Caspian Journal of Neurological Sciences
Volume:9 Issue: 34, Jul 2023

Many survivors of intensive care units experience functional disabilities and significant physical, mental, and perceptive impairments known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS).

This research intended to translate and examine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the healthy aging brain care monitor self-report (HABC-M-SR).

This methodological research was directed to ascertain the psychometric properties of the Persian version of HABC-M-SR (p-HABC). This study was conducted in Ahvaz City, Iran, in 2021. The HABC-M-SR was translated into Persian. Face validity, content validity index, and content validity ratio were examined. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on 500 samples. The Cronbach α and interclass correlation coefficients were calculated to check the reliability.

Regarding the quantitative and qualitative face and content validity assessments, all items were suitable for further analysis, with a content validity index >0.79 and a content validity ratio >0.62. Afterward, exploratory factor analysis was implemented on 270 subjects assuming that three factors were constant on the questionnaire. Also, questions 7, 8, 9, and 12 were removed due to low factor loading, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed on 23 questions. Finally, 230 samples were taken, and the results were almost within the acceptable range. The Cronbach α (0.828) and interclass correlation coefficient (0.752) were satisfactory results.

The p-HABC showed acceptable psychometric properties and can be used to screen for PICS. The p-HABC can trigger further studies on early diagnosis and management of PICS in ICU survivors in Iran.

Migraine negatively affects sufferers’ physical and mental health and social and economic status.

This study compared the effectiveness of behavior management therapy and pharmacotherapy in reducing migraine-related disabilities with and without focusing on comorbid depressive symptoms.

This quasi-experimental study has a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The study was conducted on migrainous patients with comorbid depressive symptoms referred to neurology clinics in Rasht City, Iran, in 2021. A total of 18 female patients were selected using purposive sampling based on neurological diagnosis and the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) criteria for depressive disorder. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups after matching regarding age and severity of depression. Combined therapy (behavior management intervention [BM] and pharmacotherapy [P]) was performed in two groups during eight sessions, with (case group) and without (control group) focusing on comorbid depressive symptoms. The data were collected using the Beck depression inventory (BDI-II), the headache disability inventory (HDI), and the headache diary (HD) and analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance.

The first therapeutic approach was significantly superior to the second in reducing migraine-related disabilities (F(2, 13)=10.43, P<0.05, Wilks Lambda=0.384, partial Ƞ2 =0.616).

Combined therapy (BM & P) focusing on comorbid depressive symptoms can be an alternative or complementary therapeutic method to reduce various disabilities in migraine patients.

It was found that the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic contributed to changes in the epidemiologic and symptomatic pattern of some neurologic disorders.

The present study investigated the frequency of seizures and their characteristics from February to August 2020 (the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic) compared to the same period the year before.

This cross-sectional-analytical study was performed on patients with seizures in Poursina hospital in Guilan province, Iran, between February and August 2020 and the same period the year before. Patients with seizures at the beginning or during hospitalization with at least one seizure in the desired period were included in the study.

The increase in seizure frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic versus last year was statistically significant (P=0.014). It also observed a significant difference in seizure etiology (P=0.032), types (P<0.005), and history of seizure (P<0.001). The most prevalent causes of seizures and stroke before and during the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown. The convulsive status epilepticus increased during the COVID-19 pandemic period by 4-fold. Before the pandemic, the patients had a higher prevalence of seizure history.

The frequency of seizures, their types, and etiology changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, signifying that COVID-19 can influence on hospital burden of the seizure population.

We aimed to assess the diagnostic utility of abductor pollicis brevis/abductor digiti minimi compound muscle action potentials (APB/ADM CMAP) ratio as an indicator of split hand phenomenon in the differentiation of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients from healthy controls.

To assess diagnostic utility of APB/ADM CMAP ratio as an indicator split hand phenomenon in differentiation of ALS patients from healthy controls.

This cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted at Alzahra and Kashani hospitals of Isfahan, Iran, in 2021. The study population consisted of all patients with definite diagnoses of ALS who had undergone electrophysiological studies within the previous 5 years. APB/ ADM CMAP ratio was calculated in both groups based on right/left hand and below/over 50 years of age. The statistical analysis also evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the APB/ADM amplitude ratio.

A total of 200 ALS patients and 200 healthy controls were evaluated. APB/ADM ratios of the right hand in the controls and patients were 1.27±0.71 and 1.27±1.69 (P=0.961), while in the left hand, these figures were 1.30±0.54 and 1.11±0.97, respectively (P=0.018). Analysis based on age group revealed a significant difference in the APB/ADM amplitude ratio in the left hand of individuals younger than 50. The cut-off points of 0.81 (sensitivity=86.2% and specificity=58.7%) and 1.03 (sensitivity=72.5% and specificity=58.5%) were calculated for right and left hands, respectively.

APB/ADM CMAP ratio is a relatively highly sensitive but moderately specific diagnostic marker for differentiating ALS patients from healthy controls with higher diagnostic utility in patients younger than 50.

Hoarding disorder (HD) has been classified as a mental disorder in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5). This disorder might have some individual and social burden, and there has been limited data on the prevalence of HD in Iran.

The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HD and its relationship with the demographic characteristics in a nonclinical sample.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study on people who accompanied patients visiting hospitals in Rasht City, Iran, from November 2021 to February 2022. The participants were evaluated with the demographic questionnaire and the saving inventory-revised (SI-R) for measuring hoarding-related experiences.

A total of 884 people with a Mean±SD of age 39.45±12.85 years participated in this study. About 3.2% of participants had HD. Their mean hoarding scores had a significant difference in terms of gender, level of education, and occupation (P<0.05). Still, the prevalence of HD had no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in terms of age, gender, marital status, level of education, occupation, and place of residence.

Based on the present study, only 3.2% of participants suffered from HD. Although in terms of gender, level of education, and occupation, a significant difference was observed in hoarding scores, the prevalence of HD had no association with demographic characteristics.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with an increased risk of acute cerebrovascular disease.

In this study, we compared the relative frequency of ischemic stroke (IS) and intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with a similar period in the previous year.

This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with acute ischemic stroke and IPH. They were admitted to an academic stroke referral hospital in Guilan Province, Iran, between December 2019 and June 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic period) and a similar 6-month period in the previous year. This study compared the patients’ demographic data, clinical information, risk factors, comorbidities, and outcomes.

A remarkable reduction of 28.6% in the relative frequency of stroke admission was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic period compared with the same period in the previous year (P<0.001). The ratio of ischemic stroke to hemorrhagic stroke decreased from 2.6 in the corresponding period during the last year to 2.2 during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic period. However, this change was not significant (P=0.232).

This study revealed that the relative frequency of stroke significantly declined at the pandemic’s peak compared to the same time in the previous year despite cerebrovascular complications associated with COVID-19. However, the ratio of ischemic stroke to hemorrhagic stroke did not change significantly.

Although optic disc cupping is mostly seen in glaucoma patients, it can occur in non-glaucomatous optic neuropathies (NGON). The characteristics of NGON are cupping toxic optic neuropathies, optic neuritis, compressive ischemia, and hereditary nature. The basic components of optic disc cupping are prelaminar and laminar. Prelaminar thinning, which seemed to be non-specific, occurs in all types of retinal ganglion cell axon loss; such as compressive, ischemic, and inflammatory events; glaucoma; and aging. This form of cupping is usually shallow, with less excavation of the optic disc. Laminar type of cupping which is a clinically profound type of cupping, may damage peripapillary scleral and lamina cribrosa. Sometimes experienced clinicians cannot clearly distinguish glaucomatous from non-glaucomatous cupping. The non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy has more neuroretinal rim pallor with less excavation of the disc than in glaucoma. It also involves central visual acuity and color vision in primary levels with visual field defects aligned vertically and respecting the midline. Evaluation of the patient’s medical records, disease presentation, ocular function, and examination are also crucial. Secondary examinations, including visual field examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT) or neuroimaging, facilitate the disease’s differentiation. This review presents the methods of examining a patient with an increased cup-to-disc ratio.

While care for COVID-19 patients has improved with clinical experience, there remains a critical and unmet medical need for vaccines suitable to help or alleviate COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. Although the available vaccines have some benign autoimmune side effects, such as mild thrombocytopenia, in rare cases, the side effects, such as central vein thrombosis, severe thrombocytopenia, and intracranial hemorrhage, are lifethreatening.

We report 3 female patients (19, 24, and 43 years old) who developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) after the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S COVID-19 vaccination. Despite medical and surgical treatment, they finally became brain dead.

Medical professionals should know the manifestations and diagnostic methods of CVST after the COVID-19 vaccination and how to properly treat and manage it.