Background: The multifocality and multicentrality of breast cancer (MFMCC) are the significant aspects that determine a specialist’s choice between applying breast-conserving therapy (BCT) or performing a mastectomy. This study aimed to assess the usefulness of mammography (MG), contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women diagnosed with breast cancer before qualifying for surgical intervention to visualize other (additional) cancer foci. Methods: The study included 60 breast cancer cases out of 630 patients initially who underwent surgery due to breast cancer from January 2015 to April 2019. MG, CESM, and MRI were compared with each other in terms of the presence of MFMCC and assessed for compliance with the postoperative histopathological examination (HP). Results: Histopathological examination confirmed the presence of MFMCC in 33/60 (55%) patients. The sensitivity of MG in detecting MFMCC was 50%, and its specificity was 95.83%. For CESM, the sensitivity was 85.29%, and the specificity was 96.15%. For MRI, all the above-mentioned parameters were higher as follows: sensitivity—91.18%; specificity—92.31%. Conclusions: In patients with MFMCC, both CESM and MRI are highly sensitive in the detection of additional cancer foci. Both CESM and MRI change the extent of surgical intervention in every fourth patient.

One modern imaging technique used in the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease (CD) is sonoelastrography of the intestine. Guidelines regarding the use of bowel sonoelastography in CD have still not been specified. The aim of our research was to conduct a systematic review of the use of sonoelastography in the diagnosis, assessment, and monitoring of strictures in the course of CD. A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines statement. The following databases were searched in January 2021: MEDINE via PubMed, Embase and Scopus. The search utilised the following MeSH tags: ‘Ultrasound Shear Wave’, ‘Elastography’, ‘elastogram’, ‘elastographies’ AND ‘Crohn disease’. The inclusion criteria were as follows: from 2010 or later, articles with abstracts, articles in English, human-based studies and original articles. Articles were assessed independently by two reviewers. Out of 181 articles, only 15 met the criteria and were included in the review. Due to a small number of studies and significant methodological differences, the feasibility of using sonoelastography for Crohn’s disease must be proven through further research and analysis. In the future, standardised assessment criteria and cut-off points should be established for both strain elastography (SE) and shear wave elastography (SWE).

Background and Objectives: A growing number of studies correlated higher levels of serum uric acid (UA) with both: lower risk of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) occurrence and slower progression of the disease. Similar conclusions were made where studies correlated UA with atypical Parkinsonisms (AP) progression. A few researchers have studied the issue of the influence of serum UA on the occurrence of non-motor symptoms (NMS) in PD and AP. Our systematic review is the first review completely dedicated to this matter. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive evaluation of the literature was performed to review the relationship between UA and NMS in PD and AP. The systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA Statement guidelines. The following databases were searched starting in April 2021: MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. During the research, the following filters were used: >2010, articles in English, concerning humans. The study was not registered and received no external funding. Results: Seven articles meeting all inclusion criteria were included in this study. Collectively, data on 1104 patients were analyzed. A correlation between serum UA concentration and a few NMS types has been provided by the analyzed studies. In four papers, sleep disorders and fatigue were related to UA for both advanced and early PD. Other commonly appearing NMS domains were Attention/memory (4 studies), Depression/anxiety (3 studies), Cardiovascular (3 studies), Gastrointestinal (1 study), Perceptual (1 study), and Miscellaneous (1 study). For AP, no significant correlation between UA and worsening of NMS has been found. Conclusions: Based on the analyzed studies, a correlation between serum UA level and the occurrence and worsening of NMS in PD and APs cannot be definitively determined. Large-scale studies with a more diverse patient population and with more accurate methods of NMS assessment in Parkinsonism are needed.

Background and Objectives: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the world. It is characterized by the presence of not only typical motor symptoms but also several less known and aware non-motor symptoms (NMS). The group of disorders included in the NMS is Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs). ICDs are a group of disorders in which patients are unable to resist temptations and feel a strong, pressing desire for specific activities such as gambling, hypersexuality, binge eating, and compulsive buying. The occurrence of ICDs is believed to be associated primarily with dopaminergic treatment, with the use of dopamine agonists (DA), and to a lesser extent with high doses of L-dopa. The aim of our study was to develop a profile of Polish ICDs patients and assess the frequency of occurrence of ICDs, as well as determine the risk factors associated with these disorders against the background of the PD population from other countries. Materials and Methods: Our prospective study included 135 patients with idiopathic PD who were hospitalized between 2020 and 2022 at the Neurological Department of University Central Hospital in Katowice. In the assessment of ICDs, we used the Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson’s Disease (QUIP). Other scales with which we assessed patients with PD were as follows: MDS-UPDRS part III and modified Hoehn–Yahr staging. Clinical data on age, gender, disease duration and onset, motor complications, and medications were collected from electronic records. Results: ICDs were detected in 27.41% of PD patients (binge eating in 12.59%, hypersexuality in 11.11%, compulsive buying in 10.37%, and pathological gambling occurred in only 5.19% of patients. In total, 8.89% had two or more ICDs). The major finding was that ICDs were more common in patients taking DA than in those who did not use medication from this group (83.78% vs. 54.07%, respectively; p = 0.0015). Patients with ICDs had longer disease duration, the presence of motor complications, and sleep disorders. An important finding was also a very low detection of ICDs in a routine medical examination; only 13.51% of all patients with ICDs had a positive medical history of this disorder. Conclusions: ICDs are relatively common in the population of Polish PD patients. The risk factors for developing ICDs include longer duration of the disease, presence of motor complications, sleep disorders, and use of DA and L-dopa. Due to the low detectability of ICDs in routine medical history, it is essential for physicians to pay more attention to the possibility of the occurrence of these symptoms, especially in patients with several risk factors. Further prospective studies on a larger group of PD patients are needed to establish a full profile of Polish PD patients with ICDs.

Background: Evaluating the tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is key to planning further therapy of breast cancer. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of low-energy and subtraction contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) images in the detection of complete response (CR) for neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer. Methods: A total of 63 female patients were qualified for our retrospective analysis. Low-energy and subtraction CESM images just before the beginning of NAC and as a follow-up examination 2 weeks before the end of chemotherapy were compared with one another and assessed for compliance with the postoperative histopathological examination (HP). The response to preoperative chemotherapy was evaluated based on the RECIST 1.1 criteria (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors). Results: Low-energy images tend to overestimate residual lesions (6.28 mm) and subtraction images tend to underestimate them (2.75 mm). The sensitivity of low-energy images in forecasting CR amounted to 33.33%, while the specificity was 92.86%. In the case of subtraction CESM, the sensitivity amounted to 85.71% and the specificity to 71.42%. Conclusions: CESM is characterized by high sensitivity in the assessment of CR after NAC. The use of only morphological assessment is insufficient. CESM correlates well with the size of residual lesions on histopathological examination but tends to underestimate the dimensions.