Background
There is growing interest in the potential of neuromodulation options in treatment‐resistant obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Magnetic seizure therapy (MST), is a new treatment ...intervention in which generalized seizures are induced with transcranial magnetic stimulation. We conducted a pilot study to assess the efficacy and cognitive effects of MST in patients with treatment‐resistant OCD.
Methods
In an open‐label pilot study, participants with treatment‐resistant OCD and a baseline Yale‐Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y‐BOCS) scores of ≥16 were treated with up to 24 acute treatments. The primary clinical outcomes were clinical response (Y‐BOCS score reduction ≥30%) and remission (final Y‐BOCS score ≤8). A neurocognitive battery, the Quick Inventory for Depressive Symptoms–Self Report (QIDS‐SR), the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (SSI), and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire‐Short Form (Q‐LES‐Q‐SF) were also completed as secondary measures.
Results
Ten participants with OCD who had not responded to medications or psychotherapy enrolled in the study and seven completed an adequate trial (defined as ≥8 treatments). MST was associated with minimal cognitive effects except for some decrease in autobiographical memory and no serious adverse effects. Only one participant met the predefined criteria for response, and none for remission. The baseline and endpoint Y‐BOCS scores were not statistically different.
Conclusion
Overall, MST was not beneficial in a small group of patients with treatment‐resistant OCD. At this time, other studies of MST for OCD are not warranted until different coil placements targeting other brain circuits can be proposed.
On September 6, 2019, this report was posted as an MMWR Early Release on the MMWR website (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr). As of August 27, 2019, 215 possible cases of severe pulmonary disease associated ...with the use of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) products (e.g., devices, liquids, refill pods, and cartridges) had been reported to CDC by 25 state health departments. E-cigarettes are devices that produce an aerosol by heating a liquid containing various chemicals, including nicotine, flavorings, and other additives (e.g., propellants, solvents, and oils). Users inhale the aerosol, including any additives, into their lungs. Aerosols produced by e-cigarettes can contain harmful or potentially harmful substances, including heavy metals such as lead, volatile organic compounds, ultrafine particles, cancer-causing chemicals, or other agents such as chemicals used for cleaning the device (1). E-cigarettes also can be used to deliver tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive component of cannabis, or other drugs; for example, "dabbing" involves superheating substances that contain high concentrations of THC and other plant compounds (e.g., cannabidiol) with the intent of inhaling the aerosol. E-cigarette users could potentially add other substances to the devices. This report summarizes available information and provides interim case definitions and guidance for reporting possible cases of severe pulmonary disease. The guidance in this report reflects data available as of September 6, 2019; guidance will be updated as additional information becomes available.
To estimate the prevalence of current psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents (collectively called children) of mothers entering treatment for depression; to examine maternal predictors ...of child psychopathology among children of depressed mothers; and to determine consistency of findings with a similar child study ancillary to Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Reduce Depression (STAR⁎D) from seven United States sites (STAR⁎D-Child).
Mothers (N = 82) with major depressive disorder (MDD) enrolled in a treatment study in Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) or New York City, and their eligible children (N = 145) (aged 7 through 17 years) were assessed independently when the mother enrolled.
Among the children of depressed mothers, 42% had at least one current psychiatric diagnosis, including affective (15%), anxiety (19%), behavioral (23%), and/or substance use (2%) disorders. In all, 40% of the children were rated as impaired by clinical assessors. Mothers' comorbid anxiety disorders predicted the highest rates of current disorders in the child in both studies. The severity of the mother's depression predicted behavioral problems in the child. The current and lifetime rates of psychiatric disorders in the children of depressed mothers were compared to rates found in STAR⁎D Child and findings were consistent. Both studies used similar diagnostic assessments.
Given the high prevalence of offspring psychiatric disorders, inquiring about the mental health of the children when a depressed mother comes for treatment, and referring children for treatment when appropriate, are important.
