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Background: Olfactory dysfunction evaluated with time-consuming tests was more common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) than in controls and correlated with neurological deficit. The aim of the present study was to compare olfactory function between patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and controls with short and simple screening tool—the Sniffin’ Sticks Identification Test (SSIT)—and search for its association with clinical and radiological features of the disease. Methods: The study included 30 controls and 30 patients with RRMS treated with disease-modifying therapies—injectables (interferon β or glatiramer acetate, N = 18) and oral drugs (dimethyl fumarate or fingolimod, N = 12). Hyposmia was defined as a score of 6 points or fewer in the SSIT olfactory test. The data concerning number of previous relapses, disability in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), and recent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan were collected. Moreover, thalamic volume and third ventricle width were recorded in every patient. Additionally, cognition and fatigue in patients were evaluated 24 months after olfactory assessment with the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC), respectively. Results: Patients with RRMS had a higher risk of hyposmia than controls (66.7% vs 36.7%, OR = 1.82, 95% CI, 1.10-3.67, P = .02). Neither inflammatory (number of previous relapses or new brain MRI lesions) nor neurodegenerative (EDSS, SDMT, and FSMC scores; thalamic volume; third ventricle width) MS features did not correlate with SSIT score ( P > .05). In patients treated with oral drugs, olfactory dysfunction correlated with FSMC cognitive subscale ( r = −0.90, P = .006). Conclusions: Olfactory dysfunction is nearly twice as common in RRMS as in controls and correlates with fatigue level in patients treated with dimethyl fumarate or fingolimod.

Background: Discrepancies between increased left ventricular mass (LVM) and electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria for the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) are described in the literature. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of ECG criteria in the diagnosis of LVH, as determined by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, using various LVM indexing methods. Methods: We included 53 patients who underwent CMR imaging and had electrocardiograms of appropriate quality available in their medical records. The majority of the study patients had cardiovascular diseases. We defined CMR‑LVH as increased LVM, also assessed after LVM indexing to body surface area (LVM/BSA), height1.7, height2.7, or as the percentage of predicted LVM (%pLVM). To determine ECG‑LVH, 10 different ECG-LVH criteria were used. Results: The prevalence of CMR‑LVH ranged from 11% (for %pLVM) to 72% (for LVM/BSA). At the same time, for a single criterion, the prevalence of ECG‑LVH ranged between 1.9% (for R wave amplitude in lead V5 / V6 greater than 2.6 mV, Sokolow–Lyon product, and Gubner–Ungerleider criterion) and 45.3% (for Peguero–Lo Presti criterion), showing high sensitivity, from 55.3% (95% CI, 38.3–71.4) to 100% (95% CI, 54.1–100). The sensitivity of ECG‑LVH criteria when all criteria were applied together ranged from 57.9% (95% CI, 40.8–73.7) to 100% (95% CI, 63.1–100). The best performance regarding the endpoint of CMR‑LVH diagnosis after LVM indexing was achieved by the Peguero–Lo Presti and Cornell criteria (area under the curve, 0.621–0.876; P, 0.001–0.17). Conclusions: Thediagnosis of LVH strongly depends on ECG- and CMR‑based definitions. ThePeguero–Lo Presti criterion and the Cornell criteria, which are sex‑specific, may provide the highest level of diagnostic accuracy and should be considered when screening patients with cardiovascular diseases for LVH.

We present a case of a patient with clinical symptoms of pneumonia, negative in several polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 tests from nasopharyngeal swabs but suspected in computed tomography and finally confirmed in bronchoalveolar lavage material.

The goal of this paper is to investigate the baseline brain activity in euthymic bipolar disorder (BD) patients by comparing it to healthy controls (HC) with the use of a variety of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) analyses, such as amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF), fractional ALFF (f/ALFF), ALFF-based functional connectivity (FC), and r egional homogeneity (ReHo). We hypothesize that above-mentioned techniques will differentiate BD from HC indicating dissimilarities between the groups within different brain structures. Forty-two participants divided into two groups of euthymic BD patients (n = 21) and HC (n = 21) underwent rs-fMRI evaluation. Typical band ALFF, slow-4, slow-5, f/ALFF, as well as ReHo indexes were analyzed. Regions with altered ALFF were chosen as ROI for seed-to-voxel analysis of FC. As opposed to HC, BD patients revealed: increased ALFF in left insula, increased slow-5 in left middle temporal pole, increased f/ALFF in left superior frontal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, right putamen, and bilateral thalamus. There were no significant differences between BD and HC groups in slow-4 band. Compared to HC, the BD group presented higher ReHo values in the left superior medial frontal gyrus and lower ReHo values in the right supplementary motor area. FC analysis revealed significant hyper-connectivity within the BD group between left insula and bilateral middle frontal gyrus, right superior parietal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus, left cerebellum, and left supplementary motor area. To our best knowledge, this is the first rs-fMRI study combining ReHo, ALFF, f/ALFF, and subdivided frequency bands (slow-4 and slow-5) in euthymic BD patients. ALFF, f/ALFF, slow-5, as well as REHO analysis revealed significant differences between two studied groups. Although results obtained with the above methods enable to identify group-specific brain structures, no overlap between the brain regions was detected. This indicates that combination of foregoing rs-fMRI methods may complement each other, revealing the bigger picture of the complex resting state abnormalities in BD.

