The ADNI Publication Policy: commensurate recognition of critical contributors who are not authors

An efficient approach to certain types of biomedical research requires a scale that precludes involvement of all critical contributors in all aspects of experimental design, execution, and as well as writing of most, if not all, derived works. Guarantors of both the integrity of the data and of its subsequent analyses are required. When separate groups are responsible for each of these activities, each should be readily identifiable both in the primary publication and in all subsequent citations. We describe the publication policy of the Alzheimer Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), its origins and its acceptance by the editorial and scientific communities.     

Clinical and translational research and community engagement: implications for researcher capacity building

This research sought to better understand how clinical and translational research is defined and perceived by community service providers. In addition, the research sought to elicit how the perspectives of service providers may hinder or facilitate collaborative research efforts. The study employed a qualitative methodology, focus groups. A nonprobability sampling strategy was used to recruit participants from three neighborhoods in the Tufts University's catchment area. Focus group findings add to the nascent body of literature on how community partners view clinical and translational research and researchers. Findings indicate that cultural disconnects, between researchers and community partners exist, as does mistrust, all of which serve as potential barriers to community research partnerships. This paper suggests rethinking the business of community engagement in researcher, particularly as it relates to building research capacity to approach, engage, and partner with communities.     

EARLY INTERVENTIONS FOR PTSD: A REVIEW

The high prevalence of trauma exposure and subsequent negative consequences for both survivors and society as a whole emphasize the need for secondary prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, clinicians and relief workers remain limited in their ability to intervene effectively in the aftermath of trauma and alleviate traumatic stress reactions that can lead to chronic PTSD. The scientific literature on early intervention for PTSD is reviewed, including early studies on psychological debriefing, pharmacological, and psychosocial interventions aimed at preventing chronic PTSD. Studies on fear extinction and memory consolidation are discussed in relation to PTSD prevention and the potential importance of immediate versus delayed intervention approaches and genetic predictors are briefly reviewed. Preliminary results from a modified prolonged exposure intervention applied within hours of trauma exposure in an emergency room setting are discussed, along with considerations related to intervention reach and overall population impact. Suggestions for future research are included. Prevention of PTSD, although currently not yet a reality, remains an exciting and hopeful possibility with current research approaches translating work from the laboratory to the clinic.     

Sleep disordered breathing in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome: A group controlled study

ObjectivePatients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) have higher fatigue levels and also suffer from excessive day time sleepiness. The underlying mechanisms for this are not fully understood. Knowing that these patients have higher salivary surface tension, we postulated that sleep disordered breathing (SDB) would be more common and would be a contributor to these symptoms amongst pSS patients. We investigated the prevalence of SDB in pSS patients and its relationship to their symptoms of fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness.MethodsThis was an observational study of 28 pSS patients (mean ± SEM age, 58.7 ± 1.9) and 18 healthy subjects (mean ± SEM age, 55.8 ± 3.4) matched for age, sex, and BMI. All the participants underwent an overnight polysomnography. The two groups were compared for fatigue, sleepiness, anxiety, and depression scores, and for the frequency of obstructive apneas and hypopneas during sleep. Correlation analyses were used to explore relationships between sleep study variables and excess sleepiness and fatigue.ResultsFatigue, sleepiness, anxiety and depression symptoms, and sleep onset latency were significantly greater in pSS patients than controls. pSS patients had twice the frequency of obstructive apneas and hypopneas compared with control subjects (median[IQR],18.6/h [10.4–40.1] vs. 9.9/h [6.5–23.4]; p = 0.032) and OSA defined as an apnea–hypopnea index >15 events/h of sleep was more prevalent amongst pSS patients than controls (64% vs. 28%; p = 0.033). While no significant correlations were found between parameters of sleep disordered breathing and sleepiness scores or fatigue scores in the pSS group, CPAP treatment in a small subset of the pSS who were more severely affected by OSA suggested significant symptomatic benefit.ConclusionOSA appears to be increased in pSS and may be a useful therapeutic target to improve the quality of life of these patients.     

Cognitive proficiency in pediatric epilepsy

Cognitive proficiency (CP) is a sensitive gauge of neurological status, but it is not typically viewed in relation to focal cerebral function. We examined CP and its relationship to general intellectual ability and seizure focus in 90 patients with pediatric epilepsy. CP was significantly lower than general ability (GA) in the overall sample. In particular, it was more deficient than GA in patients with right- than left-lateralized epilepsy onset, and in patients with frontal- than temporal-onset epilepsy. The discrepancy between CP and GA varied with participants' overall intelligence, being more pronounced (i.e., GA-CP difference larger) in individuals of lower overall ability. Deficits in CP are a defining characteristic of pediatric epilepsy and serve as an important marker of neurocognitive status, especially when seizures originate from a primary epileptogenic focus within the right hemisphere or the frontal lobe.     

The effect of family therapy on the changes in the severity of on-line game play and brain activity in adolescents with on-line game addiction

We evaluated whether a brief 3-week family therapy intervention would change patterns of brain activation in response to affection and gaming cues in adolescents from dysfunctional families who met criteria for on-line game addiction. Fifteen adolescents with on-line game addiction and fifteen adolescents without problematic on-line game play and an intact family structure were recruited. Over 3 weeks, families were asked to carry out homework assignments focused on increasing family cohesion for more than 1 hour/day and 4 days/week. Before therapy, adolescents with on-line game addiction demonstrated decreased activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) within the caudate, middle temporal gyrus, and occipital lobe in response to images depicting parental affection and increased activity of the middle frontal and inferior parietal in response scenes from on-line games, relative to healthy comparison subjects. Improvement in perceived family cohesion following 3 weeks of treatment was associated with an increase in the activity of the caudate nucleus in response to affection stimuli and was inversely correlated with changes in on-line game playing time. With evidence of brain activation changes in response to on-line game playing cues and images depicting parental love, the present findings suggest that family cohesion may be an important factor in the treatment of problematic on-line game playing.