Dysfunctional schemas and psychopathology in referred obese adolescents

Objective: Referred obese adolescents often display psychological problems. The present study aimed at investigating whether Young's schema theory constitutes a comprehensive framework to understand psychopathology in youth in general and in referred obese adolescents in particular. Methods: 91 youngsters referred for obesity treatment and 91 normal weight controls (all between 12 and 18 years of age) filled out the Young Schema Questionnaire and the Youth Self‐Report. Parents were asked to complete the Child Behavior Checklist. Results: The obese youngsters displayed an overall greater severity of dysfunctional schemas than normal weight controls. The obese group scored significantly higher for the schemas Emotional Deprivation, Social Isolation/Alienation, Defectiveness/Shame, Failure to Achieve, Dependence/Incompetence and Subjugation. Social Isolation/Alienation and Vulnerability to Harm/Illness were highly predictive for internalizing symptoms in youth. The schemas Entitlement and Dependence/Incompetence were predictive for externalizing symptoms in youth. Conclusion: Referred obese individuals display high levels of maladaptive schemas and these are generally related to internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Minimal displacement of novel self-anchoring catheters suitable for temporary prostate implants.

Catheters were developed that can be fixed in the prostate gland by self-expanding parts for use in PDR brachytherapy. Daily CT-scans were made to investigate the magnitude of catheter displacement. The mean absolute displacement during the 3 day treatment was 1.2 mm. The resulting minor alterations in dose-volume parameters were of no clinical importance.     

Relation of 5'-nucleotidase and phosphatase activities with immunophenotype, drug resistance and clinical prognosis in childhood leukemia.

Ecto-5'-nucleotidase (ecto-5'NT) catalyzes the extracellular dephosphorylation of nucleotides like IMP. Cytoplasmic 5'NT (cyto-5'NT) and non-specific (e.g. acid- and alkaline) phosphatases (AP) regulate the intracellular degradation of nucleotides. High NT and AP activities might cause a resistance to the thiopurines 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and 6-thioguanine (6-TG). We studied the relation between these enzymes and immunophenotype, drug resistance and prognosis in 77 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Enzyme activities were assessed radiochemically; in vitro drug resistance was measured with the MTT assay. AP activities were higher in T-ALL and B-ALL than in precursor B-ALL. Cyto-5'NT activity was very low in all phenotypes and accounted for a significant proportion of total IMPase activity only in the very immature CD10- c mu- precursor B-ALL. CD10+ ALL cases with high ecto-5'NT activities showed a trend (p = 0.065) for a lower probability of continuous complete remission than those with a low activity. Ecto-5'NT activity was not related to in vitro drug resistance to 6-TG. A weak correlation was found between in vitro 6-TG resistance and cyto-5'NT and AP activities. We conclude that high ecto-5'NT activities do not cause a resistance to 6-thiopurines in childhood ALL. Some patients have high cyto-5'NT and AP activities associated with 6-thiopurine resistance.     

The rational design of TAP inhibitors using peptide substrate modifications and peptidomimetics

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-encoded transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) translocates peptides from the cytosol into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. This step precedes the binding of peptides to MHC class I molecules and is essential for cell surface expression of the MHC class I/peptide complex. TAP has a broad sequence specificity and a preference for peptides of around 9 amino acids. To synthesize inhibitors for TAP, we studied various alterations of the peptide substrate. The results indicate that TAP is stereospecific and that peptide bonds engineered into isosteric structures can improve translocation of the peptide. Furthermore, TAP is able to translocate peptides with large side chains that correspond to a peptide of ～ 21 amino acids in extended conformation. Peptides with longer side chains compete for the peptide binding site of TAP but fail to be translocated. Therefore, they represent the first rationally designed inhibitors of TAP.     

Phenotypic analysis of peripheral blood gammadelta T lymphocytes and their targeting by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in vivo

There is increasing evidence that a wider range of lymphoid cell types other than CD4(+) T helper lymphocytes are infected with HIV-1 in vivo, including CD8 lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and reticulodendritic cells. Each potentially contributes to the reservoir of infected cells that resist antiviral treatment and to the impairment of immune responses in AIDS. By quantitative PCR for HIV proviral sequences we have now obtained evidence for substantial infection of gammadelta lymphocytes, contributing 3-45% of the proviral load in peripheral blood. A large proportion of gammadelta lymphocytes constitutively expressed the chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR4, with evidence for marked up-regulation of CD8 in samples from HIV-infected individuals, corresponding to an activated phenotype. That gammadelta lymphocytes might be susceptible to HIV infection was investigated using in vitro infectivity assays of recombinant HIV-expressing green fluorescent protein, followed by flow cytometry. gammadelta, CD4, and CD8 lymphocytes were each productively infected, with gammadelta lymphocytes showing the greatest susceptibility. For each cell type, blocking assays with an anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody indicated that entry was CD4-dependent.     

