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Presence of psychiatric comorbidities is well documented in narcolepsy type-1 (NT1) but there are limited data on patients with 'other central disorders of hypersomnolence' (OCH). This study aimed to investigate frequency of psychiatric comorbidities in patients with NT1 and OCH, and to evaluate their impact on quality of life and sleep as an additive factor in combination with hypersomnolence-related symptoms. This study was conducted within the scope of the international Swiss Primary Hypersomnolence and Narcolepsy Cohort Study (iSPHYNCS), which aims to find new biomarkers in central disorders of hypersomnolence (CDH). Study participants underwent Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and completed questionnaires related to quality of life and sleep. Comparative analysis was conducted to investigate group differences, and multivariable regression models were used to reveal the impact of psychiatric comorbidities. Among a total of 90 patients, 26 were diagnosed with NT1 and 64 with OCH. In all, 38 patients showed at least one psychiatric disorder, 27% of NT1 and 48% of OCH, with female dominance (50% in females versus 23% in males, p < 0.02). Major depressive episodes (n = 29) were most common, followed by suicidality (n = 13). Patients with a psychiatric diagnosis were more fatigued (β = 0.70, p < 0.05), apathic (β = -5.41, p < 0.002), had more disturbed sleep (β = 0.55, p < 0.02), worse sleep (β = 1.89, p < 0.001) and general health (β = -12.55, p < 0.02) quality. Comorbid psychiatric disorders are frequent in patients with CDH and worsen the impact of hypersomnolence-related symptoms on daily activities regardless of the type of CDH. Psychiatric comorbidities may create a vicious circle with fatigue and avoidance of physical activities, which aggravates hypersomnolence-related symptoms., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Sleep Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Sleep Research Society.)

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate baseline characteristics and outcome of patients after endovascular therapy (EVT) for acute large vessel occlusion (LVO) in relation to their history of symptomatic vascular disease and sex., Methods: Consecutive EVT-eligible patients with LVO in the anterior circulation admitted to our stroke center between 04/2015 and 04/2020 were included in this observational cohort study. All patients were treated according to a standardized acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) protocol. Baseline characteristics and successful reperfusion, recurrent/progressive in-hospital ischaemic stroke, symptomatic in-hospital intracranial hemorrhage, death at discharge and at 3 months, and functional outcome at 3 months were analyzed according to previous symptomatic vascular disease and sex., Results: 995 patients with LVO in the anterior circulation (49.4% women, median age 76 years, median admission NIHSS score 14) were included. Patients with multiple vs. no previous vascular events showed higher mortality at discharge (20% vs. 9.3%, age/sex - adjusted OR = 1.43, p = 0.030) and less independency at 3 months (28.8% vs. 48.8%, age/sex - adjusted OR = 0.72, p = 0.020). All patients and men alone with one or multiple vs. patients and men with no previous vascular events showed more recurrent/progressive in-hospital ischaemic strokes (19.9% vs. 6.4% in all patients, age/sex - adjusted OR = 1.76, p = 0.028) (16.7% vs. 5.8% in men, age-adjustedOR = 2.20, p = 0.035). Men vs. women showed more in-hospital symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage among patients with one or multiple vs. no previous vascular events (23.7% vs. 6.6% in men and 15.4% vs. 5.5% in women, OR = 2.32, p = 0.035/ age - adjusted OR = 2.36, p = 0.035)., Conclusions: Previous vascular events increased the risk of in-hospital complications and poorer outcome in the analyzed patients with EVT-eligible LVO-AIS. Our findings may support risk assessment in these stroke patients and could contribute to the design of future studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Peycheva, Padlina, Genceviciute, Krasteva, Boronylo, Goeldlin, Müller, Wenz, Müller, Hammer, Bücke, Bigi, Simonetti, Hoffmann, Umarova, Pilgram-Pastor, Gralla, Mordasini, Antonenko and Heldner.)

Objectives/background: Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is an immune-mediated disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, low levels of hypocretin-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid, and a strong association with the HLA DQB1*06:02 allele. There is evidence for streptococcal infections as one pathogenic factor that may lead to NT1 as part of a multifactorial pathogenesis. Elevated titers of Antistreptolysin-O antibodies and increased inflammatory activity in response to streptococci antigens have been described in patients with NT1. Sydenham chorea (SC) results from a post-streptococcal autoimmune process targeting basal ganglia neurons. Despite this common trigger, SC has been interpreted as a misdiagnosis in a few described cases of patients who were first diagnosed with SC and later with NT1. Our goal was to analyze the association between SC and NT1., Patients/methods: We reviewed the literature and report three patients from three European sleep centers who were diagnosed with both SC and NT1 within a few months., Results: We describe the cases of one male (age 10) and two female (age 22 and 10) patients., Conclusions: We argue that in those cases both diagnoses are justified, unlike reports of previous cases in which SC was considered a misdiagnosis in patients with NT1. It remains, however, unclear if the conditions occur independently or if there is an overlap disorder- an SC-like subtype of narcolepsy with a particular sequence of symptoms. Further studies need to clarify the causality of the relationship and the pathophysiology of the reported rare association., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Elena S. Wenz reports a relationship with University of Bern that includes: funding grants. Ulf Kallweit reports a relationship with Bioprojet, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceuticals that includes: consulting or advisory and speaking and lecture fees. Rolf Fronczek reports a relationship with Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Bioprojet that includes: consulting or advisory. Rolf Fronczek reports a relationship with Jazz Pharmaceuticals that includes: funding grants. Gert Jan Lammers reports a relationship with Bioprojet, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, NLS Pharmaceutics that includes: consulting or advisory and speaking and lecture fees., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Simultaneously acquiring broad clinical knowledge and scientific expertise is a major challenge for young clinical scientists. Female researchers may face additional hurdles in their career, for example, due to unconscious bias. We aimed to address clinical, research, and gender-related challenges among young female clinical neuroscientists. We implemented a peer-led networking group dedicated to increasing clinical and scientific knowledge, improve soft skills, and encourage exchange between fellow residents. In monthly meetings, two participants hold short presentations on a clinical topic or scientific method, followed by a discussion and feedback to the presenter. Afterwards, participants network and discuss challenges they face in their daily experience. Nine neurology residents at a Swiss University Hospital with ≤3 years of training participated in the Connecting Women in Neurosciences project from August 2020 to June 2021. In a qualitative evaluation, participants reported they felt empowered by these meetings and profited from their new network. We identified several challenges in combining clinical and research activities, some of which participants perceived to be gender-related. In addition to women-only meetings, we will promote events addressing all interested researchers. Peer-to-peer networking is an easy and low-budget intervention to encourage female residents to engage in research activities, profit from each other's expertise, and promote interdisciplinary teamwork. It can provide a protected environment to discuss and overcome in particular gender-related challenges. We encourage young colleagues to regularly engage in structured networking activities with their local peers., (© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.)