Correlations between distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy and cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients in the North-Eastern region of Hungary.

Distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) is the earliest detectable and the most frequent microvascular complication in diabetes mellitus. Several studies have previously demonstrated correlations between cardiovascular risk factors in diabetic patients and independent risk factors for diabetic neuropathy. Our objective was to retrospectively analyze data from diabetic patients in the North-East region of Hungary who underwent neuropathy screening at the Diabetic Neuropathy Center, University of Debrecen, between 2017 and 2021. We aimed to investigate the correlations between cardiovascular risk factors and microvascular complications among patients with DSPN. The median age of the patients was 67 years, 59,6% were female, and 91,1% had type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of DSPN among the study subjects was 71.7%. A significantly longer duration of diabetes (p<0.01) was noted in patients with DSPN. Those with DSPN demonstrated a significantly higher HbA1c level (p<0.001) and a greater frequency of insulin use (p = 0.001). We observed a significantly elevated albumin/creatinine ratio (p<0.001) and a significantly lower eGFR (p<0.001) in patients with DSPN. Diabetic retinopathy exhibited a significantly higher prevalence in patients with DSPN (p<0.001). A higher prevalence of myocardial infarction (p<0.05), ischemic heart disease (p<0.001), peripheral arterial disease (p<0.05) and a history of atherosclerosis (p<0.05) was observed in patients with DSPN. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the following factors were independently associated with the presence of DSPN: higher HbA1c (OR:2.58, 95% CI:1.89-3.52, p<0.001), age (OR:1.03, 95% CI:1.01-1.05, p = 0.006), albumin/creatinine ratio above 3 mg/mmol (OR:1.23, 95% CI:1.06-1.45, p = 0.008), retinopathy (OR:6.06, 95% CI:1.33-27.53, p = 0.02), and composite cardiovascular endpoint (OR:1.95, 95% CI:1.19-3.19, p = 0.008). Our study revealed that age, elevated HbA1c levels, significant albuminuria, retinopathy, and cardiovascular complications may increase the risk of DSPN. Further investigation of these associations is necessary to understand the impact of patient characteristics during the treatment of diabetic neuropathy.

[Corneal transplantation at the beginning of the 21th century]. / Szaruhártya-átültetés a 21. század elején.

Corneal transplantation (keratoplasty) is necessary when various disorders result in corneal opacities with severe visual loss that cannot be treated conservatively, or the regular structure and curvature of the cornea is distorted, and its function is lost. Among human transplantation, keratoplasty is the most successful surgical procedure. In recent decades, penetrating keratoplasties have been increasingly replaced by lamellar techniques, where only the abnormal layer of the cornea is transplanted. The anterior form is deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK), recommended mainly for keratoconus. The main forms of posterior lamellar keratoplasty are Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) and Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). The indications are bullous keratopathy after cataract surgery with endothelial destruction and Fuchs endothelial dystrophy. Lamellar keratoplasty has several advantages over penetrating surgery. Postoperative visual acuity is better, wound healing, patient rehabilitation are faster and the course of any immune rejection is milder and can be better managed. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(28): 1087-1093.

The first experiences with the palliative tumor board discussions in the University of Pécs / Az elso tapasztalatok a palliatív onkoteamrendszer muködésével kapcsolatban a Pécsi Tudományegyetemen.

INTRODUCTION: Palliative, symptomatic and end-of-life care of advanced and metastatic cancer patients is a great challenge for every health care system. With the initiation and establishment of the multidisciplinary palliative tumor board (MPTB), our aims were the timely referral of patients to palliative care, and the avoidance of multiple unnecessary emergency visits and over-diagnostics without further treatment consequences. METHOD AND RESULTS: The MPTB meetings were held biweekly. The core members of the team were: palliative care consultant, medical oncologist, internal medicine physician, psychologist, psychiatrist, and oncology and palliative medicine nurses. From May 2019 till January 2020, we discussed the medical history of 97 cases of 93 cancer patients with advanced disease states; in one meeting the team usually discussed over 6-10 complex patient histories. In every case we determined the actual form of the necessary palliative care, e.g., outpatient clinic, home care, or institutional referral, and we decided on further possible and realistic oncology treatment regimes. A few months after the introduction of the new MPTB, we detected a decrease of the unnecessary emergency unit referrals considering the patients whose histories were discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Although the initial MPTB discussions had an intense emotional tone, they shortly became thoughtful and operational expert meetings. We believe that the MPTB system fully promotes the early and timely access of advanced cancer patients to appropriate palliative care and facilitates gradual changes in the medical oncologists' approach from the absolute curative determination to a supportive medical attitude. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(34): 1423-1430.

[Recurrent inhibition during Jendrassik maneuver]. / Változik-e a soleus-motoneuronok rekurrens gátlása Jendrassik-mûfogás során?

Objective - Conflicting theoretical models exist regarding the mechanism related to the ability of the Jendrassik maneuver to reinforce reflex parameters. Our objective was to investigate if vigorous handgrip would induce changes in recurrent inhibition of soleus motoneurons. Method - Soleus H reflex was evoked by stimulating the tibial nerve at rest and during bilateral vigorous handgrip, alternating single (H1) and paired stimulation (H2). At paired stimulation we used interstimulus intervals of 10, 15, 20 and 25 ms and supramaximal test stimulus. H1- and H2-wave amplitudes were expressed as percentage of maximal M-wave amplitude. Conditioned H2 wave maximal (H2max) and minimal (H2) amplitudes evoked at rest and expressed as a percentage of the unconditioned H1max amplitude were compared with the corresponding values obtained during handgrip by means of paired Student test and Bonferroni correction. Subjects - At the study participated 28 healthy volunteers. Results - The H1max/Mmax × 100 values obtained during handgrip (37.5±10.1) were significantly higher than those obtained at rest (27.1±7.4). The H2max/H1max × 100-va-lues obtained at paired stimulation were significantly higher during handgrip than at rest, while no significant diffe-rence was found between the H2/H1max × 100-values obtained during handgrip and at rest respectively. Discussion - The H2max/H1max is determined by both the excitability of the motoneurons and the recurrent inhibition elicited by the conditioning stimulus, while H2/H1max indicates only the level of recurrent inhibition. According to our results the Renshaw cells retain their inhibitory effect on the soleus alpha motoneurons during remote muscle contraction. Conclusion - Soleus H reflex enhancement during Jendrassik maneuver is not due to decrease of recurrent inhibition.

[Current situation of palliative care in Hungary. Integrated palliative care model as a breakout possibility]. / A magyarországi palliatív-hospice ellátás helyzete, kihívásai, kitörési pontjai.

Modern palliative-hospice care has gained space in Europe for more than 50 years. Since the initial empirical work of Cicely Saunders, palliative medicine has gained its place in evidence-based medicine in more and more countries. However, development, as in many other medical fields, is not uniform, there are big differences between countries in the world. There are also significant differences in development of care and the level of services within the European Union amongst Western and Eastern European countries. These differences affect the professional approach, legislative mechanisms and social acceptance. Hungarian palliative-hospice care has developed significantly over the past 15 years. For further development thoughtful strategic steps and service development is needed. The integration of palliative care into standard oncology is an international requirement, which also appears in the form of professional guidelines. Hungary has also played a role in the development of the European model of integrated palliative care of which Hungarian implementation, the "Pécs model", is discussed in detail in our paper.

[The current state, the possibilities and difficulties of palliative and hospice care in Hungary]. / A hazai hospice- és palliatív ellátás helyzete, lehetoségei, nehézségei.

Hospice-palliative care has existed in Hungary for more than 20 years but physicians know very little about it. The objective of the study is to give detailed practical information about the possibilities and the reasonability of hospice care and the process of how to have access to it. The authors review and analyze the database of the national Hospice-Palliative Association database to provide most recent national data on hospice-palliative care. In addition, legal, financial and educational issues are also discussed. At present there are 90 active hospice providers in Hungary, which provide service for more than 8000 terminally ill cancer patients. According to WHO recommendations there would be a need for much more service providers, institutional supply and more beds. There are also problems concerning the attitude and, therefore, patients are admitted into hospice care too late. Hospice care is often confused with chronic or nursing care due to lack of information. The situation may be improved with proper forms of education such as palliative licence and compulsory, 40-hour palliative training for residents. The authors conclude that a broad dissemination of data may help to overcome misbeliefs concerning hospice and raise awareness concerning death and dying.

Fiber density of the motor units recruited at high and low force output.

Motor units (MUs) are recruited according to the size principle. At low force output, macro-motor unit potentials (macro-MUPs) with small amplitude and area are recorded; MUs with large electrical size fire at high force output. Our objective was to elucidate whether this difference is caused by a higher fiber density (FD) of the MUs recruited at high force output. We measured the FD and respectively the amplitude and the area of the macro-MUPs via single-fiber macro electromyography (EMG) recorded at low and high force output in 48 healthy subjects. The macro-MUPs were significantly larger at high force output than at low force. The FD did not differ at the two force levels. Our findings suggest that the larger electrical size of the high recruitment threshold MUs is due not to a higher FD, but to a larger territory. FD is a robust EMG parameter, independent of the level of the force output.

Electrophysiological signs of changes in motor units after ischaemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To study changes in motor units on the hemiparetic side, and the relationship between these changes and time after stroke onset and hemiparetic severity. METHODS: Neurography and concentric needle EMG were performed, and hemiparetic side mean and extreme parameter values were compared with the unaffected side mean and extreme parameter values using non-parametric tests. RESULTS: The mean M wave amplitude was significantly lower, while the spontaneous activity and the mean number of motor unit potential (MUAP) phases and turns were significantly higher on the hemiparetic side. The outliers above maximum for MUAP duration and amplitude on the hemiparetic side were significantly higher than those on the unaffected side. Correlations were found between the hemiparetic side parameter values and time after stroke onset and hemiparetic severity. CONCLUSIONS: Axonal or neuronal lesion occurs and collateral reinnervation starts in the acute phase after stroke, while enlarged motor units are found in the chronic state. These changes correlate with hemiparetic severity. SIGNIFICANCE: This work confirms the controversial concept about lower motor neuron injury with stroke, and provides some information about its time course.

[Thallium poisoning induced polyneuropathy--clinical and electrophysiological data]. / Talliummérgezés okozta polyneuropathia--klinikai és elektrofiziológiai adatok.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was the electrophysiological investigation of thallium induced polyneuropathy. Beyond the rarity of the illness, the motivation of this work was the possibility of following up the pattern of neuronal damage. Thallium is one of the most toxic heavy metal and its wide use increases the chance of chronic or accidental acute poisoning. The entero-hepatic circulation makes the accumulation of this toxic agent in tissues possible, mostly in neurons, in the epithelial cells of the digestive tract, in the germinative cells of the skin and testicles. In addition to alopecia and digestive complaints, the clinical picture of thallium poisoning is dominated by neurological signs. Severe axonal polyneuropathy develops in almost all cases, with further damage to the retina and impairment of cognitive functions being not unusual. The diagnosis is confirmed by finding high levels of thallium in body fluids, especially in saliva and urine. CASE REPORT: Electrophysiological examination of our accidentally poisoned patient revealed severe, sensory-motor, predominant motor axonal polyneuropathy and pointed out some aspects of the pattern of neurotoxic process: the initially distal lesion, the dying-back course and the capacity for regeneration. CONCLUSION: Because thallium has the same molecular targets as potassium ion thus impairing the energetical supply of the nerve cell, the most effective treatment is carefully loading with potassium. If recognized and treated early, thallium poisoning has a favourable prognosis.