Estimating the effects of right median nerve stimulation on memory in Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled pilot study

The goal of the present study was to examine possible effects of right median nerve stimulation (RMNS) on memory in patients in a relatively early stage of probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Seventeen AD patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 8) and a control group (n = 9) and treated with RMNS and sham RMNS, respectively, for 30 min a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks. Neuropsychological tests were used to assess memory processes. The results show that the various aspects of memory did not respond positively to RMNS. A study with a much longer treatment period is suggested before firm conclusions about the ineffectiveness of RMNS on memory in AD can be drawn. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

The Acute versus Chronic Pain Questionnaire (ACPQ) and actual pain experience in older people

The Acute versus Chronic Pain Questionnaire (ACPQ) was applied to older people. Two groups emerged from an analysis of which an item of each pair (an acute and a chronic affective item) was considered to cause the most suffering. One group of subjects comprised those who expected to suffer more from one or more acute pain items (high-ACPQ group, n = 35). A second group emerged for whom none of the acute items was considered to be a burden (low-ACPQ group, n = 33). It was hypothesized that, compared to the low-ACPQ group, the subjects with high-ACPQ scores selected acute ACPQ-items due to a decline in the experience of chronic affective pain. This hypothesis predicted lower scores on the chronic ACPQ-items and lower scores on scales evaluating the subjects' own chronic affective pain. The results showed that, irrespective of the group, the chronic ACPQ-items were considered to produce the most burdens. However, compared with the low-ACPQ group, the high-ACPQ group reported experiencing significantly more pain from the acute ACPQ-items. Moreover, the latter group indicated suffering less pain from their own chronic pain conditions. The present findings suggest that the selection of one or more acute items of the ACPQ (high-ACPQ group) may point to an alteration in subjects' actual pain experience

Paternal age and risk of autism in an ethnically diverse non-industrialized setting: Aruba

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine paternal age in relation to risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in a setting other than the industrialized west. Design: A case-control study of Aruban-born children (1990-2003). Cases (N = 95) were identified at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic, the only such clinic in Aruba; gender and age matched controls (N = 347) were gathered from public health records. Parental age was defined categorically (≤29, 30-39, 40-49, ≥50y). The analysis was made, using conditional logistic regression. Results: Advanced paternal age was associated with increased risk of ASDs in offspring. In comparison to the youngest paternal age group (≤29y), risk of autism increased 2.18 times for children born from fathers in their thirties, 2.71 times for fathers in their forties, and 3.22 thereafter. Conclusion: This study, part of the first epidemiologic study of autism in the Caribbean, contributes additional evidence, from a distinctive sociocultural setting, of the risk of ASD associated with increased paternal age. © 2012 van Balkom et al

Effects of TENS and methylphenidate in tuberculous meningo-encephalistis

Primary objective: Beneficial effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on cognition and behaviour were observed in a child with probable Herpes Simplex Encephalitis. Based on these positive findings, it was examined in the present case study whether a child who had been diagnosed to suffer from tuberculous meningitis would benefit from TENS. Furthermore, as aggression and overactive behaviour were also prominent clinical symptoms, the effects of methylphenidate were investigated. Methods and Procedures: Neuropsychological tests were used to assess attention/concentration and visuospatial and visuoconstructive memory. Behaviour, including the level of activity during 24 hours, was assessed by one observation scale and actigraphy. Experimental interventions: TENS and methylphenidate. Main outcomes and results: TENS particularly improved overall affective behaviour. Methylphenidate appeared to have the opposite effect on cognition and hardly any effect on patient's behaviour. Conclusions: TENS might improve the patient's behavioural functioning. Pros and cons for treatment effects are discussed

Emergency presentations to an inner-city psychiatric service for children and adolescents.

Psychiatric emergency services for children and adolescents vary in process, structure and outcome. There are few systematic studies on the type and prevalence of psychiatric problems encountered, related circumstances or resulting interventions. Evidence in these areas is important in evaluation of the function of mental health services in the relevant catchment area. This article presents a cohort study of 466 consecutive consultations that took place in the Amsterdam Child Psychiatric Emergency Service in 2008, with data on clinical, demographic and consultation-related characteristics. A majority of the consultations (51.5%) was related to behavioural problems in the context of heavily strained relationships. A total of 23.4% consultations were related to neglect or abuse. Parental mental illness prompted 12% of the consultations. Psychiatric diagnoses in the child as such were limited. The main Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classification was a relational problem (70%). These crises were serious and often necessitated temporary placement. Hospitalisations on a psychiatric ward and/or pharmacological intervention were rare. Regular mental healthcare providers may specifically need to add psychiatric evaluation and treatment strategies when confronted with disruptive disorders. Additional preventive measures and firmer inter-agency collaboration may ameliorate the containment of problems in these children and their families. © 2012 The Child Care in Practice Group

Understanding mechanisms of change in the development of antisocial behavior: The impact of a universal intervention

The association between the development of antisocial behavior, affiliation with deviant friends, and peer rejection was tested with a preventive intervention; 664 boys and girls were randomly assigned to a universal classroom-based intervention targeting disruptive behavior or a control condition. Peer nominations of antisocial behavior, friends' antisocial behavior, and peer rejection were assessed annually for 4 years. A high, a moderate, and a stable low antisocial behavior trajectory were identified. Large reductions in antisocial behavior were found among intervention children who followed the high trajectory. These reductions coincided with affiliations with nondeviant peers and with decreases in peer rejection. The affiliation between deviant and nondeviant peers was initiated by nondeviant children. The results support a causal role of deviant friends and peer rejection in the development of antisocial behavior. The implications for our understanding of the mechanisms leading to reductions in antisocial behavior are discussed. © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc

Testing sex-specific pathways from peer victimization to anxiety and depression in early adolescents through a randomized intervention trial

The aim of this study was to test for sex differences in the role of physical and relational victimization in anxiety and depression development through a randomized prevention trial. 448 seven-year-old boys and girls were randomly assigned to the Good Behavior Game intervention, a two-year universal classroom based intervention aimed at reducing disruptive behavior problems and creating a safe and predictable classroom environment, or to a control condition. Assessments of self-reported physical and relational victimization at age 10 years, and self-reported major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic/agoraphobia symptoms at age 13 years were available. Reductions in anxiety/depression were mediated by reduced rates of relational victimization in girls, whereas reductions in physical victimization accounted for the reduced anxiety/depression scores among boys. The results support sex-specific pathways of victimization leading to anxiety and depression. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved