Jerzy Leszek

• M.D, PhD
• Head of Department at Wroclaw Medical University

VEXAS syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), though distinct in clinical manifestations, share overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms, including systemic inflammation, protein misfolding, and vascular dysfunction. VEXAS syndrome, a rare autoinflammatory disorder characterized by somatic UBA1 mutations, systemic inflammation, and hematologic abno...

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a vital challenge in psychiatry, affecting a significant number of patients with major depressive disorder. Current pharmacological approaches often do not provide sufficient therapeutic results, prompting the need for innovative treatments. This review summarizes recent advances in TRD management, inclu...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Pathological deposits of neurotoxin proteins within the brain, such as amyloid-β and hyperphosphorylated tau tangles, are prominent features in AD. The prion protein (PrP) is involved in neurodegeneration via its conversion from the normal cellular form (PrPC) to the infection...

Endometriosis is a widely spread disease that affects about 8% of the world’s female population. This condition may be described as a spread of endometrial tissue apart from the uterine cavity, but this process’s pathomechanism is still unsure. Apart from classic endometriosis symptoms, which are pelvic pain, infertility, and bleeding problems, the...

The human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are ancient exogenous retroviruses that were embedded in the germline over 30 million years ago and underwent an endogenization process. They make up roughly 8% of the human genome. HERVs exhibit many physiological and non-physiological functions; for example, they play a role in the development of many dis...

Dendrimers are covalently bonded globular nanostructures that may be used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Nowadays, AD therapies are focused on improving cognitive functioning and not causal treatment. However, this may change with the use of dendrimers, which are being investigated as a drug-delivery system or as a drug per se. With...

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia globally. The pathogenesis is multifactorial and includes deposition of amyloid-β in the central nervous system, presence of intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles and a decreased amount of synapses. It remains uncertain what causes the progression of the disease. Nowadays, it is suggested tha...

Introduction: HIV is a severe and incurable disease that has a devastating impact worldwide. It affects the immune system and negatively affects the nervous system, leading to various cognitive and behavioral problems. Scientists are actively exploring different therapeutic approaches to combat these issues. One promising method is transcranial dir...

Women have an over 50% greater risk of dementia than men, which is a main topic of much research. This review aims to investigate the impact of a woman’s reproductive history on dementia risk. The consequences of stillbirth are long-term health and psychosocial problems for women. Because of the awareness of an endangered pregnancy, many parents ex...

Introduction: Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder among those contributing to the development of obesity, and thus acts as a significant burden on the lives and health of patients. It is characterized by complex neurobiology, which includes changes in brain activity and neurotransmitter secretion. Existing treatments are...

This editorial investigates chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) as a course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). CTE is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that is the result of repeated mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many epidemiological studies show that experiencing a TBI in early or middle life is associated with an increased risk of dement...

Introduction: Methamphetamine is a highly stimulating psychoactive drug that causes life-threatening addictions and affects millions of people around the world. Its effects on the brain are complex and include disturbances in the neurotransmitter systems and neurotoxicity. There are several known treatment methods, but their effectiveness is modera...

The review describes correlations between impaired functioning of chaperones and co-chaperones in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. The study aims to highlight significant lines of research in this field. Chaperones like Hsp90 or Hsp70 are critical agents in regulating cell homeostasis. Due to some conditions, like aging, their activity is dam...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia globally. The pathogenesis of AD remains still unclear. The three main features of AD are extracellular deposits of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque, accumulation of abnormal formation hyper-phosphorylated tau protein, and neuronal loss. Mitochondrial impairment...

The long COVID (coronavirus disease), a multisystemic condition following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is one of the widespread problems. Some of its symptoms affect the nervous system and resemble symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—a neurodegenerative condition caused by the accumulation of amyloid beta...

Introduction: Down syndrome (DS) stands out as one of the most prevalent genetic disorders, imposing a significant burden on both society and the healthcare system. Scientists are making efforts to understand the neural mechanisms behind the pathophysiology of this disorder. Among the valuable methods for studying these mechanisms is electroencepha...

