A Retrospective Pilot Study of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy Enhanced with Narrative Therapy Principles for the Treatment of Nightmares in US Military Veterans.

 Chronic nightmares are a common and disabling feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for which broadly effective treatments are still lacking. While imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) demonstrates benefits for patients with idiopathic nightmares and some patients with PTSD-related nightmares, research indicates it may be less beneficial for veterans. Narrative therapy (NT) is a form of psychotherapy which is client-centered and value-focused and has demonstrated benefits for PTSD patients.

Loss of skills and onset patterns in neurodevelopmental disorders: Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms.

Unlabelled: Patterns of onset in Autism Spectrum Disorder, including a pattern that includes loss of previously acquired skills, have been identified since the first reports of the disorder. However, attempts to study such "regression" have been limited to clinical studies, that until recently mostly involved retrospective reports. The current report reflects discussion that occurred at an NIMH convened meeting in 2016 with the purpose of bridging clinical autism research with basic and translational work in this area.

Cognitive training in mental disorders: update and future directions.

Objective: This article reviews the conceptual basis, definitions, and evolution of cognitive training approaches for the treatment of mental disorders.

Method: The authors review the current state of the knowledge on cognitive training in psychiatric illnesses, and its neural and behavioral targets, and summarize the factors that appear to relate to a successful response, including learner characteristics that influence clinical outcome. They also discuss methodological issues relevant to the development and testing of cognitive training approaches, with the goal of creating maximally efficient and effective approaches to training.

Evaluation of infusions of xylazine with ketamine or propofol to modulate recovery following sevoflurane anesthesia in horses.

Objective: To determine whether infusion of xylazine and ketamine or xylazine and propofol after sevoflurane administration in horses would improve the quality of recovery from anesthesia.

Animals: 6 healthy adult horses.

Procedures: For each horse, anesthesia was induced by administration of xylazine, diazepam, and ketamine and maintained with sevoflurane for approximately 90 minutes (of which the last 60 minutes were under steady-state conditions) 3 times at 1-week intervals.

Evaluation of sedation and analgesia in standing horses after administration of xylazine, butorphanol, and subanesthetic doses of ketamine.

Objective: To evaluate the sedative and analgesic effects of subanesthetic doses of ketamine in horses sedated with xylazine, with or without butorphanol.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Animals: 10 adult horses.

Design and subject characteristics in the federally-funded citalopram trial in children with pervasive developmental disorders.

The Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment Network conducted a randomized trial with citalopram in children with Pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). We present the rationale, design and sample characteristics of the citalopram trial. Subjects (128 boys, 21 girls) had a mean age of 9.

Pulmonary gas exchange and plasma lactate in horses with gastrointestinal disease undergoing emergency exploratory laparotomy: a comparison with an elective surgery horse population.

Objective: To characterize pulmonary gas exchange and arterial lactate in horses with gastrointestinal disease undergoing anesthesia, compared with elective surgical horses, and to correlate these variables with postoperative complications and mortality.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Animals: Horses undergoing emergency laparotomy for acute intestinal disease (n = 50) and healthy horses undergoing elective surgery in dorsal recumbency (n = 20).

Comparison of the cardiovascular effects of equipotent anesthetic doses of sevoflurane alone and sevoflurane plus an intravenous infusion of lidocaine in horses.

Objective: To compare cardiovascular effects of sevoflurane alone and sevoflurane plus an IV infusion of lidocaine in horses. Animals-8 adult horses.

Procedures: Each horse was anesthetized twice via IV administration of xylazine, diazepam, and ketamine.

Effects of intravenous administration of lidocaine on the minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane in horses.

Objective: To determine effects of a continuous rate infusion of lidocaine on the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of sevoflurane in horses.

Animals: 8 healthy adult horses.

Procedures: Horses were anesthetized via IV administration of xylazine, ketamine, and diazepam; anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane in oxygen.

Evaluation of effects of sciatic and femoral nerve blocks in sheep undergoing stifle surgery.

The authors evaluated the effects of locally anesthetizing the sciatic and femoral nerves in sheep undergoing stifle (femorotibial) surgery (16 sheep received nerve blocks; 16 sheep underwent a nerve localization procedure but received no nerve blocks). Heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure and end-tidal isoflurane were recorded every 5 min while sheep were anesthetized. At some of the observed time points, the mean heart rate in the sheep that had received no nerve blocks was significantly higher than in the sheep that had received the nerve blocks.

