Acceptability and suppression of negative emotion in anxiety and mood disorders.

The present study investigated perceived acceptability and suppression of negative emotion in participants with anxiety and mood disorders. Sixty participants with these disorders and 30 control participants watched an emotion-provoking film and completed self-report measures of their experience and regulation of emotions. The film elicited similar increases in negative emotion for clinical and nonclinical participants; however, clinical participants judged their resulting emotions as less acceptable and suppressed their emotions to a greater extent.

Tinnitus among Cambodian refugees: relationship to PTSD severity.

Consecutive Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic were assessed for the presence and severity of current tinnitus (i.e., at least one episode in the last month).

Functionally oriented rehabilitation program for patients with fibromyalgia: preliminary results.

Objective: To evaluate function and disability in patients with fibromyalgia before and after participation in a functionally oriented, multidisciplinary, 8-wk treatment program.

Design: A total of 23 patients who met American College of Rheumatology criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia were enrolled in the study. Outcome measures included: range of motion, 6-min walk test, a modified Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, a modified SF-36 Physical Functioning Scale, and the Fibromyalgia Health Assessment Questionnaire.

Psychological and interpersonal correlates in men with erectile dysfunction and their partners: a pilot study of treatment outcome with sildenafil.

The role of psychological and interpersonal factors in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) with sildenafil or other oral therapies has not been sufficiently investigated. We conducted a pilot study of psychosocial predictors of pharmacotherapy treatment outcome and satisfaction in men with ED and their partners. Sixty-nine men with mild to moderate ED and their partners were enrolled in a multicenter, open-label, treatment trial with sildenafil.

The endoscopic transilluminator: an endoscopic device for identification of the proximal jejunum for transgastric endoscopic gastrojejunostomy.

Background: Localization of the proximal jejunum is important for creation of gastrojejunal anastomosis to palliate gastric outlet obstruction or for treatment of obesity with gastric bypass.

Objective: To facilitate identification of the proximal jejunum during transgastric endoscopic gastrojejunostomy with the use of an endoscopic transilluminator (ET).

Design And Setting: Acute experiments in a live porcine model.

Updating the EMAS 2004/2005 clinical recommendations on postmenopausal therapy following the recent publications: WHI and Nurses' Health Study.

This new statement from EMAS presents the findings reported in recent publications from both WHI and the Nurses' Health Study to consider if these findings require the EMAS position to be modified. In general the reports do not necessitate a revision of the current EMAS advice but do provide further insight into the ongoing controversy around the possibility that estrogen (E) or estrogen-progestogen (E-P) use in younger postmenopausal women may supply cardiovascular benefit in the younger group.

Mosaicism for mitochondrial DNA polymorphic variants in placenta has implications for the feasibility of prenatal diagnosis in mtDNA diseases.

Women who have had a child with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disease need to know the risk of recurrence, but this risk is difficult to estimate because mutant and wild-type (normal) mtDNA coexist in the same person (heteroplasmy). The possibility that a single sample may not reflect the whole organism both impedes prenatal diagnosis of most mtDNA diseases, and suggests radical alternative strategies such as nuclear transfer. We used naturally occurring mtDNA variants to investigate mtDNA segregation in placenta.

Pregnancy outcome among twins conceived after subfertility treatment compared with natural twins: A population-based study.

Pregnancy outcome and characteristics of women who conceive following subfertility treatment remains a subject of great interest. We analyzed these variables among 199 women who delivered a registerable twin birth compared with 1773 women who delivered a naturally conceived twin birth in a population-based obstetric cohort drawn from around Oxford, England. Treatment was restricted to conceptions involving simple ovulation induction only.

Dimensional versus categorical classification of mental disorders in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and beyond: comment on the special section.

The value of including dimensional elements in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been recognized for decades. Nevertheless, no proposals have been made for introducing dimensional classification in the diagnostic system in a valid and feasible manner. As an initial step in this endeavor, the authors suggest introducing dimensional severity ratings to the extant diagnostic categories and criteria sets.

Introduction to the special section: toward a dimensionally based taxonomy of psychopathology.

Much current psychopathology research is framed by categorical constructs. Limitations of categorical constructs have been articulated, and dimensional constructs are often proposed as viable alternatives to categories of psychopathology. The purpose of this Special Section is to articulate and discuss diverse issues that arise in contemplating dimensional constructs as targets for psychopathology research.

Rater bias in a blinded randomized placebo-controlled psychiatry trial.

Rater bias occurs when rater knowledge of treatment assignment modifies the outcome assessment. Raters may be unconsciously influenced by inclinations for or against a particular treatment and consequently may give a more or less generous assessment depending upon these biases. Blinding of raters by keeping raters unaware of treatment assignment is one way to limit bias influencing assessment due to knowledge of treatment assignment.

Differential expression of alternatively spliced transcripts of HLA-G in human preimplantation embryos and inner cell masses.

