The impact of the comorbid seizure/epilepsy on the health related quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis: an international multicentric study.

Introduction: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with (Pw) multiple sclerosis (MS) is usually deteriorated. It has been recently suggested that comorbidities may have the negative influence on the quality of life of the PwMS, but according to the best of our knowledge, only one study investigated, although in a very small cohort, the impact of individual comorbidity on the quality of life of PwMS. The aim of our investigation was to assess, in an international, multicentric study, the impact of comorbid seizure/epilepsy on the HRQoL in PwMS.

A novel VARS2 gene variant in a patient with epileptic encephalopathy.

Mitochondrial disorders are heterogeneous clinical syndromes caused by defective activity in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, resulting in a faulty oxidative phosphorylation system. These inherited disorders are individually rare, and furthermore they are phenotypic variables. The genetically characterized mitochondrial disorders are rarely associated with epileptic encephalopathies.

Combined prenatal exposure to mercury and LCPUFA on newborn's brain measures and neurodevelopment at the age of 18 months.

Objectives: Prenatal exposure of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are essential for normal fetal growth and neurodevelopment. Availability of LCPUFA depends mostly on maternal fish consumption. Fish consumption also exposes the fetus to mercury which is well known neurotoxicant.

Prevalence of severe retinopathy of prematurity in a geographically defined population in Croatia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of stage III of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among newborns of birth weight < 1500 g and gestational age (GA) < or = 32 weeks, and to compare these prevalences during two time periods (1998-2002 and 2003-2007). The investigation was conducted at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital in Rijeka, Croatia. The screening for ROP was performed by an ophthalmologist using a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope.

Gorski Kotar--an endemic region for primary gastric non-hodgkin lymphoma?

Primary gastric non Hodgkin lymphoma (PGNHL) is a distinct group of extranodal lymphomas with interesting geographical distribution and variable prevalence in different countries. We analysed epidemiological data of our patients with PGNHL in Primorsko-goranska County. Clinical data of 30 patients with PGNHL diagnosed and treated in Clinical Hospital Center of Rijeka, Croatia between January 1995 and December 2005 were prospectively analyzed.

Direct medical cost of children and adolescents epilepsy at a university setting in Croatia.

The aim was to study the direct medical cost of epilepsy in children and adolescents and to determine the impact of epilepsy type and child's age on total costs of treatment. One-year prospective, prevalence based, "bottom up" analyses of sixty-nine (69) children with epilepsy (International League Against Epilepsy criteria was used). Direct medical costs were calculated by summing annual costs of hospital care, outpatient visits and antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment.

What the Croatian doctors want to be learning about?

The aim of the study was to examine doctor's attitude about topics in continuing medical education (CME) using anonymous questionnaire that was given to the members of the Croatian Medical Association in Rijeka. The questions concerned doctor's interest of certain medical fields, influence of CME to their everyday practice, and importance of getting credits for re-licensure as a motive to participate in CME. The highest interest was shown for CME in emergency/intensive medicine and the lowest for transplantation medicine.

Genetic background of Huntington disease in Croatia: Molecular analysis of CAG, CCG, and Delta2642 (E2642del) polymorphisms.

This study presents the first molecular data on the basis and the origin of Huntington disease in Croatia and is the first such analysis performed among a Slavic population. We analyzed three trinucleotide polymorphisms in the HD gene: CAG, CCG and GAG Delta2642 (E2642del) triplets. Analysis of the CAG repeat size among 44 Huntington patients (39-66 CAGs) and 51 normal individuals (9-34 CAGs) showed that the range of the repeats was similar to previous findings.