Introduction: Depression is the most prevalent comorbid neuropsychiatric condition in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and its underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Current treatment methods are characterised by moderate effectiveness and possible side effects, prompting the search for new non-invasive and safe treatment met...

This review describes associations between dementia and loneliness on the neurobiological and epidemiological levels according to the recent body of literature. The aim of this study was to highlight major lines of research in this field. Sociocognitive skills and social interactions present complex interdependencies with dementia which may be expl...

(1) Introduction: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe, debilitating disease with high incidence and high mortality. The methods of treatment used so far are moderately effective. Evidence from neuroimaging studies helps to design modern methods of therapy. One of them is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain neuromodula...

Cocaine addiction is a significant problem worldwide. The development of addiction involves a reward system, which consists of certain brain regions like the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, and prefrontal cortex. Currently, there are no approved medications for treating cocaine dependence, so researchers are actively searching for effect...

Two multidimensional problems of recent times — Alzheimer’s disease and light pollution — seem to be more interrelated than previously expected. A series of studies in years explore the pathogenesis and the course of Alzheimer’s disease, yet the mechanisms underlying this pathology remain not fully discovered and understood. Artificial lights which...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and is the most common cause of dementia. The pathogenesis of AD still remains unclear, including two main hypotheses: amyloid cascade and tau hyperphosphorylation. The hallmark neuropathological changes of AD are extracellular deposits of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intracellular...

Early and premature menopause, or premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), affects 1% of women under the age of 40 years. This paper reviews the main aspects of early and premature menopause and their impact on cognitive decline. Based on the literature, cognitive complaints are more common near menopause: a phase marked by a decrease in hormone leve...

Old age increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disease, a devastating disorder of the human mind and the leading cause of dementia. Worldwide, 50 million people have the disease, and it is estimated that there will be 150 million by 2050. Today, healthcare for AD patients consumes 1% of the global economy....

Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are associated with a disruption of normal immune function that could potentially impact the brain. In AD sex and gender have been noted as relevant to disease prevalence or clinical manifestation. It is suggested that disease progression could vary as a result of the different inflam...

Beginning with the various strategies of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to invade our bodies and manifest infection, and ending with the recent long COVID, we are witnessing the evolving course of the disease in addition to the pandemic. Given the partially controlled course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the greatest challenge currently lies in managing the shor...

In this review we present the behavioral aspects of interaction in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), taking into account some aspects of pharmacotherapy. In the treatment of people with ASD, an individual approach to emotional, social and cognitive functioning is very important. The specificity of symptoms and their severity in people wi...

Background: One of the main features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology is failure in innate immune response and chronic inflammation. Lack of effective AD treatment means that more attention is paid to alternative therapy and drugs of natural origin, such as extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effec...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Pathological deposits of neurotoxic proteins within the brain, such as amyloid-ß and hyperphosphorylated tau tangles, are the prominent features in AD. According to recent studies, the newly discovered brain lymphatic system was demonstrated to be crucial in the clearance of m...

Parkinson’s diseases, occuring most often between the ages of 50 and 60 years, on average at the age 58 years is a progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system of global importance and serious consequences for public health. Its main symptoms are tremor at rest muscle stiffness and bradykinesia, i.e. slowness of movement (the so-c...

Recent findings have improved our understanding of the multifactorial nature of AD. While in early asymptomatic stages of AD, increased amyloid-β synthesis and tau hyperphosphorylation play a key role, while in the latter stages of the disease, numerous dysfunctions of homeostatic mechanisms in neurons, glial cells, and cerebrovascular endothelium...

The negative association between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cancer suggests that susceptibility to one disease may protect against the other. When biological mechanisms of AD and cancer and relationship between them are understood, the unsolved problem of both diseases which still touches the growing human population could be overcome. Actual inf...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a particular therapeutic challenge because its aetiology is very complex, with dynamic progression from preclinical to clinical stages. Several potential therapeutic targets and strategies were tested for AD, in over 2000 clinical trials, but no disease-modifying therapy exists. This failure indicates that AD, as...

The number of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has significantly increased over the last few years. On the one hand, this surge may be associated with increased awareness of this entity and the greater availability of diagnostic tools. On the other hand, influence of factors believed to cause or facilitate ASD development (including env...

