Detection of pervasive disorders in the child: a maternal perspective

Invasive developmental disorders are characterized by the early occurrence of changes that come up in the areas of communication development, behavior and interpersonal relationship. This study aimed to discover how the disorder detection process took place from a maternal perspective. A quantitative and qualitative study was carried, based on a semi-structured survey with 20 mothers of children in this condition. Results were processed through content analysis and indicated that these disorders have been diagnosed after the established age and that early typical signs are noticed by the family, particularly by the mother. These findings that child health professionals do not seem to be aware of the importance of effective developmental follow-up, which would lead to the early detection of these disorders, thus minimizing its present and future negative effects.     

Psychosomatic symptoms and the group mind

Objectives. In this work, we propose a model, designed to understand mental symptoms and adapted for the analysis of psychosomatic symptoms, to be used as a tool to represent group phenomena, named the ‘group mind’. Design. A revision of the relevant literature on the concept of ‘group mind’ and psychosomatics, and the presentation of the Cambridge model. Methods. We describe how unformatted experiences can appear as somatization, and how this process can be corrected via mental representations. Group dynamics can function creating these representations and thus contribute to solving psychosomatic symptoms. We refer to W. R. Bion's concepts, mainly the ones on proto‐thoughts and the proto‐mental system, comparing them to the proposed model and giving a foundation to this conceptual representation. We illustrate with four cases of clinical interaction. Conclusions. Psychotherapeutic groups are privileged places to comprehend and transform psychosomatic symptoms. The Cambridge model allows a representation of these processes. Further studies are necessary to assess its validity, test its adequacy, and expand its possibilities.     

Magnetic resonance (MR) in endometrial carcinoma preoperative evaluation

BACKGROUND: Myometrial invasion of endometrial carcinoma is an important prognostic factor because the degree of myometrial invasion is correlated with the rate of lymphnode metastases and of recurrences. The aim of the study was a preoperative evaluation of endometrial carcinoma by Magnetic Resonance (MR). METHODS: The authors present a prospective study performed on 54 cases of endometrial carcinoma collected at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the University of Trieste (Italy). All the patients were considered as Stage I after hysteroscopy and endocervical curettage. Prior to surgery all the patients underwent MR at the Department of Radiology of the University of Trieste (Italy) in order to evaluate the depth of myometrial invasion. The surgical procedure included total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and pelvic and lomboaortic lymphadenectomy in high risk cases. Statistical evaluation was performed by Fischer's exact test. RESULTS: Statistically significant positive correlation was found (p<0.001) between MR staging and surgical staging. The sensitivity reported in our series for distinguishing between superficial disease (Stage IA and IB) and deep myometrial invasion (Stage IC) was 92%. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative MR is helpful in selecting patients at high risk of nodal involvement and it is suggested that, although MR is considered an expensive examination, its use should be always considered before surgical treatment of patients with high surgical risk.     

Evaluation of Orally Administered Highly Variable Drugs and Drug Formulations

Pharmaceutical Research -     

Cellular interactions in the lysis of varicella-zoster virus infected human fibroblasts.

The in vitro lysis of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infected human fibroblasts by blood mononuclear cells (MNC) is inhibited by cyclosporin A, whether or not the effector and target cells chare HLA A or B antigens. Interleukin 2 (IL-2) reversed the inhibition by cyclosporin A (CyA) and also induced a further increase in target cell lysis by MNC in the absence of CyA. MNC depleted of OKM-1+ or Leu-11+ cells showed reduced lysis of VZV infected fibroblasts and this reduction was not overcome by adding IL-2. Depletion of monocytes from the MNC effectors reduced target cell lysis and this effect was reversed by adding Interleukin 1 (IL-1). The results indicate that NK cells contribute to the lysis of VZV infected cells and suggest that IL-2 release by T cells, as a result of HLA matching or antigen representation, may amplify this mechanism.     

Somatization or psychosomatic symptoms?

The author describes some problems emerging from the approach to and comprehension of somatization symptoms, discussing ambiguities regarding somatization seen in the current classification manuals (ICD-10 and DSM-IV). Then the author presents a case report of a man who presented with a bizarre symptom of feminization that was successfully treated with psychotherapy. The author ends with a discussion of the relationship between meaning and symptom.