Life events: a complex role in the timing of suicidal behavior among depressed patients.

Suicidal behavior is often conceptualized as a response to overwhelming stress. Our model posits that given a propensity for acting on suicidal urges, stressors such as life events or major depressive episodes (MDEs) determine the timing of suicidal acts. Depressed patients (n=415) were assessed prospectively for suicide attempts and suicide, life events and MDE over 2 years. Longitudinal data were divided into 1-month intervals characterized by MDE (yes/no), suicidal behavior (yes/no) and life event scores. Marginal logistic regression models were fit, with suicidal behavior as the response variable and MDE and life event score in either the same or previous month, respectively, as time-varying covariates. Among 7843 person-months, 33% had MDE and 73% had life events. MDE increased the risk for suicidal behavior (odds ratio (OR)=4.83, P⩽0.0001). Life event scores were unrelated to the timing of suicidal behavior (OR=1.06 per 100 point increase, P=0.32), even during a MDE (OR=1.12, P=0.15). However, among those without borderline personality disorder (BPD), both health- and work-related life events were key precipitants, as was recurrent MDE, with a 13-fold effect. The relationship of life events to suicidal behavior among those with BPD was more complex. Recurrent MDE was a robust precipitant for suicidal behavior, regardless of BPD comorbidity. The specific nature of life events is key to understanding the timing of suicidal behavior. Given unanticipated results regarding the role of BPD and study limitations, these findings require replication. Of note, that MDE, a treatable risk factor, strongly predicts suicidal behaviors is cause for hope.

The effects on children of depressed mothers' remission and relapse over 9 months.

BACKGROUND: The high rate of depression among children of depressed mothers is well known. Suggestions that improvement in maternal acute depression has a positive effect on the child have emerged. However, data on the mechanisms of change have been sparse. The aim was to understand how remission and relapse in the mother might explain the changes in the child's outcome. METHOD: Participants were 76 depressed mothers who entered into a medication clinical trial for depression and 135 of their eligible offspring ages 7-17 years. The mothers and children were assessed at baseline and periodically over 9 months by independent teams to understand the relationship between changes in children's symptoms and functioning and maternal remission or relapse. The main outcome measures were, for mothers, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS) and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and, for children, the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). RESULTS: Maternal remission was associated with a decrease in the child's depressive symptoms. The mother's subsequent relapse was associated with an increase in the child's symptoms over 9 months. The effect of maternal remission on the child's improvement was partially explained by an improvement in the mother's parenting, particularly the change in the mother's ability to listen and talk to her child, but also reflected in her improvement in parental bonding. These findings could not be explained by the child's treatment. CONCLUSIONS: A depressed mother's remission is associated with her improvement in parenting and a decrease in her child's symptoms. Her relapse is associated with an increase in her child's symptoms.

Sporadic Renal Angiomyolipoma with IVC Extension.

Angiomyolipomas (AML) are the most common mesenchymal renal neoplasms arising in the cortex or medulla. Intra-renal and retroperitoneal hemorrhages have been frequently reported. AML can exceptionally involve the renal vein and inferior vena cava. We report a case with extension into the inferior vena cava.

Bilateral anterior chamber intraocular lenses dislocation in a patient with habitual eye rubbing.

A 61-year-old Chinese man presented with bilateral posteriorly dislocated anterior chamber intraocular lenses (AC IOLs) one year after successful vitrectomy, removal of bilateral dislocated mature cataractous lenses and AC IOLs implantation. A thorough clinical evaluation revealed habitual eye rubbing as the only possible cause.

Ipsilateral corticospinal responses to ballistic training are similar for various intensities and timings of TMS.

AIM: In previous studies, unilateral ballistic training either increased or decreased corticospinal excitability for the untrained opposite limb. The objective here was to investigate whether these discrepancies can be explained by methodological differences such as the intensity of stimulation assessing excitability or the timing of excitability testing after training. METHODS: Motor evoked potentials (MEP) were elicited by stimulating the ipsilateral cortex at high intensity (70% MEPmax) and low intensity (20% MEPmax) at specific time-points after performance of 300 ballistic movements of the index finger. RESULTS: Ballistic practice significantly facilitated MEP size for high-intensity stimuli, whereas responses to low-intensity stimulation were variable. MEP sizes at individual time-points were not significantly facilitated until 4 min after training, although there was no difference between early and late responses when grouped over multiple time-points. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that previous discrepancies in ipsilateral responses to ballistic training cannot be attributed to specific procedures used to assess corticospinal excitability as there was no tendency towards depression of MEP amplitude at any point post-exercise for both testing intensities. This suggests that other experimental factors such as locus of attention or availability of visual feedback are more likely to account for the discrepancies.