Ewa Krzystanek - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ewa Krzystanek

Nutrients

Current data emphasize the immunomodulating role of vitamin D in enhancing the anti-inflammatory ... more Current data emphasize the immunomodulating role of vitamin D in enhancing the anti-inflammatory response. Vitamin D deficiency is an established risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis—the autoimmune demyelinating and degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Several studies confirmed that higher vitamin D serum level is associated with better clinical and radiological outcomes in patients with multiple sclerosis, whereas vitamin D supplementation benefits in multiple sclerosis remain inconclusive. Despite that, many experts suggest regular measurements of vitamin D serum levels and supplementation in patients with multiple sclerosis. In this study, 133 patients with multiple sclerosis (relapsing–remitting subtype) were prospectively observed in a 0-, 12- and 24-month time span in a clinical setting. The study group consisted of 71.4% of patients (95 out of 133) supplementing vitamin D. The associations between vitamin D serum levels, clinical outcomes (disability s...

Polski Przegląd Neurologiczny

The attractiveness of the human face plays an essential role in mating as it may signal the genet... more The attractiveness of the human face plays an essential role in mating as it may signal the genetic suitability of a mate. The controversial ‘ovulatory shift hypothesis’ postulates that women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle would prefer faces of masculine men with high testosterone that signals ‘good genes’, whereas in the non-fertile phase they prefer traits signaling the willingness to provide parental care. To examine relationships between men’s testosterone and women’s preferences for men’s faces on day 13 of the menstrual cycle, 19 young women rated the attractiveness of images of the natural faces of 77 young men. Using advanced Bayesian multilevel modeling we showed that the attractiveness of men’s faces is significantly lower in men with a high concentration of serum total testosterone, even taking into account the concentration of serum estrogen in the raters. The average men’s face composited from images of 39 faces rated above pool median attractiveness rate, ...

Oncology in Clinical Practice

Treatment in oncology may lead to several adverse side effects, including those affecting the ner... more Treatment in oncology may lead to several adverse side effects, including those affecting the nervous system. These side effects may reduce the quality of life of patients, both during and after treatment, and may necessitate changes in the treatment regimen or reduction of drug doses, thus reducing the effectiveness of therapy. The knowledge of therapy-induced side effects is essential for their early recognition and differentiation from symptoms resulting from the progression of neoplastic disease, metabolic disorders, or infections, requiring prompt initiation of causal treatment. This article presents the current state of knowledge regarding central and peripheral neurotoxicity of treatment in oncology. Adverse effects described after chemo-and radiotherapy are better known but still limit the potential possibilities of the applied treatment. Neurotoxicities of targeted therapy and immunotherapy, which are of increasing importance in the era of personalization of treatment, are presented.

Frontiers in Neurology

Background and ObjectivesSince vaccination against COVID-19 is available for over a year and the ... more Background and ObjectivesSince vaccination against COVID-19 is available for over a year and the population of immunized individuals with autoimmune disorders is higher than several months before, an evaluation of safety and registered adverse events can be made. We conducted a large study of side effects following the COVID-19 vaccine among patients with multiple (MS) sclerosis treated with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and analyzed factors predisposing for particular adverse events.MethodsWe gathered data of individuals with MS treated with DMTs from 19 Polish MS Centers, who reported at least one adverse event following COVID-19 vaccination. The information was obtained by neurologists using a questionnaire. The same questionnaire was used at all MS Centers. To assess the relevance of reported adverse events, we used Fisher's exact test, t-test, and U-Menn-Whutney test.ResultsA total of 1,668 patients with MS and reports of adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination were ...

Vaccines

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous syst... more Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, affecting around 2.8 million people worldwide. Patients’ knowledge about COVID-19 infection, and their proper protective actions, may reduce the risk of infection. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of patients with MS about SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 illness, the relationship between MS and COVID-19, willingness to be vaccinated, and the impact of the pandemic on MS care. An original, anonymous, 35-items, self-reported questionnaire was used in both web-based and on-site survey formats. Two-hundred and forty-eight questionnaires were analyzed (mean age 40.8 ± 10.6 years, 77.8% women). Participants reported the use of multiple sources of information, and the most common were websites (77.8%) and television (59.3%). The majority of participants knew the correct symptoms of COVID-19 or transmission routes (94.4%), and accepted the pandemic’s restrictions (96.8%). A total of 93...

