A 9-year-old female with iron deficiency has severe periodic limb movements while taking mirtazapine for insomnia.

Mirtazapine is a Food and Drug Administration-approved atypical antidepressant used off-label for insomnia. Mirtazapine has been associated with movement disorders in adults. A 9-year-old female was seen in the sleep clinic for symptoms of insomnia, nocturnal awakenings, restless sleep, and growing pains. Mirtazapine was started prior to presentation for severe insomnia. A sleep study showed frequent repetitive leg movements prior to sleep onset as well as significant periodic limb movement disorder with a periodic limb movement index of 25.1/hour. The child was found to have a ferritin level of 23 ng/mL and an iron saturation of 10%. There were concerns that the presence of iron deficiency along with the use of mirtazapine may have contributed to the elevated periodic limb movement index. After starting iron therapy to treat the child's iron deficiency, mirtazapine was weaned off, with further clinical improvements in sleep quality reported. A follow-up sleep study showed a resolution of her periodic limb movement disorder with a periodic limb movement index of 1.4/hour. This is the first pediatric case to describe a sleep-related movement disorder associated with the use of mirtazapine and polysomnographic data to support resolution after discontinuation of mirtazapine along with iron therapy. CITATION: Hawkins M. A 9-year-old female with iron deficiency has severe periodic limb movements while taking mirtazapine for insomnia. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(7):1369-1373.

Cannabis in fat: high hopes to treat obesity.

Cannabinoid receptor type-1 (CB1) is known to have a substantial impact on the regulation of energy metabolism via central and peripheral mechanisms. In this issue of the JCI, Ruiz de Azua and colleagues provide important insights into the regulation of adipocyte physiology by CB1. Mice with adipocyte-specific deletion of the CB1-encoding gene had an overall improved metabolic profile in addition to reduced body weight and total adiposity. These changes were associated with an increase in sympathetic tone of the adipose tissue and expansion of activated macrophages, both of which occurred prior to changes in body weight, lending support to a causal relationship between loss of CB1 in adipocytes and systemic metabolic changes. This work identifies adipocyte CB1s as a potential novel peripheral target for affecting systemic metabolism with diminished CNS effects.

Pediatric spinal epidural abscess: a 9-year institutional review and review of the literature.

Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare condition that requires prompt diagnosis and initiation of treatment for optimal outcome. Treatment generally consists of surgical intervention and systemic antibiotics. We present 1 of the largest cohorts of nontuberculous pediatric SEA in the English literature, emphasizing the outcomes of conservative (ie, nonoperative) management. We retrospectively identified 9 pediatric patients (≤18 years of age) with SEAs at Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital from 2002 to 2011. Cases were reviewed for demographic, clinical, diagnostic, and treatment characteristics and outcomes. The diagnosis of SEA was made by MRI in all cases, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was the only identified pathogen, isolated via blood culture in 6 of 9 patients. Although every patient received systemic antibiotics, only 2 had neurosurgical intervention. Four of the 7 patients treated conservatively received computed tomography-guided needle drainage. All patients recovered without significant sequelae. SEA is a potentially fatal illness that necessitates a heightened clinical awareness for diagnosis and treatment. Although official recommendations regarding management in pediatrics are lacking, treatment has generally been surgical decompression and drainage in combination with antibiotics; recent reports have suggested that antibiotic therapy alone may be successful in select patient populations. Although the adult literature has suggested that such management can be trialed in specific situations, only a handful of cases in the pediatric literature have reported this nonoperative approach. We present one of the largest reviews in support of successfully treating SEA with nonsurgical therapy.