Jayr Schmidt-Filho, Thais Rodrigues B Geraldo, Victor C Carregari, Marina de Mattos Nascimento, Anita Cassoli Cortez, Ramon Teixeira Costa, Ivan Leonardo Avelino Franca-Silva, Israel Tojal da Silva, Marcos Aurélio Peterlevitz, Alessandro S Farias, José Eduardo Vitorino Galon, Ana Maria Fraga, Celso Francisco Hernandes Granato, Gislaine Cristina Lopes Machado Porto, Diana Noronha Nunes, Dirce Maria Carraro, Kenneth J Gollob, Emmanuel Dias-Neto, Daniel Martins-de-Souza, Vilma R Martins, Marjorie Vieira Batista
{"title":"Cerebrospinal fluid positive for SARS-CoV-2 associated with neurological manifestations and proteome alterations in a multiple myeloma patient.","authors":"Jayr Schmidt-Filho, Thais Rodrigues B Geraldo, Victor C Carregari, Marina de Mattos Nascimento, Anita Cassoli Cortez, Ramon Teixeira Costa, Ivan Leonardo Avelino Franca-Silva, Israel Tojal da Silva, Marcos Aurélio Peterlevitz, Alessandro S Farias, José Eduardo Vitorino Galon, Ana Maria Fraga, Celso Francisco Hernandes Granato, Gislaine Cristina Lopes Machado Porto, Diana Noronha Nunes, Dirce Maria Carraro, Kenneth J Gollob, Emmanuel Dias-Neto, Daniel Martins-de-Souza, Vilma R Martins, Marjorie Vieira Batista","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09471-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10072-026-09471-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although SARS-CoV-2 infection is primarily associated with respiratory symptoms, neurological complications have been increasingly recognized, even in the absence of pulmonary involvement.</p><p><strong>Case presentation: </strong>We report a case of a 67-year-old woman with a history of multiple myeloma and recent exposure to a COVID-19-positive individual who developed rapidly progressive neurological symptoms, including dysarthria, dysphagia, and hypoesthesia, without any respiratory manifestations. Her condition deteriorated to focal and dyscognitive status epilepticus, requiring mechanical ventilation. Brain MRI showed imaging features consistent with rhombencephalitis. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed through positive qRT-PCR results from both nasopharyngeal swab and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Further analysis of the CSF using quantitative shotgun proteomics via mass spectrometry revealed a neuroinflammatory profile indicative of blood-brain barrier disruption and differential expression of several proteins relevant to brain function, including the major prion protein, superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD-1), and other aggregation-prone proteins.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This case supports the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 can invade the central nervous system and cause severe neurological impairment, even in the absence of typical respiratory symptoms. The findings underscore the importance of considering SARS-CoV-2 in the differential diagnosis of rapidly progressive neurological syndromes and highlight the need for further investigation into the mechanisms of neuroinvasion and the potential neurotropism of emerging viral variants.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Davy Henrique de Sousa Pelliciari, Larissa Aguiar Garcia, Carlos Alberto Bordini, Jaqueline Silva Ribeiro
{"title":"TAC-Tic syndromes: a case series on the complex overlap between trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias and trigeminal neuralgia.","authors":"Davy Henrique de Sousa Pelliciari, Larissa Aguiar Garcia, Carlos Alberto Bordini, Jaqueline Silva Ribeiro","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09489-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10072-026-09489-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs) and trigeminal neuralgia (TN) are classified as distinct disorders, although overlap syndromes are increasingly recognized.</p><p><strong>Case reports: </strong>We retrospectively describe five women with TAC-tic overlap: two with SUNCT-tic, two with cluster-tic, and one with paroxysmal hemicrania-tic syndrome. Each had distinguishable neuralgic and autonomic pain phenotypes, appearing either simultaneously or sequentially. In both SUNCT-tic cases, repeat imaging disclosed neurovascular compression after an initially negative study; microvascular decompression produced complete remission of both phenotypes. Cluster-tic presentations were controlled with peripheral nerve blocks, carbamazepine, and verapamil. In the paroxysmal hemicrania-tic case, the autonomic component responded to indomethacin whereas the neuralgic component required neuromodulator adjustment.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The opposite order of phenotype emergence in the SUNCT-tic cases, together with shifts in the dominant phenotype during treatment, supports bidirectional temporal plasticity. Convergence of trigeminal and upper cervical afferents in the trigeminocervical complex offers a plausible link between peripheral input, the trigeminal-autonomic reflex, and the observed response to occipital nerve blocks.