[Changes of the T cell composition in the thymus during the COVID-19 pandemic].

Introduction: In our study, we aimed to investigate whether the COVID-19 infection itself or the vaccination against it affect the differentiation of T cells in the thymus, and whether the reduction in T cell counts observed in the blood of COVID-19-infected individuals is also observed at the tissue level in the thymus.

Method: Data from a total of 55 thymectomy patients were processed to create three groups: 1) the pre-COVID-19 (PC) group included 22 patients, 12 women and 10 men, who underwent thymectomy between 2008 and 2013; 2) in the no-COVID-19 (NC) group (patients without verified infection or vaccination), 20 patients, 11 women and 9 men, underwent thymectomy in 2020-2021; 3) the vaccinated or infected COVID-19 (VIC) group included 13 patients, 4 women and 9 men, who underwent thymectomy also in 2020-2021. The pathological samples were immunohistochemically tested for CD4, CD8, CD25 and FOXP3 to verify the helper, cytotoxic and regulatory T cells.

A case study of acute oropharyngeal palsy concomitant with diabetic ketoacidosis.

Acute oropharyngeal palsy is a rare variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome. In our study we present the case of a 63-year-old man with general symptoms who was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis and prescribed insulin therapy. Two weeks later, the patient complained of paraesthesia of the perioral region and the tip of the tongue, dysphagia, and dysarthria.

Visually guided associative learning in pediatric and adult migraine without aura.

Introduction: The Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test is a visually guided equivalence learning paradigm that involves rule acquisition and generalization. Earlier we found impaired performance in this paradigm among adult migraine patients without aura. The aim of the study was to investigate if similar impairments can be found already in the pediatric form of the disease and to compare the performance of the pediatric study population with that of an adult study population.

[Thrombolysis in case of ischemic stroke caused by aortic dissection].

Seldom, an acute aortic dissection can be the etiology of an acute ischemic stroke. The aortic dissection typically presents with severe chest pain, but in pain-free dissection, which ranges between 5-15% of the case, the neurological symptoms can obscure the sypmtos of the dissection. By the statistical data, there are 15-20 similar cases in Hungary in a year.

Efficacy and safety of abobotulinumtoxinA liquid formulation in cervical dystonia: A randomized-controlled trial.

Background: Approved botulinum toxin A products require reconstitution. AbobotulinumtoxinA solution for injection is a ready-to-use liquid formulation of abobotulinumtoxinA.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to demonstrate the superior efficacy of abobotulinumtoxinA solution for injection to placebo and to test the noninferior efficacy of abobotulinumtoxinA solution for injection versus abobotulinumtoxinA (dry formulation) in cervical dystonia.

Acquired equivalence and related memory processes in migraine without aura.

Introduction Interictal deficits of elementary visuo-cognitive functions are well documented in patients with migraine and are mostly explained in terms of neocortical hyperexcitability. It has been suggested that the basal ganglia and the hippocampi might also be affected in migraine. If so, a deterioration of learning and memory processes related to these structures is expected.

Quantitative assessment of brain iron by R2* relaxometry in patients with cervical dystonia.

Background: The pathophysiology of cervical dystonia is poorly understood. Increased brain iron deposition has been described in different movement disorders. Our aim was to investigate brain iron content in patients with cervical dystonia, using R2* relaxation rate, a validated MRI marker of brain iron level.

Efficacy and safety of a new Botulinum Toxin Type A free of complexing proteins in the treatment of blepharospasm.

NT 201 is a new development of Botulinum Toxin Type A free of complexing proteins. In this double-blind Phase III trial, we compared the efficacy and safety of NT 201 and BOTOX in patients suffering from blepharospasm. Of 304 enrolled patients, 300 patients received study medication (intent-to-treat population), and 256 patients completed the study as planned (per-protocol population).

Safety, effectiveness, and duration of effect of BOTOX after switching from Dysport for blepharospasm, cervical dystonia, and hemifacial spasm dystonia, and hemifacial spasm.

Background: Local injection of botulinum toxin type A is first-line treatment of blepharospasm, cervical dystonia, and hemifacial spasm; however, there is uncertainty about the optimal dose of toxin for each indication as well as dose-conversion ratios that should be used when switching products in clinical practice.

Objective: The goal of this study was to compare the safety, effectiveness, and duration of clinical effect of BOTOX and Dysport and Dysportdagger after drug switching (Dysport to BOTOX) among patients with movement disorders.

Methods: A total of 48 patients diagnosed with blepharospasm (n = 27), cervical dystonia (n = 12), or hemifacial spasm (n = 9) were evaluated during a single-arm, crossover-design study in which each patient was his/her own historical control using a 5:1 or 4:1 conversion ratio of Dysport to BOTOX units.

[Multidisciplinary therapy of Tourette syndrome].

The marked fluctuation in symptoms with a spectrum of behavioral problems contribute to misdiagnosis of Tourette syndrome. The authors review the recent progress in diagnosis and management with an emphasis on multidisciplinary approach. Possible associations with various genes have been found in etiology of Tourette syndrome.

Obsessive-compulsive characteristics in patients with idiopathic spasmodic torticollis.

To explore suggested relationships between involuntary motor disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we evaluated obsessive-compulsive characteristics in patients with idiopathic spasmodic torticollis (IST). Twenty-two patients with IST had significantly higher scores than 29 age- and sex-matched healthy controls on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and the obsessionality subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. The IST patients also had higher (though not significantly so) scores on the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory.

Blepharospasm and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Although essential blepharospasm is considered to be a form of focal dystonia, many patients with blepharospasm have been noted to have concomitant depression, anxiety, phobias, hypochondriasis, and other emotional and behavioral disorders, suggesting a psychiatric component to the disease that is phenomenologically similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in terms of the repetitive, perseverative, and persistent nature of the symptoms. The Maudsley OCD questionnaire was administered to 21 patients with blepharospasm and 19 normal controls. The blepharospasm patients scored significantly higher than the controls (p less than .

A double-blind study of adjuvant buspirone hydrochloride in clomipramine-treated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In this study, 14 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who had received at least 3 months of treatment with clomipramine were treated with the anxiolytic agent buspirone in a 10-week, double-blind study. Before the addition of buspirone, these patients as a group had shown a partial but incomplete reduction (averaging 28%) in OCD symptoms during clomipramine treatment alone. Because buspirone has been reported to be efficacious as a sole agent and as an adjunct agent in combination with fluoxetine in patients with OCD, we were interested in assessing whether buspirone added to clomipramine treatment would be associated with further significant reductions in OCD or depressive symptoms.

Symptoms of eating disorders in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: This study was designed to explore potential overlap of the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders.

Method: The authors administered a structured, self-rating scale, the Eating Disorder Inventory, to 59 outpatients at an obsessive-compulsive disorder clinic and to 60 sex-matched normal volunteers. The Eating Disorder Inventory has been previously validated as a reliable measure of the specific cognitive and behavioral dimensions of the psychopathology typical of patients with eating disorders.

Pyopneumothorax associated with pneumopericardium.

An unusual association of pneumopericardium with pyopneumothorax is presented. Pneumopericardium responded after intercostal drainage.

Ventilatory functions in tropical pulmonary eosinophilia.

A study of ventilatory function in tropical pulmonary eosinophilia was carried out. Seventy five cases and 75 healthy controls were studied. Four types of ventilatory patterns were observed-restrictive (52%), mixed (33%), obstructive (4%) and normal (10.