Longer-term effects of school-based counselling in UK primary schools

Children’s mental health is deteriorating while access to child and adolescent mental health services is decreasing. Recent UK policy has focused on schools as a setting for the provision of mental health services, and counselling is the most common type of school-based mental health provision. This study examined the longer-term effectiveness of one-to-one school-based counselling delivered to children in UK primary schools. Data were drawn from a sample of children who received school-based counselling in the UK in the 2015/16 academic year, delivered by a national charitable organisation. Mental health was assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and approximately 1 year post-intervention, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by teachers and parents. Paired t tests compared post-intervention and follow-up SDQ total difficulties scores with baseline values. Propensity score matching was then used to identify a comparator group of children from a national population survey, and linear mixed effects models compared trajectories of SDQ scores in the two groups. In the intervention group, teacher and parent SDQ total difficulties scores were lower at post-intervention and longer-term follow-up compared to baseline (teacher: baseline 14.42 (SD 7.18); post-intervention 11.09 (6.93), t(739) = 13.78, p < 0.001; follow-up 11.27 (7.27), t(739) = 11.92, p < 0.001; parent: baseline 15.64 (6.49); post-intervention 11.90 (6.78), t(361 = 11.29, p < 0.001); follow-up 11.32 (7.19), t(361) = 11.29, p < 0.001). The reduction in SDQ scores was greater in the intervention compared to the comparator group (likelihood ratio test comparing models with time only versus time plus group-by-time interaction: χ² (3) = 24.09, p < 0.001), and model-predicted SDQ scores were lower in the intervention than comparator group for 2 years post-baseline. A one-to-one counselling intervention delivered to children in UK primary schools predicted improvements in mental health that were maintained over a 2 year follow-up period.

     

ELECTRODERMAL ACTIVITY OF UNDERSOCIALIZED AGGRESSIVE CHILDREN: A PILOT STUDY

Electrodermal activity of 11 children with conduct disorder (CD) and 11 normal children were compared during periods of rest, moderate tone and loud bell stimulation. The CD group was best differentiated from controls by lower reactivity to the first bell, while on tonic measures they showed normal values. The electrodermal profile of the CD children thus resembled that of adult sociopaths on phasic measures only. The possibility of using electrodermal measures for predicting outcome and for differential diagnosis is raised.     

Occurrence and course of suicidality during short-term treatment of late-life depression

BACKGROUND: Elderly persons (> or =65 years) have the highest rate of suicide; still, little is known about the occurrence, course, and responsivity of suicidal ideation during treatment of depression in late life and how suicidality affects treatment response. METHODS: This study was undertaken to determine (1) how suicidal ideation changes during short-term depression treatment and (2) whether treatment response differs among 3 groups of patients based on their levels of suicidality at baseline and during treatment (those with a recent suicide attempt or current suicidal ideation [high-risk group; n = 46], those with recurrent thoughts of death [moderate-risk group; n = 143], or those with no suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, or thoughts of death [low-risk group; n = 206]). This is a secondary analysis of pooled data from 3 treatment studies of late-life major depression. Participants were 395 elderly persons with a current major depressive episode, treated as inpatients or outpatients under protocolized conditions with paroxetine hydrochloride or nortriptyline hydrochloride, with or without interpersonal psychotherapy. Changes in suicidal ideation over time, rate of responses, and time to response in each group were compared. RESULTS: Suicidal ideation decreased rapidly early in the course of treatment, with more gradual change thereafter. At the beginning of treatment, 77.5% of the patients reported suicidal ideation, thoughts of death, or feelings that life is empty. After 12 weeks of treatment, suicidal ideation had resolved in all treated patients; 4.6% still reported thoughts of death. However, 6-week (P =.001) and 12-week (P =.02) rates of response were significantly lower in high-risk patients than in low- and moderate-risk patients. High- and moderate-risk patients needed a significantly (P<.001) longer time to respond than low-risk patients (median time to response, 6 and 5 vs 3 weeks). CONCLUSIONS: While suicidal ideation resolves rapidly, the resolution of thoughts about death is more gradual. Suicidal elderly persons with depression require special attention during depression treatment because they have a lower response rate and need a longer time to respond.     

Increased prevalence of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa PLA2 allele in ischaemic stroke associated with large vessel pathology

Introduction: Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa is a membrane receptor with a central function in the platelet adhesion and ultimately in the thrombus formation. Two major variants of the gene encoding the IIIa subunit, called PLA1 (A1) and PLA2 (A2), have been identified in the general population. There are indications that the A2 allele can also be associated with acute thrombosis or stroke. The purpose of this study was to study the distribution of the A2 allele in different vascular subtypes of stroke disease. Materials and methods: A total of 638 consecutive patients were analyzed and classified as having large vessel pathology (n=168) or a small vessel infarct (n=210). Localization of the vascular occlusions was deducted from analysis of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan results in stroke patients. The remainder patients were listed into a mixed vascular pathology group (n=167). Patients with other or poorly characterized stroke etiology were excluded from the study (n=93). Results: In the small vessel and mixed vascular pathology groups, the PLA2 allele frequency was similar to that in the controls. By contrast, PLA2 allele frequency was approximately two-fold higher in patients with large vessel pathology (23.3%) than in the stroke-free control subjects (11.7%, p<0.0005). Multivariate logistic regression analysis of data confirmed this association with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.9 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6–4.9, p<0.0005). Conclusions: These data suggest that the PLA2 allele is more frequent in brain infarcts associated with large-vessel occlusion.     

