Clinical Neuroscience

MAY 30, 2020

[The long-term follow-up of enzyme replacement treatment in late onset Pompe disease]

MOLNÁR Mária Judit, BORSOS Beáta, VÁRDI Visy Katalin, GROSZ Zoltán, SEBÕK Ágnes, DÉZSI Lívia, ALMÁSSY Zsuzsanna, KERÉNYI Levente, JOBBÁGY Zita, JÁVOR László, BIDLÓ Judit

[Pompe disease (PD) is a rare lysosomal disease caused by the deficient activity of acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA) enzyme due to mutations in the GAA gene. The enzymatic deficiency leads to the accumulation of glycogen within the lysosomes. Clinically, the disease has been classically classified in infantile and childhood/adult forms. Presently cc. close to 600 mutations distributed throughout the whole gene have been reported. The c.-32-13T>G splice mutation that is very common in patients of Caucasian origin affected by the childhood/adult form of the disease, with an allelic frequency close to 70%. Enzyme replacement treatment (ERT) is available for the patients with Pompe disease (Myozyme). In this paper, we are presenting the long term follow up of 13 adult onset cases treated more than 5 years. The longest follow up was 15 years. To evaluate the treatment efficacy, the 6 minutes walking test (6MWT) and the respiratory functions were monitored annually. The analysis revealed that at the beginning of ERT for 3-4 years the 6MWT had been generally increasing, then it declined, and after 10 years it was lower in 77% of the cases than it had been at the start of the treatment. In 23% of the cases the 6MWT increased during the follow up time. Only one of the patients become wheelchair dependent during the follow-up period. The respiratory function showed similar results especially in supine position. A high degree of variability was observed among patients in their responses to the treatment, which only partially associated with the antibody titer against the therapeutic protein. The efficacy of the ERT was associated with the type of the disease causing mutation, the baseline status of the disease, the lifestyle and the diet of the patient. The long-term follow up of the patients with innovative orphan drugs is necessary to really understand the value of the treatment and the need of the patients.]

HUN 2020;73(05-06)

Clinical Neuroscience

MAY 30, 2020

Alexithymia is associated with cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease

SENGUL Yildizhan, KOCAK Müge, CORAKCI Zeynep, SENGUL Serdar Hakan, USTUN Ismet

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.

ENG 2020;73(05-06)

Clinical Neuroscience

MAY 30, 2020

Autonomic nervous system may be affected after carpal tunnel syndrome surgery: A possible mechanism for persistence of symptoms after surgery

ONDER Burcu, KELES Yavuz Betul

After carpal tunnel surgery, some patients report complaints such as edema, pain, and numbness. Purpose – The aim of this study was to evaluate autonomic nervous system function in patients with a history of carpal tunnel surgery using sympathetic skin response (SSR). Thirty three patients (55 ±10 years old) with a history of unilateral operation for carpal tunnel syndrome were included in the study. The SSR test was performed for both hands. Both upper extremities median and ulnar nerve conduction results were recorded. A reduced amplitude (p=0.006) and delayed latency (p<0.0001) were detected in the SSR test on the operated side compared to contralateral side. There was no correlation between SSR and carpal tunnel syndrome severity. Although complex regional pain syndrome does not develop in patients after carpal tunnel surgery, some of the complaints may be caused by effects on the autonomic nervous system.

ENG 2020;73(05-06)

Clinical Neuroscience

MARCH 30, 2016

[Hungarian adaptation of a short eating disorder questionnaire (SCOFF)]

DUKAY-SZABÓ Szilvia, SIMON Dávid, VARGA Márta, SZABÓ Pál, TÚRY Ferenc, RATHNER Günther

[Aim - Eating disorders are becoming an increasingly relevant health issue, therefore the fast and accurate screening of people at risk is of great practical importance. The aim of SCOFF questionnaire is to assess this risk and the extent to which a person is affected, by using five simple yes or no questions. The objective of our study was to assess the validity of the Hungarian version of the test Methods - 777 medical students (210 men, 567 women, mean age 22.3±2.33 years) participated in the survey. The online questionnaire contained anthropometric data, the Eating Behaviour Severity Scale and, beside the SCOFF, the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Results - The SCOFF is excellent at screening clinical eating disorders. Its sensitivity was 100% and specificity 85.1%. It is less efficient at detecting subclinical cases, but it does not show worse results than EDI. According to the data SCOFF is better at identifying more serious cases. Applying on the same sample SCOFF had higher sensitivity and lower specificity than EDI. Discussion - SCOFF is suitable for primary screening of eating disorders with a non-diagnostic purpose, taken two “yes” answers out of five as the critical margin, specified by the authors.]

HUN 2016;69(03-04)

Clinical Neuroscience

NOVEMBER 20, 2015

[Earlier and more efficiently: the role of deep brain stimulation for parkinson’s disease preserving the working capabilities]

DELI Gabriella, BALÁS István, KOMOLY Sámuel, DÓCZI Tamás, JANSZKY József, ASCHERMANN Zsuzsanna, NAGY Ferenc, BOSNYÁK Edit, KOVÁCS Norbert

[Background – The recently published “EarlyStim” study demonstrated that deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) with early fluctuations is superior to the optimal pharmacological treatment in improving the quality of life and motor symptoms, and preserving sociocultural position. Our retrospective investigation aimed to evaluate if DBS therapy was able to preserve the working capabilities of our patients. Methods – We reviewed the data of 39 young (<60 years-old) PD patients who underwent subthalamic DBS implantation at University of Pécs and had at least two years follow-up. Patients were categorized into two groups based on their working capabilities: Patients with active job (“Job+” group, n=15) and retired patients (without active job, “Job-” group, n=24). Severity of motor symptoms (UPDRS part 3), quality of life (EQ-5D) and presence of active job were evaluated one and two years after the operation. Results – As far as the severity of motor symptoms were concerned, similar (approximately 50%) improvement was achieved in both groups. However, the postoperative quality of life was significantly better in the Job+ group. Majority (12/15, 80%) of Job+ group members were able to preserve their job two years after the operation. However, only a minimal portion (1/24, 4.2%) of the Job- group members was able to return to the world of active employees (p<0.01, McNemar test). Conclusion – Although our retrospective study has several limitations, our results fit well with the conclusions of “EarlyStim” study. Both of them suggest that with optimal timing of DBS implantation we may preserve the working capabilities of our patients.]

HUN 2015;68(11-12)