Identification of alemtuzumab-suitable multiple sclerosis patients in Slovakia and sequencing of post-alemtuzumab immunomodulatory treatment.

Background: Alemtuzumab (ALEM) is a humanised monoclonal antibody that depletes circulating lymphocytes by selectively targeting CD52, which is expressed in high levels on T- and B-lymphocytes. This depletion is followed by lymphocyte repopulation and a cytokine expression shift towards a lesser inflammatory profile, both of which may contribute to prolonged efficacy. National recommendations for enrolling and treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with ALEM have been established.

Clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with NMOSD: a longitudinal retrospective analysis of a Slovak cohort of 63 patients.

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are autoantibody-mediated inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system predominantly targeting optic nerves and the spinal cord. Two distinct phenotypes are recognized based on the presence of serum aquaporin-4 (AQP4-IgG) antibodies. However, contrasting clinical course patterns have been identified between AQP4-IgG-positive and AQP4-IgG-negative patients.

Information-processing speed in mildly disabled relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients correlates with volumetry of optic chiasma and subcortical grey matter nuclei.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease leading not only to physical disability but also to cognitive dysfunction. The aim of our study was to test cognitive functions of MS patients with mild relapsing-remitting form and to find out the relationship between cognitive functions and brain volumetry.

Methods: 52 patients (RRMSp) and 23 age-related healthy participants (CON) were enrolled.

Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) syndrome: Treatment approach depends on disease course.

Introduction: Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is a rare inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) disorder, chiefly involving the brainstem, especially the pons. The diagnosis is challenging, requires careful exclusion of alternative diagnoses and a targeted therapeutic approach. CLIPPERS is known to respond well to corticosteroids, but the treatment needs to be long-term and can cause significant side-effects.

Neurocognitive performance in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients is associated with metabolic abnormalities of the thalamus but not the hippocampus- GABA-edited 1H MRS study.

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease that may cause physical disabling as well as cognitive dysfunction. The presented study investigated how the neuropsychological status depends on the thalamus and hippocampus's metabolic processes, using γ-aminobutyric acid-edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy (GABA-edited H MRS) in patients with early MS, and how the results differ from healthy volunteers.

Methods: We recruited 36 relapsing-remitting (RRMS) MS patients and 22 controls (CON).

Incidence and prevalence of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in Slovakia.

Objective: : Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs) are a group of rare, inflammatory, demyelinating diseases that affect the central nervous system. Neither the incidence nor the prevalence of NMOSD has been determined in Slovakia thus far. The aim of this study was to determine both the incidence and the prevalence of NMOSD in Slovakia using the 2015 International Panel of NMOSD diagnosis (IPND) criteria.

Has the time come for de-escalation in the management of oropharyngeal carcinoma?

Over the course of the last two decades, there has been a decrease in the incidence of head and neck cancers thanks to a decreasing prevalence of smoking. However, a new risk factor has been coming to the fore: human papillomavirus infection (HPV). HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV+OPC) is more sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which translates to a much better prognosis with conventional treatment protocols than tumours that are HPV-negative.