The Course of Eating Disorders Involving Bingeing and Purging Among Adolescent Girls: Prevalence,Stability, and Transitions

Purpose

To quantify eating disorder (ED) stability and diagnostic transition among a community-based sample of adolescents and young adult females in the United States.

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder in postmenopausal women.

Decreases in sex hormone levels with menopause may bring about a number of consequences in women's general health and sexual well-being, especially when levels decline suddenly and prematurely, as in surgical menopause. In addition to the well-established role of estrogens in preserving the biological basis of sexual response, there is emerging evidence that androgens are significant independent determinants affecting sexual desire, activity and satisfaction, as well as mood, energy and other components of women's health. Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), a persistent absence of sexual fantasies or thoughts and/or desire for and receptivity to sexual activity that causes personal distress, is experienced by some postmenopausal women. Even though conventional hormone therapy with estrogens or estrogens and progestogens may be effective for vaginal atrophy, increasing vaginal lubrication and reducing dyspareunia, it has not been shown to consistently increase sexual desire or activity and many women with sexual dysfunction remain unresponsive. Several recent, large, phase III studies have shown that the addition of transdermal testosterone to conventional hormone therapy can be helpful in surgically menopausal women presenting with HSDD. After 24 weeks of treatment in these studies, testosterone-treated women experienced significantly greater increases in satisfying sexual activity and sexual desire, and greater decreases in distress, than placebo-treated women. Accurate clinical assessment and individualized management of sexual symptoms are fundamentally important for all menopausal women with HSDD or other sexual problems.     

Notions of child health: mothers' accounts of health in their young babies

This paper is concerned with mothers’ understandings of child health in their young babies. To explore how child health is depicted, explained and contextualised by mothers, altogether 29 mothers in Stockholm and London were interviewed through the baby's first months about day-to-day experiences of the baby's health and well-being. The analysis of the mothers’ accounts reveals how the mothers, in the process of assessing health, try to ‘read’ the bodily signs and reactions in their babies. Some major themes emerge on how the mothers identify and characterise threats to the health of the baby; here described as threats of abnormalities, threats to the survival of the baby, threats to the thriving of the baby and threats from illnesses. Notions of child health are discussed in relation to the ‘bodily’ and the ‘social’, and how the embodied images of child health are intertwined with the mothers’ presentations of themselves as responsible for the health of their children and as ‘worthy’ parents.     

Effect of selected fluorinated drugs in a "ringing" gel on rheological behaviour and skin permeation.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of different drugs exhibiting different solubility on the viscoelastic properties and on the skin diffusion profile of a ringing gel. In a preliminary rheology study with the placebo gel predominating elastic properties were confirmed and a temperature influence was indicated. Fluconazole, fludrocortisone-acetate, flumethasone-pivalate, flutamide and flufenamic-acid each 1% (w/w) were incorporated into the preparation and oscillatory measurements were performed at temperatures of 25, 28, 32 and 37 degrees C. In all drug containing formulations a high elastic G' value predominated the viscous G' value. The highest G' value could be obtained with the incorporated flumethasone-pivalate. Additionally in almost all cases the G' values decreased with increasing temperature compared to the placebo gel. Additionally in vitro standard diffusion experiments using Franz-type cells and porcine skin were performed. Following rank order of the cumulative drug release after 48 h was obtained: fluconazole>flufenamic-acid>flumethasone-pivalate>flutamide>fludrocortisone-acetate. Furthermore an excellent chemical stability of all incorporated drugs was confirmed over 10 weeks.     

Ubiquitin in motor neuron disease: study at the light and electron microscope.

Several neurodegenerative diseases, including motor neuron disease (MND), are characterized by formation of abnormal cytoskeleton-derived inclusions which contain ubiquitin (Ubq). We have studied the distribution of Ubq in 26 cases of MND with light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Ubiquitin-positive inclusions were found in neurons of anterior horns in most cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) but were not present in other forms of MND. Ubiquitin immunoreactivity was observed in 10-15 nm intraneuronal filaments, which were not stained by antibodies to neurofilaments, and on dense bodies of dystrophic neurites throughout the neuropil of anterior horns and pyramidal tracts. Data analysis showed a trend toward lower percentage of Ubq-positive neurons in cases with longer duration of illness or lower number of neurons. A high percentage of Ubq-positive inclusions occurred in cases with an aggressive clinical course, suggesting that ubiquitination takes place at early stages of the disease.     

