Clinicopathological profile of ependymomas with special reference to survival data - Experiences of a tertiary care center'.

Background And Aims: Ependymomas exhibit heterogeneity across age, location, histology, molecular nature and survival suggestive of an epigenetic component in its pathogenesis. The CNS WHO classification (2021) classifies ependymomas based on DNA methylation profiles. Studies suggest that molecular sub-types remain stable throughout the course of disease.

Cytological features of chordoid glioma: A case report with summary of prior published cases.

Chordoid glioma is an uncommon low-grade glioma and is a CNS WHO grade 2 tumour in the current WHO 2021 classification. Predominantly it is seen in the third ventricle and in young adults. Although the histological features of chordoid glioma are well documented, there is sparse literature describing its cytological features.

Central Retinal Artery Occlusion in COVID-Associated Mucormycosis.

Introduction: Significant surge of mucormycosis was reported in the Indian Subcontinent during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-associated mucormycosis (CAM) was defined as the development of features of mucormycosis with prior or current history of COVID-19 infection. Rapid angioinvasion is an important characteristic of mucormycosis.

South Asian medical cohorts reveal strong founder effects and high rates of homozygosity.

The benefits of large-scale genetic studies for healthcare of the populations studied are well documented, but these genetic studies have traditionally ignored people from some parts of the world, such as South Asia. Here we describe whole genome sequence (WGS) data from 4806 individuals recruited from the healthcare delivery systems of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, combined with WGS from 927 individuals from isolated South Asian populations. We characterize population structure in South Asia and describe a genotyping array (SARGAM) and imputation reference panel that are optimized for South Asian genomes.

Health-related quality of life and perceived stress of informal caregivers of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities and ADHD.

Introduction: Informal caregivers of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face numerous challenges. However, no study has yet compared the HRQoL of the caregivers of children and adolescents with these two conditions. We aimed to compare the HRQoL and perceived stress of caregivers of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities and ADHD.

An Indian Young-onset Dementia With Parkinsonism With Double Heterozygous Mutations in ABCA7 and PRKN Identified Through Whole-exome Sequencing.

Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease dementia are the 2 most common neurodegenerative diseases have substantial overlap in pathologic, genetic, and clinical manifestation and complex in nature. Here, for the first time, we report an Indian female young patient who presented with clinical manifestation of both Alzheimer disease and Parkinsonism, including dystonia with rapid disease progression. We identified a heterozygous mutation in the ATP-binding cassette transporter A7 gene and double heterozygous mutation in PRKN by whole-exome sequencing.

Gastrointestinal, Respiratory, and Olfactory Neurotropism of Sars-Cov2 as a Possible Trigger of Parkinson's Disease: Is a Multi-Hit Multi-Step Process on the Cards.

Since the first emergence of COVID-19 on the global stage, there has been a wealth of evidence to suggest that SARS-Cov2 is not merely a pulmonary pathogen. This virus is unique in its ability to disrupt cellular pathways related to protein homeostasis, mitochondrial function, stress response, and aging. Such effects raise concerns about the long-term fate of survivors of COVID-19 infection, particularly regarding neurodegenerative diseases.

Evaluation of Non-Motor Symptoms in Wilson Disease Using the Parkinson's Disease Nonmotor Symptoms Questionnaire: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study and Critical Assessment.

Background: There is a dearth of studies on non-motor symptoms of Wilson's disease (WD) which is primarily because of the non-availability of a suitable scale.

Objective: To assess the suitability of the Parkinson's Disease non motor symptoms questionnaire (PD-NMS Quest) in the assessment of non-motor symptoms of WD patients.

Methods: In this case-control study, patients of WD above ≥12 years of age diagnosed by Leipzig's criteria and age and gender-matched control subjects were recruited.

Pragmatic deficits in patients with schizophrenia and right hemisphere damage: A pilot study.

Background: While pragmatic deficits are well documented in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and right hemisphere damage (RHD), there is a paucity of research comparing the pragmatic deficits of these two groups. Do they experience similar cognitive dysfunction or is there a dissociation between the two patient groups?

