Treating social phobia in children through group narrative therapy

This study explored the effectiveness of group narrative therapy in treating the symptoms of social phobia among boys. Twenty-four boys, aged 10–11 with a confirmed diagnosis of social phobia were randomly assigned to receive treatment (N = 12) or placed on a waiting list (N = 12) considered as a control group. The treatment group received fourteen 90-min sessions of narrative therapy twice a week. Results showed significant differences in the symptom scores for the intervention and waiting list groups. Assessment by parents and teachers showed that the group narrative therapy had a significant effect on reducing symptoms of social phobia among participants in the treatment group both at home and school settings one week after completion of treatment and sustained after thirty days.     

Laparoscopic splenectomy and LigaSure

Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) is a preferred choice, especially for hematologic diseases. We present the advantages of the use of LigaSure (energy-based equipment that works by applying a precise amount of bipolar energy and pressure to the tissue, achieving a permanent seal) for achieving a precise hemostasis, thus making the LS easier. We have performed LS using LigaSure on 10 patients (4 female, 6 male; mean age, 36 years [range, 16-58]) between December 2002 and August 2003. All patients had ITP. There were no conversion to open surgery. Mean dimensions of spleens were 99 x 49 mm (range, 85 x 36-118 x 60). Intraoperative blood loss was no more than 100 mL in any patients (range, 20-100; mean, 60). The average operative time was 93 minutes (range, 60-155). There were no complications in the postoperative period. The average postoperative stay was 4.3 days (range, 3-7). LS using LigaSure is a safe and time-sparing procedure with almost no complications in this small initial series.     

Myogenesis of avian striated muscle in vitro: role of collagen in myofiber formation.

The complex chemical environment required for the development of the myofiber (myotube) from embryonic avian muscle myoblasts in vitro has been simplified. Myotube formation is shown to occur in the presence of insulin, a low-molecular-weight (fusion) factor obtained from embryo extract, and a collagen substratum. In the absence of collagen, globular structures are formed which are microscopically identical to the globular syncytial structures previously described [de la Haba and Amundsen (1972) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 69, 1131-1135]. A high-molecular-weight fraction from embryo extract will also promote myotube formation in the presence of the fusion factor. This fraction is shown to contain (a) collagen, which promotes myotube formation, and (b) an additional factor which also promotes myotube formation, and which we tentatively hypothsize to be an inducer of collagen synthesis by myogenic cells.     

Mental health problems of Iranian female adolescents and its association with pubertal development: a nationwide study

Mental health problems including emotional and behavioral problems during puberty may be under influence of different risk factors including cultures, living in urban or rural areas and ethnic factors which may vary between different countries. The main aim of this study is to investigate the profile of emotional and behavioral problems and the role of factors such as age, stage of puberty, ethnicity, rurality and living in urban area, as risk factors in Iranian girls. As a part of a large national study we evaluated the emotional and behavioral problems in different stages of puberty in a community sample of Iranian adolescent girls from public schools that were selected by clustered random sampling method. In all subjects, demographic characteristics, and pubertal stages were measured. Emotional and behavioral problems were evaluated using Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The associations of age, pubertal development indices, socioeconomic and demographic factors with the behavioral problems were assessed. A total number of 4576 students enrolled the study and responded to the questions. The mean age of participants was 13.83 ± 2.19 years. The mean total score of difficulties in participants was 14.34 ± 5.81. According to these results 813 (17.8%) adolescents had total problem scores higher than Goodman's cutoff points and the most frequent problem domain was conduct problems (20.5%). According to the results the most related variable with the total difficulty score of SDQ were ethnicity, residency in urban areas and development of menstrual cycle respectively. The results of this study showed that the most correlated factors with mental health problems in Iranian girls during puberty are ethnicity, urbanity and development of menstrual cycle.     

Transmitted HIV type 1 drug resistance among individuals with recent HIV infection in East and Southern Africa

To characterize WHO-defined transmitted HIV drug resistance mutation (TDRM) data from recently HIV-infected African volunteers, we sequenced HIV (pol) and evaluated for TDRM the earliest available specimens from ARV-naive volunteers diagnosed within 1 year of their estimated date of infection at eight research centers in sub-Saharan Africa. TDRMs were detected in 19/408 (5%) volunteers. The prevalence of TDRMs varied by research center, from 5/26 (19%) in Entebbe, 6/78 (8%) in Kigali, 2/49 (4%) in Kilifi, to 3/106 (3%) in Lusaka. One of five volunteers from Cape Town (20%) had TDRMs. Despite small numbers, our data suggest an increase in DRMs by year of infection in Zambia (p?=?0.004). The prevalence observed in Entebbe was high across the entire study. ARV history data from 12 (63%) HIV-infected sexual partners were available; 3 reported ARV use prior to transmission. Among four partners with sequence data available, transmission linkage was confirmed and two had the same TDRMs as the newly infected volunteer (both K103N). As ARV therapy continues to increase in availability throughout Africa, monitoring incident virus strains for the presence of TDRMs should be a priority. Early HIV infection cohorts provide an excellent and important platform to monitor the development of TDRMs to inform treatment guidelines, drug choices, and strategies for secondary prevention of TDRM transmission.     

Pulmonary hypertension in systemic lupus erythematosus: relationship with antiphospholipid antibodies and severe disease outcome

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with an unfavorable prognosis. We investigated the characteristics of SLE patients with PH. The patients with a pulmonary artery systolic pressure more than 30 mmHg at rest on echocardiogram were diagnosed with PH. Echocardiography was done only in patients with clinical or radiological evidence suggesting PH. Right heart catheterization was not performed. We identified 10 SLE patients with PH between 1980 and 2000. We compared their clinical and laboratory parameters with those of 97 consecutive SLE patients without PH. Nine of the ten patients with PH were females. The mean age at the time of SLE onset was 25.2 ± 6.9 years; the mean duration of follow-up was 93.4 ± 52.8 months, and the interval between the onset of SLE and PH diagnosis was 9.0 ± 4.6 (5–21) years. Antiphospholipid antibody positivity was significantly higher in the PH group (80 vs. 36%; p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between two groups in regard to secondary antiphospholipid syndrome. The frequency of Raynaud’s phenomenon was higher in PH group (60 vs. 27%; p < 0.05). Renal involvement (80 vs. 43%; p < 0.05), neuropsychiatric involvement (40 vs. 7.2%; p < 0.005) and serositis (70 vs. 14.4%; p < 0.001) were significantly more frequent in the PH group. The mean damage score in patients with and without PH were 4.0 ± 2.4 and 0.4 ± 1.0, respectively (p < 0.001). Four patients with PH died during the follow-up. This study reveals that the presence of PH defines a subgroup of patients with a severe disease and increased mortality. Antiphospholipid antibodies and Raynaud’s phenomenon may contribute to the pathogenesis of PH. We recommend that all patients with SLE, especially those positive for antiphospholipid antibodies and/or with signs of Raynaud’s phenomenon should be regularly evaluated for the development of PH.