Marital Quality,Self-compassion and Psychological Distress in Women with Primary Infertility

The current study investigates the relationships among marital quality, self-compassion with psychological distress in women with primary infertility. It was hypothesized that marital quality and self-compassion are likely to predict psychological distress in women with primary infertility. It was further hypothesized that self-compassion is likely to mediate the relationship between marital quality and psychological distress in women with primary infertility. The sample was comprised of 115 women with primary infertility with an age range of 20–35 years (M?=?29.08, SD?=?3.908). The Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick in J Marriage Fam, 1988. https://doi.org/10.2307/352430), Self-compassion Scale (Neff in Self Identity 2(3):223–250, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309027), and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (Lovibond and Lovibond in Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales, 2nd edn. Psychology Foundation, 1995) were used to measure the study variables. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Pearson Product Moment Correlation showed that marital quality was positively related to self-compassion and negatively associated with psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress). Furthermore, self-compassion was negatively associated with psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress). Mediation analysis with the help of Process Macro revealed that marital quality was significantly predicting depression and stress but not anxiety among women with primary infertility, whereas self-compassion was significantly predicting depression, anxiety, and stress among women with primary infertility. Self-compassion was significantly mediating the relationship between marital quality and psychological distress (depression and stress) in women with primary infertility. The study showed that self-compassion could be an important variable for the management of infertility-related issues.

     

Physiological,pharmacological and toxicological considerations of drug-induced structural cardiac injury

The incidence of drug-induced structural cardiotoxicity, which may lead to heart failure, has been recognized in association with the use of anthracycline anti-cancer drugs for many years, but has also been shown to occur following treatment with the new generation of targeted anti-cancer agents that inhibit one or more receptor or non-receptor tyrosine kinases, serine/threonine kinases as well as several classes of non-oncology agents. A workshop organized by the Medical Research Council Centre for Drug Safety Science (University of Liverpool) on 5 September 2013 and attended by industry, academia and regulatory representatives, was designed to gain a better understanding of the gaps in the field of structural cardiotoxicity that can be addressed through collaborative efforts. Specific recommendations from the workshop for future collaborative activities included: greater efforts to identify predictive (i) preclinical; and (ii) clinical biomarkers of early cardiovascular injury; (iii) improved understanding of comparative physiology/pathophysiology and the clinical predictivity of current preclinical in vivo models; (iv) the identification and use of a set of cardiotoxic reference compounds for comparative profiling in improved animal and human cellular models; (v) more sharing of data (through publication/consortia arrangements) on target-related toxicities; (vi) strategies to develop cardio-protective agents; and (vii) closer interactions between preclinical scientists and clinicians to help ensure best translational efforts.     

Initial antibodies binding to HIV-1 gp41 in acutely infected subjects are polyreactive and highly mutated

The initial antibody response to HIV-1 is targeted to envelope (Env) gp41, and is nonneutralizing and ineffective in controlling viremia. To understand the origins and characteristics of gp41-binding antibodies produced shortly after HIV-1 transmission, we isolated and studied gp41-reactive plasma cells from subjects acutely infected with HIV-1. The frequencies of somatic mutations were relatively high in these gp41-reactive antibodies. Reverted unmutated ancestors of gp41-reactive antibodies derived from subjects acutely infected with HIV-1 frequently did not react with autologous HIV-1 Env; however, these antibodies were polyreactive and frequently bound to host or bacterial antigens. In one large clonal lineage of gp41-reactive antibodies, reactivity to HIV-1 Env was acquired only after somatic mutations. Polyreactive gp41-binding antibodies were also isolated from uninfected individuals. These data suggest that the majority of gp41-binding antibodies produced after acute HIV-1 infection are cross-reactive responses generated by stimulating memory B cells that have previously been activated by non-HIV-1 antigens.     

The burden of alcohol misuse on an inner-city general hospital

Alcohol consumption in the UK has been increasing steadily. We prospectively studied the burden on hospital services caused by overt alcohol misuse, in an inner-city hospital in north-west England. All Accident & Emergency (A&E) patients were assessed to determine whether their hospital attendance was alcohol-related, and whether this resulted in admission and/or generated new out-patient appointments. Over 2 months, 1915 patients attended A&E with alcohol-related problems, accounting for 12% of attendances; 50% were aged 18-39 years, and acute alcohol intoxication was the commonest presenting complaint. Overall, 6.2% of all hospital admissions were due to alcohol-related problems. Over 2800 new out-patient visits were likely to have been generated over an 18-month period from initial attendance with an alcohol-related problem, mostly for orthopaedic clinics. The burden placed by overt alcohol-related problems on hospitals is enormous, both in terms of the emergency and out-patient services. The implementation of education, screening and intervention strategies in A&E departments, and employment of key trained personnel, should be considered, to optimize the clinical management of these patients.     

Nonopioid analgesics

NSAIDs are useful analgesics for many pain states, especially those involving inflammation. Their use is frequently overlooked in patients with postoperative and chronic pain. Unless there is a contraindication, the use of an NSAID should be routinely considered to manage acute pain, chronic cancer, and noncancer pain.     

The future of therapeutic myocardial angiogenesis

Despite improvements in its medical and surgical management, ischemic coronary disease remains responsible for significant morbidity, mortality, and economic burden in developed nations. Therapeutic myocardial angiogenesis is an attractive treatment option for patients with end-stage coronary disease who have failed percutaneous and surgical methods of revascularization. Over the past decade, our understanding of the biology of new blood vessel formation has improved significantly, and consequently, the use of growth factors to induce myocardial angiogenesis has been attempted in preclinical and clinical trials. Although growth factor therapy had demonstrated tremendous success in animal models, clinical trials have shown limited benefit in patients with coronary disease. Vascular endothelial growth factors and fibroblast growth factors are perhaps the most potent inducers of angiogenesis that have been used in animal models, and the only ones that have been used in clinical trials. This review outlines the biology of new vessel formation and the effects of these growth factors in the context of myocardial angiogenesis with an emphasis on the effects on the endothelium. It also provides a brief overview of delivery strategies and summarizes the preclinical and clinical evidence relating to exogenous growth factor delivery for myocardial angiogenesis. Lastly, we discuss the limitations and future challenges of angiogenic therapy.