New norms for a new generation: cognitive performance in the framingham offspring cohort

A previous publication presented normative data on neuropsychological tests stratified by age, gender, and education based on the Original Cohort of the Framingham Heart Study. Many contemporary investigations include subject samples with higher levels of education, a factor known to affect cognitive performance. Secular change in education prompted the reexamination of norms in the children of the Original Cohort. The study population consisted of 853 men and 988 women from the Offspring Study, free of clinical neurological disease, who underwent a neuropsychological examination, which included tests given to their parents in 1974 to 1976 as well as additional newer tests to provide a more comprehensive battery. The Offspring population overall was more evenly distributed by gender and better educated. Their performance on cognitive tests was superior to that of the Original Cohort. Multivariable analyses revealed that more years of education explained only a part of the cohort differences. These findings suggest that continued surveillance of each generation is necessary to document the impact that unique social and economic variables have on cognitive function. Here, the authors provide updated normative data.     

The association between sleep spindles and IQ in healthy school-age children

Recent studies have suggested that sleep is associated with IQ measures in children, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. An association between sleep spindles and IQ has been found in adults, but only two previous studies have explored this topic in children. The goal of this study was to examine whether sleep spindle frequency, amplitude, duration and/or density were associated with performance on the perceptual reasoning, verbal comprehension, working memory, and processing speed subscales of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV). We recruited 29 typically developing children 7–11 years of age. We used portable polysomnography to document sleep architecture in the natural home environment and evaluated IQ. We found that lower sleep spindle frequency was associated with better performance on the perceptual reasoning and working memory WISC-IV scales, but that sleep spindle amplitude, duration and density were not associated with performance on the IQ test.     

A 2014 update on the management of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, relapsing autoimmune connective tissue disease, primarily affecting the skin, joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, nervous system, blood elements, and serosal membranes. SLE is characterized by cytokine dysregulation, polyclonal B-cell activation, autoantibody production, and increased immune complex formation due to aberrations involving hyperactive B cells, T cells, and cells of the monocytic lineage. The symptoms of SLE are often diverse and nonspecific, and timely identification of SLE and associated comorbidities in patients is critical as aggressive monitoring and therapy may be warranted, especially in patients with poor prognoses. Based on the up-to-date understanding of the pathophysiology of SLE, the first targeted biological agent belimumab has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in more than 50 years, and many targeted agents are being evaluated in late-stage clinical trials. There is a clear need to discuss how and when to incorporate new and emerging biological agents in managing patients with SLE. Additionally, the potential for increased risk of infections is a factor that heavily influences the rheumatologist?s decision to use biological agents in managing patients with SLE. Hence, in this roundtable educational activity, expert faculty will review and discuss the strategies for timely diagnosis of SLE and associated comorbidities. They will also discuss the current understanding of the pathophysiology of SLE and how new and emerging biological agents help address the underlying pathophysiological aberrations in patients with SLE. The faculty will also review strategies to minimize the risk of infections and other toxicities in patients with SLE.