Background. There are still no clearly proven methods to slow down or stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Thus, improving the quality of life (QoL) of patients with PD becomes of primary importance. Autonomic dysfunction and its symptoms are known to worsen the quality of life in PD, but the degree of this influence is underinvestigated. Particularly, impacts of the separate significant gastrointestinal symptoms, such as dyspepsia, constipation, and abdominal pain, in PD should be more precisely evaluated with the help of specific scales. Objective. To assess the impacts of gastrointestinal dysfunction and its symptoms on PD patient’s QoL using PDQ-39. Methods. 111 PD patients in the I-III Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage were enrolled in the study. The following scales were applied: UPDRS III, PDQ-39, GSRS, GDSS, MMSE, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T. Results. The linear regression model showed that the PDQ-39 SI depended on summary assessments GSRS-SI (β = 0.333, p < 0.001 ), BDI (β = 0.463, p < 0.001 ), and UPDRS III (β = 0.163, p < 0.05 ). The use of the stepwise method, adding GSRS-SI and UPDRS III scores to the BDI predictor, improved the model (R2 increased from 0.454 to 0.574). The investigation of GSRS domain’s influence revealed that PDQ-39 SI had a significant correlation with almost all of them, but the regression analysis showed significant QoL impacts of only two factors: constipation and abdominal pain (β = 0.288, p < 0.01 and β = 0.243, p < 0.05 accordingly). Conclusions. Our results suggest a considerable negative influence of depression and gastrointestinal dysfunction (especially constipation and abdominal pain) on QoL of patients with PD. Their impact on QoL in patients with I-III H&Y stages of PD is more significant than that of motor symptoms. Therefore, the correction of depression and gastrointestinal dysfunction should be prioritized in PD therapy.

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Psychogenic (functional) vertigo is in second place by frequency after benign positional paroxysmal vertigo. It is often difficult to make the diagnosis, diagnostic program is expensive and traditional treatment often is not effective. This literature review covers current concepts on the terminology, clinical signs, pathogenesis and treatment approaches with regard to functional vertigo. Special attention is given to cerebral mechanisms of the pathogenesis including cognitive aspects.

This article describes an alternative approach to the problem of AIDS. The author proposes a new theory. In this theory, HIV is not a "classic virus", but a parasitic program that does not have a material carrier.

Study. The relationship of sleep disorders with anxiety in practicing neurologists in the context of a pandemic. Goals. To assess the quality of sleep, the level of anxiety and their mutual influence in neurologists.Design. 330 neurologists were interviewed using the GoogleForms service, using the questionnaire "The psychological impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the population is measured using the Psycho-Covid‑19 questionnaire" in partnership with an international group of researchers led by VitoTummino and Dr. FrancoVimercati (Italy). Results. Sleep disorders ranging from mild to very severe were detected in 35% of respondents, which indicates that they have a high risk of insomnia. A statistically significant positive correlation of sleep disorders with both the overall indicator of psychological risk and the possibility of developing psychopathological syndromes is shown. Conclusion. The detection and correction of sleep disorders is important as a preventive measure and for the correction of anxiety disorders in medical professionals.

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Psychogenic or functional neurological disorders (FND) often occur in the practice of a neurologist. Diagnosis of FND usually causes significant difficulties. Among FND, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) comprise around 40% cases. Sometimes it is necessary to differentiate PNES from narcolepsy. We describe a 55-year-old man with frequent brief and sudden sleep-like attacks in combination with nocturnal sleep disturbance. During attacks he was unresponsive, snoring but maintained posture. He resisted passive eye opening but with rolling eyes. The patient was confused on waking. In the interictal period, there were FND signs including give-way weakness of the left hand, typical functional “leg-dragging” gait, mistake in the finger-to-nose test. Video-electroencephalogram monitoring did not detect specific epileptic activity or sleep pattern during the attacks. Polysomnography showed multiple waking episodes during the night, but no typical pattern of narcolepsy was found in the multiple sleep latency test. The patient had frequent urgent hospitalizations due to different diseases and numerous invasive procedures. Six month later, the patient obtained state related disability financial benefit, after which hospitalizations in various hospitals continued, and PNES became shorter and less pronounced.