Economic background does not affect the clinical course or long-term seizure outcome of childhood epilepsy, according to a study in Nova Scotia, Canada, published online ahead of print November 4 in Epilepsia. Researchers examined data for 421 patients with childhood epilepsy and 10 or more years of follow-up. Overall, 33% of families had poor income, 38% had adequate income, and 30% were well-off. Terminal remission occurred in 65% of the poor, 61% of the adequate, and 61% of the well-off populations. Intractable epilepsy, status epilepticus, number of antiepileptic drugs used, and the number of generalized tonic-clonic or focal with secondary generalization seizures through the clinical course was the same in all groups. Neither paternal nor maternal education was associated with remission. Poor children had significantly more adverse social outcomes, however.
A genetic variant near melatonin receptor 1A ( MTNR1A) may be associated with job-related exhaustion in shift workers, according to a study published online ahead of print October 10 in Sleep. Researchers assessed intolerance to shift work with job-related exhaustion symptoms in shift workers using the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and performed a genome-wide association study. Job-related exhaustion was associated with the rs12506228 variation, located downstream of MTNR1A, in shift workers included in the Finnish national Health 2000 survey. The risk allele was also associated with reduced in silico gene expression levels of MTNR1A in brain tissue and with changes in DNA methylation in the 5' regulatory region of MTNR1A. The risk variant may lead to reduced melatonin signaling in the brain.
In healthy postmenopausal women, reproductive life events related to sex hormones are positively related to aspects of cognition in later life, according to a study published November 7 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers evaluated 830 menopausal women using a cognitive battery and a structured reproductive history questionnaire. On multivariable modeling, age at menarche of 13 or older was inversely associated with global cognition. Having a last pregnancy after age 35 was positively associated with verbal memory. Use of hormonal contraceptives was positively associated with global cognition and verbal memory. The association between hormonal contraceptive use and verbal memory and executive function was strongest for more than 10 years of use. Reproductive period was positively associated with global cognition and executive function.
Physical fitness, BMI, IQ, and stress resilience in young adulthood may be associated with the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at an early age, according to a study published in the October issue of the European Journal of Neurology. Data on physical fitness, BMI, IQ, and stress resilience were collected from 1,838,376 Swedish men ages 17 to 20 at conscription from 1968 to 2010. During follow-up, 439 participants developed ALS. People with physical fitness above the highest tertile had a higher risk of ALS before age 45. People with BMI greater than or equal to 25 had a lower risk of ALS at all ages. Individuals with IQ above the highest tertile had a significantly increased risk of ALS at an age of 56 and older.