Effects of stress on pain in horses and incorporating pain scales for equine practice.

The stress response represents an animal's attempt to reestablish the body's homeostasis after injury, intense physical activity, or psychological strain. Two different neuroendocrine pathways may be activated in stressful situations: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, leading to increased cortisol levels, and the sympathoadrenomedullar system, leading to increased catecholamine levels. By applying some of the evaluation methods described in this article in the appropriate clinical situations, equine veterinarians can almost certainly improve their ability to recognize and manage pain in horses.

Clinical evaluation of perioperative administration of gabapentin as an adjunct for postoperative analgesia in dogs undergoing amputation of a forelimb.

Objective: To evaluate perioperative administration of gabapentin as an adjunct for analgesia in dogs undergoing amputation of a forelimb.

Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

Animals: 30 client-owned dogs.

Effect of intravenous ketamine and lidocaine on isoflurane requirement in sheep undergoing orthopedic surgery.

Intravenous ketamine and lidocaine infusions may be useful adjuncts to inhalation anesthesia for sheep undergoing orthopedic surgery. In this study, 50 female sheep underwent experimental stifle surgery (29 received a meniscal implant and 21 received sham surgery). To induce anesthesia in the sheep, the authors intravenously injected ketamine and diazepam.

From bench to bedside: translating new research from genetics and neuroimaging into treatment development for early-onset schizophrenia.

Objective: Children and adolescents with schizophrenia share a similar pattern of phenomenological, genetic and cognitive abnormalities to adults with schizophrenia. However, an early-onset of schizophrenia (EOS) (prior to 18 years of age) is associated with a higher frequency of risk indicators associated with schizophrenia (e.g.

Medication and parent training in children with pervasive developmental disorders and serious behavior problems: results from a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: Many children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) have serious, functionally impairing behavioral problems. We tested whether combined treatment (COMB) with risperidone and parent training (PT) in behavior management is superior to medication alone (MED) in improving severe behavioral problems in children with PDDs.

Method: This 24-week, three-site, randomized, parallel-groups clinical trial enrolled 124 children, aged 4 through 13 years, with PDDs, accompanied by frequent tantrums, self-injury, and aggression.

Lack of efficacy of citalopram in children with autism spectrum disorders and high levels of repetitive behavior: citalopram ineffective in children with autism.

Context: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are widely prescribed for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Objectives: To determine the efficacy and safety of citalopram hydrobromide therapy for repetitive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Design: National Institutes of Health-sponsored randomized controlled trial.

Complications in equine anesthesia.

General anesthesia of horses entails considerable risk of morbidity and mortality. A large-scale, multicenter study reported that the death rate from non-colic-related anesthetics was 0.9%, while the perianesthetic mortality rate at a single, busy equine surgical practice was somewhat more favorable, at 0.

Trial design challenges when combining medication and parent training in children with pervasive developmental disorders.

This paper presents the rationale for a 24-week, randomized trial designed to test whether risperidone plus structured parent training would be superior to risperidone only on measures of noncompliance, irritability and adaptive functioning. In this model, medication reduces tantrums, aggression and self-injury; parent training promotes improvement in noncompliance and adaptive functioning. Thus, medication and parent training target related, but separate, outcomes.

Bridging bench and practice: translational research for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Translational research is urgently needed to turn basic scientific discoveries into widespread health gains and nowhere are these needs greater than in conditions such as schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. In this article, we discuss one type of translational research--called T1--which is needed to take advantage of developments in the basic neurosciences and translate them into more efficacious diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic interventions. However, ensuring that interventions from T1 research actually benefit patients will require a second form of translational research--called T2--to turn innovations into everyday clinical practice and health decision-making.

Multicenter, randomized controlled trial of pain-related behaviors following routine neutering in dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the degree of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing elective castration or ovariohysterectomy (OHE); determine whether an association exists between surgeon experience, incision length, or surgery duration and degree of postoperative pain; and determine whether analgesic treatment decreases expression of postoperative pain behaviors.

Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial.

Animals: 426 client-owned dogs undergoing OHE or castration.