Publications by authors named "Piotr Sowa"

Objective: To evaluate: (1) the distribution of gray matter (GM) atrophy in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), aquaporin-4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4+NMOSD), and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS); and (2) the relationship between GM volumes and white matter lesions in various brain regions within each disease.

Methods: A retrospective, multicenter analysis of magnetic resonance imaging data included patients with MOGAD/AQP4+NMOSD/RRMS in non-acute disease stage. Voxel-wise analyses and general linear models were used to evaluate the relevance of regional GM atrophy.

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Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EOC) consisting of endometrioid cancer and clear-cell ovarian cancer could be promoted by many factors. miRNAs, which are small, non-coding molecules of RNA, are among them. The aim of this study was to detect miRNAs connected with the malignant transformation of endometriosis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a significant issue in clinical settings, prompting the need for better diagnostic tools to differentiate MS from other neurological conditions based on MRI findings.
  • A multicenter study analyzed MRI data of 1,051 participants, comparing cortical lesions (CLs) and the central vein sign (CVS) between those diagnosed with MS or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and individuals with non-MS conditions.
  • The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of CLs and CVS in diagnosing MS by calculating various performance metrics like sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, while also comparing these new markers against conventional MRI features.
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The identification of prognostic markers in early multiple sclerosis (MS) is challenging and requires reliable measures that robustly predict future disease trajectories. Ideally, such measures should make inferences at the individual level to inform clinical decisions. This study investigated the prognostic value of longitudinal structural networks to predict 5-year Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) progression in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).

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Objectives: Late-life depression (LLD) is a common and debilitating disorder. Previously, resting-state studies have revealed abnormal functional connectivity (FC) of brain networks in LLD. Since LLD is associated with emotional-cognitive control deficits, the aim of this study was to compare FC of large-scale brain networks in older adults with and without a history of LLD during a cognitive control task with emotional stimuli.

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MRI and clinical features of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-antibody disease may overlap with those of other inflammatory demyelinating conditions posing diagnostic challenges, especially in non-acute phases and when serologic testing for MOG antibodies is unavailable or shows uncertain results. We aimed to identify MRI and clinical markers that differentiate non-acute MOG-antibody disease from aquaporin 4 (AQP4)-antibody neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, guiding in the identification of patients with MOG-antibody disease in clinical practice. In this cross-sectional retrospective study, data from 16 MAGNIMS centres were included.

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Background And Objectives: Connectivity-based approaches incorporating the distribution and magnitude of the extended brain network aberrations caused by lesions may offer higher sensitivity for axonal damage in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) than conventional lesion characteristics. Using individual brain disconnectome mapping, we tested the longitudinal associations between putative imaging-based brain network aberrations and levels of serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a neuroaxonal injury biomarker.

Methods: MS patients (n = 312, mean age 42.

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Background: Serum neurofilament light (sNfL) chain is a promising biomarker reflecting neuro-axonal injury in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the ability of sNfL to predict outcomes in real-world MS cohorts requires further validation.

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the associations of sNfL concentration, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) markers with disease worsening in a longitudinal European multicentre MS cohort.

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Micro-RNAs expression can vary between different forms of endometriosis, but data on miRNA expression in cesarean scar endometriosis is lacking. The present study is comprised of 30 patients with endometriosis in the cesarean scar (scar endometriosis, SE), 14 patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), 47 patients with endometrioma (ovarian endometrial cyst, OE), and 33 patients with healthy ovarian tissue as the control group (CG). In the initial experiment to identify possible dysregulated miRNAs, the levels of 754 miRNAs in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE) samples from OE, high-grade ovarian cancer, endometrioid ovarian cancer, and CG were measured.

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Background: A sudden onset of extensive disease activity, including severe clinical relapse and extensive brain or spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions, termed "rebound" disease activity has been reported after withdrawal of fingolimod in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: To compare the risk of rebound after switching from fingolimod to cladribine or rituximab in MS.

Methods: All patients switching from fingolimod to cladribine or rituximab were included in a retrospective cohort study utilizing prospectively collected data from two university hospitals with different treatment strategies.

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Background And Aims: Gastric peroral endoscopic pyloromyotomy (G-POEM) is emerging as a treatment option for patients with gastroparesis. The most technically difficult part of the procedure is creating a submucosal tunnel in the gastric antrum, which can be directionally challenging. We describe a novel navigational tunneling method that guides submucosal dissection in the direction of the pylorus and helps to identify the pyloric landmarks.

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Video 1Case 1 EUS liver biopsy with FNA needle complicated by persistent blood flow within biopsy tract, which is successfully treated with blood patch technique. Case 2 EUS liver biopsy with FNA needle complicated by persistent blood flow within biopsy tract, which is successfully treated with blood patch technique.

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Background: Radiation pneumonitis (RP) and radiation fibrosis (RF) are common side effects after breast cancer (BC) radiotherapy (RT). However, there is a great variation in the frequency of RP and RF. This study presents the occurrence of- and the treatment-related predictors for RP and RF.

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Background: Brain functional connectivity (FC) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is abnormal compared to healthy controls (HCs). More longitudinal studies in MS are needed to evaluate whether FC stability is clinically relevant.

Objective: To compare functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-based FC between MS and HC, and to determine the relationship between longitudinal FC changes and structural brain damage, cognitive performance and physical disability.

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Video 1This video is our description of use of the novel dynamic rigidizing overtube in a challenging colonoscopy case in which looping was causing significant bradycardia and inability to advance the colonoscope to the cecum. The rigidizing overtube, through sequential cycles of its flexible and rigidized state, allowed for easy movement of the colonoscope to the cecum.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system inflammatory disease where magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important tool for diagnosis and disease monitoring. Quantitative measurements of lesion volume, lesion count, distribution of lesions, and brain atrophy have a potentially significant value for evaluating disease progression. We hypothesize that utilizing software designed for evaluating MRI data in MS will provide more accurate and detailed analyses compared to the visual neuro-radiological evaluation.

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Brainstem regions support vital bodily functions, yet their genetic architectures and involvement in common brain disorders remain understudied. Here, using imaging-genetics data from a discovery sample of 27,034 individuals, we identify 45 brainstem-associated genetic loci, including the first linked to midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata volumes, and map them to 305 genes. In a replication sample of 7432 participants most of the loci show the same effect direction and are significant at a nominal threshold.

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Background: The association of TSAs with metachronous neoplasms is well established and suggests that TSAs would also have an association with synchronous neoplasms.

Methods: We compared odds ratios and rates of synchronous neoplasms found in colonoscopies with and without TSAs.

Results: There was a mean of 2.

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Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most frequent outpatient diagnosis in the United States. There has been significant development in the endoscopic treatment of GERD, with several devices that have reached the market. One of the endoscopic devices for the management of GERD in the United States is the Stretta system.

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Common risk factors for psychiatric and other brain disorders are likely to converge on biological pathways influencing the development and maintenance of brain structure and function across life. Using structural MRI data from 45,615 individuals aged 3-96 years, we demonstrate distinct patterns of apparent brain aging in several brain disorders and reveal genetic pleiotropy between apparent brain aging in healthy individuals and common brain disorders.

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Autonomic nervous system (ANS) symptoms are prevalent in multiple sclerosis (MS) as is neurodegeneration. Our aim was to explore the occurrence of ANS symptoms and retinal neurodegeneration in a newly diagnosed MS population with tools available in a clinical setting. Forty-three MS patients and 44 healthy controls took part in the study.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system. By combining longitudinal MRI-based brain morphometry and brain age estimation using machine learning, we tested the hypothesis that MS patients have higher brain age relative to chronological age than healthy controls (HC) and that longitudinal rate of brain aging in MS patients is associated with clinical course and severity. Seventy-six MS patients [71% females, mean age 34.

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Background: Restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) is a recently introduced magnetic resonance imaging diffusion technique. The utility of RSI in multiple sclerosis (MS) is unknown.

Objective: To investigate the association between RSI-derived parameters and neurological disability in MS.

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