Carmen Adella Sirbu

Central Military Emergency University Hospital Bucharest Romania · Neurology

Background The relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse and disease progression remains unclear. Previous studies are limited by small sample sizes and most lack a propensity-matched control cohort. Objective To evaluate the effect of COVID-19 infection on MS disease course with a large...

More and more research in recent years has focused on neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. The hippocampus is a key location of adult neurogenesis. Because this part of the brain is regulated by environmental variables, it must be mentioned the therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative illnesses and brain injuries. Furthermore, this information chal...

BACKGROUND Cerebral amyloidoma, composed of insoluble fibrillary proteins, is one of the rarest forms of amyloid deposition. It resembles a tumor, with a variable clinical presentation that can include vision loss, behavioral changes, cognitive issues, and recurrent headaches. It has a slow evolution pattern, without characteristics of disseminatio...

Stroke–heart syndrome (SHS), a critical yet underrecognized condition, encompasses a range of cardiac complications that arise following an ischemic stroke. This narrative review explores the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and implications of SHS, focusing on the complex interplay between the brain and the heart. Acute ischemic stroke (A...

Background. Primary headaches are comprised of three big categories: migraines (with or without aura), the third most common and the 6th most disabling disease worldwide, tension-headaches, and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, each with different, complex, and not completely understood pathophysiological, clinical, and neuroimagistic characterist...

Introduction: Capecitabine is a chemotherapeutic widely used in current medical practice, quickly replacing 5-Fluorouracil in the treatment of certain cancers. Although it is rarely encountered, neurotoxicity is an adverse effect that should not be neglected, especially if elderly patients are involved. Case: An 82-year-old patient, diagnosed with...

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a pathological condition caused by various microbial agents that can lead to severe complications affecting the heart. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for the effective management of patients with IE. Blood culture is the gold standard for identifying the primary infectious agents, which is a key factor in d...

"Gynecologic cancers are among the most common cancers in women and are a significant cause of mortality in women worldwide. FDG-PET images play a critical role in several areas of oncology and are an essential tool for the diagnosis and staging of gynecologic cancer, providing information about tumor metabolism. Aim: The aim of this study was to i...

"Nutritional interventions in the field of psychiatry have been explored more intensively in the last two decades, but definitive conclusions based on the retrieved data in the literature about the efficacy of this therapeutic approach are difficult to formulate. This observation has multiple explanations, e.g., these therapeutic interventions are...

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and progressive neurological disease, with an important socio-economic burden. Over time, an increased incidence of headaches like migraines and tension headaches has been observed among these patients. Headaches have not been considered as multiple sclerosis-related symptoms, even representing a red flag for multipl...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) has an intricate pathogenesis, with organic and psychosocial factors contributing to the shaping of its clinical manifestations and functional impairment. ED disrupts not only an individual’s sexual life but may also contribute to impairments of self-esteem, social functioning, quality of life, overall well-being, mood, et...

Besides the motor and sensory dysfunction that characterizes multiple sclerosis, during the disease evolution and with the accumulation of new demyelinating lesions in specific areas of the central nervous system, autonomic dysfunction be-comes more prevalent among patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Although not usually addressed, the comp...

The assessment of coping mechanisms in patients diagnosed with oncological diseases is essential for mental health specialists, who have to design the most appropriate case management strategy for comorbid mood disorders, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, and other psychiatric conditions that may be detected in this vulnerable population. Th...

"The conundrum of post-psychotic depression (PPD) is still present in the psychiatric literature, for more than a century since it was first described by Mayer-Gross. After a short existence in the DSM-IV and ICD-10, this nosological construct was excluded from newer versions of the mental disorders classifications. Therefore, an exploratory analys...

Tinnitus and hearing loss are the most common effects of long-term exposure of the hearing system to a noisy environment. Nowadays, due to continuing exposure to noise, an exquisite number of over 430 million individuals worldwide are experiencing hearing deficits, specifically young people aged between 12 and 35 years who are prone to severe heari...