The aim of this study was to compare the results of automatic assessment of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) by artificial intelligence (AI) in 150 patients from three subgroups: pneumonia in the course of COVID-19, bronchopneumonia and atypical pneumonia. The volume percentage of inflammation and the volume percentage of “ground glass” were significantly higher in the atypical (respectively, 11.04%, 8.61%) and the COVID-19 (12.41%, 10.41%) subgroups compared to the bronchopneumonia (5.12%, 3.42%) subgroup. The volume percentage of consolidation was significantly higher in the COVID-19 (2.95%) subgroup compared to the atypical (1.26%) subgroup. The percentage of “ground glass” in the volume of inflammation was significantly higher in the atypical (89.85%) subgroup compared to the COVID-19 (79.06%) subgroup, which in turn was significantly higher compared to the bronchopneumonia (68.26%) subgroup. HRCT chest images, analyzed automatically by artificial intelligence software, taking into account the structure including “ground glass” and consolidation, significantly differ in three subgroups: COVID-19 pneumonia, bronchopneumonia and atypical pneumonia. However, the partial overlap, particularly between COVID-19 pneumonia and atypical pneumonia, may limit the usefulness of automatic analysis in differentiating the etiology. In our future research, we plan to use artificial intelligence for objective assessment of the dynamics of pulmonary lesions during COVID-19 pneumonia.

Despite extensive research, there is no convincing evidence of a reliable diagnostic biomarker for schizophrenia beyond clinical observation. Disorders of glutamatergic neurotransmission associated with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor insufficiency, neuroinflammation, and redox dysregulation are the principal common mechanism linking changes in the periphery with the brain, ultimately contributing to the emergence of negative symptoms of schizophrenia that underlie differential diagnosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of these systems via peripheral and cerebral biochemical indices in relation to the patient’s clinical condition. Using neuroimaging diagnostics, we were able to define endophenotypes of schizophrenia based on objective laboratory data that form the basis of a personalized approach to diagnosis and treatment. The two distinguished endophenotypes differed in terms of the quality of life, specific schizophrenia symptoms, and glutamatergic neurotransmission metabolites in the anterior cingulate gyrus. Our results, as well as further studies of the excitatory or inhibitory balance of microcircuits, relating the redox systems on the periphery with the distant regions of the brain might allow for predicting potential biomarkers of neuropsychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to identify an objective molecular biomarker of schizophrenia outcome.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder whose course varies with periods of deterioration and symptomatic improvement without diagnosis and treatment specific for the disease. So far, it has not been possible to clearly define what kinds of functional and structural changes are responsible for the onset or recurrence of acute psychotic decompensation in the course of schizophrenia, and to what extent personality disorders may precede the appearance of the appropriate symptoms. The work combines magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging with clinical evaluation and laboratory tests to determine the likely pathway of schizophrenia development by identifying peripheral cerebral biomarkers compared to personality disorders. The relationship between the level of metabolites in the brain, the clinical status of patients according to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision ICD-10, duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), and biochemical indices related to redox balance (malondialdehyde), the efficiency of antioxidant systems (FRAP), and bioenergetic metabolism of mitochondria, were investigated. There was a reduction in the level of brain N-acetyl-aspartate and glutamate in the anterior cingulate gyrus of patients with schisophrenia compared to the other groups that seems more to reflect a biological etiopathological factor of psychosis. Decreased activity of brain metabolites correlated with increased peripheral oxidative stress (increased malondialdehyde MDA) associated with decreased efficiency of antioxidant systems (FRAP) and the breakdown of clinical symptoms in patients with schizophrenia in the course of psychotic decompensation compared to other groups. The period of untreated psychosis correlated negatively with glucose value in the brain of people with schizophrenia, and positively with choline level. The demonstrated differences between two psychiatric units, such as schizophrenia and personality disorders in relation to healthy people, may be used to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of schizophrenia compared to other heterogenous psychopathology in the future. The collapse of clinical symptoms of patients with schizophrenia in the course of psychotic decompensation may be associated with the occurrence of specific schizotypes, the determination of which is possible by determining common relationships between changes in metabolic activity of particular brain structures and peripheral parameters, which may be an important biological etiopathological factor of psychosis. Markers of peripheral redox imbalance associated with disturbed bioenergy metabolism in the brain may provide specific biological factors of psychosis however, they need to be confirmed in further studies.

