Clin. Transl. Neurosci., Volume 6, Issue 2 (June 2022) – 7 articles

Background: Changes in the visual environment and thereby, the spatial orientation, can induce postural instability leading to falls. Virtual reality (VR) has been used to expose individuals to virtual environments (VE) that increase postural threats. Claustrophobia is an anxiety disorder categorized under situational phobias and can induce such postural threats in a VE. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate if VR-generated claustrophobic simulation has any impact on postural threats that might lead to postural instability. Methods: Thirty healthy men and women (age: 20.7 ± 1.2 years; height: 166.5 ± 7.3 cm; mass: 71.7 ± 16.2 kg) were tested for postural stability while standing on a force platform, upon exposure to five different testing trials, including a normal stance (NoVR), in stationary VE (VR), and three consecutive, randomly initiated, unexpected claustrophobia trials (VR CP1, VR CP2, VR CP3). The claustrophobia trials involved all four walls closing in towards the center of the room. Center of pressure (COP)-derived postural sway variables were analyzed with a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance at an alpha level of 0.05. Results: Significant main effect differences existed in all but one dependent COP-derived postural sway variables, at p < 0.05. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons with a Bonferroni correction revealed that, predominantly, postural sway excursions were significantly lower in claustrophobia trials compared to NoVR and VR, but only accomplished with significantly increased sway velocity. Conclusion: The VR CP trials induced lower postural sway magnitude, but with increased velocity, suggesting a bracing and co-contraction strategy when exposed to virtual claustrophobic postural threats. Additionally, postural sway decreased with subsequent claustrophobia trials, suggesting potential motor learning effects. Findings from the study offer insights to postural control behavior under virtual claustrophobic simulations and can aid in VR exposure therapy for claustrophobia. Full article

On behalf of Society ÖGSF and the Swiss Stroke Society SHG, we are pleased to present the Abstracts of the Annual Meeting that was held from 14–15 June 2022 in Innsbruck/Austria. Twenty (20) abstracts were selected for presentation as oral presentations and sixteen (16) abstracts were selected as poster presentations. We congratulate all the presenters on their research work and contribution. Full article

Background: Laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) constitute an objective clinical diagnostic method used to investigate the functioning of the nociceptor system, including signaling in thin peripheral nerve fibers: Aδ and C fibers. There is preliminary evidence that phase locking LEPs with the breathing cycle can improve the parameters used to evaluate LEPs. Methods: We tested a simple breathing protocol as a low-cost improvement to LEP testing of the hands. Twenty healthy participants all underwent three variants of LEP protocols: following a video-guided twelve-second breathing instruction, watching a nature video, or using the classic LEP method of focusing on the hand being stimulated. Results: The breath protocol produced significantly shorter latencies as compared with the nature or classic protocol. It was also the least prone to artifacts and was deemed most acceptable by the subjects. There was no difference between the protocols regarding LEP amplitudes. Conclusions: Using a breathing video can be a simple, low-cost improvement for LEP testing in research and clinical diagnostics. Full article

Patients with migraine often isolate themselves during their attacks. This disease-related loneliness seems to reverberate interictal, as some patients report failing relationships, losing jobs, or suffering from reduced social contacts. We developed a 10-item self-report questionnaire, the loneliness of migraine scale (LMS), and conducted an online survey. The questionnaire comprised diagnostic questions for migraine, the loneliness of migraine scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), and the Headache Attributed Lost Time Index (HALT-90). We computed item statistics, the psychometric properties of the LMS and assessed correlations between loneliness, migraine days, anxiety, and depression. We included 223 participants with (probable) migraine, reporting 8 ± 6 headache days with a disease duration of 11 ± 11 years. The mean scores of the HALT were 88 ± 52, of the GAD-7 10 ± 5, for PHQ-8 11 ± 6, and of the LMS 28.79 ± 9.72. Cronbach’s alpha for all ten items was 0.929. The loneliness scale correlated with the GAD-7 (r = 0.713, p < 0.001), with the PHQ-8 scale (r = 0.777, p < 0.001) and with migraine days (r = 0.338, p < 0.001). The LMS is a reliable and valid questionnaire measuring the loneliness of migraine patients. Feelings of loneliness were common and correlated highly with migraine days, anxiety, and depression. Full article

In March 2021, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and thrombocytopenia after vaccination with adenovirus-based vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 were first reported. The underlining condition has been termed vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia (VITT). Anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies have been proposed as a central component of the pathomechanism. Treatment recommendations entailed immunomodulation with intravenous immunoglobulins, avoidance of heparins and avoidance of platelet transfusions. Although mortality from VITT-associated cerebral venous sinus thrombosis has decreased over time, it remains high. The aim of this narrative review is to describe different aspects of this disease according to the current state of knowledge. Full article

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), may lead to acute and chronic neurological symptoms (NeuroCOVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 may spread from the respiratory tract to the central nervous system as the central nervous system (CNS) of certain patients dying from COVID-19 shows virus-related neuropathological changes. Moreover, a syndrome found in many patients having passed a SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is termed long COVID and characterized by lasting fatigue and other diverse clinical features, may well have some of its pathological correlates inside the CNS. Although knowledge on the routes of SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion and the pathophysiology of NeuroCOVID have increased, the molecular mechanisms are not yet fully understood. This includes the key question: to understand if observed CNS damage is a direct cause of viral damage or indirectly mediated by an overshooting neuroimmune response. Full article

There is growing awareness that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, even in its mild or moderate respiratory forms, can include long-term neuropsychological deficits. Standardized neuropsychological, psychiatric, neurological, and olfactory tests were administered to 45 patients 236.51 ± 22.54 days after hospital discharge following severe, moderate, or mild respiratory severity from SARS-CoV-2 infection (severe = intensive care unit hospitalization, moderate = conventional hospitalization, mild = no hospitalization). Deficits were found in all domains of cognition, and the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms was relatively high in the three groups. The severe infection group performed more poorly on long-term episodic memory tests and exhibited greater anosognosia than did the other two groups. Those with moderate infection had poorer emotion recognition, which was positively correlated with persistent olfactory dysfunction. Individuals with mild infection were more stressed, anxious, and depressed. The data support the hypothesis that the virus targets the central nervous system (notably the limbic system) and the notion that there are different neuropsychological phenotypes. Full article