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Suicidal ideation is often an indicator of mental health problems and a major risk factor for suicide. This study aims to present the prevalence of suicidal ideation and compare students of a Portuguese university by school and gender. A total of 366 individuals from four schools completed the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (cut-off point ≥ 41 is significant) and specific questions about lifetime and past week suicidal ideation. Frequency analysis and chi-square tests were performed. The lifetime, past year and past week prevalence of suicidal ideation was 12.6%, 10.7% and 10.7%, respectively. A higher percentage of suicidal ideators were attending the School of Human and Social Sciences, and were of the female gender. However, these variables are not significantly associated with suicidal ideation. The results obtained emphasize the need for more research and the importance of taking special precautions to help students to deal with their personal and professional contingency challenges. Keywords Ideación Suicida en Estudiantes Universitarios: Prevalencia y Asociación con la Escuela y el GéneroResumen: La ideación suicida es frecuentemente un indicador de problemas mentales y uno de los principales factores de riesgo para el suicidio. Este estudio intenta presentar la prevalencia de ideación suicida y comparar por género y por escuelas estudiantes de una universidad portuguesa. En total, 366 alumnos de cuatro escuelas completaron el Cuestionario de Ideación Suicida (puntuación ≥ 41 es significativa) y cuestiones sobre la ideación suicida durante su vida y semana anterior. Se realizaron análisis de frecuencias y la prueba ji-cuadrado. Durante su vida, en el año y semana anterior se encontraron prevalencias de 12.6%, 10.7% y 10.7%, respectivamente. El mayor porcentaje de alumnos con ideación suicida pertenece a las Ciencias Humanas y Sociales y el género femenino, pero estas variables no se relacionan significativamente con la ideación suicida. Los datos suscitan más investigación y refuerzan la importancia de ayudar a los estudiantes a enfrentar las contingencias personales y profesionales desafiantes.

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying movement disorders, coupled with refinements in surgical technique, has led to a resurgence of interest in the surgical treatment of patients with tremor. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 60 patients (62 patient sides) with medically intractable tremor who underwent stereotactic thalamotomy. Of these 60 patients, 42 had Parkinson's disease (of whom 2 patients underwent bilateral surgery for a total of 44 patient sides), 6 had essential tremor, 6 had cerebellar tremor, and 6 had post-traumatic tremor. The patients received follow-up for as long as 13 years (mean, 53.4 mo) after their operations. At the most recent follow-up visit, 86% of the patients with Parkinson's disease, 83% of the patients with essential tremor, 67% of the patients with cerebellar tremor, and 50% of the patients with post-traumatic tremor had cessation of or moderate-to-marked improvement in their contralateral tremor, with a concomitant improvement in function. The mean daily dose of levodopa for those patients preoperatively taking levodopa (n = 35) was reduced by approximately 156 mg at a mean of 53.4 months after thalamotomy. Immediate postoperative complications were common, occurring in 58% of patients. The most common complications were contralateral weakness (34%), dysarthria (29%), and confusion (23%). These complications generally resolved rapidly during the postoperative period.

Patients with PD present with cognitive impairment even when nondemented. Depression may exacerbate executive dysfunction, especially in subjects with lower educational level.

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