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Research has identified that male and female perpetrators are viewed differently. The aim of the study was therefore to (a) explore attitudes towards and perceptions of females who sexually offend against children, and (b) compare these attitudes and perceptions between a sample of students and professionals. Ten students, who had not previously studied theories of sexual offending or the management of child sexual offenders, and ten professionals, who work with females in a therapeutic capacity, took part in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed using Thematic Analysis. Three themes were identified, namely the “facilitating role of women in society”, “why women offend”, and “what should happen to women who offend”. There was a tendency to minimise sexual offending by females. Across the two samples, there were similarities in terms of perceptions around why women offend, and differences in terms of attitudes around what should happen to women who offend.

The aim of the literature review presented here was to identify goals and offense-supportive cognitions that act as motivational factors in the sexual offending against children committed by females. A scoping search revealed that there was currently no review in this area. A systematic search of empirical research that examined motivations in female child sexual offenders (FCSOs) was initiated based upon an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Identified studies were screened and reference lists were hand searched. A quality assessment tool reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the final 13 articles. A data extraction form established for the current review enabled the extraction of standardized information. The review identified support for many motivational factors in FCSOs, which have previously been referred to in the literature. The review has categorized these into motivations and offense-supportive cognitions. There was strong support for the following motivations and goals: offending under coercion of an abusive co-offender, offending to meet one's own needs and offending to feel power and control over another. The strongest offense-supportive cognitions were entitlement and uncontrollability. There was an apparent overlap between the two categories, with some offense-supportive cognitions and functions amalgamating to facilitate females to engage in offending behavior. Limitations of the present literature and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Background: Episodic ataxia type 2 (OMIM 108500) is an autosomal dominant channelopathy characterized by paroxysms of ataxia, vertigo, nausea, and other neurologic symptoms. More than 50 mutations of the CACNA1A gene have been discovered in families with episodic ataxia type 2, although 30%–50% of all patients with typical episodic ataxia type 2 phenotype have no detectable mutation of the CACNA1A gene. Case: A 46-year-old Caucasian man, with a long history of bouts of imbalance, vertigo, and nausea, presented to our hospital with 2 weeks of ataxia and headache. Subsequent evaluation revealed a novel mutation in the CACNA1A gene: c.1364 G > A Arg455Gln. Acetazolamide was initiated with symptomatic improvement. Conclusion: This case report expands the list of known CACNA1A mutations associated with episodic ataxia type 2.

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that adversely affects social, vocational, and psychological functioning. Despite the variety and complexity of the negative clinical associations with epilepsy, depression is remarkable in prevalence and related adverse effects on health status. An estimated 30-50% of persons with refractory epilepsy have major depression, and depression has a stronger correlation than seizure rate with quality of life. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in epilepsy. Available data indicate that depression may result from underlying brain dysfunction rather than social and vocational disability. Most patients with depression are not screened systematically for the diagnosis, and are subsequently not treated. Although the density of serotonin receptors is greatest in limbic brain regions commonly involved in human epilepsy, such as the mesial temporal and prefrontal areas, no prior randomized controlled trials have evaluated the efficacy of serotonin reuptake inhibitors for depression in epilepsy.

Encephalitis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, yet a causative factor is identified in

Background Fatigue is experienced by most patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and often is profoundly debilitating. No large-scale studies to our knowledge have examined circadian rhythm abnormalities in MS patients or the relationship of fatigue to circadian rhythms. Objective To determine if patients with MS and fatigue have sleep disturbances or circadian rhythm abnormalities associated with fatigue. Design Case-control study. Setting Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mo. Patients Fifteen patients with MS and fatigue were compared with 15 patients with MS without fatigue and 15 age- and sex-matched, healthy controls. Main Outcome Measures Sleep disturbances and circadian rhythm abnormalities were quantitated by actigraphy, fatigue by the Fatigue Descriptive Scale, and excessive sleepiness by the Epworth Sleepiness scale (ESS). Results Of the 15 fatigued patients with MS, 2 had delayed sleep phase, 10 had disrupted sleep, and 3 had normal sleep. One of the 15 nonfatigued MS patients had irregular sleep cycles, 2 others had disrupted sleep, and 12 had normal sleep. All 15 of the healthy controls had normal sleep. Nine patients with MS and fatigue scored 10 or higher on the ESS, suggesting excessive daytime sleepiness. Only 2 patients with MS without fatigue scored higher than 10 on the ESS. None of the healthy controls were fatigued, and 14 were not excessively sleepy. A relationship was found between fatigue and abnormal sleep cycles or disrupted sleep (Fisher exact test, P = .003). There was also a relationship between subjective excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue in MS patients ( P = .02). Conclusion There is a significant correlation between fatigue in MS patients and disrupted sleep or abnormal sleep cycles.

Levetiracetam reduces spike-wave density and duration during continuous EEG monitoring in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy.