The present issue of “Postępy Nauk Medycznych” [„Progress of Medical Science”] is dedicated to Profesor H. Kwieciński and includes papers discussing various problems of contemporary neurology. The OBITUARY was prepared by Professor A. Kamińska

Review paper prepared by Authors: Magdalena Kuźma-Kozakiewicz and Hubert Kwieciński discusses issues related to a fatal neurodegenerative disorder – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Approximately 35% of familial and 10% of sporadic cases are due to mutations in SODI genes (encoding for CuZn superoxide dismutase), FUS/TLS (protein FUS/TLS) and TARDP (protein TDP-43). The article analyses possibilities of applying gene therapy in this disease.

The next article relates to the Huntington’s Disease (Authors: Marta Jethon, Marta Piaścik-Gromada, Elżbieta Zdzienicka, Urszula Fiszer and Wioletta Krysa). This article presents a clinical case involving two sisters aged 64 and 60 years, probably affected with Huntington’s Disease, but with only 35 repeats of trinucleotide CAG in HTT gene identified in both of them. According to my knowledge this is the first description of such case in Poland.

Authors: Anna Pfeffer, Małgorzata Chodakowska, Krzysztof Czyżewski, Tomasz Gabryelewicz, Elżbieta Łuczywek, Małgorzata Mossakowska, Katarzyna Broczek and Maria Barcikowska presented an original work concerning the prevalence of dementia in individuals aged 100 years and older, living in Warsaw – as part of the Polish Centenarians Research Program. Dementia has been found in 66.3%, and among the dementia patients Alzheimer Disease has been found in 74.5%. In the examined group the age still remains a risk factor for development of dementia.

The next original paper concerns stroke patients (Authors: Witold Palasik, Wiesław Tadeusiak and Urszula Fiszer). An increased level of homocysteine is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The results indicate the important role of homocysteine as risk factor for LACI-type lacunar stroke.

In the original paper Authors: Cezary Siemianowski and Leszek Królicki analysed patients with focal epileptic seizures of medial temporal manifestations. No direct relation between the increased changes in the EEG examination and its morphological changes in hippocampal MR volumetry.

In the review paper Author: Joanna Jędrzejczak undertook analysis of existing scientific achievements in epilepsy and presented further scientific and clinical challenges related to epilepsy. The article presents most recent reports related to recogniction and understanding of a sudden death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

The review chapter prepared by Authors: Rafał Rola i Danuta Ryglewicz presents the neuronal channelopathies. First channelopathies were discovered in muscle diseases. With time the spectrum of channelopathies becomes wider. This article distinguishes itself by a very modern approach to pathogenesis of neurological disorders.

In the review paper Authors: Tomasz Litwin, and Anna Członkowska widely discussed a possibile clinical picture of Wilson’s disease, as well as available diagnostic methods allowing to diagnose Wilson’s disease and their limitations as well as proposed AASLD (American Association for the Study of Liver Disease) recommendation according diagnosis and treatment of Wilson’s disease.

In the last paper Autor: Urszula Fiszer presented views concerning current status of lewodopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, concluding that this drug still remains a basic measure in the therapy of the disease.

Neurologiocal diseases still form a difficult diagnostical and therapeutical problem, despite ongoing intensive research projects. Papers presented in this issue describe a wide spectrum of such problems.