Central nervous system (CNS) diseases are the leading causes of death and disabilities in the world. It is quite challenging to treat CNS diseases efficiently because of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). It is a physical barrier with tight junction proteins and high selectivity to limit the substance transportation between the blood and neural tissues...

Suicides on railway tracks are one of the most drastic ones. No research concerning this phenomenon has been conducted to this date in Poland. This article focuses on the connection between suicidal behaviors on Polish railway tracks and sociodemographic traits and presents risk factors. Background The Incidence of suicide is spread across many Eu...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Pathological deposits of neurotoxin proteins within the brain, such as amyloid-Beta and hyperphosphory-lated tau tangles, are prominent features in AD. The prion protein (PrP) is involved in neuro-degeneration via its conversion from the normal cellular form PrPc, to the infec...

Transport of proteins, transcription factors, and other signaling molecules between the nucleus and cytoplasm is necessary for signal transduction. The study of these transport phenomena is particularly challenging in neurons because of their highly polarized structure. The bidirectional exchange of molecular cargoes across the nuclear envelope (NE...

The root cause of non-inherited Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unknown despite hundreds of research studies performed to attempt to solve this problem. Since proper prophylaxis remains the best strategy, many scientists have studied risk factors that may affect AD development. There is robust evidence supporting the hypothesis that cardiovascular...

There is increasing number of the patients worldwide with sleep disturbances and diabetes. Various sleep disorders, including long or short sleep duration and poor sleep quality of numerous causes, may increase the risk of diabetes. Some symptoms of diabetes, such as painful peripheral neuropathy and nocturia, or associated other sleep disorders, s...

Münchausen syndrome can be characterized by simulated illness, pathological lying and wandering from place to place (the patient typically presents to numerous hospitals). Individuals with elevated blood pressure due to non-adherence to medication have the so-called pseudo-resistant hypertension. A 45-year-old woman was admitted to hospital on an e...

Despite the availability of several anti-herpesviral agents, it should be emphasized that the need for new inhibitors is highly encouraged due to the increasing resistant viral strains as well as complications linked with periods of recurring viral replication and reactivation of latent herpes infection. Extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb) is a common p...

The following article has been withdrawn at the request of the authors and editor of the journal Current Medicinal Chemistry: Title: Association between Alzheimer's Disease and Cancer - A Short Overview. Authors: Katarzyna Szczechowiak, Anna Brzecka, Naomi Hachiya, Joanna Wyka and Jerzy Leszek* Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the jo...

Background: The lack of effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD) stems mainly from the incomplete understanding of AD causes. Neuroinflammation has emerged as an important component of AD pathology, and a vast number of experimental and clinical data indicated a crucial role for the activation of the innate immune system in disease promoti...

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease causing dementia in the elderly population. Due to the fact that there is still no cure for Alzheimer's dementia and available treatment strategies bring only symptomatic benefits, there is a pressing demand for other effective strategies such as diet. Since the infl...

Zaburzenia snu (u 30–50% osób), a szczególnie bezsenność występującą u 5–20% dorosłej populacji, można zdefiniować jako doświadczenie niewłaściwej ilości oraz jakości snu prowadzące do negatywnych konsekwencji w porze dziennej. Bezsenność leczymy, stosując metody psychoterapeutyczne, farmakologiczne i behawioralne. Niebenzodiazepinowe leki nasenne,...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease requiring changes in the behaviour of the entire family. The responsibility for implementing doctor’s recommendations falls mainly upon the mother. The aim of this study is to assess the psychosocial functioning of mothers of children with DM compared to mothers of healthy children. The study involved 120...

One of the most important scientific discoveries of recent years was the disclosure that the intestinal microflora takes part in bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain. Scientists suggest that human gut microflora may even act as the “second brain” and be responsible for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD)....

Alzheimer disease (AD) is characterized by the loss of neurons. It is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly population accompanied by pathological degeneration of neurofibrillary tangles. Senile plaques are formed with beta-amyloid, hyperphosphoryled tau protein, apolipoprotein E and presenilin associated with protease activity [amyloid...