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>TAC-tic syndromes are rare and probably underrecognized. Repeated phenotyping, imaging tailored to the trigeminal root when clinically indicated, and treatment directed at each component may improve clinical control.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peripheral and cerebrospinal fluid inflammatory markers in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis an exploratory cross-sectional association study.","authors":"Agnieszka Wełnicka-Wesołowska, Karolina Łuczkowska, Przemysław Nowacki, Edyta Paczkowska, Agnieszka Meller, Karolina Machowska-Sempruch, Bogusław Machaliński, Monika Gołąb-Janowska","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09480-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10072-026-09480-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with an ambiguous etiology, whose onset may be linked to innate immune system activation outside the central nervous system (CNS). We investigated the association between peripheral blood and CNS inflammatory parameters in 45 sporadic ALS patients compared to 30 controls, analyzing peripheral blood tests (C-reactive protein [CRP], blood count, fibrinogen) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immunological measures (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha [TNF-α], TNF receptor type 1 [TNFR-1], CRP) alongside clinical characteristics. Results revealed significantly higher concentrations of TNFR-1 in the CSF of ALS patients compared to the control group (1,029.5 ± 176.0 vs. 846.1 ± 167.5 pg/ml; p < 0.0001). This difference remained significant in multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age and sex (OR 1.82 per 100 pg/ml increment, 95% CI 1.26-2.63; p = 0.0015). In an exploratory ROC analysis, CSF TNFR-1 discriminated patients from controls with an AUC of 0.78 (95% CI 0.67-0.88). TNFR-1 correlated with age (R = 0.32, p = 0.038), associations with disease severity and a lower concentration in bulbar-onset disease were exploratory and not robustly significant. Plasma and CSF CRP concentrations did not differ significantly between groups, but strongly correlated with each other in both ALS (R = 0.83) and control (R = 0.82) cohorts, indicating a disease-non-specific relationship. CSF TNFR-1 is independently associated with sporadic ALS and warrants further investigation as a candidate disease-associated inflammatory biomarker. Given the limitations, our findings do not prove diagnostic accuracy or causality. Longitudinal studies with disease controls and blood-CSF barrier integrity measures are needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13676633/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Association between IGFBP-3 and longitudinal neuropsychiatric symptom trajectories in early Parkinson's disease: a longitudinal cohort study.","authors":"Chaofan Geng, Chen Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09485-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-026-09485-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), yet biomarkers associated with their long-term progression remain poorly characterized. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) is involved in neurotrophic and metabolic processes. We examined whether baseline IGFBP-3 was associated with subsequent anxiety and depressive symptom trajectories in patients with early PD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This longitudinal cohort included 352 patients with early-stage PD followed annually for up to 7 years. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), respectively. Linear mixed-effects models evaluated IGFBP-3 × time interactions, with adjustment for demographic, disease-related, metabolic, systemic, and treatment-related covariates, including time-varying levodopa-equivalent daily dose.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In fully adjusted longitudinal models, each 1-SD higher baseline IGFBP-3 was associated with a slower annual increase in STAI (β=-0.41 points/year; 95% CI, - 0.60 to - 0.22; P < 0.001) and GDS scores (β=-0.055 points/year; 95% CI, - 0.082 to - 0.028; P < 0.001). By Year 7, adjusted STAI scores were 68.5 in the low and 63.4 in the high IGFBP-3 tertile, corresponding to a difference of 5.1 points (95% CI, 2.8-7.4; P < 0.001); corresponding GDS scores were 3.17 and 2.36. After mutual adjustment, the IGFBP-3 × time association remained evident for STAI (β=-0.36; 95% CI, - 0.57 to - 0.15; P = 0.001) and GDS (β=-0.049; 95% CI, - 0.079 to - 0.019; P = 0.002). The molar IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio was not associated with longitudinal changes in STAI (P = 0.433) or GDS (P = 0.498).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Higher baseline IGFBP-3 was associated with slower progression of anxiety and depressive symptoms over 7 years in early PD, suggesting that IGFBP-3 may capture clinically relevant information on neuropsychiatric symptom progression.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Paola Mogavero, Oliviero Bruni, Andrea Romigi, Claudio Liguori, Dario Arnaldi, Biancamaria Guarnieri, Raffaele Ferri
