Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:To present an overview of the existing epidemiological evidence regarding the occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders among current and former elite athletes. DESIGN/METHODS:Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES/METHODS:Five electronic databases were searched from inception to November 2018: PubMed (MEDLINE), SportDiscus via EBSCO, PSycINFO via ProQuest, Scopus and Cochrane. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES/UNASSIGNED:We included original quantitative studies that were written in English, were conducted exclusively among current or former elite athletes, and presented incidence or prevalence rates of symptoms of mental disorders. RESULTS:Twenty-two relevant original studies about mental health symptoms and disorders among current elite athletes were included: they presented data especially on symptoms of distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression and alcohol misuse. Meta-analyses comprising 2895 to 5555 current elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 19% for alcohol misuse to 34% for anxiety/depression. Fifteen relevant original studies about mental health symptoms and disorders among former elite athletes were included: they similarly presented data especially about symptoms of distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression and alcohol misuse. Meta-analyses comprising 1579 to 1686 former elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 16% for distress to 26% for anxiety/depression. CONCLUSIONS:Our meta-analyses showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 19% for alcohol misuse to 34% for anxiety/depression for current elite athletes, and from 16% for distress to 26% for anxiety/depression for former elite athletes.

BACKGROUND:There have been a number of recent prominent lawsuits challenging the use of neurologic criteria to declare death in the United States. METHODS:To put these lawsuits into perspective, we conducted a search of Nexis Uni® to identify cases from the past 50 years that involved objections to the use of neurologic criteria to declare death in the United States. RESULTS:We identified lawsuits about 67 decedents (59 state and 8 federal) from 34 different regions which were filed for crime related issues (n=42), hospital related issues (n=20), insurance related issues (n=2) and other issues related to time of death (n=3). The judicial opinions about the lawsuits addressed: 1) acceptance of the use of neurologic criteria to declare death (n=55), 2) criteria to declare death (n=3), 3) management of decedents after death by neurologic criteria (n=13), 4) identification of the time of death (n=4) and 5) rights of the dead (n=3). The outcomes of these cases were heterogeneous. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Since the incorporation of neurologic criteria into the medical practice of declaration of death, there have been a number of legal objections to its use. To avoid the rendering of variable opinions by the courts, there is a need for consistent legislative modification throughout the country to address 1) the specific criteria to employ when declaring death by neurologic criteria, 2) management of religious objections to use of neurologic criteria to declare death and 3) management after declaration of death by neurologic criteria.

OBJECTIVE:The impetus for this consensus discussion was to recommend clinical trial designs that can deliver high-quality data for effective therapies for pediatric patients, in a reasonable timeframe, with a key focus on short- and long-term safety. METHODS:The International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group convened a meeting of experts to review the advances in the understanding of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) and the advent of clinical trials for this population. RESULTS:In the last few years, convincing evidence has emerged that the biological processes involved in MS are largely shared across the age span. As such, treatments proven efficacious for the care of adults with MS have a biological rationale for use in pediatric MS given the relapsing-remitting course at onset and high relapse frequency. There are also ethical considerations on conducting clinical trials in this age group including the use of placebo owing to highly active disease. It is imperative to reconsider study design and implementation based on what information is needed. Are studies needed for efficacy or should safety be the primary goal? Further, there have been major recruitment challenges in recently completed and ongoing pediatric MS trials. Phase 3 trials for every newly approved therapy for adult MS in the pediatric MS population are simply not feasible. CONCLUSIONS:A primary goal is to ensure high-quality evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents with MS, which will improve our understanding of the safety of these agents and remove regulatory or insurance-based limitations in access to treatment.

OBJECTIVEThe authors describe the demographics and clinical characteristics of the first 517 patients enrolled in the Adult Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network (AHCRN) during its first 2 years.METHODSAdults ≥ 18 years were nonconsecutively enrolled in a registry at 6 centers. Four categories of adult hydrocephalus were defined: transition (treated before age 18 years), unrecognized congenital (congenital pattern, not treated before age 18 years), acquired (secondary to known risk factors, treated or untreated), and suspected idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) (≥ age 65 years, not previously treated). Data include etiology, symptoms, examination findings, neuropsychology screening, comorbidities, treatment, complications, and outcomes. Standard evaluations were administered to all patients by trained examiners, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form symptom bother, the 10-Meter Walk Test, the Boon iNPH gait scale, the Lawton Activities of Daily Living/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL/IADL) questionnaire, the iNPH grading scale, and the modified Rankin Scale.RESULTSOverall, 517 individuals were enrolled. Age ranged from 18.1 to 90.7 years, with patients in the transition group (32.7 ± 10.0 years) being the youngest and those in the suspected iNPH group (76.5 ± 5.2 years) being the oldest. The proportion of patients in each group was as follows: 16.6% transition, 26.5% unrecognized congenital, 18.2% acquired, and 38.7% suspected iNPH. Excluding the 86 patients in the transition group, who all had received treatment, 79.4% of adults in the remaining 3 groups had not been treated at the time of enrollment. Patients in the suspected iNPH group had the poorest performance in cognitive evaluations, and those in the unrecognized congenital group had the best performance. The same pattern was seen in the Lawton ADL/IADL scores. Gait velocity was lowest in patients in the suspected iNPH group. Categories that had the most comorbidities (suspected iNPH) or etiologies of hydrocephalus that directly cause neurological injury (transition, acquired) had greater degrees of impairment compared to unrecognized congenital, which had the fewest comorbidities or etiologies associated with neurological injury.CONCLUSIONSThe clinical spectrum of hydrocephalus in adults comprises more than iNPH or acquired hydrocephalus. Only 39% of patients had suspected iNPH, whereas 43% had childhood onset (i.e., those in the transition and unrecognized congenital groups). The severity of symptoms and impairment was worsened when the etiology of the hydrocephalus or complications of treatment caused additional neurological injury or when multiple comorbidities were present. However, more than half of patients in the transition, unrecognized congenital, and acquired hydrocephalus groups had minimal or no impairment. Excluding the transition group, nearly 80% of patients in the AHCRN registry were untreated at the time of enrollment. A future goal for the AHCRN is to determine whether patients with unrecognized congenital and acquired hydrocephalus need treatment and which patients in the suspected iNPH cohort actually have possible hydrocephalus and should undergo further diagnostic testing. Future prospective research is needed in the diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, quality of life, and macroeconomics of all categories of adult hydrocephalus.