The present study focused on examining the association between the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), a specific form of stroke that affects the brain's vessels and sinuses. While COVID-19 is primarily recognized for its respiratory impact, it may also affect other organs, including the br...

Viral hepatitis continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but the burden has significantly diminished thanks to the large-scale use of vaccines and antivirals. However, there are still challenges regarding viral hepatitis management, especially when more than one pathogenic agent is involved. We present the case of a 4...

Videocapillaroscopy is a simple, non-invasive investigation that allows the “in vivo” study of the nailfold capillaries. This method is inexpensive, easily accepted by patients and the results can be easily interpreted. It is mainly used in patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon and systemic sclerosis, but this examination can also be performed on pati...

We present the case of a 54-year-old male, without any significant medical history, who insidiously developed speech disturbances and walking difficulties, accompanied by backward falls. The symptoms progressively worsened over time. The patient was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, he failed to respond to standard therapy with...

"This article aims to highlight the burnout burden among neurologists and provide information on some of its causes and consequences. We report an original article that reviews our current understanding of burnout matter in the neurology field. The main search engine through which we performed extensive literature research was PubMed, Scopus, and G...

(1) Background: Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis (CVT) rarely appears in the adult population. It is difficult to diagnosis because of its variable clinical presentation and the overlapping signal intensities of thrombosis and venous flow on conventional MR images and MR venograms. (2) Case presentation: A 41-year-old male patient present...

Epilepsy is a common condition worldwide, with approximately 50 million people suffering from it. A single seizure does not mean epilepsy; almost 10% of the population can have a seizure during their lifetime. In particular, there are many other central nervous system disorders other than epilepsy in which seizures occur, either transiently or as a...

Background and aims: Orphan diseases, or rare diseases, are defined in Europe as diseases that affect less than 5 out of every 10,000 citizens. Given the small number of cases and the lack of profit potential, pharmaceutical companies have not invested much in the development of possible treatments. However, over the last few years, new therapies...

"Obesity affects the population worldwide. A hypercaloric diet associated with a sedentary life, stress, and genetic background, triggers various metabolic disorders, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cognitive impairment. A healthy diet correlated with physical ac...

Hypertension poses a significant burden in the general population, being responsible for increasing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, leading to adverse outcomes. Moreover, the association of hypertension with dyslipidaemia, obesity, and insulin resistance, also known as metabolic syndrome, further increases the overall cardiovascular risk of...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) impacted the world and caused the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The clinical manifestations of the virus can vary from patient to patient, depending on their respective immune system and comorbidities. SARS-CoV-2 can affect patients through two mechanisms: directly by...

Introduction. Intracerebral hemorrhages represent the second most frequent, but the most severe form of stroke, with 1 in 3 patients passing away shortly after its debut. Considering these data, it is necessary to identify efficient ways to evacuate intracerebral hematomas and improve their morbidity and mortality, with brain imaging being truly he...

Background: Many neurological manifestations are part of COVID-19 infections, including movement disorders, but a clinical picture closely resembling stiff-person syndrome has not yet been described. Case presentation: We report a case of a stiff-person-like syndrome in the context of COVID-19 infection. A 79-year-old woman, with no prior histor...

In the current conditions, when the aging of the population is a certainty, it is very important that older people continue to have an active, comfortable and independent life for as long as possible. As the accelerated technological progress of recent years, elderly people tend to be isolated, either through self-isolation (inability or disinteres...

Multiple sclerosis is an increasingly prevalent disease, representing the leading cause of non-traumatic neurological disease in Europe and North America. The most common symptoms include gait deficits, balance and coordination impairments, fatigue, spasticity, dysphagia and an overactive bladder. Neurorehabilitation therapeutic approaches aim to a...

It has been almost a decade since the multinodular and vacuolating neuronal tumor (MVNT) was first described. In 2021, WHO classified it as a defined entity, and it is considered one of the glioneuronal and neuronal tumors. Due to its similarities with dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNET), some authors consider it a variant of these, rank...