Sleep disturbances, as well as sleep-wake rhythm disturbances, are typical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that may precede the other clinical signs of this neurodegenerative disease. Here, we describe clinical features of sleep disorders in AD and the relation between sleep disorders and both cognitive impairment and poor prognosis of the dis...

Chronic inflammatory reactions are consistenly present in neurodegeneration of Alzheimer type and are considered important factors that accelerate progression of the disease. Receptors of innate immunity participate in triggering and driving inflammatory reactions. For example, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and receptor for advanced glycation end prod...

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a serious medical and social problem for about one third of women in the world population. It is one of the most common chronic diseases of women. Despite significant improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of this illness, women continue to struggle with the stigma associated with incontinence. Research...

Inflammatory reactions could be both beneficial and detrimental to the brain, depending on strengths of their activation in various stages of neurodegeneration. Mild activation of microglia and astrocytes usually reveals neuroprotective effects and ameliorates early symptoms of neurodegeneration; for instance, released cytokines help maintain synap...

The prevalence of both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) is increasing with the aging of the population. Studies from the last several years have shown that people with diabetes have an increased risk for dementia and cognitive impairment. Therefore, the authors of this consensus review tried to elaborate on the role of diabetes,...

Astrocytes are important glial cells involved in the ionic regulation of the extracellular fluid in the Central Nervous System (CNS), the formation of the blood brain barrier (BBB) and the support to neurons for the maintaining of the Krebs cycle intermediaries. Even though these cells are known to be important for the brain functioning, several of...

Parkinson´s disease is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta region. An important mechanism contributing to its development is oxidative stress, induced by the imbalance between the endogenous antioxidant defenses and free radicals production. Naturally occurring bioactive compo...

Background: Contemporary neurobiology, periodontal medicine, and immunology are now focusing on the relationship between chronic periodontitis and systemic diseases, that also include Alzheimer's disease (AD). However a causative relationship between dementia and periodontitis has yet to be confirmed. Objective: The aim of the study was to deter...

Background: Inflammation is a part of the first line of defense of the body against invasive pathogens, and plays a crucial role in tissue regeneration and repair. A proper inflammatory response ensures the suitable resolution of inflammation and elimination of harmful stimuli, but when the inflammatory reactions are inappropriate it can lead to d...

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) typically affects behavior, memory and thinking. The change in brain have been reported to begin approx. 10-20 years before the appearance of actual symptoms and diagnosis of AD. An early stage diagnosis and treatment of this lethal disease is the prime challenge, which is mainly halted by the lack of validated b...

The brain of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) showed the evidence of reduced expression of insulin and neuronal insulin receptors, as compared with those of age-matched controls. This event gradually and certainly leads to a breakdown of the entire insulin-signaling pathway, which manifests insulin resistance. This in turn affects brain metabol...

Gliomas are central nervous system tumors originated from glial cells, whose incidence and mortality is expected to rise in coming years, especially in developing countries. Diagnosis and classification of gliomas have largely relied on tumor histopathologic features that provide limited information regarding response to therapy or prognosis. Curre...

Glucose homeostasis is crucial for neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity, and is indispensable for learning and memory. Reduced sensitivity of cells to insulin and impaired insulin signaling in brain neurons participate in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD). The tumor suppressor protein p53 coordinates with multiple cellular pathways in re...

A number of elderly patients commit suicide due to the interaction of various factors, including, for example, feelings of loneliness, financial distress, alcohol abuse, chronic pain, progressive diseases, and personality disorders. The data from the EU countries with the highest rates of suicide and suicide attempts among people over 55 years of a...

A number of biological and clinical characteristics typical of late life depression (LLD) has been suggested by recent research findings. The close association of LLD with cognitive impairment is now well documented and evidenced. However, it is still not clear whether it is depression that leads to cognitive decline, and in more severe cases, to d...

Constant stress, slave labor, tortures, and starvation all affected the health of concentration camp prisoners, contributing to multimorbidities, increased mortality and accelerated development of chronic illnesses, what we have shown in an earlier publication. The interrelated somatic and psychological symptoms gave rise to concentration camp synd...

