Publications by authors named "J A Abramowitz"
Purpose: Although many women experience obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the perinatal period, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) has not yet been psychometrically evaluated in this population. This study examined the internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and factor structure of the YBOCS among pregnant women.
Methods: 256 Women who were 20 to 24 weeks pregnant completed the clinician-administered YBOCS and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) along with a series of self-report questionnaires including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) and Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R).
Injectable estrogens are options for gender-affirming hormone therapy per guidelines, which suggest intramuscular dosages of 5-30 mg every 2 weeks or 2-10 mg weekly with estradiol cypionate or valerate interchangeably. Data among transgender and gender-diverse patients are limited due to local unavailability and concerns around laboratory assay variability and estradiol (E2) level fluctuation. We note a concerning trend where patients are prescribed high-dose injections based on the guidelines leading to serum E2 levels well above the range recommended in the same guidelines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This paper reports on the outcomes of a proof-of-principle study for the Exposure Therapy Consortium, a global network of researchers and clinicians who work to improve the effectiveness and uptake of exposure therapy. The study aimed to test the feasibility of the consortium's big-team science approach and test the hypothesis that adding post-exposure processing focused on enhancing threat reappraisal would enhance the efficacy of a one-session large-group interoceptive exposure therapy protocol for reducing anxiety sensitivity.
Methods: The study involved a multi-site cluster-randomized controlled trial comparing exposure with post-processing (ENHANCED), exposure without post-processing (STANDARD), and a stress management intervention (CONTROL) in students with elevated anxiety sensitivity.
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on the high prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among pregnant and postpartum women and emphasizes the importance of efficient screening tools for early detection in perinatal care.
- Researchers evaluated the 4-item Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (OCI-4) for its reliability, validity, and diagnostic sensitivity through assessments at various stages of pregnancy and postpartum.
- Results indicate that the OCI-4 is a reliable and effective screening tool for identifying OCD symptoms in perinatal women, with a specific score of 3 providing optimal sensitivity and specificity for detection.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers used genetically engineered mice and cell lines to study how the depletion of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium stores activates specific calcium entry channels (SOCE) that primarily rely on Orai1 molecules.
- They discovered that Orai1 is the dominant calcium entry pathway compared to Orai2 and Orai3, and this process does not require functional TRPC molecules, as shown by experiments using cells with inactive TRPC genes.
- The study also found that even though the TRPC genes were disrupted, both store-depletion-activated calcium entry and receptor-operated calcium entry (ROCE) still relied on Orai1, leading to the establishment of a new strain of mice called TRPC heptaKO mice, which are