Effectiveness and tolerability of rimegepant in the acute treatment of migraine: a real-world, prospective, multicentric study (GAINER study).

Background: Rimegepant, a novel oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, has been recently approved for the acute migraine treatment. While its efficacy was confirmed in randomized clinical trials, no data is available regarding real-life effectiveness and tolerability. GAINER, a prospective, multicentric study, aimed to evaluate rimegepant effectiveness and tolerability in the real-world setting.

Exploring Sex Differences in Outcomes of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy for Patients With Noncardioembolic Mild-to-Moderate Ischemic Stroke or High-Risk Transient Ischemic Attack: A Propensity-Matched Analysis of the READAPT Study Cohort.

Background: Sex may impact clinical outcomes in patients with stroke treated with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). We aimed to investigate the sex differences in the short-term outcomes of DAPT within a real-world population of patients with noncardioembolic mild-to-moderate ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack.

Methods: We performed a propensity score-matched analysis from a prospective multicentric cohort study (READAPT [Real-Life Study on Short-Term Dual Antiplatelet Treatment in Patients With Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack]) by including patients with noncardioembolic mild-to-moderate stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 0-10) or high-risk transient ischemic attack (age, blood pressure, clinical features, duration of transient ischemic attack, presence of diabetes [ABCD] ≥4) who initiated DAPT within 48 hours of symptom onset.

Transient brain ischemic symptoms and the presence of ischemic lesions at neuroimaging: Results from the READAPT study.

Background: According to the literature, about one third of patients with brain ischemic symptoms lasting <24 h, which are classified as Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) according to the traditional "time-based" definition, show the presence of acute ischemic lesions at neuroimaging. Recent evidence has shown that the presence of acute ischemic lesions at neuroimaging may impact on the outcome of patients with transient ischemic symptoms treated with dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT). This uncertainty is even more compelling in recent years as short-term DAPT has become the standard treatment for any non-cardioembolic TIA or minor ischemic stroke.

Gender disparity in access to advanced therapies for patients with Parkinson's disease: a retrospective real-word study.

Background: Gender differences in the access to advanced therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD) are poorly investigated.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of any gender disparity in the access to advanced therapies for PD.

Design: Retrospective study.

Association of anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide with other monoclonal antibodies for different diseases: A multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

Background And Purpose: Although there is extensive evidence about the safety of monoclonal antibodies against calcitonin gene-related peptide (anti-CGRP mAbs) in combination with traditional drugs, scarce data are available on the safety of their combination with other mAbs. This study aimed to evaluate the 6-month effectiveness and tolerability of anti-CGRP mAbs in combination with other mAbs for different diseases.

Methods: Patients included in the Italian Headache Registry and treated concomitantly with an anti-CGRP mAb and another mAb were included.

Combining Intravenous Thrombolysis and Dual Antiplatelet Treatment in Patients With Minor Ischemic Stroke: A Propensity Matched Analysis of the READAPT Study Cohort.

Background: The optimal treatment for acute minor ischemic stroke is still undefined. and options include dual antiplatelet treatment (DAPT), intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), or their combination. We aimed to investigate benefits and risks of combining IVT and DAPT versus DAPT alone in patients with MIS.

Network analysis of negative emotions in patients with episodic migraine: need for a multidisciplinary perspective.

Background: Episodic migraine (EM) is the second most prevalent neurological disorder worldwide and is responsible for more disability than all other neurological disorders combined. Triggers for the development of migraine include, stress, emotional burden, low blood sugar levels, tobacco, skipped meals, anxious and depressive feelings. Migraine affects both children and adults, occurring three times more frequently in women than in men.

Facial emotion recognition and judgment of affective scenes in Parkinson's disease.

Emotional dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease (PD) remain a controversial issue. While previous investigations showed compromised recognition of expressive faces in PD, no studies evaluated potential deficits in recognizing the emotional valence of affective scenes. This study aimed to investigate both facial emotion recognition performance and the ability to judge affective scenes in PD patients.

Staged magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for the treatment of bilateral essential tremor and Parkinson's disease related tremor: a systematic review and critical appraisal of current knowledge.

Introduction: Essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) are debilitating neurodegenerative disorders characterized by tremor as a predominant symptom, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) Thalamotomy is an innovative therapeutic option for the treatment of unilateral medically refractory tremor with fewer adverse effects compared to traditional surgical interventions. A recent CE approval allows appropriate patients to have their second side treated.

Cognitive safety of focused ultrasound thalamotomy for tremor: 1-year follow-up results of the COGNIFUS part 2 study.

Introduction: In the COGNitive in Focused UltraSound (COGNIFUS) study, we examined the 6-month cognitive outcomes of patients undergoing MRgFUS thalamotomy. This study endorsed the safety profile of the procedure in terms of cognitive functions that cannot be evaluated in real-time during the procedure unlike other aspects. The aim of the COGNIFUS Part 2 study was to investigate the cognitive trajectory of MRgFUS patients over a 1-year period, in order to confirm long-term safety and satisfaction.

Early re-emerging tremor after MRgFUS thalamotomy: case-control analysis of procedural and imaging features.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify possible prognostic factors determining early tremor relapse after Magnetic Resonance guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) thalamotomy in patients with essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Nine patients (six ET and three PD) who underwent Vim MRgFUS thalamotomy in a single institution and developed early re-emergent tremor were analyzed. A control group of patients matched pairwise for sex, pathology, age, disease duration, and skull density ratio (SDR) was selected to compare the technical-procedural data and MR imaging evidence.