Psychiatria Polska, 2021

Cel pracyCel badania: Celem badania była analiza konsultacji psychiatrycznych u pacjentów Oddział... more Cel pracyCel badania: Celem badania była analiza konsultacji psychiatrycznych u pacjentów Oddziału Neurologii i Oddziału Udarowego (ON/OU) w latach 2017-2018.MetodaDokonano retrospektywnej analizy konsultowanych psychiatrycznie chorych, ustalanych przez konsultanta rozpoznań (wg ICD-10) oraz zalecanej terapii.WynikiW analizowanym okresie odbyło się we wszystkich oddziałach szpitala 719 konsultacji psychiatrycznych, zdecydowana większość, tj. 488 (67,87%) odbyła się w oddziale neurologii i oddziałem udarowym. Najwięcej porad psychiatry wymagali pacjenci z rozpoznaniem choroby Huntingtona (n=25; 37,31%), choroby Parkinsona (n=60; 23,9%) oraz padaczki (n=40; 22,73%). Najczęściej stawianą diagnozą były psychiczne zaburzenia organiczne (n=229; 55,85%), a w szczególności organiczne zaburzenia nastroju (n=73; 14,96%) i organiczne zaburzenia lękowe (n=32; 6,56%), zaś w chorobach naczyniowych - zaburzenia świadomości w przebiegu majaczenia (n=30; 40,54%). Większość konsultacji (n=388; 79,51%...

Healthcare, 2021

Background: Staying at home for long periods and limiting various types of activities and social ... more Background: Staying at home for long periods and limiting various types of activities and social contacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have negative consequences for health. This is especially true for people suffering from chronic diseases, in whom an appropriate level of activity and social contacts delay the progress of the disease. This group includes people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease—PD. Aim: It was decided to investigate the effect of COVID-19 isolation related to self-assessment of physical fitness, physical activity, and the level of anxiety and depression in people with PD. Methods: The study included 30 patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. We compared the results of the pre-pandemic questionnaire and the telephone interview with the same questions—after the period of isolation due to COVID-19. The questionnaire included questions about physical activity and fitness self-assessment. The level of affective disorders was tested using HADS. Results: There w...

Medicina, 2021

Background and Objectives: Carotid web (CaW) is an intimal variant of fibromuscular dysplasia and... more Background and Objectives: Carotid web (CaW) is an intimal variant of fibromuscular dysplasia and may constitute as one of rare causes of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of CaW in patients with AIS or transient ischemic attack (TIA) based on head/neck CT angiography (CTA) in a Polish cohort study. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was performed by analyzing 1480 electronic clinical and imaging data regarding patients with AIS or TIA, hospitalized in the years 2018–2020 in the authors’ institution. The final sample consisted of 181 patients who underwent head/neck CTA; aged 67.81 ± 13.51 years (52% were women). All head/neck CTA studies were independently evaluated by two radiologists. The patient’s clinical condition was assessed with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS, 5.76 ± 4.05 and 2.88 ± 3.38 at admission and at discharge, respectively). Results: 27 patients were identified with CaW. The prev...

The Neuroradiology Journal, 2020

We present a case of a fatal cerebral haemorrhage in an 82-year-old male patient with coronavirus... more We present a case of a fatal cerebral haemorrhage in an 82-year-old male patient with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), who was taking prophylactic oral anticoagulation because of atrial fibrillation (rivaroxaban 20 mg q.d. for two years). On admission, the patient was deeply comatose, mechanically ventilated, with tachycardia up to 150 bpm, high blood pressure >210/120 mmHg and a body temperature >39°C. A computed tomography scan of the head showed a large intracerebral haemorrhage located in the deep structures of the right hemisphere, with a mass effect and bleeding to the ventricles. Rivaroxaban was discontinued at admission. The patient tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but he did not have typical symptoms of pneumonia. In the following days, the patient’s neurological condition did not improve, and a fever of up to 40°C and abnormal coagulation parameters remained resistant to pharmacotherapy. The patient developed multi...