The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis about differences in sweet taste perception in the group of preschool children with and without caries, and to determine its relationship with cariogenic microbiota and the frequency of sweets consumption in children. The study group included of 63 children aged 2&ndash, 6 years: 32 with caries and 31 without caries. The study consisted of collecting questionnaire data and assessment of dental status using the decayed, missing, filled in primary teeth index (dmft) and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II). The evaluation of sweet taste perception was carried out using a specific method that simultaneously assessed the level of taste preferences and the sensitivity threshold for a given taste. The microbiological analysis consisted of the assessment of the quantitative and qualitative compositions of the oral microbiota of the examined children. The sweet taste perception of children with caries was characterized by a lower susceptibility to sucrose (the preferred sucrose solution concentration was &gt, 4 g/L) compared to children without caries (in the range &le, 4 g/L, p = 0.0015, chi-square test). A similar relationship was also observed for frequent snacking between meals (p = 0.0038, chi-square test). The analysis of studied variables showed the existence of a strong positive correlation between the perception of sweet taste and the occurrence and intensity of the cariogenic process (p = 0.007 for dmft, and p = 0.012 for ICDAS II), as well as the frequency of consuming sweets (p &le, 0.001 for frequent and repeated consumption of sweets during the day, Spearman test) in children with caries. Additionally, children with an elevated sucrose taste threshold were more than 10-times more likely to develop S. mutans presence (OR = 10.21, 95% CI 3.11&ndash, 33.44). The results of this study suggest the future use of taste preferences in children as a diagnostic tool for the early detection of increased susceptibility to caries through microbial dysbiosis towards specific species of microorganisms.

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder featuring chronic, complex neuropsychiatric features. The etiology and pathogenesis of schizophrenia are not fully understood. Oxidative-antioxidant imbalance is a potential determinant of schizophrenia. Oxidative, nitrosative, or sulfuric damage to enzymes of glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle, as well as calcium transport and ATP biosynthesis might cause impaired bioenergetics function in the brain. This could explain the initial symptoms, such as the first psychotic episode and mild cognitive impairment. Another concept of the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia is associated with impaired glucose metabolism and insulin resistance with the activation of the mTOR mitochondrial pathway, which may contribute to impaired neuronal development. Consequently, cognitive processes requiring ATP are compromised and dysfunctions in synaptic transmission lead to neuronal death, preceding changes in key brain areas. This review summarizes the role and mutual interactions of oxidative damage and impaired glucose metabolism as key factors affecting metabolic complications in schizophrenia. These observations may be a premise for novel potential therapeutic targets that will delay not only the onset of first symptoms but also the progression of schizophrenia and its complications.

The aim of our study was to compare the degree of brain atrophy in centenarians and in seniors 70&ndash, 99 years old. The study group consisted of 23 patients aged 100&ndash, 106 years. The control group consisted of 90 patients, 30 in each age subgroup 90&ndash, 99, 80&ndash, 89, 70&ndash, 79. In all the patients, the brain atrophy linear parameters were measured on computed tomography scans, in relation to both &ldquo, subcortical atrophy&rdquo, evaluated as progressive widening of the ventricular system, and &ldquo, cortical atrophy&rdquo, defined as widening of subarachnoid space. Secondary indices based on the parameters were calculated. Correlations between the above parameters/indices and age were tested. Significantly different values between the centenarians and the control group were found in the brain atrophy parameters: A, B, C, E, FI, ICR, ICL, SW, CFW, F/A &lsquo, frontal horn index&rsquo, A/G &lsquo, Evans index&rsquo, D/A &lsquo, ventricular index&rsquo, H/E &lsquo, cella media Schiersmann index&rsquo, A+B &lsquo, Huckman number&rsquo, Correlations between parameter/index and age were found for: A, B, C, FI, ICR, ICL, SW, F/A &lsquo, Brain atrophy associated with aging is a continuously advancing process, affecting centenarians even more than people before the &ldquo, magic&rdquo, threshold of 100 years.

Dental materials are common sources of artifacts during brain MRI studies. The aim of the present study was to estimate the degree of image disturbance caused by dental materials during an MRI examination, and the risk of ferromagnetic materials being dislocated in the magnetic field. MR sequences where dental materials containing metals produced the smallest artifacts was also calculated. Thirty-five dental material samples containing metals were examined using the 1.5 T MR system. They consisted of the most commonly used dental restorations and root-canal instruments left in the oral cavity for iatrogenic reasons. Additionally, cubes (10×5×5 mm) and balls (10 mm diameter) were cast from commonly used dental alloys. No dislocation of the examined samples in the gelatin medium was observed. All the materials were found to produce artifacts characterised by similar images. The study showed that the presence of distant artifacts, besides those located in the area immediately surrounding the object, depends on the shape of the given material. The size of artifacts generated by the most commonly used fixed restorations was graded. The sequences in which artifacts were least pronounced were selected. No dislocation of samples in the 1.5 T field was observed during the examination. However they produced artifacts; the typical image of an artifact — a signal void zone surrounded by a hyperintensive rim. Alloys consisting of Ag-Pd, dental gold and amalgam distorted the MR image to the least degree. In the case of a routine spin echo (SE) sequence examination the smallest artifacts were generated in the FSE T2 and PD sequences.