WFN Publications: Featured Articles

Editors' Choice

Links to important articles and articles of particular interest chosen by the Editors
published in last 3 months in Journal of the Neurological Sciences, World Neurology and eNeurologicalSci.

 

World Neurology

 

  • Organ Extracts for Diseases of the Nervous System

    Peter J. Koehler

    Some time ago, I wrote about brain stones, intracranial calcifications that have been found at autopsies for many centuries.  In this context, the pineal gland was in the spotlight after the French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) wrote down his ideas about the physical part of the soul supposedly localized in this structure.

    In the subsequent 150 years, there were lively discussions between physicians, who were proponents and opponents of this idea. 


  • Brain Health and Cherry Blossoms

    By  Dr. Aida Suárez-González, Prof. Morris Freedman, Prof. Manabu Ikeda, Dr. Yutaka Tanaka, Prof. Masaru Mimura, and Prof. Suvarna Alladi.

    The attendants for the 2024 biennial meeting of the WFN Aphasia, Dementia, and Cognitive Disorders Specialty Group (ADCD SG) arrived in Nara, Japan, about the same time as the sakura (Japanese cherry trees) reached full bloom. This served as a timely metaphor to usher in the four vibrant days of all things cognitive neurology that followed, elegantly wrapped in the most exquisite Japanese hospitality.


 

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Journal of the Neurological Sciences


  • Diagnosing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: Positive predictive value of CSF JC virus quantitative PCR and importance of recognizing suggestive neuroimaging findings

    Zhou R, Sangam K, Cabrera A, AlMutawa F, Sivro A, Roy F, Silverman M, Sharma M, Budhram A.

    Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2025 Jan 3:123379.

    To determine the positive predictive value (PPV) of CSF John Cunningham virus (JCV) quantitative PCR (qPCR) for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), and highlight neuroimaging findings reported to be suggestive of this disease.
    We reviewed patients at London Health Sciences Centre with a positive CSF JCV qPCR result. Patients were classified as true-positive if they had a clinico-radiographic presentation compatible with PML and no more likely alternative diagnosis. The presence of suggestive neuroimaging findings was documented as supportive evidence of PML. The PPV of CSF JCV qPCR was calculated as the proportion of positive results that were classified as true-positives.


  • Should antinuclear antibodies (ANA) be used to screen for connective tissue disease in neurological patients?

    Magiel E, Kozlov Y, Goldberg T, Dagan RL, Watad A, Gendelman O, Anis S.

    Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2024 Dec 30:123374.

    Patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD) can have a wide range of neurological manifestations. Neurological complaints may be the presenting symptom of CTD. Therefore, screening for CTD using anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) is a common practice. However, due to the abundance of positive ANA in a healthy population, interpretation of the results may be complex.

    We retrospectively evaluated files of patients hospitalized for evaluation of neurological symptoms in Sheba Medical Center during the years 2007–2022. Data was collected regarding epidemiology, ANA status, and rheumatological diagnosis.


 

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eNeurologicalSci (eNS)

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  • The World Federation of Neurology Digital Neurology Update (WNU)

    Grisold W, Lewis SL.

    eNeurologicalSci. 2025 Jan 5;38:100548

    Congresses remain the main source of scientific meetings, combining science and education as well as personal interactions. Congresses are slowly returning to in-person meetings; however, some organizations, such as the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), adhere to the hybrid concept, both virtual and in-person. 

    To do this, we host the WFN World Congresses of Neurology (WCN), which reports the latest achievements and will remain hybrid (https://wcn-neurology.com); however, we think that two years between congresses is too long. For this reason, we introduced the World Federation of Neurology Digital Neurology Update (WNU)


  • Impact of COVID-19 on functional, cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and health-related outcomes in patients with dementia: A systematic review.

    Crivelli L, Winkler A, Keller G, Beretta S, Calandri I, De Groote W, Fornari A, Frontera J, Kivipelto M, Lopez-Rocha AS, Mangialasche F.

    eNeurologicalSci. 2024 Nov 21:100539


    This systematic review analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on dementia patients' functional, cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and health related outcomes. It hypothesizes that dementia patients infected with SARS-CoV-2experience more pronounced deterioration compared to those who are uninfected.

    Among 198 studies reviewed, only three met the criteria. Chen et al. (2023) identified higher mortality in SARS-CoV-2-infected dementia patients, while Merla et al. (2023) observed faster cognitive decline in infected individuals with increased hospital admissions. Additionally, Cascini et al. (2022) reported an increased risk of infection and significantly elevated mortality in dementia patients, highlighting comorbidities and antipsychotic medication use as key risk factors.

  • Neuroepidemiology: Basic concepts and population surveys.

    Rocca WA.

    eNeurologicalSci. 2024 Dec 3:100544.


    The practice of modern neurology is based on research evidence. Research evidence is constructed by teams of investigators throughout the world, from Tokyo to Buenos Aires, from Sidney to Vancouver, from New York to Rome. These investigators use research methods and tools to design and conduct their studies. Neuroepidemiology is the science used to conduct clinical studies and population studies and to construct medical research evidence. Thus, neuroepidemiology is the architecture of medical research evidence. In particular, epidemiologic methods are used to describe the frequency and distribution of neurological diseases in human populations, to discover risk and protective factors, to study outcomes of diseases, and to measure the response to treatments.


 

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