[Breathing disorders during sleep in patients with dystrophic myotonia].

Objective: To analyze the results of nocturnal breathing parameters during sleep based on nocturnal pulse oximetry and to study of characteristics of external respiration in genetically confirmed patients with dystrophic myotonia (DM).

Material And Methods: The subjects of the study were patients with genetically confirmed DM types 1 and 2 who were hospitalized in the neurological departments of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Neurology and Neurosurgery. The clinical picture of the disease, comorbidities, sleep questionnaires, laboratory tests, overnight pulse oximetry and spirometry were performed and analyzed.

[Features of visual, cognitive and neuroimaging changes in Parkinson's disease patients with freezing of gait].

Objective: To determine visual and cognitive impairments in relation to MRI changes in patients with freezing of Gait (FOG) in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Material And Methods: We examined 78 patients with PD without dementia, who were divided into groups according to the presence (FOG«+» group) or absence (FOG«-» group) of «freezing» episodes.

Results: A decrease in contrast sensitivity (CS) and retinal photosensitivity was determined in all subjects with PD, but in patients with FOG, the decrease in CS was more pronounced.

[Visual hallucinations in Parkinson's disease].

Visual hallucinations have a negative effect on the course of Parkinson's disease (PD), being a source of stress for the patients themselves and caregivers. The article discusses the basic theories and pathogenetic mechanisms of the development of visual hallucinations in PD consisting of the following components: impairment of the visual information received from the retina with subsequent disruption of its processing in the central parts of the visual system; lack of suppression of internally generated images through the ponto-geniculo-occipital system; the invasion of REM sleep patterns in wakefulness; decreased ability of the brain stem structures to implement appropriate information filtering as well as excessive drug-induced activation of the mesolimbic system. Particular attention is paid to visual impairment and changes in the transmission of information along the retino-hypothalamic tract.

[Emotional and personality characteristics of patients with dystonia].

Aim: To examine emotional characteristics, especially personality profile, of patients with dystonia.

Material And Methods: Three hundred patients with dystonia were enrolled in the study. Control groups consisted of 50 healthy individuals and 62 patients with hemifacial spasm (GFS).

[Glibenclamide as a promising agent for prevention and treatment of cerebral edema].

The article presents a review of the literature on the use of a fundamentally new technique for prevention and treatment of cerebral edema. A drug glibenclamide, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, is able to reduce cerebral edema and neuronal damage as evidenced by the results of preclinical trials in rodents and the first results of drug application in patients. The article describes the mechanism of glibenclamide action and discusses the potential for its application.

[Molecular genetic diagnosis and clinical features of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies in Belarusian patients].

Objective: To analyze the molecular defect, a phenotype of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP, OMIM 162500), in patients with PMP22 gene mutation caused by 1.5 Mb deletion at 17p11.2.