Previous oil spills and disasters from other human-made events have shown that mental health effects to the affected population are widespread and can be significant.

There has been concern regarding the likelihood that existing public health surveillance was not capturing the mental health effects to the population affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill. The objectives of this study were to assess the mental health needs of coastal communities in the states of Alabama and Mississippi following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A cluster sampling methodology was used to assess the mental health status of coastal residents in three counties in Alabama four months following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and in the Gulf Coast counties in Mississippi 5.5 months after the oil spill.

A total of 469 residents of the selected areas were interviewed. Between 15.4 and 24.5% of the respondents reported depressive symptoms, with 21.4-31.5% reporting symptoms consistent with an anxiety disorder, and 16.3-22.8% reporting ≥14 mentally unhealthy days within the past 30 days. Overall, there were more negative quality of life indicators and negative social context outcomes than in the state's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. Between 32.1% and 35.7% of all households reported decreased income since the oil spill, and 35.5-38.2% of all households reported having been exposed to oil.

The proportion of respondents reporting negative mental health parameters in the affected Alabama and Mississippi coastal communities is higher than the proportion reported in the 2008 and 2009 BRFSS state reports, suggesting that the public health response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill should focus on mental health services in these communities.

Buttke D , Vagi S , Bayleyegn T , Sircar K , Strine T , Morrison M , Allen M , Wolkin A . Mental Health Needs Assessment After the Gulf Coast Oil Spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(5):1-8.

Fewer than 30 cases of oligodendroglioma or anaplastic oligodendroglioma metastatic to bone are reported in the literature. Prolonged survival even with therapy is uncommon.

We report a case of anaplastic oligodendroglioma metastatic to bone with a dramatic and durable response to temozolomide therapy. A retrospective case review, molecular analysis, and literature search were performed.

The patient presented with a right frontal mass in 1990. Progression led to resection of the lesion in 1995. Histology revealed an anaplastic oligodendroglioma and the tumour was found to have allelic loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosome 1p (1p-). He received standard radiation therapy. In 2000 he developed hip and pelvic pain. A bone scan showed multiple skeletal lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed stability of intracranial disease. Resection of one lesion found metastatic anaplastic oligodendroglioma with identical morphology to the patient’s original tumour, including glial fibrillary acidic protein expression. The patient was started on standard temozolomide chemotherapy and celecoxib with prompt pain relief, and rapid normalization of serum alkaline phosphatase. He received a total of 12 cycles of combined therapy with no toxicity and no evidence of progression until increasing pain marked disease recurrence. The patient underwent palliative chemo- and radiation therapy but eventually succumbed.

Loss of heterozygosity 1p- is associated with prolonged survival in anaplastic oligodendroglioma and may increase the cumulative risk for development of systemic metastases. We speculate that metastases from oligodendroglioma harbouring loss of heterozygosity at chromosome 1p- retain the chemosensitivity of the initial lesion.