Chronic inflammation is characterized by longstanding microglial activation followed by sustained release of inflammatory mediators, which aids in enhanced nitrosative and oxidative stress. The sustained release of inflammatory mediators propels the inflammatory cycle by increased microglial activation, promoting their proliferation and thus stimul...

The genetic, cellular, and molecular changes associated with Alzheimer disease provide evidence of immune and inflammatory processes involvement in its pathogenesis. These are supported by epidemiological studies, which show some benefit of long-term use of NSAID. The hypothesis that AD is in fact an immunologically mediated and even inflammatory p...

The genetic, cellular, and molecular changes associated with Alzheimer disease provide evidence of immune and inflammatory processes involvement in its pathogenesis. These are supported by epidemiological studies, which show some benefit of long-term use of NSAID. The hypothesis that AD is in fact an immunologically mediated and even inflammatory p...

Objective To show the extent to which the health of former prisoners was affected by incarceration in extermination camps after 5 and 30 years of leaving the camp, and to determine the etiological factors underlying particular dysfunctions. Methods Medical records of former prisoners developed in 1950 (n=250) and 1975 (n=120) were then, after seve...

Background The posterior cingulate region is an area of the earliest pathological changes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). The utility of FDG-PET imaging in dementia is already well established. Objectives The aim of the study was to compare FDG-PET with advanced MR measurements: MR spectroscopy (MRS), perfusion weighted imaging (PWI)...

Background The aim of the studies was to examine the potential immunoregulatory activity of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) on cytokine production, one of the mechanisms of innate antiviral immunity, by human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) ex vivo. Methodology PBLs isolated from healthy blood donors were treated with different, nontoxic concen...

Title: Assessment of degradation of the selected projectile, commissural and association brain fibers in patients with Alzheimer's disease on diffusion tensor MR imaging Paweł Szewczyk, Anna Zimny, Elżbieta Trypka, Renata Wojtyńska, Jerzy Leszek, Marek Sąsiadek Background: Pathological studies and more widely used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) sh...

Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD) and mixed dementia (MD) are the most common dementia diseases among the elderly. Currently, there is no effective treatment of these diseases and, therefore, it seems justified to develop the principles of prevention, taking into account the elimination of risk factors. Among them folic acid deficie...

Vascular and metabolic dysfunctions and mitochondrial failure are now believed to be contributors to Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis. Vascular dysfunction includes reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), blood-brain barrier (BBB) disturbances and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Mitochondrial failure results in deregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis and...

In the Czech Republic there are over 10 sites specialising in Alzheimer's disease and the country is involved in many international research projects, some into service delivery and quality of services. A National Alzheimer or Dementia plan is being finalised. Hungary reports high alcohol consumption as a possible causative factor for relatively hi...

The aim of this study was to review recent medical findings related to burnout, its diagnosis, treatment, characteristic pathophysiological features, and preventive measures. A systematic review of the scientific literature in PubMed/Medline was performed. The most recent and important findings were reported. Burnout was found to be a risk factor f...

Objectives: Senescence, progressive deterioration of many bodily functions might be associated with age-dependent alterations of plasma fibronectin (FN) molecular status (i.e., domain, glycotope, and molecular form expressions). Design and methods: FN molecular status was analyzed in 127 plasma samples of healthy individuals in groups of newborn...

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Vascular and metabolic dysfunctions and mitochondrial failure are now believed to be contributors to Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis. Vascular dysfunction includes reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), blood-brain barrier (BBB) disturbances and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Mitochondrial failure results in deregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis and...

Vascular and metabolic dysfunctions and mitochondrial failure are now believed to be contributors to Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis. Vascular dysfunction includes reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), blood-brain barrier (BBB) disturbances and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Mitochondrial failure results in deregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis and...

Vascular and metabolic dysfunctions and mitochondrial failure are now believed to be contributors to Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis. Vascular dysfunction includes reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), blood-brain barrier (BBB) disturbances and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Mitochondrial failure results in deregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis and...

Vascular and metabolic dysfunctions and mitochondrial failure are now believed to be contributors to Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis. Vascular dysfunction includes reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), blood-brain barrier (BBB) disturbances and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Mitochondrial failure results in deregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis and...