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Background: Neurofilament light chain (NfL) reflects axonal damage in neurological disorders. It has recently been evaluated in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). A biomarker indicating the severity of optic nerve damage in IIH could support diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic decisions., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed NfL concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 35 IIH patients and 12 healthy controls, who had received diagnostic workup for IIH in our clinic. The diagnosis of IIH was made according to the modified Friedman criteria for IIH and for IIH without papilledema Friedman DI et al Neurol 81:1159-1165 (2013) [1]. NfL in the CSF (CSF-NfL) was correlated with the severity of papilledema and with CSF opening pressure., Results: CSF-NfL correlated with CSF opening pressure at the time of collection. In patients with IIH and moderate or severe papilledema, CSF-NfL was significantly increased compared to patients with mild or no papilledema. Healthy controls with raised intracranial pressure showed no relevant elevation of CSF-NfL., Conclusion: CSF-NfL appears to correlate with the severity of papilledema in IIH and with CSF opening pressure and may therefore be a predictor of optic nerve damage in IIH patients., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction and Goal: The investigation of gender differences in treatment response is crucial for effective personalized therapies. With only 30%, women are underrepresented in trials for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD). It is therefore important to evaluate gender-specific outcomes of DBS in PD in order to improve therapeutic counseling., Methods: We analyzed clinical outcome parameters of 203 patients with PD that underwent DBS surgery targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN) at our movement disorder center. A total of 27.6% of patients were female and 72.4% male. Motor and non-motor scores were compared before and 1 year after DBS surgery (1y FU) using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and gender specific outcomes were analyzed with chi-square tests., Results: At 1y FU, we found significant improvement in UPDRS II, UPDRS III (35.78 ± 36.14% MedOFF vs. StimON-MedOFF), UPDRS IV, depression (BDI-II), and health-related disability as (ADL) that showed no gender-specific differences. No significant change was revealed for UPDRS I, QUIP, and DemTect for the entire cohort. However, when analyzing both groups separately, only women improved in general cognition (plus 1.26 ± 3.03 DemTect points, p = 0.014*), whereas only men ameliorated in depression (minus 1.97 ± 6.92 BDI-II points, p = 0.002**) and impulsivity (minus 2.80 ± 7.27 QUIP points, p = 0.004**). Chi-square tests, however, revealed no significant differences between genders., Conclusion and Outlook: STN-DBS is a highly effective treatment for motor and non-motor symptoms of PD for both women and men but our study hints towards gender-specific outcomes in non-motor-domains like cognition, depressive symptoms, and impulsivity. To explore this in more detail, larger cohorts need to be investigated in multicenter trials., (© 2023. The Author(s).)