Immunohistochemistry of glial reaction after injury in the rat: Double stainings and markers of cell proliferation

The astrocytic reaction in the rat after brain injury has been studied immunohistochemically for intermediate filaments (GFAP and vimentin), also with double staining procedures, and for markers of proliferation (BrdU and PCNA). GFAP-positive reactive astrocytes appeared around the lesion, where they were vimentin-positive and at a distance. BrdU and PCNA showed a high labelling index around the wound at day 2 and scattered positive nuclei were also found at a distance in the ipsilateral side. BrdU-positive astrocytes represented a minor fraction of GFAP- and vimentin-positive astrocytes. The expression of vimentin persisted at least 15 days after the lesion. Our results could suggest that distant reactive astrocytes originate through hypertrophy while those close to lesion arise by hyperplasia from mature or immature glial cells. The hypothesis is formulated that cells of the periventricular matrix contribute to the post-traumatic proliferative activity.     

Delayed epidural hematoma a review

Since the CT has become the main diagnostic tool in head trauma, more cases of DEDH have become confirmed and published although some have been classified among other entities and under different criteria. This review tries to describe the characteristics of DEDH based on the cases previously published, as well as on three of our own cases. The entity is mainly radiological i.e. appearance of an epidural hematoma in a CT scan following up a previous one which has not shown this pathology. Although not specific, we have found some common features among the cases published. The patients are usually young people. The cause of many injuries is either a fall injury or involvement of a pedestrian in a road accident. Skull fracture under which the DEDH develops is the rule. DEDH is not found in the usual location of the classic epidural hematoma (the temporal fossa). Some of the patients developed DEDH after an earlier neurosurgical operation for evacuation of another traumatic mass lesion for urgent decompression. Others developed DEDH after medical treatment aimed at restoring normal blood pressure or reducing increased ICP. This main group of patients had other associated lesions, mainly intracranial. The others (including our case no. 1) were considered to have a skull fracture associated only with concussion of the brain, as the clinical picture changed or persistent headache developed, another CT scan was indicated and DEDH was then found. This group constitutes those patients in whom the prognosis is expected to be good or excellent. Keeping in mind the necessity for repeated CT scans in this group (we think the number will increase in the future), other patients will benefit from the awareness of the clinician of the importance of this diagnostic tool. CT scan is efficient, accurate and can be repeated at short intervals. It enables a correct diagnosis to be made in nearly 100% of cases of head trauma. Although this liberal use of CT may increase the number of negative scans, it will also increase the number of DEDH's diagnosable at an earlier stage.     

Dysphoric Rumination Impairs Concentration on Academic Tasks

Three studies investigated the effects of dysphoric rumination on concentration during 3 academic tasks—reading a passage from the GRE (Study 1), watching a videotaped lecture (Study 2), and proofreading written text (Study 3). Before performing these tasks, dysphoric and nondysphoric students were induced either to ruminate about themselves or to distract themselves by focusing on neutral images (all three studies) or by planning an event (Study 1). The results supported our hypothesis that dysphoric rumination, relative to distraction, would impair students' concentration. In all 3 studies, dysphoric ruminators reported difficulty concentrating, as well as interfering thoughts, during the relevant academic tasks. Furthermore, dysphoric ruminators were slower than dysphoric distractors in completing the tasks—specifically, reading the GRE passage (Study 1) and answering lecture comprehension questions (Study 2). In addition, dysphoric participants who ruminated showed impaired reading strategies (Study 1), reduced comprehension of academic material (Study 2), and poor proofreading performance (Study 3). These findings suggest that, in addition to its documented adverse effects on mood, thinking, and problem-solving, self-focused rumination interferes with instrumental behavior. Implications for social relationships and job performance are discussed.