Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the May-June 2017 issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. We start the issue with the review article, “The Role and Treatment Implications of Peripheral and Central Processing of Pain, Pruritus, and Nausea in Heightened Somatic Awareness: A Review,” by Spiegel et al. Here, the authors describe and discuss human studies that explore acute neural transmission processes of pain, pruritus, and nausea, including how cortical and subcortical networks are activated by these symptoms. Based on the discussed research, the authors then describe potential treatment options for patients who exhibit chronic symptoms of pain, pruritic, or nausea.

Next, in their article, “Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and the Central Nervous System: Potential Biomarkers in Identifying Suicide Risk,” Yarlagadda, Rosenblatt, and Clayton discuss possible biological mechanisms of suicidality, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their association with suicidal behaviors.

Following this, in the article titled, “When the Opioid Medications Go Missing: Confidentiality and Safety in Adolescents,” Majeed presents a case in which an adolescent, while in treatment for depression and behavioral problems in school, admitted to stealing and using opioid pain medication belonging to her mother, but instructed the treatment team not to reveal her substance use to her family. The author discusses the professional and ethical dilemma this nondisclosure caused the treatment team, who had to not only consider the patient’s safety, but also her rights to confidentiality as a minor.

Next, in his commentary “It’s Time for Combination Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis,” Avasarala discusses the blood brain barrier as the primary limitation to the effectiveness of multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies. The author also describes the pathophysiological role of B-cells in MS disease progression and treatment and discusses potential drug development strategies for MS that combine blood brain barrier crossing molecules with peripherally acting B-cell depleting monoclonal antibodies.

We close the issue with the latest installment of Risk Management by Vanderpool title, “What Can I Do About a Negative Online Review?” Here the author describes the pros and cons of potential actions a clinician can take when faced with a negative online review.

We hope you enjoy the issue. As always, we welcome your feedback and submissions.

Sincerely,

Amir Kalali, MD

Editor, Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience