Brain health and national neurological societies: Results of the European Academy of Neurology survey on brain health awareness and areas of implementation for European countries.

Background And Purpose: The European Academy of Neurology (EAN) has adhered to the global plan for reducing the burden of neurological disorders and promoting brain health launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the WHO Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders. This study reports the results of an EAN survey among national neurological societies (NNSs) on their awareness of brain health policies.

Methods: The EAN survey on the current state of national brain health policies was conducted among the 47 presidents of the NNSs affiliated with the EAN, with the aim of developing the best strategy for close collaboration among stakeholders.

The 2022 European postgraduate (residency) programme in neurology in a historical and international perspective.

Background And Purpose: Neurology residency programmes, which were first established at the beginning of the 20th century, have become mandatory all over Europe in the last 40-50 years. The first European Training Requirements in Neurology (ETRN) were published in 2005 and first updated in 2016. This paper reports the most recent revisions of the ETRN.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) in time of crisis: How medical societies face challenges and adapt to provide unbiased CME.

Healthcare professionals need to maintain their knowledge and skills to deliver the best possible care to patients. Medical societies play an important role as providers of continuing medical education (CME) and have actively continued this role during the COVID-19 pandemic adapting the delivery of education to virtual meetings and courses. The Biomedical Alliance in Europe CME Experts Committee conducted two surveys to collect information on the delivery of CME, generally, and during the COVID-19 pandemic from the member medical societies.

Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast Enhanced (DSC) MRI Perfusion and Plasma Cytokine Levels in Patients after Tonic-clonic Seizures.

Background: Inflammatory events in brain parenchyma and glial tissue are involved in epileptogenesis. Blood concentration of cytokines is shown to be elevated after tonic-clonic seizures. As a result of inflammation, blood-brain barrier leakage occurs.

Assessment of sexual function in women with neurological disorders: A review.

Background: Although the rehabilitation of sexual function has been identified as a top priority among women presenting neurological conditions, sexual function is rarely assessed in this clinical group.

Objectives: To review published assessment tools of sexual dysfunction in women with neurological conditions including multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI), Parkinson disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted with Medline via PubMed, PubMed Central, and Medline databases.

Lower urinary tract dysfunction in patients with peripheral nervous system lesions.

The prevalence of lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunction in peripheral nervous system (PNS) disorders is larger than in comparable control populations. This is particularly true for polyneuropathies with autonomic nervous system involvement, and for localized lesions with LUT innervation. LUT symptoms may be the guide to the diagnosis of processes localized in the lumbosacral spinal canal (as in cauda equina syndrome), and in the pelvis.

Approach to the male patient with lower urinary tract dysfunction.

History and physical examination are the cornerstones of evaluation of the male patient with lower urinary tract (LUT) symptoms and (suspected) neurologic disorder, both to diagnose the nervous system lesion, and to get insight into the type of LUT dysfunction (LUTD). Non-neurologic LUTD needs to be ruled out. Laboratory testing is necessary to diagnose urinary infection.

Introduction.

This volume of the Handbook of Clinical Neurology deals with neurologic disorders of sex and bladder. Sexuality is for the large majority of humans a component of a fulfilled life, even though it is not "vital" in the usual sense of the word. However, dysfunctions of the lower urinary tract (LUT) are vital, as they may lead to chronic infection, dilatation of the upper urinary tract, renal insufficiency, and death.

Cognitive function in early clinical phase huntington disease after rivastigmine treatment.

Background: In Huntington disease (HD) patients receiving rivastigmine treatment improvement of behavioral symptoms and of cognitive function (assessed with screening diagnostic instruments) has been reported. The aim of the present study was to verify such improvement in cognitive function by cognitive function assessment with a detailed neuropsychological battery covering all relevant cognitive systems expected to be impaired in early phase HD.

Subjects And Methods: Eighteen (18) HD patients entered the study and were randomly allocated to the rivastigmine and placebo group.

Intraoperative recording of the bulbocavernosus reflex.

: The bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR) is mediated by the sacral somatic afferent/efferent periphery as well as the sacral cord. Unfortunately, the reflex has suffered from a partly deserved reputation as difficult to implement. However, recent stratagems have improved the test's reliability.

Lower urinary tract and sexual dysfunction in neurological patients.

Background: Lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) and sexual dysfunction (SD) are common in neurological patients due to a combination of lesions affecting relevant neural control, constraints imposed by sensorimotor and cognitive deficits and--particularly for SD--psychosocial consequences of chronic neurological disease.

Summary: This review summarizes the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of LUTD and SD in neurological patients.

Key Messages: LUTD may lead to serious health problems; both LUTD and SD significantly affect quality of life.

Management of sexual dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.

Nonmotor symptoms, among them sexual dysfunction, are common and underrecognized in patients with Parkinson disease; they play a major role in the deterioration of quality of life of patients and their partners. Loss of desire and dissatisfaction with their sexual life is encountered in both genders. Hypersexuality (HS), erectile dysfunction and problems with ejaculation are found in male patients, and loss of lubrication and involuntary urination during sex are found in female patients.

The role of clinical neurophysiology in urogynecology.

Introduction: Clinical neurophysiological methods remain interesting research tools in urogynecology; their diagnostic role in the individual "pelvic floor" patient is, however, minor.

Conclusion: The methods are diagnostically useful particularly in patients suspected to have a lesion involving the sphincters or the peripheral sacral nervous system, the diagnosis of which will influence management decisions or have prognostic or medicolegal relevance. Most helpful tests are the concentric needle EMG and bulbocavernosus reflex testing.

Stroke patients who regain urinary continence in the first week after acute first-ever stroke have better prognosis than patients with persistent lower urinary tract dysfunction.

Aims: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a predictor of greater mortality and poor functional recovery; however published studies failed to evaluate lower urinary tract (LUT) function immediately after stroke. The aim of our study was to evaluate the course of LUT function in the first week after stroke, and its impact on prognosis.

Methods: We included 100 consecutively admitted patients suffering first-ever stroke and evaluated them within 72 hours after stroke, after 7 days, 6 months, and 12 months.

Raising awareness about fecal incontinence.

There is a lack of awareness about fecal incontinence despite its prevalence and adverse impact on quality of life. Inadequate knowledge about fecal incontinence deters help-seeking, therapeutic consultation, and clinical research about effective prevention and management strategies. A systematic, evidenced-based approach to raise awareness of fecal incontinence is essential to forward progress and overcome multiple barriers.

Urogenital dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The occurrence of urogenital dysfunction as an isolated early symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS) is rare, but the prevalence thereof becomes high with progression of disease. Lower urinary tract dysfunction may add to the cause of death (particularly through urinary infections), but both urinary and sexual dysfunction significantly affect quality of life of patients. Both storage and evacuation of urine may be affected by MS, and ultimatively the functional diagnosis can only be made by urodynamic testing.

Correlations between the ICIQ-UI short form and urodynamic diagnosis.

Aims: Urinary incontinence is a common symptom in many diseases as well as in general population. To measure the impact of urinary incontinence (UI) on individual's quality of life the English short form International Consultation on Incontinence questionnaire (ICIQ-UI Short Form) has been developed, which consists of three scored and one self-diagnostic question. Our aim was to translate the ICIQ-UI Short Form into Slovene, re-validate it, and test the diagnostic value of the questionnaire in determining the type of UI.

Electromyography of pelvic floor muscles.

Pelvic floor muscles (PFM) are intimately involved in function of lower urinary tract, the anorectum and sexual functions, therefore their neural control transcends the primarily important somatic innervation of striated muscle, as they are directly involved in "visceral activity". Neural control of pelvic organs is affected by a unique co-ordination of somatic and autonomic motor nervous systems. Visceral and somatic sensory fibres supply sensory information from pelvic organs; their input influences through central integrative mechanisms also pelvic floor muscle activity.

Bladder dysfunction in patients with cauda equina lesions.

Aims: Data on lower urinary tract (LUT) function obtained in larger, systematically studied populations of patients with cauda equina lesions are limited. We report urinary function in 65 patients with chronic lesions.

Methods: A urinary function questionnaire was used, and neurological examination, quantitative electromyography (EMG) of the external anal sphincter (EAS) muscles, EMG assessment of the sacral reflex, and conventional urodynamic measurements were performed.

Event-related potentials elicited by distractors in an auditory oddball paradigm in schizophrenia.

Patients with schizophrenia are affected more adversely than healthy controls by distracting conditions, due to their inability to adequately apportion attentional resources to targets or distractors. We attempted to re-evaluate the effects of distractors in 25 patients with chronic schizophrenia and in 12 controls. They performed an auditory target-detection task with 1500 Hz tone distractors and an additional control condition where a 1500-Hz tone was used as the target.