" Retinal migraine (ophthalmic migraine, ocular migraine, anterior visual pathway migraine) is a rarely encountered medical condition, but with an interesting and complex clinical presentation. The goal of this article is to compile the literature on retinal migraine, detailing nomenclature, pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, and medical inve...

Background: As far as 80% of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience disabling symptoms in the course of the disease, such as spasticity and neuropathic pain. As first-line symptomatic therapy is associated with important adverse reactions, cannabinoids have become increasingly popular among patients with MS. This review intends t...

Background Pseudotumor Cerebri (PC) is defined by an elevated intracranial pressure of unidentified cause, associated with normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition and no cause for hypertension on the neuroimaging evaluations. The symptoms described in association are headache, papilledema, changes in vision, and sometimes tinnitus. Its pathoph...

New scientific evidence raises awareness concerning the human-specific interplay among primary environmental conditions, such as the light–dark cycle, activity–rest alternation, nutritional patterns, and their reflection on the physiological and pathological characteristics that are displayed uniquely by every individual. One of the critical aspect...

Some neurotropic viruses induce specific lesions in the deep structures, such as basal ganglia and thalamus. These anatomical structures play an important role in initiating and maintaining different types of epileptic seizures. We present the case of a 25-year-old male, transferred to our clinic one week after the onset of the symptomatology, with...

Cannabinoids' usefulness in the treatment of neurological disorders (epilepsy, and various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's Disease) has been demonstrated in a growing number of studies. Of the 11 known general types of natural cannabinoids, the focus has been mainly directed at cannabidiol (CBD) due to its spe...

Million people worldwide are affected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The highest incidence of illness was between 1945 and 1975. It was also estimated that 70% of those people were not tested for the disease. Most recent treatment concepts are safe, highly effective and have a vital public health influence by achieving a viral constant response in...

Auto-immune rheumatic diseases are characterised by high levels of inflammation that accelerate the development of atherosclerosis, increasing the cardiovascular risk. Direct evaluation of arteries such as of intima media thickness measurement is a simple test that asesses the cerebral and cardiovascular risk. In the initial stages, an increase of...

Worldwide, adults and childhood obesity are increasing alarmingly, being a major health problem. Obesity is correlated with an increased incidence of various systemic diseases including cancer, heart diseases, and diabetes mellitus type 2. Risk factors for obesity are dysbiosis, genetic, socioeconomic, behavioural and environmental. The gut microbi...

Background and aims: Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system, whose treatment often involves the use of monoclonal antibodies. This can lead to a series of complications that the clinician should pay attention to and accordingly adjust the therapy. We aim to emphasize real-life experiences with adverse cutaneous reactions to...

Air pollution is a real public health problem, it being one of the five most common causes of mortality in developing countries. However, pollution studies have focused on the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems in recent decades. Recently, researchers have moved towards a new direction, tracing a direct link between pollution and stroke. Stroke h...

Background: Prevention of disability over the long-term is the main treatment goal in multiple sclerosis (MS), however, randomized clinical trials evaluate only short-term treatment effects on disability. This study aimed to define criteria for 6-month confirmed disability progression events of MS with a high probability of resulting in sustained...

The COVID-19 disease, caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, rapidly transformed into a pandemic following its emergence, and it continues to affect the population at a global level. This disease is associated with high mortality rates and mainly affects the pulmonary spectrum, with signs of interstitial pneumonia or other pathological modifications....

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) commonly associated with cognitive complaints. To bring out the neuropsychological symptomatology inherent to ME/CFS, we conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines of the literature through the analysis of 764 studies published between 1988 and 2019 by using Pub...

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease, characterized by the appearance of demyelinating lesions with inflammatory character in the CNS. Given the unpredictable evolution of the disease, numerous attempts have been initiated to find some pathogenic factors and by default targeted treatment methods. The intestinal microbiota of these pat...

Cerebral venous thrombosis accounts for 0.5–1% of all cerebrovascular events and is one type of stroke that affects the veins and cerebral sinuses. Females are more affected than males, as they may have risk factors, such as pregnancy, first period after pregnancy, treatment with oral contraceptives treatment with hormonal replacement, or hereditar...