Aims: To investigate the nature of pragmatic deficits in these two groups and to gain an understanding of the underlying cognitive mechanisms that might be associated with these deficits to further future investigations.

Methods & Procedures: A total of 60 participants (15 patients with SCZ; 15 with RHD; 30 (15 + 15) healthy controls (HC) were administered the Bengali Audio-Visual Test-Battery for Assessment of Pragmatic Skills.

Cognitive Profile of Large-Vessel Vascular Dementia-An Observational Study from a Tertiary Care Center in Kolkata.

 Vascular dementia is the second leading cause of dementia worldwide. Its heterogenous presentation along with potential for reversibility at earlier stages makes it unique among all dementias.  We aimed to study the cognitive dysfunction in large-vessel vascular dementia.

Genome-Wide Polygenic Score Predicts Large Number of High Risk Individuals in Monogenic Undiagnosed Young Onset Parkinson's Disease Patients from India.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disease with poorly defined environmental influences. Genomic studies of PD patients have identified disease-relevant monogenic genes, rare variants of significance, and polygenic risk-associated variants. In this study, whole genome sequencing data from 90 young onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD) individuals are analyzed for both monogenic and polygenic risk.

Exploring Caregiver Burden and Health Condition of Dementia Patients during Lockdown due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries imposed strict lockdown to ensure social distancing to limit the spread of the virus. This caused difficulties in the management and care of patients with various chronic disorders including dementia.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to explore the health condition of patients with dementia and assess their caregivers' burden during the lockdown.

Movement Disorders in Multiple Sclerosis: An Update.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS), a subset of chronic primary inflammatory demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system, is closely associated with various movement disorders. These disorders may be due to MS pathophysiology or be coincidental. This review describes the full spectrum of movement disorders in MS with their possible mechanistic pathways and therapeutic modalities.

Comparative Study of Risk Factors and Cognitive Profile of Small- and Large-Vessel Vascular Dementia - A Clinic Based Study.

Background: Vascular dementia (VaD) is a clinically heterogeneous entity. There is a dearth of studies for comparison of the cognitive profile of cerebral small-vessel disease (SVD) with large-vessel disease.

Objective: We planned to evaluate and compare the cognitive profile of SVD and large-vessel VaD and evaluate various risk factors associated with them.

Non-Motor Features of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Clinic-based Study.

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of motor neurons. Spread of pathology to other brain areas leads to development of non-motor symptoms (NMSs). These usually remain undiagnosed because of overwhelming motor problem and are responsible for significant distress to the patient.

ApoE ε4 and IL-6-174G/C Polymorphism may Lead to Early Onset of Alzheimer's Disease with Atypical Presentation.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Although genetic mutations are known in rare familial form, exact cause of neurodegeneration in sporadic AD is still unknown. While ApoE ε4 and IL-6 C-174G/C patterns have been found to increase the risk of AD in Caucasians, the results are inconsistent in other ethnic groups.

Indian Outpatients with Idiopathic Chronic Pancreatitis Have Catastrophic Healthcare Expenditure, Malnutrition, Anxiety/Depression and Work-Impairment.

Introduction: There is paucity of data regarding economic burden, employment affection, psychological and nutritional status of CP patients, of non-alcoholic etiology, especially during their periods of stable disease, i.e., without any complications and/or recent endoscopic/surgical interventions.

Bilingualism as a protective factor in aphasia.

Background: Bilingualism may affect the profile of cognitive disturbances associated with stroke. Its impact on aphasia severity, however, is in need of substantiation.

Aims: To determine the relationship between bilingualism and vascular aphasia severity.

Adherence to anti-hypertensive medications and its determinants: A study among hypertensive stroke patients in a tertiary care government hospital of West Bengal.

There is a paucity of antihypertensive drug adherence studies among stroke patients in West Bengal. With an aim to identify antihypertensive drug adherence and its determinants, this descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted for 2 months among a calculated sample of 133 study participants using predesigned and pretested schedule, the metric "Proportion of days covered (PDC)," and the Morisky, Green, and Levine (MGL) Scale. Data were compiled and analyzed using SPSS software (version 20.