It has been reported that preimplantation human embryos secrete HLA-G, and the levels may be predictive of their ability to implant. However, it is not known which of the membrane-bound (HLA-G 1-4) and soluble (HLA-G 5-6) alternatively spliced forms are present, nor the developmental stage at which they appear. Therefore, we have investigated HLA-G mRNA isoform expression on single embryos at the two-, four-, six-, and eight-cell, morula, and blastocyst stages.

Avoidance behavior in panic disorder: the moderating influence of perceived control.

The relations among anxiety sensitivity, perceived control, and agoraphobia were examined in 239 patients diagnosed with panic disorder (PD). Most patients exhibited agoraphobia accompanying their PD (98% situational avoidance; 90% experiential avoidance; and 80% endorsed interoceptive fear and avoidance). Anxiety sensitivity and perceived emotional control were associated with agoraphobia, and perceived threat control was found to moderate the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and agoraphobia.

Effects of suppression and acceptance on emotional responses of individuals with anxiety and mood disorders.

The present investigation compared the subjective and physiological effects of emotional suppression and acceptance in a sample of individuals with anxiety and mood disorders. Sixty participants diagnosed with anxiety and mood disorders were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group listened to a rationale for suppressing emotions, and the other group listened to a rationale for accepting emotions.

What's new about evidence-based assessment?

A clear consensus has emerged around the world concerning the desirability and even the urgency of basing health care delivery systems on evidence. Among behavioral health care providers such as psychologists, evidence-based practice (EBP) has been focused largely on interventions. Psychologists have long emphasized a scientifically based psychometric approach to the development of assessment procedures.

Quality of life following simultaneous placement of penile prosthesis with radical prostatectomy.

Purpose: The present study examined erectile functioning, frequency of sexual contact, psychological functioning, partner/marital satisfaction and overall quality of life (QOL) after immediate sexual rehabilitation for prostate cancer via simultaneous placement of a penile prosthesis at radical retropubic prostatectomy (RP).

Materials And Methods: Questionnaire packets were sent to and received from 51 men who had undergone simultaneous implantation of a penile prosthesis at the time of RP (PP+) and from a comparison group of 47 men who undergone RP alone (PP-) matched by age and year of surgery. Questionnaires included the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and a prostate specific European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QOL questionnaire.

Genomewide linkage study in 1,176 affected sister pair families identifies a significant susceptibility locus for endometriosis on chromosome 10q26.

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease that affects up to 10% of women in their reproductive years. It causes pelvic pain, severe dysmenorrhea, and subfertility. The disease is defined as the presence of tissue resembling endometrium in sites outside the uterus.

Artificial neural network prediction of the patterns of deposition of polydisperse aerosols within human lungs.

For optimum therapeutic response from drug administered to the lungs, it is paramount that the aerosolised drug is able to deposit in the lower airways. The filtering characteristics of the respiratory tract, however, make this a particularly challenging task. Computational tools afford a cost-effective means of studying the problem, and here we report on the development of a rapid and reliable method for predicting the pattern of deposition of polydisperse aerosols within human lungs using artificial neural networks (ANNs).

Endoscopic gastrojejunostomy with survival in a porcine model.

Background: We have previously reported the feasibility and the safety of an endoscopic transgastric approach to the peritoneal cavity in a porcine model. We now report successful performance of endoscopic gastrojejunostomy with survival.

Methods: All procedures were performed on 50-kg pigs, with the pigs under general anesthesia, in aseptic conditions with sterilized endoscopes and accessories.

Effects of transdermal nicotine during imaginal exposure to anxiety and smoking cues in college smokers.

In a 2 (patch) x 2 (smoking) x 2 (anxiety) mixed design, 52 undergraduate smokers randomly received a nicotine (21 mg) or placebo patch. After a 4-hr nicotine absorption/deprivation period, participants imagined several scenarios varying in cue content: (a) anxiety plus smoking, (b) anxiety, (c) smoking, and (d) neutral. Although smoking urge increased in both the nicotine and placebo conditions after the absorption/deprivation period, those who received the placebo reported significantly greater urge.

Physical, mental, and social catastrophic cognitions as prognostic factors in cognitive-behavioral and pharmacological treatments for panic disorder.

The authors explored the prognostic value of 3 different types of catastrophic cognitions in the treatment of panic disorder with and without mild-to-moderate agoraphobia using a sample of 143 participants who received either cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or imipramine in a randomized controlled trial. Stronger fears of social catastrophes both prior to and following treatment with CBT or imipramine were associated with a poorer outcome. In contrast, cognitions involving physical or mental catastrophes were unrelated to outcome, regardless of whether these thoughts were measured prior to or following treatment.

Methods of hysterectomy: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Objective: To evaluate the most appropriate surgical method of hysterectomy (abdominal, vaginal, or laparoscopic) for women with benign disease.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, and Biological Abstracts.