Changing name of epilepsy in Korea; cerebroelectric disorder (noi‐jeon‐jeung,뇌전증,腦電症)

Public misconception of epilepsy may lead to significant stigma to the disease itself, thereby causing impaired quality of life in people with epilepsy. Traditionally, epilepsy has been considered to be the consequence of evanescent spiritual forces, and even demonic possession (in many countries). The names of epilepsy in some East Asian countries originated from China, and include madness in their meaning. We recently changed the Korean name of epilepsy, gan‐jil (??, 癎疾: a crazy, convulsive disease having meaning similar to 癲癎), to a neutral and scientifically explainable name: noi‐jeon‐jeung (???; 腦電症; cerebroelectric disorder). We expect that changing the stigmatized name of epilepsy to a neutral and scientific term with the meaning of cerebroelectric disorder will reduce the social stigma by understanding of epilepsy as one of the neurologic disorders.     

Factors Associated with Poor Mental Health Status Among Homeless Women With and Without Dependent Children

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of mental health problems among a representative sample of homeless women with and without dependent children and determine if the effects of risk factors for mental health are modified by the presence of dependent children. Homeless women (n = 522) were recruited in 2004–2005 from shelters and meal programs in Toronto, Canada. Linear and logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with mental health status. Poor mental health was associated with low perceived access to social support, physical/sexual assault in the past 12 months, presence of a chronic health condition, and presence of a drug use problem in the past month. Efforts to improve mental health in this population will need to address the associated problems of victimization, substance abuse, and lack of social supports.     

Cloning,phylogeny, and regional expression of a Y5 receptor mRNA in the brain of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

The NPY receptors known as Y receptors are classified into three subfamilies, Y1, Y2, and Y5, and are involved in different physiological functions. The Y5 receptor is the only member of the Y5 subfamily, and it is present in all vertebrate groups, except for teleosts. Both molecular and pharmacological studies show that Y5 receptor is highly conserved during vertebrate evolution. Furthermore, this receptor is widely expressed in the mammalian brain, including the hypothalamus, where it is thought to take part in feeding and homeostasis regulation. Lampreys belong to the agnathan lineage, and they are thought to have branched out between the two whole‐genome duplications that occurred in vertebrates. Therefore, they are in a key position for studies on the evolution of gene families in vertebrates. Here we report the cloning, phylogeny, and brain expression pattern of the sea lamprey Y5 receptor. In phylogenetic studies, the lamprey Y5 receptor clusters in a basal position, together with Y5 receptors of other vertebrates. The mRNA of this receptor is broadly expressed in the lamprey brain, being especially abundant in hypothalamic areas. Its expression pattern is roughly similar to that reported for other vertebrates and parallels the expression pattern of the Y1 receptor subtype previously described by our group, as it occurs in mammals. Altogether, these results confirm that a Y5 receptor is present in lampreys, thus being highly conserved during the evolution of vertebrates, and suggest that it is involved in many brain functions, the only known exception being teleosts. J. Comp. Neurol. 522:1132–1154, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Botulinum toxin injection for post‐stroke spasticity

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate test feasibility, validity, and reproducibility of the rate of force development scaling factor (RFD‐SF) for the hip muscles. Methods: Feasibility was assessed as the testing compliance, validity as the ability to compute the RFD‐SF from a linear regression, and reproducibility with a test–retest design in 20 healthy subjects. Reliability and agreement (reproducibility) were evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC_3,1) and percent standard error of measurement (SEM), respectively. Results: The RFD‐SF testing protocol was completed successfully by all subjects, although the analysis had to be modified for hip rotators. Reliability was high (ICC_3,1 > 0.70) for all muscles except hip abductors (ICC_3,1 = 0.69) and internal rotators (ICC_3,1 = 0.58). Agreement was high for all muscles (SEM < 10%). Conclusions: Hip adductor, flexor, and external rotator RFD‐SF can be evaluated with confidence, provided the analysis is modified for external rotators, whereas hip abductor and internal rotator RFD‐SF assessment is not recommended. Muscle Nerve 50: 932–938, 2014