Association between bone mineral density (DXA), body structure,and body composition in middle‐aged men

The association between bone mass, body structure, and body composition was explored in 156 men, 40 years of AGE . Bone mineral density (total body, lumbar spine, left arm, and left leg) was obtained by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA; Hologic QDR 4500A). Body structure was determined from a battery of anthropometric dimensions with a principal components analysis. Body composition was estimated with DXA. From the 24 anthropometric dimensions, three components were extracted and identified as muscle, fat, and skeletal length. Significant correlations between the muscle component and all BMD measurements (r = 0.28–0.44) were obtained. Except for BMD of the left arm, which correlated significantly, but negatively, with the fat component (r = ?0.16), no significant relations were found between the fat component and BMD. There were significant correlations between lean mass, fat mass, and BMD measurements. The correlations were higher between lean mass and BMD (r = 0.22–0.44) than between fat mass and BMD (r = 0.08–0.24). The multiple regression analysis revealed that except for BMD of the left arm only lean mass or the muscle component, and not fat mass or the fat component, were independent predictors of BMD. It is concluded that the principal anthropometric determinant of BMD in middle‐aged men is lean mass or muscle. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 14:735–742, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Surgical sperm retrieval and intracytoplasmic sperm injection as treatment of obstructive azoospermia

Male genital tract obstructions may result from infections, previous inguinal and scrotal surgery (vasectomy) and congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD). Microsurgery can sometimes be successful in treating the obstruction. In other cases and in cases of failed surgical intervention, the patient can be treated by microsurgical or percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA, PESA) or testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We present the results of 39 ICSI procedures for obstructive azoospermia in 24 couples. The aetiology of the obstruction was failed microsurgery in 11 patients, CBAVD in nine and genital infections in four. Sperm retrieval was accomplished via MESA in four cases, PESA in 18 cases and via TESE in 11 cases. TESE was only applied when PESA failed to produce enough spermatozoa for simultaneous ICSI. In six patients, the ICSI procedure was performed with cryopreserved spermatozoa after an initial PESA procedure. Fertilization occurred in 47% of the metaphase II oocytes; embryo transfer was performed in 92% of procedures and resulted in a clinical pregnancy in 13/39 procedures. Ongoing pregnancy was achieved in 10/39 procedures. One pregnancy was terminated early after prenatal investigation showed a cytogenetic abnormality (47,XX+18, Edwards syndrome). The other nine pregnancies resulted in the live birth of 10 children, without any congenital abnormalities. Epididymal and testicular retrieved spermatozoa were successfully used for ICSI to treat obstructive azoospermia, and resulted in an ongoing pregnancy in 10 of 24 couples (41.6%) after 39 ICSI procedures, a success rate of 25.6% per treatment cycle and of 27.7% per embryo transfer.      

Adoptive immunotherapy for posttransplantation viral infections.

Viral diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality after hemopoietic stem cell transplantation. Because viral complications in these patients are clearly associated with the lack of recovery of virus-specific cellular immune responses, reconstitution of the host with in vitro expanded cytotoxic T lymphocytes is a potential approach to prevent and treat these diseases. Initial clinical studies of cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus in human stem cell transplant patients have shown that adoptively transferred donor-derived virus-specific T cells may restore protective immunity and control established infections. Preclinical studies are evaluating this approach for other viruses while strategies for generating T cells specific for multiple viruses to provide broader protection are being evaluated in clinical trials. The use of genetically modified T cells or the use of newer suicide genes may result in improved safety and efficacy.     

Determination of the parent of origin in nine cases of prenatally detected chromosome aberrations found after intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Prenatal cytogenetic analysis of 71 fetuses conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) resulted in the detection of nine (12.7%) chromosome aberrations including two cases of 47,XXY, four cases involving a 45,X cell line and three autosomal trisomies. Molecular analysis of the parental origin of the deleted or supernumerary chromosome was performed by using polymorphic microsatellite markers. Six cases involving a sex chromosome abnormality were found to be of paternal origin while the two trisomic cases that could be analysed were of maternal origin. Two cases involved the same infertile couple who had two consecutive ICSI pregnancies terminated because of a chromosome abnormality. The replaced embryos in both cases originated from a single batch of ICSI fertilized oocytes of which part was used to initiate the first pregnancy and part was cryopreserved and used to initiate the second pregnancy.