Pediatric restless legs syndrome: analysis of symptom descriptions and drawings.

The specific aims of this study were to collect and analyze detailed symptom descriptions from patients with pediatric restless legs syndrome, ages 6 to 17 years, as well as assess symptom impact and the usefulness of drawings. Trained qualitative interviewers conducted face-to-face audio-recorded interviews of children and adolescents who met criteria for definite restless legs syndrome. Thirty-three patients in 3 age groups used 16 different categories of descriptors for restless legs sensations, with a mean of 3 or more categories used per patient in each age group.

Service user attachments to psychiatric key workers and teams.

Purpose: The first aim of the study was to evaluate whether self-reported attachment styles of individuals with psychosis are consistent with their self-reported attachment in therapeutic relationships with both key workers and mental health teams. The second aim was to evaluate the level of concordance in attachment ratings given by different raters (self-report, key worker informant-report and team informant-report).

Methods: Three self-report versions of the Psychosis Attachment Measure (PAM; attachment in general relationships, attachment towards key worker and attachment in relation to the mental health team) were administered to 24 individuals with a diagnosis of psychosis in psychiatric rehabilitation settings.

Development of the Pediatric Restless Legs Syndrome Severity Scale (P-RLS-SS): a patient-reported outcome measure of pediatric RLS symptoms and impact.

Objective: To develop a questionnaire to measure Pediatric Restless Legs Syndrome (P-RLS) symptoms and impact for use in clinical research.

Methods: Questionnaire items were developed based on open-ended, qualitative interviews of 33 children and adolescents diagnosed with definite RLS (ages 6-17 years) and their parents. The draft questionnaire was then tested through cognitive debriefing interviews with 21 of the same children/adolescents and 15 of their parents.

Psychometric evaluation of the Diabetes Symptom Checklist-Revised (DSC-R)--a measure of symptom distress.

Objective: To assess the psychometric validity, reliability, responsiveness, and minimal important differences of the Diabetes Symptoms Checklist-Revised (DSC-R), a widely used patient-reported outcome measure of diabetes symptom distress.

Research Design And Methods: Psychometric validity of the DSC-R was assessed using blinded data from a large-scale trial of approximately 4000 type 2 diabetes patients. Confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) and multitrait analysis were used to examine the construct validity of the structure of DSC-R.

Item reduction and psychometric validation of the Oily Skin Self Assessment Scale (OSSAS) and the Oily Skin Impact Scale (OSIS).

Introduction: Developed using focus groups, the Oily Skin Self Assessment Scale (OSSAS) and Oily Skin Impact Scale (OSIS) are patient-reported outcome measures of oily facial skin.

Objective: The aim of this study was to finalize the item-scale structure of the instruments and perform psychometric validation in adults with self-reported oily facial skin.

Methods: The OSSAS and OSIS were administered to 202 adult subjects with oily facial skin in the United States.

The psychometric validation of the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) in patients with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BD) adversely affects daily activities/functioning. The Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) assesses disability in work/school activities, family relationships, and social functioning, and it evaluates the functional impact of psychiatric disorders. BD outpatients from 21 U.

Patient experiences with oily skin: the qualitative development of content for two new patient reported outcome questionnaires.

Objective: To develop the content for two new patient reported outcome (PRO) measures to: a) assess the severity of symptoms; and b) the impact of facial skin oiliness on emotional wellbeing using qualitative data from face to face, and internet focus groups in Germany and the US.

Methods: Using input from initial treatment satisfaction focus groups (n = 42), a review of relevant literature and expert clinicians (n = 3), a discussion guide was developed to guide qualitative inquiry using Internet focus groups (IFGs). IFGs were conducted with German (n = 26) and US (n = 28) sufferers of oily skin.

Lateral sharpening of cortical frequency tuning by approximately balanced inhibition.

Cortical inhibition plays an important role in shaping neuronal processing. The underlying synaptic mechanisms remain controversial. Here, in vivo whole-cell recordings from neurons in the rat primary auditory cortex revealed that the frequency tuning curve of inhibitory input was broader than that of excitatory input.

Development and validation of the WEll-being and Satisfaction of CAREgivers of Children with Diabetes Questionnaire (WE-CARE).

Background: This study was designed to develop a diabetes-specific questionnaire on parents' quality of life and satisfaction with their child's diabetes treatment, the WEll-being and Satisfaction of CAREgivers of Children with Diabetes Questionnaire, and to conduct psychometric validation of the WE-CARE.

Methods: Parents of 116 children aged 6 to 11 years were enrolled in the United States. Children had type 1 diabetes mellitus for > 1 year, had been treated with subcutaneous insulin for > or = 2 months, and had a recent glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) measurement.

Defining cortical frequency tuning with recurrent excitatory circuitry.

Neurons in the recipient layers of sensory cortices receive excitatory input from two major sources: the feedforward thalamocortical and recurrent intracortical inputs. To address their respective functional roles, we developed a new method for silencing cortex by competitively activating GABA(A) while blocking GABA(B) receptors. In the rat primary auditory cortex, in vivo whole-cell recording from the same neuron before and after local cortical silencing revealed that thalamic input occupied the same area of frequency-intensity tonal receptive field as the total excitatory input, but showed a flattened tuning curve.

The reliability, validity and responsiveness of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group rating scale and subscales in a clinical-trial setting.

Patients And Methods: To assess the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group's rating scale (the International Restless Legs Scale (IRLS)) (V2.0), using pooled data from two matching, placebo-controlled studies of ropinirole for treating Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).

Results: Pooled patient samples comprised 550 patients in the baseline (validation) sample and 439 patients in the week 12 longitudinal (responsiveness) sample.

Distinct neural mechanisms of risk and ambiguity: a meta-analysis of decision-making.

Converging evidence from human and animal studies suggests that decision-making relies upon a distributed neural network based in the frontal lobes. In particular, models of decision-making emphasize the involvement of orbitofrontal cortices (OFC) and the medial wall. While decision-making has been studied broadly as a class of executive function, recent models have suggested the differentiation between risky and ambiguous decision-making.

The reliability, validity and responsiveness of the Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life questionnaire (RLSQoL) in a trial population.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life questionnaire (RLSQoL) in a clinical trial setting.

Methods: Two matching, placebo-controlled, multinational studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of ropinirole for treating moderate-to-severe Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) formed the basis of this psychometric assessment. Validity and reliability were assessed using baseline data.