Background: Secondary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) due to interferon beta-1a intramuscular (im) treatment is an uncommon adverse effect with only a few cases in multiple sclerosis patients reported worldwide. TTP together with haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) are classic forms of thrombotic microangiopathy, characterized by small-vess...

It is a well-known fact that disruptions in the immune system and systemic inflammation are associated with accelerated atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), a major pro-inflammatory cytokine, are involved in endothelial cell activation of medium and large arteries, leading to inc...

Afecțiunile vasculare cerebrale, fie că se produc prin întreruperea fluxului sangvin cerebral, fie prin ruperea unui vas, pot duce la disabilități fizice sau psihice cu consecințe nefaste atât asupra individului în cauză, cât și asupra familiei și societății. Conform statisticilor Organizației Mondiale a Sănătății, AVC- ul repre‑ zintă a doua c...

BACKGROUND A rare pathology, multinodular and vacuolating neuronal tumors (MVNT) have been first described in 2013 and included in the 2016 World Health Organization Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System as having a distinctive radiological and cytoarchitectural appearance. This study aims to evaluate the imaging features of MVNT,...

BACKGROUND Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a rare entity, characterized by rigidity or stiffness of the muscles. It is usually autoimmune, but it can also appear as a paraneoplastic (5%) or cryptogenic disorder. This study aims to establish a potential connection between what appears to be a partial SPS, an advanced HIV infection, and a primary cent...

Sleep disturbances in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are not well understood. The restless legs syndrome (RLS) is one of the frequent occurring sleep disturbances in SLE. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of RLS and its characteristics in SLE. We evaluated, in a prospective case-control study, 26 patients with SLE and 26 pati...

Designed by a group of ME/CFS researchers and health professionals, the European Network on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (EUROMENE) has received funding from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)—COST action 15111—from 2016 to 2020. The main goal of the Cost Action was to assess the existing knowledge and e...

Objective To test the hypothesis that immunotherapy prevents long-term disability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, we modelled disability outcomes in 14,717 patients. Methods We studied patients from MSBase followed for ≥1 year, with ≥3 visits, ≥1 visit per year and exposed to a multiple sclerosis therapy, and a subset of patients with ≥...

SARS-CoV-2 infections raise many practical concerns in a woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) during the perinatal period. On the other hand, the impact of COVID-19 on patients with MS and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is unknown. We report on a female patient who was treated with interferon beta 1a (IFNB-1a) for many years for relapsing-remitti...

Medical research continues to focus on developing specific treatment strategies, including biological products that are effective and have a good safety profile. Due to their novelty, an updated overall view is offered on some neurological diseases which benefit from monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), for better treatment in clinical decisions. An exten...

Objective: Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVAs) represent the second most prominent cause of death globally, surpassed only by ischemic heart diseases, thus constituting a significant economic burden for healthcare systems. Despite this, little is known about the correlation between the different times of the year and intracerebral hemorrhages. This re...

Colaborarea interdisciplinară este indispensabilă mai ales astăzi când vorbim de „numerele mari“, inteligența artificială, iar explozia informațională ne copleșește, fiindu-ne tot mai greu să ținem pasul cu noutățile medicale. Munca în echipă este superioară muncii individuale în majoritatea domeniilor. Învățăm de la celulele lumii vii, care lucrea...

Postfață „Înainte de a face ceva perfect, fă ceva perfectibil.“ Acesta este un alt proiect important, ca și ultimele două monografii publicate: Vademecum în cariera medicală apărută în 2016 la Editura Universitară, și Nursing în neurologie, lansată un an mai târziu la Editura Hamangiu. Ambele au constituit premiere în literatura de specialitate din...

Infections are an ever-present problem in the medical community, even more so for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), for whom these infections have been linked to relapses and neurological disabilities. Even though it was believed that MS can be caused by an infection, research does not support this theory. MS is a chronic inflammatory disease...