{"title":"Italian adaptation of international recommendations for the management of restless legs syndrome: A consensus statement by the scientific committee of RLS-Italia.","authors":"Maria Paola Mogavero, Oliviero Bruni, Andrea Romigi, Claudio Liguori, Dario Arnaldi, Biancamaria Guarnieri, Raffaele Ferri","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09487-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10072-026-09487-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Recent international recommendations have substantially changed the management of restless legs syndrome (RLS), emphasizing systematic iron assessment, earlier use of iron therapy and α2δ ligands, and greater caution with chronic dopaminergic treatment because of augmentation. Their implementation requires adaptation to national healthcare organization, regulatory indications, reimbursement, and access to specialist services.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The Scientific Committee of RLS-Italia conducted a structured, non-Delphi consensus process based on the 2025 American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline and systematic review, the 2026 RLS Foundation algorithm, the World Sleep Society partial endorsement, and selected supporting evidence. Successive drafts were circulated, discussed, and approved by all authors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The proposed Italian framework prioritizes clinical diagnosis, exclusion of mimics, correction of exacerbating factors, systematic assessment of iron status, and iron treatment when indicated. α2δ ligands are preferred for most adults with chronic persistent RLS, whereas dopamine agonists should be restricted to selected patients and monitored for augmentation. Refractory or augmented disease should be managed by clinicians with specific RLS expertise, with consideration of intravenous iron, opioids, or device-based treatment. Dipyridamole is not included in the standard pathway, and periodic limb movement disorder should not be diagnosed or treated solely on the basis of polysomnographic findings.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This consensus statement provides a nationally coherent framework that can support regional implementation through locally appropriate organizational and clinical protocols.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alessio Facchin, Giorgio Arcara, Konstantinos Priftis
{"title":"Moving from equivalent scores to percentile ranks in clinical neuropsychology: Benefits, computation with confidence intervals, and application on MoCA 8.1 Italian norms.","authors":"Alessio Facchin, Giorgio Arcara, Konstantinos Priftis","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09477-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-026-09477-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neuropsychological assessment largely depends on normative data to interpret an individual's test performance. In Italy, the Equivalent Scores (ES) system is a widely adopted non-parametric method to classify adjusted scores into five ordinal categories, on the basis of tolerance limits. Although the ES system provides a clear and rapid categorization of individuals' performance, it has several limitations. In contrast, percentile ranks could represent a valid alternative scoring approach to ES. Indeed, percentile ranks precisely indicate how rare or common a score is within the normative sample. Moreover, percentile ranks are non-parametric and are widely used, internationally, in the fields of neuropsychology, healthcare, and education. The finer resolution of percentiles allows the detection of small changes in individuals' performance and facilitates the communication of results to both professionals and non-experts. Importantly, the availability of confidence intervals (CIs), around percentile ranks, allows clinicians to better quantify sampling uncertainty. Different methods could be used to calculate CIs (the Binomial distribution method, the Beta distribution method, and the Bootstrap method). We calculate percentile values and their CI on the Italian MoCA 8.1 norms. The results showed that CIs based on the Binomial and the Beta distribution methods were similar, whereas the Bootstrap method yielded narrower CIs. After comparing ES to percentiles, the ES0-ES1 cutoff corresponded approximately to the 3<sup>rd</sup> -4<sup>th</sup> percentile rank. Overall, we recommend that neuropsychologists routinely consider percentile ranks, including the respective CIs, when interpreting individuals' test scores to provide a finer and more detailed approach to the diagnostic decision-making process.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hilmi Bolat, Hilal Aydın, Dilan Genç-Akdağ, İrem Kalay, Murat Öztürk, Büşra Sapmaz, Yavuz Oktay, Ece Sönmezler, Adil Aytaç, Zehra Manav-Yiğit, Gül Ünsel-Bolat
