Vol 16, No 3 (2022)

Introduction. Cognitive impairment, gait and balance disorders are the most important risk factors for falls in older persons. These neurological impairments are the main clinical manifestations of chronic cerebral ischaemia (CCI), and can develop at a younger age.

Aim: to evaluate the risk factors for falls in patients with CCI in different age groups and to identify the most significant predictors of falls.

Materials and methods. We examined 104 patients with CCI. Patients were divided into three age groups: middle age (40–59 years old; n = 13), older age (60–74 years old; n = 62), and the elderly (75 years and older; n = 29). We assessed the frequency of falls and the presence of risk factors.

Results. Thirty-seven (36%) patients had a history of falls, with its incidence increasing from 8% in the middle-aged group to 37% in the older persons and 45% in the elderly. Some patients had multiple risk factors for falls, while the presence of 5 risk factors increased the risk of falling fourfold. The most common factors in middle age were pain due to degenerative spine conditions (85%), anxiety (54%), and visual impairment (31%); in older age – back pain (77%), cognitive impairment (45%), visual impairment (39%), and decreased walking speed (23%); in the elderly — visual impairment (76%), cognitive impairment (69%), back pain (69%), decreased walking speed (38%), and orthostatic hypotension (28%). Discriminant analysis revealed that the best predictors of falls in CCI were female sex, age over 69 years, depression, cognitive impairment, and a walking speed below 1 m/sec.

Conclusion. Falls were observed in all age groups of people with CCI. Not only the presence of a specific risk factor for falls, but the presence of multiple risk factors, has predictive value. The presence of five or more risk factors, as well as a walking speed below 1 m/sec, can indicate a high risk of falls.

Introduction. The differential diagnosis of vertebrobasilar stroke (VBS) and vestibular neuritis (VN) is important challenge for a neurologist when a patient presents to the emergency department with acute vertigo. Current approaches and algorithms of management need to be modified, taking into account clinical practice.

The aim of the study was to identify the clinical features of acute vestibular syndrome that are the most helpful in the differential diagnosis of VBS and VN.

Materials and methods. We examined 80 emergency admissions to the neurological ward with suspected stroke. A detailed otoneurological examination (including the STANDING and HINTS+ algorithms) and brain imaging (DWI MRI) were performed.

Results. Out of 80 patients, 26 were diagnosed with VBS, 30 with VN, 11 with vestibular migraine and 2 with Meniere's disease, while the cause of vertigo could not be determined in 11 patients. The most powerful indicator of VBS in the differential diagnosis was gaze-evoked nystagmus, which had a 15.9-fold association with VBS. An increased likelihood of VBS was also associated with unsteadiness (6.3 times), age over 58 years (4.1 times), dysmetria in the finger-to-nose test (3.7 times), adiadochokinesia (3.1 times), and trunk ataxia (3 times). An increased likelihood of VN was associated with a positive unilateral head impulse test (6 times), nystagmus that followed Alexander's law (3.7 times), and presence of nausea (2.5 times). A model was developed for the differential diagnosis of VBS and VNin patients presenting with acute vertigo. The model accuracy was 100% in the validation sample.

Conclusions. Clinical approach remains crucial when differentiating between VBS and VN. The most useful criteria for a differential diagnosis in emergency neurology were the patient's age, the type of nystagmus, head impulse test, and cerebellar dysfunction.

Introduction. Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is one of the most common primary polyneuropathies. A degenerative process is the underlying cause of muscular atrophy in CIDP, while muscle strength may not fully recover in patients after pathogenesis-based treatment, thus extending the period of disability. Information about factors affecting the trophic function of muscles can be used to treat neuromuscular disorders.

Study aim — to examine the trophotropic properties of the study participants' blood plasma and the myoprotective effect of acetylcholine concentration equivalent to non-quantal release, using an in vitro model of the myopathy component of CIDP.

Materials and methods. The study included 25 patients diagnosed with typical CIDP in accordance with the EFNS/PNS 2010 criteria. The control group consisted of 25 healthy individuals. Serum antibody levels to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor were measured in all study participants. A method for organotypic cultivation of skeletal muscle tissue and an in vitro model of the myopathy component of CIPD were developed. The effect of the study participants' blood plasma on the growth of skeletal muscle explants in organotypic culture was assessed.