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2020

Membrane phospholipase D (PLD) is associated with numerous neuronal functions, such as axonal gro... more Membrane phospholipase D (PLD) is associated with numerous neuronal functions, such as axonal growth, synaptogenesis, formation of secretory vesicles, neurodegeneration, and apoptosis. PLD acts mainly on phosphatidylcholine, from which phosphatidic acid (PA) and choline are formed. In turn, PA is a key element of the PLD-dependent secondary messenger system. Changes in PLD activity are associated with the mechanism of action of olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of short-term administration of the first-generation antipsychotic drugs haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and fluphenazine on membrane PLD activity in the rat brain. Animals were sacrificed for a time equal to the half-life of the antipsychotic drug in the brain, then the membranes in which PLD activity was determined were isolated from the tissue. The results indicate that only haloperidol in a higher dose increases the activity of phospholipase D. Such a mechanism of ac...

Brain Sciences, 2020

Background and objectives: Stroke is the third most common cause of mortality in developed countr... more Background and objectives: Stroke is the third most common cause of mortality in developed countries and the primary cause of neurological disability in adults. Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator administered intravenously within 4.5 h from the onset of symptoms constitutes a gold standard in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. Prompt hospital admission is the prerequisite of effective thrombolysis. Therefore, stroke awareness in the general population is the key factor in timely recognition of the acute stroke victims and determines proper actions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the awareness of stroke in the general population of the Silesian voivodeship, the most populated region of Poland. We assessed also the “adequate knowledge of stroke”, a combined measure of the optimal level of stroke awareness, as a prerequisite for effective stroke management, and aimed to identify most impacting factor for adequate stoke knowledge, to help shaping educat...

Arterial Hypertension, 2000

Background 2-aryliminoimidazolines constitute a valuable class of centrally acting antihypertensi... more Background 2-aryliminoimidazolines constitute a valuable class of centrally acting antihypertensive drugs. The aim of our studies was to evaluate effects of some analogues of clonidine and lofexidine on the arterial blood pressure and heart rate in Wistar rats following i.v. administration. Material and methods Effects of a-hydroxy (1a-g) and 2-amino (2a-d) analogues of clonidine and N-benzyl-N-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-methoxylamine (3) on the mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were determined in normotensive, male Wistar rats weighting 220-370 g. The experiments were performed using animals anaesthetized with urethane and tracheotomized. Results Compounds 1a-g showed hypotensive activity accompained by a positive chronotropic effect with 1b being the most active (ED50 = 0,17 and 0,145 mg/kg respectively). Among the 2-amino-phenyliminoimidazolines of type 2, the more hydrophilic 2a and 2b exhibited relatively weak hypotensive effects, while the more hydrophobic analogues 2c and 2d were shown to possess remarkable hypertensive activities at doses 0,25 mg/kg. X-ray crystal structure analysis of the thiocyanate salt 2e confirmed geometrical features required for good ligand interaction at the a 2-adrenergic receptors. On the other hand, N-benzyl-N-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)methoxylamine 3 was not active at doses up to 2 mg/kg. Conclusions The introduction of the hydroxyl group on the exocyclic nitrogen atom of 2-aryliminoimidazolines afforded compounds retaining much of the hypotensive activity. On the other hand, cardiovascular activity of the analogues containing 2-amino substituent at the phenyl ring depends strongly on their lipophilic character. It can be presumed that penetration of the more lipophilic 2c and 2d into the CNS enables these compounds to block a 2-adrenergic receptors which results in an increased blood pressure. key words: 2-imidazolines, X-ray structure analysis, arterial blood pressure, heart rate