Play interview therapy: Its history,theory and practice — A fifty year retrospective account

The method of the play interview offers the fearful child an opportunity to express himself by speaking for a series of dolls representing siblings, parents, teachers or himself. It is not the child who is aggressive, fearful, jealous or desires the parent's affection, but the doll. In this manner, the child learns to make connections between his fears and his unacceptable bad thoughts, feelings or wishes. Improvement occurs after several play interviews.This article is dedicated to Dr. Leo Kanner (1894–1981), former Director of the Children's Psychiatric Service of the Johns Hopkins HospitalLecture given to the Division of Child Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Md, 21205, on September 6, 1988.     

Zur Kenntnis der Akuten Infektiösen Myokarditis

Zusammenfassung Es wird über zwei beobachtete Fälle von akuter Myokarditis berichtet, welche im Verlaufe bzw. im Anschlusse an eine akute Infektionskrankheit auftraten, bei denen die elektrokardiographisch festgestellten Störungen des Rhythmus und des Erregungsablaufes für die Stellung der Diagnose von großem Werte waren. In beiden Fällen trat nach einer kurzen Krankheitsdauer völlige Erholung ein.     

Effects of a diet rich in Q-3 fatty acids on left ventricular geometry and dynamics in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Summary The aim of the present study was to investigate the chronic effects of a dietetic antihypertensive treatment on blood pressure, ventricular dynamics and geometry of the pressure loaded heart. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) received a standard diet enriched with 10% mackerel oil, containing 30% polyunsaturated Q-3 fatty acids, over a period of 70 days. As described previously the diet reduced blood pressure permanently by 40-50 mm Hg. Despite this reduction, the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy was only slightly (statistically insignificantly) reduced. This was probably a result of an increase in sympathetic tone as indicated by a raised pulse rate. On the other hand, the treatment prevented the development of eccentric hypertrophy, typical to the SHR, without changing the elastic material properties of the myocardium. Since the age-matched controls did not show significant degenerative alterations, protective effects at the level of myocardial tissue could not be demonstrated. Furthermore, future investigations need to investigate why myocardial contractility of the treated animals diminishes as observed in this study.     

Effects of local nerve cooling on conduction in vagal fibres shed light upon respiratory reflexes in the rabbit

In ten vagus nerves the effect of local cooling on the compound action potential was studied in the temperature range of 34 to 0 °C in spontaneously breathing, anaesthetized rabbits. The mean temperature at which the myelinated (A) fibres were completely blocked, was 10.2±2.4 °C (mean ± S.D.). In nine nerves, local vagus cooling to 0 °C failed to block all non-myelinated (C) fibres. In one nerve, total blocking occurred at 2.0 °C. We conclude that in the rabbit, the earlier found increase in tonic activity of the diaphragm following lung inflation or deflation during bilateral local vagus cooling to a temperature between 8 and 0 °C is due to afferent impulses in vagal C fibres.     

Idiotypes of monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies produced in autoimmune B/W mice are expressed in normal mice.

An anti-idiotypic antiserum was prepared in a rabbit immunized against a pool of six monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies generated in B/W mice. This antiserum detected idiotypic determinants in four of the six monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies but also in the serum of several non autoimmune strains (BALB/c, NZB X BALB/c) F1 hybrids & CBA/LH). The antiserum also reacted, but only to a weak degree, with B/W mouse sera. These results indicate that some idiotypes of anti-DNA antibodies produced by autoimmune B/W mice are present in normal mouse sera.     

Heat Shock Protein 70 of the Agent of Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis Binds to Borrelia burgdorferi Antibodies

We describe a patient with human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE), a diagnosis confirmed by PCR and immunoblot analysis. Unexpectedly, immunoglobulin G (IgG) directed towards an 80-kDa ehrlichial antigen (without detectable IgM) was present in the patient’s serum in the first week of illness. Lyme disease immunoblots were reactive for IgG (but not IgM), a result indicative of prior exposure to the Lyme disease spirochete. Amino-terminal sequencing revealed that the 80-kDa ehrlichial antigen was an HSP-70 homolog similar to Borrelia burgdorferi HSP-70. We conclude that antibodies against B. burgdorferi HSP-70 may cross-react with the ehrlichial heat shock protein and that this possibility must be considered when serologic test results for HGE and Lyme disease are interpreted.     

SGK1, a potential regulator of <Emphasis Type="Italic">c-fms</Emphasis> related breast cancer aggressiveness

The aggressive behavior of breast cancer cells can at times be modulated by hormonal mechanisms. Exposure to glucocorticoids (GC) has been shown to stimulate the invasiveness, motility and adhesiveness of breast cancer cells containing the glucocorticoid receptor. This is largely explained by GC-associated overexpression of the c-fms proto-oncogene, which encodes the receptor for the colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1). Our objective is to investigate additional GC-associated genetic alterations that could modulate c-fms related malignant behavior in breast cancer cells. A microarray technique using an oligonucleotide array representing 16,700 known expressed human genes was used to analyze the gene expression profile of breast cancer cells exposed to dexamethasone (Dex) or vehicle. Results were confirmed by western blot analysis. Six genes were found to be consistently differentially overexpressed in the Dex-exposed cells compared to control. We focused on serum-glucose kinase 1 (SGK1), a serine-threonine kinase known to be involved in intracellular signal transduction pathways and induced by GC and serum. An adhesion assay was performed on extracellular matrix after exposing the breast cancer cells to Dex, CSF-1 or to Dex or CSF-1 plus LY294002, a functional inhibitor of SGK1 action. Exposure to LY294002 significantly decreased both CSF-1 and Dex-induced adhesiveness to the level of control cells. SGK1 may act as a downstream intracellular regulator of c-fms, particularly of c-fms-induced adhesiveness of breast cancer cells after exposure to GC or CSF-1. This finding may have implications for potential therapeutic interventions aimed at decreasing the aggressiveness of breast cancer cells. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

cagA-Positive Helicobacter pylori Populations in China and The Netherlands Are Distinct

The aim of this research was to study whether and to what extent Chinese cagA-positive Helicobacter pylori isolates differ from those in The Netherlands. Analysis of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR-assessed DNA fingerprints of chromosomal DNA of 24 cagA-positive H. pylori isolates from Dutch (n = 12) and Chinese (n = 10) patients yielded the absence of clustering. Based on comparison of the sequence of a 243-nucleotide part of cagA, the Dutch (group I) and Chinese (group II) H. pylori isolates formed two separate branches with high confidence limits in the phylogenetic tree. These two clusters were not observed when the sequence of a 240-bp part of glmM was used in the comparison. The number of nonsynonymous substitutions was much higher in cagA than in glmM, indicating positive selection. The average levels of divergence of cagA at the nucleotide and protein levels between group I and II isolates were found to be high, 13.3 and 17.9%, respectively. Possibly, the pathogenicity island (PAI) that has been integrated into the chromosome of the ancestor of H. pylori now circulating in China contained a different cagA than the PAI that has been integrated into the chromosome of the ancestor of H. pylori now circulating in The Netherlands. We conclude that in China and The Netherlands, two distinct cagA-positive H. pylori populations are circulating.