessment tool newly adapted to Hungarian, currently under standardisation. The test is suitable for the assessment of an acquired language disorder, post-stroke aphasia. The aims of this paper are to present 1) the main characteristics of the test, its areas of application, and the process of the Hungarian adaptation and standardisation, 2) the first results from a sample of Hungarian people with aphasia and healthy controls. Ninety-nine people with aphasia, mostly with unilateral, left hemisphere stroke, and 19 neurologically intact control participants were administered the CAT-H. In addition, we developed a questionnaire assessing demographic and clinical information. The CAT-H consists of two parts, a Cognitive Screening Test and a Language Test. People with aphasia performed significantly worse than the control group in all language and almost all cognitive subtests of the CAT-H. Consistent with our expectations, the control group performed close to ceiling in all subtests, whereas people with aphasia exhibited great individual variability both in the language and the cognitive subtests. In addition, we found that age, time post-onset, and type of stroke were associated with cognitive and linguistic abilities measured by the CAT-H. Our results and our experiences clearly show that the CAT-H provides a comprehensive profile of a person’s impaired and intact language abilities and can be used to monitor language recovery as well as to screen for basic cognitive deficits in aphasia. We hope that the CAT-H will be a unique resource for rehabilitation professionals and aphasia researchers in aphasia assessment and diagnostics in Hungary. ]

[Background – Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive, progressive neuromuscular disorder resulting in a loss of lower motoneurons. Recently, new disease-modifying treatments (two drugs for splicing modification of SMN2 and one for SMN1 gene replacement) have become available. Purpose – The new drugs change the progression of SMA with neonatal and childhood onset. Increasing amount of data are available about the effects of these drugs in adult patients with SMA. In this article, we summarize the available data of new SMA therapies in adult patients. Methods – Members of the Executive Committee of the Hungarian Clinical Neurogenetic Society surveyed the literature for palliative treatments, randomized controlled trials, and retrospective and prospective studies using disease modifying therapies in adult patients with SMA. Patients – We evaluated the outcomes of studies focused on treatments of adult patients mainly with SMA II and III. In this paper, we present our consensus statement in nine points covering palliative care, technical, medical and safety considerations, patient selection, and long-term monitoring of adult patients with SMA. This consensus statement aims to support the most efficient management of adult patients with SMA, and provides information about treatment efficacy and safety to be considered during personalized therapy. It also highlights open questions needed to be answered in future. Using this recommendation in clinical practice can result in optimization of therapy.]

[The clinical signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection has become more recognisable in recent times. In addition to common symptoms such as fever, cough, dyspnea, pneumonia and ageusia, less common complications can be identified, including many neurological manifestations. In this paper, we discuss three Covid-19 associated neurological disorders (Case 1: Covid-19 encephalitis, Case 2: Covid-19 organic headache, Case 3: SARS-CoV-2-infection and ischaemic stroke). We emphasize in our multiple case study that during the present pandemic, it is especially important for neurologists to be aware of the nervous system complications of the virus infection, thus saving unnecessary examinations and reducing the frequency of patients’ contact with health care personnel. ]

One of the major philosophical aspirations in contemporary consciousness research is to find a framework of explanation that could successfully address the problem of mind-body relations. Descartes is often regarded as the father of dualism in modern philosophy of mind. Phenomenology and embodiment may dissolve the problem of dualism in the waters of the experiential features of the life-world and the subject. Recent findings in psychoneuroimmunology have shown that somato-psychic mechanisms exist through which bodily stimuli are translated into neuropsychological events resulting in alterations in certain behavioral patterns. These may as well include changes in the qualitative features of the lived body (Leib) resulting in an overall change in the subjective experience. The application of modern embodiment theories in life sciences has the potential to create a novel, fruitful and heuristic approach, which may help us unveil features of the “mind-body phenomenon” that have been hidden so far. In this paper, I will try to briefly outline a possible analytical framework on the grounds of classic - Husserlian and Merleau-Pontian - phenomenology and biomedical sciences.

[This research focused on the knowledge and attitude toward to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the general population of Hungary. There are only a few studies in the international literature focusing on the public’s attitude towards ECT, and no such study has been published from Hungary. Participants were reached through social media and asked to fill out a semi-structured questionnaire on internet that comprised seventeen questions. Participation in the survey was entirely voluntary and anonymous. Participants of the survey were not working in health care; their answers to the questionnaire were compared to those of health-care workers. The result showed a significant difference between healthcare workers’ and lay people’s knowledge and attitude towards ECT. Two third of lay participants have never heard about ECT. Those familiar with ECT were relatively well-informed about its certain aspects yet rejection of ECT was significantly higher in the group of lay participants than in health-care workers. Lay people’s incomplete knowledge and negative attitude towards ECT was confirmed by this survey. The dissemination of reliable information – which should be the shared responsibility of mental health professionals and the media – would be vitally important to disperse the prejudices and doubts about ECT.]