Dr Susanna Park reviews the recent JNNP hits:

Condensed in this word cloud is the year 2013……as seen in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

From the abstracts of original research papers and reviews from the Journal in 2013, the 150 most commonly used words are depicted graphically, with the most frequently appearing words larger in size.

The single most common word for 2013 is again ‘patients’– with the most commonly studied patient groups being stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. However, looking deeper, a substantial number of rare disorders were also included in the Journal in 2013 – including multiple system atrophy¹, Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis², logopenic progressive aphasia³, and mitochondrial disorders⁴.

Across this broad clinical spectrum, a common feature was the focus on cognition and cognitive impairment – assessed in at least 15 different patients groups and in healthy ageing. Articles in the Journal covered aspects of cognition from the predictive power of initial cognitive deficits in stroke recovery and return to work⁵ to the cognitive dysfunction of impaired deception and lie production in Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor⁶ and the role of the Mediterranean diet in improving cognition in older adults⁷.

What do you think are the hot topics of 2013 and how will these develop in 2014?

References

1. Bjornsdottir A et al. (2013) Incidence and prevalence of multiple system atrophy: a nationwide study in Iceland. JNNP 84(2): 136-140.

2. Shahrizaila N & Yuki N. (2013) Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis and Fisher syndrome: anti-GQ1b antibody syndrome. JNNP 84 (5): 576-583.

3. Whitwell JL et al. (2013). Elevated occipital β-amyloid deposition is associated with widespread cognitive impairment in logopenic progressive aphasia. JNNP 84(12): 1357-1364.

4. Pitceathly RD et al. (2013). Distal myopathy with cachexia: an unrecognised phenotype caused by dominantly-inherited mitochondrial polymerase γ mutations. JNNP 84 (1):107-110.

5. Kauranen T et al. (2013). The severity of cognitive deficits predicts return to work after a first-ever ischaemic stroke. JNNP 84 (3):316-21.

6. Mameli F et al. (2013). Lies tell the truth about cognitive dysfunction in essential tremor: an experimental deception study with the guilty knowledge task. JNNP 84(9): 1008-1013.

7. Martinez-Lapiscina EH et al. (2013). Mediterranean diet improves cognition: the PREDIMED-NAVARRA randomised trial. JNNP 84(12):1318-25.