Dear Colleagues:
Welcome to the January issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. As usual, we cover a variety of topics within the neuroscience field this month, and we hope you enjoy reading the issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you.
In this issue, Allen at al evaluate the psychometric characteristics of a new rating scale in their article, “Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Clinical Global Impression for Schizoaffective Disorder Scale.” The authors found that Spearman correlations between Clinical Global Impression for Schizoaffective Disorder domains and corresponding symptom scales were 0.60 or greater, and effect sizes for Clinical Global Impression for Schizoaffective Disorder overall and domain scores were similar to Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale, and 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores. The authors conclude that multiple lines of evidence support the reliability and validity of the Clinical Global Impression for Schizoaffective Disorder for studies in schizoaffective disorder.
We follow the Allen study with an interesting review article by IsHak et al entitled, “Energy Drinks: Psychological Effects and Impact on Well-being and Quality of Life—A Literature Review.” In this article, the authors examine the literature for evidence of the psychological effects of energy drinks and their impact on the sense of well-being and quality of life, an important topic considering the recent exponential growth in energy drink consumption, particularly among adolescents and young adults. The authors found that energy drinks have mixed psychological and well-being effects on those who consume them, positive and negative, and they review and discuss these effects.
Next, Spiegel and Chen provide an informative case report and literature review entitled, “A Case of Postoperative Cognitive Decline, with a Highly Elevated C- Reactive Protein, Status Post Left Ventricular Assist Device Insertion: A Review of the Neuroinflammatory Hypothesis of Delirium.” The authors review the multifactorial etiology of postoperative cognitive decline, a condition that is often subtle in presentation and complex in diagnosis. The authors also present a case of postoperative cognitive decline in a middle-age patient after left ventricular assist device placement.
Finally, in this issue of Innovations, we present two of our regular columns. In this month’s “The Interface,” Sansone and Sansone examine the relationship between chronic pain and personality disorders in their article “Chronic Pain Syndromes and Borderline Personality.” And in “Meymandi at Large,” Dr. Meymandi pays homage to Beethoven in his article, “An ode to the joy of Beethoven’s 9th.”
Sincerely,
Amir Kalali, MD
Editor, Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience
