Introduction: Thalassemia major (TM) experiences a high rate of psychiatric problems, with frequent occurrences of depression and anxiety as well as a high incidence of insomnia. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the severity of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, sleep quality, and fatigue and explore the relationship between sleep quality and laboratory parameters. Methods: Twenty-eight patients and 37 healthy volunteers were included. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Fatigue Severity Scale were used. Results: We found 46.43% of TM patients had depression, 78.5% had mild anxiety, and 3.57% had severe anxiety. ISI score (p = 0.027), ISI subthreshold insomnia percentage (p = 0.027), PSQI global score (p = 0.002), PSQI insomnia percentage (p = 0.025), PSQI subjective sleep quality (p = 0.008), PSQI sleep latency (p = 0.003), fatigue score (p = 0.026), and chronic fatigue (p = 0.037) percentage were significantly higher in the patients group than in the controls group. Ferritin was positively correlated with PSQI subjective sleep quality (r = 0.478, p = 0.010) and fatigue score (r = 0.427, p = 0.023). Heart involvement in magnetic resonance imaging was positively correlated with ISI score (r = 0.426, p = 0.024) and ISI classification (r = 0.455, p = 0.015). Discussion: Depression and anxiety were significantly higher in TM patients compared to healthy controls. Chronic fatigue and insomnia were more common in TM patients, with subjective sleep quality being impaired and sleep latency prolonged. Furthermore, it was observed that individuals with higher ferritin levels had higher scores of subjective sleep quality and fatigue. Additionally, as cardiac involvement increased, severity of insomnia also increased.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction plays a critical role in ischemic stroke. The Endothelial Activation and Stress Index (EASIX), calculated from creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and platelet levels, reflects endothelial injury. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between EASIX and 90-day mortality in patients with posterior circulation ischemic stroke (PCIS) treated with mechanical thrombectomy. Methods: Fifty-eight patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent mechanical thrombectomy (MT) or MT combined with intravenous thrombolysis (intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)) for posterior circulation ischemic stroke (PCIS) were included. EASIX was calculated using 24 h laboratory values of creatinine, LDH, and platelets. Its association with 90-day mortality, length of hospital stay, intubation, and parenchymal hemorrhage was analyzed. Results: In patients receiving reperfusion therapy, the Endothelial Activation and Stress Index (EASIX) showed modest ability to predict 90-day mortality (AUC = 0.583, 95% CI 0.428–0.739, p = 0.295). Higher EASIX values were linked to a 6.58-fold increase in mortality risk. Patients with elevated EASIX were generally older, had more frequent hyperlipidemia, had higher 24 h National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, had greater need for intubation, and had higher in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: EASIX is a simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive marker that may reflect endothelial dysfunction and help predict mortality in PCIS patients undergoing reperfusion therapy. Higher EASIX values are associated with poorer prognosis. Early identification of high-risk patients may support secondary prevention strategies.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and probable sarcopenia (PS) frequently coexist in older adults, yet the relationship between PS, non-motor symptoms, and functional outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between PS and non-motor symptoms in patients with PD and to examine how PS relates to mobility and falls. Ninety-three participants aged ≥ 65 years were evaluated (50 PD; 43 controls). PS was defined according to EWGSOP2 based on handgrip strength. Frailty, nutritional status, functional performance, gait speed, fall history, and depressive symptoms were assessed in all participants, while PD patients additionally completed the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire and Falls Efficacy Scale. The prevalence of PS in PD was 60%. Patients with PS demonstrated higher non-motor symptom scores, poorer nutritional status, greater frailty, reduced mobility, and more frequent dysphagia and orthostatic symptoms than those without PS. In univariable analyses, age, non-motor symptom burden, and orthostatic symptoms were associated with PS. In multivariable logistic regression, the Clinical Frailty Scale (OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.06–5.87) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.97) remained independently associated with PS. Probable sarcopenia is common in PD and is strongly linked to frailty, nutritional status, non-motor symptoms, and mobility limitations. Early identification of PS may help detect individuals at increased risk of functional decline and falls.

Objectives: Migraine is a complex neurological disease. In addition to headache, individuals with migraine may develop structural changes inside the brain and cognitive impairment. There is increased evidence associated with impairments in brain volume and cognitive functions in patients with migraine. The present study aimed to investigate the impairment in memory function in individuals with migraine using brain magnetic resonance imaging, volume measurement, and neuropsychological tests. Methods: The study included 20 patients with episodic migraine, 20 patients with chronic migraine, and 20 healthy controls. Subcortical volumes of all participants were measured by FreeSurfer, an automatic segmentation method. The Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised Form (WMS-R), Stroop test, Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices, Verbal Fluency Test, and Lines Orientation Test were applied in all the study participants. Results: Putamen volume decreased as migraine duration increased, and subcortical gray matter, left cerebellar cortex, and bilateral thalamus volumes were lower in the chronic and episodic group compared to the control group, bilateral putamen and right cerebellar cortex volumes were lower in patients with chronic migraine compared to patients in episodic migraine and control groups. Upon neuropsychological examination, delayed memory was affected as the duration of migraine increased, and there was impairment in patients with chronic migraine upon fluency tests and mental control tests. Conclusions: Changes in subcortical volume and cognitive effects in patients with migraine raise questions about whether migraine qualifies as a benign disease. Structural changes and cognitive impairment may contribute to migraine-associated disability, and therefore, these causalities should be investigated by future studies. Silent infarcts, white matter damage, and cortical spreading depression, which occur in migraine cases, may be associated with subcortical volume changes and thus, cognitive effects. In the context, studies with larger samples to achieve a better understanding are needed.

Purpose: Migraine is a complex neurological disease in which neuroinflammation plays a role in its pathophysiology. The Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII) defined as [platelet count × neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio] is a parameter that can be used to indicate systemic inflammation during the course of the disease. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between systemicinflammation and migraine-related disability, assessed by the Migraine Disability Assessment Test (MIDAS), in patients with chronic migraine (CM).Materials and Methods: The study included 71 patients with chronic migraine (CM) and 63 healthy controls aged 18–60 years. Demographic characteristics, migraine attack duration, migraine disease duration, pain intensity assessed by the visual analogue scale (VAS), and migraine-related disability scores were recorded. Inflammatory parameters, including the Systemic ImmuneInflammation Index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and platelet-to-neutrophil ratio (PNR), were compared between the groups. In addition, the relationships between these inflammatory parameters and MIDAS scores, VAS scores, migraine duration, and attack duration were analyzed.Results: In this study, lymphocyte counts were higher in patients with chronic migraine (CM), whereas haemoglobin levels were lower in patients with migraine with aura. No significant correlation was found between MIDAS scores and NLR, PLR, PNR, or SII. However, NLR and SII values were found to increase with increasing pain duration in patients with CM.Conclusion: Although the Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII) is an easily accessible and inexpensive marker of systemic inflammation, it was not associated with migraine-related disability assessed by the Migraine Disability Assessment Test (MIDAS) in patients with chronic migraine. Further large-scale and prospective studies are needed to clarify the role of SII in chronic migraine.