Results. Patients with CIPD were found to have symmetrical sensorimotor polyneuropathy of varying severity (100%); muscle atrophy (88%), and sensory ataxia (84%). The median INCAT Overall Disability Sum Score was 2 [1; 3] for the arms and 3 [2; 5] for the legs. The median Neurological Impairment Scale (NIS) score was 17 [10; 34]. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antibody levels were higher in patients with CIDP (0.47 [0.31; 0.54] nmol/l) than in the control group (0.02 [0.01; 0.03] nmol/l). For the first time, a myotoxic effect of the blood plasma from patients with CIDP was observed in organotypic skeletal muscle culture. Using 1:70 and 1:100 dilutions, patient blood plasma inhibited the growth of explants by 27% (n = 120; p < 0.001) and 21% (n = 120; p < 0.001), respectively. This myotoxic effect removed acetylcholine at a concentration equivalent to non-quantal release (10^–8 М).

Conclusion. These results expand our understanding of skeletal muscle damage in CIPD and the role of non-quantal acetylcholine in regulating skeletal muscle growth.

Introduction. High-dose immunosuppressive therapy with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HDIT/AHSCT) is a promising and effective method for treating immune disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). The frequency and severity of adverse effects from therapy have decreased significantly over the last 20 years due to a reduction in conditioning regimen intensity, changes in patient selection, and the accumulated experience of the transplantation centres.

Study aim: to analyse the published data on HDIT/AHSCT complications in MS and ways to reduce their risk.

Materials and methods. We analysed and summarized the research findings regarding conditioning regimen protocols for HDIT/AHSCT, early and late complications, and risk factors associated with treatment recipients.

Results. HDIT/AHSCT may have a wide range of serious complications. However, the shift to less intense conditioning regimens and stricter patient selection criteria have minimized adverse events. The latest moderate-intensity protocols may be less effective than high-intensity protocols, but their timely use may provide the maximum benefit to people with MS refractory to standard treatment. HDIT/AHSCT cannot be the method of choice for all categories of patients with MS, because expectations may not be met due to the significant risk of complications, in particular, in cases of long-term disease, significant neurological deficit, and no disease activity. The maximum effect should be expected in early or emergency HDIT/AHSCT.

Conclusion. This information can be used to justify further expansion of the medical assistance provided to patients with MS in the Russian Federation.

Metaplasticity (plasticity of synaptic plasticity) is defined as a change in the direction or degree of synaptic plasticity in response to preceding neuronal activity. Recent advances in brain stimulation methods have enabled us to non-invasively examine cortical metaplasticity, including research in a clinical setting. According to current knowledge, non-invasive neuromodulation affects synaptic plasticity by inducing cortical processes that are similar to long-term potentiation and depression. Two stimulation blocks are usually used to assess metaplasticity — priming and testing blocks. The technology of studying metaplasticity involves assessing the influence of priming on the testing protocol effect.

Several dozen studies have examined the effects of different stimulation protocols in healthy persons. They found that priming can both enhance and weaken, or even change the direction of the testing protocol effect. The interaction between priming and testing stimulation depends on many factors: the direction of their effect, duration of the stimulation blocks, and the interval between them.

Non-invasive brain stimulation can be used to assess aberrant metaplasticity in nervous system diseases, in order to develop new biomarkers. Metaplasticity disorders are found in focal hand dystonia, migraine with aura, multiple sclerosis, chronic disorders of consciousness, and age-related cognitive changes.

The development of new, metaplasticity-based, optimized, combined stimulation protocols appears to be highly promising for use in therapeutic neuromodulation in clinical practice.

A review of Russian and foreign medical literature, as well as the Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus databases, revealed 8 cases of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease co-occurrence. Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disease caused by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating disease, in which a range of autoimmune-driven inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes lead to formation of numerous focal and diffuse lesions in the central nervous system, resulting in disability and a significant decrease in patient quality of life. The co-occurrence of these two neurodegenerative CNS disorders is rarely seen in clinical practice.

The authors describe a clinical case to demonstrate their approach to the diagnosis and management of this patient group.