Effect of sex chromosome number variation on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, executive function, and processing speed.

Aim: To study sex differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, we explored whether X chromosome absence or excess is independently associated with deficits in attention and hyperactivity, executive function, and processing speed.

Method: We assessed 116 children (ages 3y 10mo-11y 11mo, mean 8y 5mo, SD 1y 11mo) with a variable number of sex chromosomes: 36 females with Turner syndrome (45, X0), 20 males with Klinefelter syndrome (47, XXY), 37 typically developing females (XX), and 23 typically developing males (XY).

Results: X chromosome absence was associated with increased attention problems, hyperactivity, and deficits in inhibitory control, compared with female children with XX (all p<0.

Sex differences in psychiatric disorders: what we can learn from sex chromosome aneuploidies.

The study of sexual dimorphism in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders is challenging due to the complex interplay of diverse biological, psychological, and social factors. Males are more susceptible to neurodevelopmental disorders including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit activity disorder. Conversely, after puberty, females are more prone to major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders compared to males.

Cutaneous malignant melanoma and Parkinson disease: Common pathways?

The mechanisms underlying the high prevalence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in Parkinson disease (PD) are unclear, but plausibly involve common pathways. 129Ser-phosphorylated α-synuclein, a pathological PD hallmark, is abundantly expressed in CMM, but not in normal skin. In inherited PD, PARK genes harbor germline mutations; the same genes are somatically mutated in CMM, or their encoded proteins are involved in melanomagenesis.

The achievement of target cholesterol level differs between coronary heart disease and diabetic patients.

Background: Guidelines recommend that LDL-C level should be <100mg/dl among diabetes mellitus (DM) and coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.

Objective: To evaluate how patients with DM and CHD differ in attaining the target level and to examine the association between goal achievement, demographic and clinical parameters.

Methods: The study was conducted in Maccabi Healthcare Services, the second largest health maintenance organization in Israel.

Diabetes and risk of incident cancer: a large population-based cohort study in Israel.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been associated with an increased risk of a variety of cancers in observational studies, but few have reported the relationship between diabetes and cancer risk in men and women separately. The main goal of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the sex-specific risk of incident overall and site-specific cancer among people with DM compared with those without, who had no reported history of cancer at the start of the follow-up in January 2000. During an average of 8 years of follow-up (SD = 2.

Persistence with statins and incident cataract: a population-based historical cohort study.

Purpose: In recent years, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that statins may have anti-inflammatory effects; consequently, it was hypothesized that statins may have a preventive effect against cataract.

Methods: The study was carried out on a retrospective cohort of 180,291 new statin users in a large health organization in Israel. Study participants were followed between 1998 and 2007 for incident cataract or cataract extraction.

Seasonality in birth weight: review of global patterns and potential causes.

Birth weight is the single most significant determinant of infant mortality and the chances of a newborn to experience healthy development. Low birth weight also appears to be related to higher risks of several important chronic conditions, such as ischemic heart disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and cancer in adults. Thus factors that influence in utero growth and birth weight may have a serious effect on health outcomes many years later in life.

The direct medical cost of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, pregnancy and female infertility in a large HMO in Israel.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the direct medical cost of treating major chronic illnesses in Maccabi Healthcare Services, a 1.8 million member health maintenance organization in Israel.

Methods: Direct medical costs were calculated for each member in 2006.

High frequency stimulation and pharmacological inactivation of the subthalamic nucleus reduces 'compulsive' lever-pressing in rats.

In recent years there have been several attempts to establish high frequency stimulation (HFS) as an additional treatment strategy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Two studies reported that bilateral HFS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) dramatically alleviated compulsions and improved obsessions in three patients with co-morbid Parkinson's disease and OCD. A recent study reported that HFS as well as pharmacological inactivation of the STN alleviate compulsive checking in the quinpirole rat model of OCD.

The role of the subthalamic nucleus in 'compulsive' behavior in rats.

Different lines of evidence point to dysfunction of basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It has been hypothesized that the circuits' dysfunction in OCD may be characterized by a relative under-activity of the indirect compared with the direct pathway within these circuits. The present study tested whether lesions of the subthalamic nucleus (STN), a major node of the indirect pathway, would affect compulsive behavior, using the signal attenuation rat model of OCD.