Psychiatric and cognitive phenotype in children and adolescents with myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most frequent inherited neuromuscular disorder. The juvenile form has been associated with cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction, but the phenotype remains unclear. We reviewed the literature to examine the psychiatric phenotype of juvenile DM1 and performed an admixture analysis of the IQ distribution of our own patients, as we hypothesised a bimodal distribution. Two-thirds of the patients had at least one DSM-IV diagnosis, mainly attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorder. Two-thirds had learning disabilities comorbid with mental retardation on one hand, but also attention deficit, low cognitive speed and visual spatial impairment on the other. IQ showed a bi-modal distribution and was associated with parental transmission. The psychiatric phenotype in juvenile DM1 is complex. We distinguished two different phenotypic subtypes: one group characterised by mental retardation, severe developmental delay and maternal transmission; and another group characterised by borderline full scale IQ, subnormal development and paternal transmission

Author's Reply to Commentary on No effect of 'Hypericum perforatum' (St John's wort) and 'Vitex agnus-castus' (chaste tree) combination on menopausal symptoms

As pointed out in the commentary, there are considerable demands on resources in conducting an RCT of this nature. A four-arm trial investigating the effects of 'V. agnus-castus' and 'H. perforatum' as sole agents would have required a major increase in sample size to ensure statistical power. This presented feasibility constraints with funding and recruitment. Therefore, the combination was tested, with a view to examining individual herbs if a positive result was obtained. Further points of interest have been raised in the commentary. The observation of effect modification of lack of previous herb use cannot be readily explained. However, it is unlikely to reflect negative bias among previous users, as this would not support their voluntary enrolment in such a study. Substantial placebo effects are common in studies of menopausal symptoms, as pointed out. This can necessitate the allocation of increased resources and lead to type II errors (inappropriate rejection of potentially valuable treatment). Increasing our understanding of the placebo response is therefore of great importance. Predictors of the placebo response were examined in this study and will be the subject of future analyses and publications. Participants for the study were sourced from the general community, recruited predominantly though advertisements in the media

PEGIDA in den Köpfen – Wie rechtspopulistisch ist Deutschland?

Küpper B, Zick A, Krause D. PEGIDA in den Köpfen – Wie rechtspopulistisch ist Deutschland? In: Zick A, Küpper B, Hg. für die Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung von Ralf Melzer und Dietmar Molthagen, eds. Wut, Verachtung und Abwertung: Rechtspopulismus in Deutschland. Bonn: Dietz; 2015: 21-43

Zwischen Wut und Druck: Rechtspopulistische Einstellungen in der Mitte

Krause D, Küpper B, Zick A. Zwischen Wut und Druck: Rechtspopulistische Einstellungen in der Mitte. In: Zick A, Küpper B, Hg. für die Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung von Ralf Melzer und Dietmar Molthagen, eds. Wut, Verachtung und Abwertung: Rechtspopulismus in Deutschland. Bonn: Dietz; 2015: 44-60

Der Osten erhebt die feindselige Stimme?

Zick A, Krause D, Küpper B. Der Osten erhebt die feindselige Stimme? In: Zick A, Küpper B, Hg. für die Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung von Ralf Melzer und Dietmar Molthagen, eds. Wut, Verachtung und Abwertung: Rechtspopulismus in Deutschland. Bonn: Dietz; 2015: 61-77