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by impairment in reasoning, affectivity and social relationships. Although the diagnosis of schizophrenia in children and adolescents has been challenged for many years, at present childhood-onset schizophrenia is considered and accepted as a clinical and biological continuum with the ad...

Multiple sclerosis, demyelinating, inflammatory, degenerative, and chronic disease, raises many challenges in terms of disease management. The autonomic nervous system is affected by neuroinflammation but also contributes to its maintenance and the evolution of the disease. Multiple sclerosis interfering with parasympathetic or sympathetic modulati...

For multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease, long-term monitoring, persistence, adherence, and safety profile of drugs are important factors for the therapeutic efficacy and quality of life. This study is valuable in this regard, determining the potential factors that contribute to persistence on therapy. Our study aimed to evaluate the persistence t...

The role of interferon β-1b (IFNβ-1b), used for multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy, in cancer occurrence is uncertain. There is evidence supporting the role of human herpesvirus 4 [Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)] in thyroid cancer and MS. Simultaneous occurrence of papillary and medullary carcinomas is rare, and its association with MS in a young woman rais...

With its increasing incidence in younger population and as a leading cause of disability, ischemic stroke represents a real public health problem. This chapter aims to evaluate the most common risk factors and causes for ischemic stroke in the young. Though some are identical to those found in older patients, most of them are specific to this popul...

In this paper, we reported on four cases of severe pulmonary active tuberculosis in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) undergoing interferon beta-1b (IFNβ-1b) therapy. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in MS may increase the risk of developing active tuberculosis (TB) due to their impact on cellular immunity. Screening for latent infection with...

Background Epidermoid cysts are rare benign neoplasms within the neuroaxis and account for less than 1% of all intraspinal tumors. They can be congenital or acquired. Being a slow growing tumor, the clinical presentation is widely variable depending on the location, size or age of the patient. Objectives Due to the rarity of this entity, the diagn...

The aim of this study was to determine the physiological and biochemical effects of chronic exposure to whole body vibration on the lipid metabolism in 20 healthy young adults (mean age 23.6±2.33 years). Each subject was exposed 3 times per week for a total of 6 weeks, in sessions of 15 minutes, at diagonal stimuli, at 25 Hz, on a vibration platfor...

ME/CFS is a chronic, complex, multisystem disease that often limits the health and functioning of the affected patients. Diagnosing patients with ME/CFS is a challenge, and many different case definitions exist and are used in clinical practice and research. Even after diagnosis, medical treatment is very challenging. Symptom relief and coping may...

Background The Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS) is a widely used measure of the disability progression rate. However, the global MSSS may not be the best basis for comparison between all patient groups. Objective We evaluated sex-specific and onset phenotype–specific MSSS matrices to determine if they were more effective than the global MS...

Objective Whether immunotherapy improves long-term disability in multiple sclerosis has not been satisfactorily demonstrated. This study examined the effect of immunotherapy on long-term disability outcomes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Methods We studied patients from MSBase followed for ≥1 year, with ≥3 visits, ≥1 visit per year and...

The aetiology of ischemic vascular stroke (IVS) is various, the most common cause being cardioembolic, and anticoagulation treatment plays an essential role in the prevention of cerebral ischemic events. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the pathological condition requiring long-term anticoagulant therapy for preventive purposes, both primary and seconda...

Abstract: P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a transmembrane efflux pump, part of the ABC transporters family (ATP-binding cassette) playing an important role in the absorption (intestine), distribution (CNS and white blood cells) and elimination (liver, kidney) of xenobiotics, as well as endogenous products, present in various cell types. The clinical signi...

Abstract Objectives To compare treatment persistence between two dosages of interferon β-1a in a large observational multiple sclerosis registry and assess disease outcomes of first line MS treatment at these dosages using propensity scoring to adjust for baseline imbalance in disease characteristics. Methods Treatment discontinuations were evaluat...

Abstract: Ebstein disease is a congenital heart abnormality characterized by abnormal low insertion to the right ventricular apex of the tricuspid valve. It is often associated with an atrial septal defect, in which case there is a communication between right and left cavities of the heart that favours paradoxical embolism, an important risk factor...