{"title":"OPHN1-related neurodevelopmental disorders: clinical and genetic findings with novel variants.","authors":"Hilmi Bolat, Hilal Aydın, Dilan Genç-Akdağ, İrem Kalay, Murat Öztürk, Büşra Sapmaz, Yavuz Oktay, Ece Sönmezler, Adil Aytaç, Zehra Manav-Yiğit, Gül Ünsel-Bolat","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09476-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-026-09476-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pathogenic variants in the OPHN1 gene are associated with X-linked intellectual developmental disorder, Billuart type (OMIM #300486), characterized by intellectual disability, distinctive facial features, cerebellar abnormalities, ventriculomegaly, epilepsy, and variable neuropsychiatric manifestations. In this study, four male individuals from four unrelated families presenting with intellectual disability and developmental delay were evaluated. Comprehensive clinical, neuroimaging, and molecular genetic data were collected. Genetic analyses were performed using whole-exome or clinical exome sequencing. Hemizygous OPHN1 variants were identified in all individuals. Two variants, a nonsense variant, c.226del (p.Leu76Ter), and a frameshift variant, c.226_227del (p.Leu76AspfsTer2), were predicted to introduce premature termination codons resulting in loss of protein function and were classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic. Additionally, two intronic splice-site variants (c.1527-3 C > G and c.2158 + 5G > A) were classified as variants of uncertain significance; however, in silico analyses strongly supported their potential to disrupt normal splicing. The clinical features observed in the affected individuals, including developmental delay, intellectual disability of variable severity, characteristic facial features, and cerebellar and ventricular abnormalities, were consistent with previously reported OPHN1-associated phenotypes. Neuropsychiatric features, including autism spectrum disorder and hyperactivity, were also observed, highlighting phenotypic variability. This study reports the first OPHN1-related cases from Türkiye and expands the molecular and phenotypic spectrum of OPHN1-associated neurodevelopmental disorders by identifying three novel variants. Our findings support the pathogenic relevance of both loss-of-function and splice-site variants and contribute to improved genotype-phenotype correlation and diagnostic evaluation.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Amir Khan, Ezzat Bitar, Sarah Diab, Muhammad Zain Khan
{"title":"Global cognitive and verbal episodic memory impairment in the post-acute phase of anti-nmdar encephalitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis with narrative synthesis.","authors":"Muhammad Amir Khan, Ezzat Bitar, Sarah Diab, Muhammad Zain Khan","doi":"10.1007/s10072-026-09478-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10072-026-09478-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cognitive impairment is a recognized long-term complication of anti-NMDAR encephalitis, but its pooled magnitude, domain specificity, and time course have not been systematically quantified.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To quantify pooled global cognitive and verbal episodic memory impairment in convalescent anti-NMDAR encephalitis relative to healthy comparators, and to assess whether impairment magnitude changes with time since disease onset.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We systematically reviewed observational studies assessing standardized cognitive outcomes in adults with cell-based-assay-confirmed anti-NMDAR encephalitis during the post-acute/convalescent phase. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and CENTRAL were searched from inception to 20 June 2026. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed for cognitive domains with at least three independent cohorts, while other domains were synthesized narratively according to SWiM principles.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fourteen independent cohorts comprising 439 patients were included. Six cohorts (191 patients, 182 controls) contributed to the confirmed primary global-cognition analysis, showing substantial impairment (Hedges' g - 1.26, 95% CI - 1.49 to - 1.04; I²=0%). Verbal episodic memory was also impaired (g - 0.88, 95% CI - 1.13 to - 0.63; 5 cohorts). Recognition was impaired alongside recall in the two cohorts reporting recognition trials. Narrative synthesis identified frequent executive and working-memory impairment, impaired speeded processing, and deficits in visual episodic memory and language, whereas visuospatial findings were less consistent.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Post-acute anti-NMDAR encephalitis is associated with substantial global cognitive and verbal episodic memory impairment, with additional deficits across several cognitive domains. Comprehensive longitudinal neuropsychological assessment, including social cognition and psychiatric symptoms, is needed to clarify recovery trajectories and mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":19191,"journal":{"name":"Neurological Sciences","volume":"47 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149216432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}