Psychiatric status of asylum seeker families held for a protracted period in a remote detention centre in Australia

OBJECTIVE: To document the psychiatric status of a near complete sample of children and their families from one ethnic group held for an extended period of time in a remote immigration detention facility in Australia. METHOD: Structured psychiatric interviews were administered by three same-language speaking psychologists by phone to assess the lifetime and current psychiatric disorders among 10 families (14 adults and 20 children) held in immigration detention for more than two years. RESULTS: All adults and children met diagnostic criteria for at least one current psychiatric disorder with 26 disorders identified among 14 adults, and 52 disorders among 20 children. Retrospective comparisons indicated that adults displayed a threefold and children a tenfold increase in psychiatric disorder subsequent to detention. Exposure to trauma within detention was commonplace. All adults and the majority of children were regularly distressed by sudden and upsetting memories about detention, intrusive images of events that had occurred, and feelings of sadness and hopelessness. The majority of parents felt they were no longer able to care for, support, or control their children. CONCLUSIONS: Detention appears to be injurious to the mental health of asylum seekers. IMPLICATIONS: The level of exposure to violence and the high level of mental illness identified among detained families provides a warning to policy makers about the potentially damaging effects of prolonged detention on asylum seekers. In their attempt to manage the international asylum crisis, it is important that Western countries do not inadvertently implement policies that cause further harm.     

Differences in morphine-induced antinociception in male and female offspring born of morphine exposed mothers

Objective:

Antinociceptive effect of morphine in offspring born of mothers that received saline or morphine during the gestation period was investigated.

Materials and Methods:

Wistar rats (200-250 g) received saline, morphine 0.5 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg during gestation days 14-16. All pups after weaning were isolated treatment/sex dependently and were allowed to fully mature. The antinociceptive effect of morphine was assessed in formalin test. Morphine (0.5-7.5 mg/kg) or saline (1 ml/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 10 min before formalin (50 μl of 2.5% solution in right hind-paw).

Results:

Male offspring born of saline-treated mothers were less morphine-sensitive than females. On the contrary, male offspring exposed prenatally to morphine (5 mg/kg) were more sensitive to morphine-induced antinociceptive response in formalin test. However, no difference in antinociceptive effect was observed amongst offspring of either sex born of mothers treated with morphine 0.5 mg/kg, identifying a lower dose effect of the opioid.

Conclusion:

The exposure to morphine during the developmental period may result in altered development of tolerance to morphine and thus involved in drug abuse.KEY WORDS: Formalin test, gestation, morphine, offspring, pain     

Incidence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter and Salmonella from Houseflies (Musca Domestica) in Kitchens,Farms, Hospitals and Slaughter Houses

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - Carriage status of Campylobacter and Salmonella was investigated in houseflies in Shahrekord and Isfahan...