Aboral pouch with preserved duodenal passage--new reconstruction method after total gastrectomy

A new reconstruction method--the aboral pouch with preserved duodenal passage--has been introduced after total gastrectomy. After removal of the stomach, preparation of the Roux loop and construction of the esophago-jejunostomy, a jejuno-duodenostomy is performed approximately 50 cm away from the esophageal anastomosis between the Roux limb and the duodenal stump. Right below this second anastomosis, the Roux limb is closed with a stapling device to provide a unidirectional food passage through the duodenum. The aboral pouch is constructed as a side-to-side anastomosis between the Roux limb under the stapled segment and the aboral end of the Y limb. The advantages of the reservoir-constructing methods and the interposition methods are combined in this new reconstruction type. Our experiences of 17 cases having undergone this reconstruction method are presented.     

Role of SPECT scans in the diagnosis of cerebrovascular diseases

With an incidence of 200-250 in 100,000 persons year, cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is the most common neurological disorder. In most countries, CVD is the third most frequent cause of death, exceeded only by heart disease and cancer. There are roughly 5.000 new cases per year in Hungary. Additionally, it should be emphasized that there are facts suggesting a more severe population of patients with CVD compared to the analogue group in more developed countries. There are several causes of stroke, but common to all is a critical reduction in cerebral blood flow, resulting in a focal neurological deficit. Functional imaging, particularly of cerebral perfusion, should therefore have a major role to play in the management of these patients. SPECT methods are of high importance in the diagnosis of CVD and in the patients follow-up.     

Activation of the 10-Hz sympathetic generator during the second phase of severe hypoxia-hypercapnia and Cushing reaction

Under urethane anesthesia, as in freely moving cats, the sympathetic nerve discharge (SND) contains a 10-Hz component, either as a single peak in the autospectra or in addition to the cardiac-related or 2-6-Hz rhythm. In this study, we examined the changes in these rhythmic SND components during the reaction to asphyxia and to sudden elevation in the intracranial pressure (Cushing reaction). In all cats included in this study, resting SND was dominated by 2-6-Hz rhythm, but a peak at 10 Hz was also present in the coherence functions. During asphyxia or Cushing reaction, the 2-6-Hz component exhibited the usual two-phase pattern of activation followed by suppression. In phase 2, however, the SND did not desynchronize, as in chloralose-urethane anesthetized cats [Am. J. Physiol. 256 (1989) R120; J. Physiol. (London) 469 (1993) 37], and the massive SND activation and the resulting pressor reaction was due to strengthening of the 10-Hz rhythm. After the ischemic reaction, the 10-Hz component diminished and 2-6-Hz rhythm recovered. These findings suggest that two-phase response to hypoxia-hypercapnia is not due to hypoxic neuronal damage but represents a physiological sympathetic reaction involving different patterns of SND.     

A fully recombinant partial prothrombin complex effectively bypasses fVIII in vitro and in vivo

The development of inhibitory antibodies is a serious complication in hemophilic patients, severely compromising therapeutic success. Bleeding episodes in affected patients are controlled by treatment with a plasma-derived prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC), activated PCC (APCC) or recombinant activated factor VII. We hypothesized that a recombinant two-component agent consisting of recombinant prothrombin (rfII) and activated factor X (rfXa) would have substantial fVIII bypassing activity and could be a safe alternative therapeutic option. To test this hypothesis we assembled an agent in vitro solely consisting of rfII and rfXa at a molar ratio of 37,500:1. These factors are believed to be responsible for the activity of APCC preparations. Recombinant fX, used as the source for fXa generation, and rfII were purified from serum-free and protein-free conditioned media of stably transfected CHO and BHK tissue culture cells, respectively. Activation of rfX to rfXa was accomplished by the plant protease ficin, obviating the need for a protease derived from a human or animal source. We found that in vitro the complex reduced the abnormally prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of a high-titer fVIII inhibitor plasma similar to an APCC preparation. Furthermore, addition of increasing amounts of rfII/rfXa to inhibitor plasma resulted in a linear dose-dependent increase in the rate of thrombin generation. In a rabbit fVIII inhibitor model, treatment with rfII/rfXa statistically significantly reduced the intensity of the abnormal cuticle bleeding. In the Wessler test, rfII/rfXa showed no thrombogenicity. These data show that a well-defined, particularly safe and efficacious agent with fVIII bypassing activity can be generated from recombinant fII and fXa.