Efficacy and Safety of Agomelatine in Depressed Patients with Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) remain among the most prevalent diseases and the most significant challenges faced by medicine in the 21st century. The frequent co-occurrence and bidirectional relationship between the two conditions necessitates the identification of treatment strategies that benefit both. The purpose of this study was to systematically review and meta-analyze data on the efficacy and safety of agomelatine (AGO) in the treatment of patients with depression with comorbid diabetes to explore its potential mechanism of action in both diseases and its impact on diabetic parameters.

Gratitude in the recovery process: perspectives of women and men with schizophrenia.

Purpose: This study explores the recovery process and its key components in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, with a particular focus on the role of gratitude. The research aimed to determine whether gratitude can be confirmed as a positive factor in the recovery journey of women and men with schizophrenia.

Methods: The study involved 25 women and 25 men receiving care in day wards and a support center in Warsaw that provide specialized assistance and therapeutic interventions for schizophrenia patients.

More rTMS pulses or more sessions? The impact on treatment outcome for treatment resistant depression.

Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is effective for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Optimal rTMS parameters remain unclear, especially whether number of sessions or amount of pulses contribute more to treatment outcome. We hypothesize that treatment outcome depends on the number of sessions rather than on the amount of pulses.

Brain morphometry in hepatic Wilson disease patients.

Wilson disease (WD) primarily presents with hepatic and neurological symptoms. While hepatic symptoms typically precede the neurological manifestations, copper accumulates in the brain already in this patient group and leads to subclinical brain MRI abnormalities including T2 hyperintensities and atrophy. This study aimed to assess brain morphological changes in mild hepatic WD.

Predictive value of 68[Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT volumetric parameters in assessing treatment response to long-acting somatostatin analogues in patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours.

Background: Over the past decade, numerous treatment options have emerged for patients with locally advanced and metastatic neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Nevertheless, the optimal timing of treatment interventions remains uncertain, given the highly variable disease course observed in these patients, even when patients have the same tumour stage and grade. The aim of the study was to evaluate the predictive role of standardized uptake values (SUVs) and volumetric parameters obtained from pretreatment [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE for response to SSA therapy in patients with NET.

Sense of loneliness and meaning in life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Preliminary studies.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) interferes with everyday functioning but its impact on the loneliness and the meaning in life of the patients is unclear.

Objectives: to determine whether the COPD severity levels correlate with the sense of loneliness and dimensions of the sense of meaning in life.

Methods: 144 patients with COPD during a period of absence of an infectious exacerbation were examined.

Minimizing hemorrhagic and perioperative complications in deep brain stimulation surgery in a series of 191 patients operated on over 4 years.

Introduction: Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in functional neurosurgery is a relatively rare but serious complication. One of the possible risk factors related to ICH is the number of trajectories made for microelectrode recording (MER). Authors who solely rely on macrostimulation using macroelectrodes argue that the incidence of ICH is much lower while maintaining good clinical efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS).

The interaction between non-coding RNAs and SGLT2: A review.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2, SLC5A2) is a promising target for a new class of drug primarily established as kidney-targeting as well as emerging class of glucose-lowering drugs in diabetes. Studies showed that SGLT2 inhibitors also have a systemic impact via indirectly targeting the heart and kidneys which exerts broad cardio- and nephroprotective effects. Additionally, as cancer cells tightly require glucose supply, studies also questioned how SGLT2 inhibitors impact molecular pathology and cellular metabolism in cancer hallmarks.

Analyzing the Impact of Rehabilitation Utilizing Neurofunctional Exercises on the Functional Status of Stroke Patients.

: Physical rehabilitation based on neurofunctional exercises can have a positive impact on restoring functionality and enhancing the quality of life of these individuals. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of rehabilitation, including neurofunctional exercises, on the functional status of stroke patients. : The cohort study design included 102 male and female participants: 51 patients underwent physiotherapy rehabilitation including neurofunctional exercises (SG), while the other 51 did not follow a rehabilitation program based on neurofunctional exercises (CG).

Chronic acid sphingomyelinase deficiency diagnosed in infancy/childhood in Polish patients: 2024 update.

Background: Acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease (LSD) associated with biallelic pathogenic variants in the sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1 (SMPD1) gene.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide the 2024 update on chronic visceral and neurovisceral ASMD diagnosed in the infancy/childhood in Polish patients.

Material And Methods: All the patients diagnosed in the pediatric age (0-18 years) with ASMD, both chronic neurovisceral and visceral type, and then systematically followed up, were enrolled into the study.

Peer Support Workers in Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Exploration of Emotional Burden, Moral Distress and Strategies to Reduce the Risk of Mental Health Crisis.

This research aimed to explore the experience of emotional burden among peer support workers (PSWs) in mental health care in Poland. It also examined the issue of moral distress in relation to this professional group and identified institutional sources of support for the well-being of PSWs in the workplace. The data presented in the article are derived from fourteen qualitative in-depth individual interviews with PSWs employed in four mental health centres with different organisational structures.

Oncological Aspects of Lysosomal Storage Diseases.

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are caused by the deficient activity of a lysosomal hydrolase or the lack of a functional membrane protein, transporter, activator, or other protein. Lysosomal enzymes break down macromolecular compounds, which contribute to metabolic homeostasis. Stored, undegraded materials have multiple effects on cells that lead to the activation of autophagy and apoptosis, including the toxic effects of lyso-lipids, the disruption of intracellular Ca ion homeostasis, the secondary storage of macromolecular compounds, the activation of signal transduction, apoptosis, inflammatory processes, deficiencies of intermediate compounds, and many other pathways.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Group CBT-Based Intervention Aiming to Reduce Self-Stigma and Improve Recovery-Related Outcomes in People with Severe Mental Disorders: Randomised Controlled Trial.

Self-stigma is a major barrier to personal and clinical recovery in people with mental illness. Although psychosocial interventions have been developed to reduce self-stigma, the exploration of group CBT-based interventions for hospitalised patients are less represented. The purpose of this trial is to investigate the effectiveness of a group CBT-based intervention aiming to reduce self-stigma and improve recovery-related outcomes such as self-esteem, stigma resistance and sense of coherence, which comes down to saying, "I am what I am".

Metabolic impairments in neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation.

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a broad, heterogeneous group of rare inherited diseases (1-3 patients/1,000,000 people) characterized by progressive symptoms associated with excessive abnormal iron deposition in the brain. Approximately 15,000-20,000 individuals worldwide are estimated to be affected by NBIA. NBIA is usually associated with slowly progressive pyramidal and extrapyramidal symptoms, axonal motor neuropathy, optic nerve atrophy, cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric disorders.