Assessment of Frequency and Predictive Value of Comorbidities in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness in the Acute Setting.

Medical comorbidities are frequent in patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) and their impact on outcomes is under investigation. The aim of this study was to investigate patients with DoC in the acute stage and the influence of comorbidities. Patients admitted to intensive care units and neurological units with a diagnosis of coma, vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS), and minimally conscious state (MCS) were investigated through the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), the Coma Recovery Scale - Revised (CRS-R) and the Comorbidities Coma Scale (CoCos).

Emotional atypical arousal ratings for unpleasant stimuli in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms, including alteration in emotional processing and recognition of emotions. We explored the effects of PD on the emotional behavioral ratings using a battery of affective visual stimuli selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS).

Methods: Twenty-two patients diagnosed with idiopathic PD and 22 healthy controls (HC), matched by age, gender, and education, were enrolled in the study.

Effects of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on patients with Parkinson's disease: a machine-learning voice analysis.

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) can exert relevant effects on the voice of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we used artificial intelligence to objectively analyze the voices of PD patients with STN-DBS.

Materials And Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we enrolled 108 controls and 101 patients with PD.

White matter hyperintensities in migraine are not mediated by a dysfunction of the glymphatic system-A diffusion tensor imaging magnetic resonance imaging study.

Objective: We assessed whether brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of glymphatic function are altered in patients with migraine and brain white matter hyperintensities (WMHs).

Background: The glymphatic system is responsible for the outflow of waste products from the brain. An impaired glymphatic system has been associated with WMH; however, this impairment has not been shown in patients with migraine.

Models of care in emergency neurology: from the Neuro Fast Track to the emergency neurologist-a position paper of the Italian Association for Emergency Neurology (ANEU).

I n the context of an adequate health care organization, the figure of the neurologist as an emergency operator (in the emergency room-ER-and/or in a dedicated outpatient clinic) is crucial for an effective functional connection with the territory (and therefore with general practitioners), a reduction in inappropriate ER accesses, specific diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to neurological emergencies in the ER and a reduction in nonspecific or even unnecessary instrumental investigations. In this position paper of the Italian Association of Emergency Neurology (ANEU: Associazione Neurologia dell'Emergenza Urgenza), these issues are addressed, and two important organizational solutions are proposed: 1) The Neuro Fast Track, as an outpatient organization approach strongly linked to general practitioners and non-neurological specialists and dedicated to cases with deferrable urgency (to be assessed within 72 h) 2) The identification of an emergency neurologist, who is engaged in ER assessments as a consultant and involved in the management of the semi-intensive care unit of the emergency neurology and the stroke unit according to an appropriate rotation, as well as in consultations for patients with neurological emergencies in inpatient wards The possibility of computerizing the screening of patients with deferrable urgency in the Neuro Fast Track is described. A dedicated app represents an important tool that can facilitate the identification of patients for whom deferred assessment is appropriate, the scheduling of neurological examinations and reductions in the booking time through a more rapid approach to specialist assessment and subsequent investigations.

Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound thalamotomy for refractory neuropathic pain: a systematic review and critical appraisal of current knowledge.

Background: Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) is an innovative therapeutical approach for medically refractory tremor. It is currently under investigation for other neurological diseases including refractory neuropathic pain (NP).

Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to analyze available evidence about the effectiveness and safety profile of MRgFUS in the treatment of refractory NP.

Levodopa Equivalent Dose of Safinamide: A Multicenter, Longitudinal, Case-Control Study.

Background: Effects of dopaminergic medications used to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) may be compared with each other by using conversion factors, calculated as Levodopa equivalent dose (LED). However, current LED proposals on MAO-B inhibitors (iMAO-B) safinamide and rasagiline are still based on empirical approaches.

Objectives: To estimate LED of safinamide 50 and 100 mg.

Divergence Between Clinical Trial Evidence and Actual Practice in Use of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Transient Ischemic Attack and Minor Stroke.

Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) proved that short-term (21-90 days) dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) reduces the risk of early ischemic recurrences after a noncardioembolic minor stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA) without substantially increasing the hemorrhagic risk. We aimed at understanding whether and how real-world use of DAPT differs from RCTs.

Methods: READAPT (Real-Life Study on Short-Term Dual Antiplatelet Treatment in Patients With Ischemic Stroke or TIA) is a prospective cohort study including >18-year-old patients treated with DAPT after a noncardioembolic minor ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA from 51 Italian centers.

Validation of the Italian version of the Cluster Headache Impact Questionnaire (CHIQ).

Background: The Cluster Headache Impact Questionnaire (CHIQ) is a specific and easy-to-use questionnaire to assess the current impact of cluster headache (CH). The aim of this study was to validate the Italian version of the CHIQ.

Methods: We included patients diagnosed with episodic CH (eCH) or chronic CH (cCH) according to the ICHD-3 criteria and included in the "Italian Headache Registry" (RICe).

Evaluation of Cerebral Volume Changes in Patients with Tremor Treated by MRgFUS Thalamotomy.

The purpose of the study is to quantify volumetric variations of cortical and subcortical brain structures after Vim ablation using MRgFUS, and correlate them with the patients’ clinical features and treatment outcomes. For this pilot retrospective study we enrolled 31 patients with a mean age of 70.86 years who were eligible for unilateral Vim thalamotomy.