Lynch syndrome is a rare familial cancer syndrome caused by pathogenic variants in the mismatch repair genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, or PMS2, that cause predisposition to various cancers, predominantly ...colorectal and endometrial cancer. Data are emerging that pathogenic variants in mismatch repair genes increase the risk of early-onset aggressive prostate cancer. The IMPACT study is prospectively assessing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in men with germline mismatch repair pathogenic variants. Here, we report the usefulness of PSA screening, prostate cancer incidence, and tumour characteristics after the first screening round in men with and without these germline pathogenic variants.
The IMPACT study is an international, prospective study. Men aged 40–69 years without a previous prostate cancer diagnosis and with a known germline pathogenic variant in the MLH1, MSH2, or MSH6 gene, and age-matched male controls who tested negative for a familial pathogenic variant in these genes were recruited from 34 genetic and urology clinics in eight countries, and underwent a baseline PSA screening. Men who had a PSA level higher than 3·0 ng/mL were offered a transrectal, ultrasound-guided, prostate biopsy and a histopathological analysis was done. All participants are undergoing a minimum of 5 years' annual screening. The primary endpoint was to determine the incidence, stage, and pathology of screening-detected prostate cancer in carriers of pathogenic variants compared with non-carrier controls. We used Fisher's exact test to compare the number of cases, cancer incidence, and positive predictive values of the PSA cutoff and biopsy between carriers and non-carriers and the differences between disease types (ie, cancer vs no cancer, clinically significant cancer vs no cancer). We assessed screening outcomes and tumour characteristics by pathogenic variant status. Here we present results from the first round of PSA screening in the IMPACT study. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00261456, and is now closed to accrual.
Between Sept 28, 2012, and March 1, 2020, 828 men were recruited (644 carriers of mismatch repair pathogenic variants 204 carriers of MLH1, 305 carriers of MSH2, and 135 carriers of MSH6 and 184 non-carrier controls 65 non-carriers of MLH1, 76 non-carriers of MSH2, and 43 non-carriers of MSH6), and in order to boost the sample size for the non-carrier control groups, we randomly selected 134 non-carriers from the BRCA1 and BRCA2 cohort of the IMPACT study, who were included in all three non-carrier cohorts. Men were predominantly of European ancestry (899 93% of 953 with available data), with a mean age of 52·8 years (SD 8·3). Within the first screening round, 56 (6%) men had a PSA concentration of more than 3·0 ng/mL and 35 (4%) biopsies were done. The overall incidence of prostate cancer was 1·9% (18 of 962; 95% CI 1·1–2·9). The incidence among MSH2 carriers was 4·3% (13 of 305; 95% CI 2·3–7·2), MSH2 non-carrier controls was 0·5% (one of 210; 0·0–2·6), MSH6 carriers was 3·0% (four of 135; 0·8–7·4), and none were detected among the MLH1 carriers, MLH1 non-carrier controls, and MSH6 non-carrier controls. Prostate cancer incidence, using a PSA threshold of higher than 3·0 ng/mL, was higher in MSH2 carriers than in MSH2 non-carrier controls (4·3% vs 0·5%; p=0·011) and MSH6 carriers than MSH6 non-carrier controls (3·0% vs 0%; p=0·034). The overall positive predictive value of biopsy using a PSA threshold of 3·0 ng/mL was 51·4% (95% CI 34·0–68·6), and the overall positive predictive value of a PSA threshold of 3·0 ng/mL was 32·1% (20·3–46·0).
After the first screening round, carriers of MSH2 and MSH6 pathogenic variants had a higher incidence of prostate cancer compared with age-matched non-carrier controls. These findings support the use of targeted PSA screening in these men to identify those with clinically significant prostate cancer. Further annual screening rounds will need to confirm these findings.
Cancer Research UK, The Ronald and Rita McAulay Foundation, the National Institute for Health Research support to Biomedical Research Centres (The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust; Oxford; Manchester and the Cambridge Clinical Research Centre), Mr and Mrs Jack Baker, the Cancer Council of Tasmania, Cancer Australia, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Cancer Council of Victoria, Cancer Council of South Australia, the Victorian Cancer Agency, Cancer Australia, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), the Institut Català de la Salut, Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, Swedish Cancer Society, General Hospital in Malmö Foundation for Combating Cancer.