Telephone interpersonal counseling treatment for frequent attenders to primary care: Development and piloting.

Background: Frequent attenders in primary care (FAs) consume a disproportionate amount of healthcare resources and often have depression, anxiety, chronic health issues, and interpersonal problems. Despite extensive medical care, they remain dissatisfied with the care and report no improvement in quality of life.

Objective: To pilot a Telephone-based Interpersonal Counseling intervention for Frequent Attenders (TIPC-FA) and assess its feasibility and efficacy in reducing symptoms and healthcare utilization.

Web-Based Therapist Training in Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression: Pilot Study.

Background: Training mental health professionals to deliver evidence-based therapy (EBT) is now required by most academic accreditation bodies, and evaluating the effectiveness of such training is imperative. However, shortages of time, money, and trained EBT clinician teachers make these challenges daunting. New technologies may help.

The Impact of Surgery and Stored Red Blood Cell Transfusions on Nitric Oxide Homeostasis.

Background: Cell-free hemoglobin (Hb) forms in stored red blood cells (RBCs) as a result of hemolysis. Studies suggest that this cell-free Hb may decrease nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, potentially leading to endothelial dysfunction, vascular injury, and multiorgan dysfunction after transfusion. We tested the hypothesis that moderate doses of stored RBC transfusions increase cell-free Hb and decrease NO availability in postoperative surgical patients.

2,3-Diphosphoglycerate Concentrations in Autologous Salvaged Versus Stored Red Blood Cells and in Surgical Patients After Transfusion.

Background: Stored red blood cells (RBCs) are deficient in 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG), but it is unclear how autologous salvaged blood (ASB) compares with stored blood and how rapidly 2,3-DPG levels return to normal after transfusion. Therefore, we compared levels of 2,3-DPG in stored versus ASB RBCs and in patients' blood after transfusion.

Methods: Twenty-four patients undergoing multilevel spine fusion surgery were enrolled.

Oxidative stress and rheologic properties of stored red blood cells before and after transfusion to surgical patients.

Background: The loss of structural and functional integrity of red blood cells (RBCs) during storage, collectively referred to as "storage lesion," has been implicated in reduced oxygen delivery after transfusion. RBCs are highly susceptible to oxidative damage from generation of reactive oxygen species by autoxidation of hemoglobin. Therefore, we examined whether increased oxidative stress (OS) in stored RBCs is associated with impaired cell membrane deformability before or after transfusion.

A Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training Increases Pain Threshold and Accelerates Modulation of Response to Tonic Pain in an Experimental Study.

Objective: Research shows that mindfulness meditation (MM) affects pain perception; however, studies have yet to measure patterns of change over time. We examined effects of MM on perception of experimental heat pain using multiple psychophysical indices, including pattern of change in response to tonic painful stimuli. We also tested the potential moderating role of baseline mindfulness.

A 10-year prospective study of respiratory disease and depression and anxiety in adulthood.

Background: Several cross-sectional studies have found an association between respiratory disease and increased mood or anxiety disorders among adults. Little is known about the nature of these associations over time or the role of potential confounders in these links.

Objectives: To investigate the association between respiratory disease and incident and persistent depression or anxiety disorders 10 years later and to examine potential pathways of these associations.

Anxiety disorders and risk of self-reported ulcer: a 10-year longitudinal study among US adults.

Objective: Previous epidemiologic studies have documented a link between anxiety disorders and ulcer among adults. Few studies have examined these associations over time and little is understood about the pathways underlying these relationships.

Method: Data were drawn from n = 2101 adult participants in the Midlife Development in the United States I and II.

Critical review of outcome research on interpersonal psychotherapy for anxiety disorders.

Background: Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has demonstrated efficacy in treating mood and eating disorders. This article critically reviews outcome research testing IPT for anxiety disorders, a diagnostic area where cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has dominated research and treatment.

Methods: A literature search identified six open and five controlled trials of IPT for social anxiety disorder (SAD), panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Mechanisms of change in interpersonal therapy (IPT).

Although interpersonal therapy (IPT) has demonstrated efficacy for mood and other disorders, little is known about how IPT works. We present interpersonal change mechanisms that we hypothesize account for symptom change in IPT. Integrating relational theory and insights based on research findings regarding stress, social support, and illness, IPT highlights contextual factors thought to precipitate and maintain psychiatric disorders.

Does parental response to children's pain moderate the association between pain severity and functional disability? An examination of noncardiac chest pain.

Objective: We sought to examine whether parental responses to children's noncardiac chest pain moderate the relationship between child's pain severity and functional disability.

Methods: 77 children (ages 8-18 years) with noncardiac chest pain and their parents were recruited from pediatric cardiology clinics in Israel. Children completed measures assessing pain (intensity/frequency) and functioning.

Panic disorder in children and adolescents with noncardiac chest pain.

Adults with panic disorder (PD) often present to medical settings with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP), but less is known about children and adolescents with this complaint. We sought to characterize PD in youth with NCCP and compare features with PD in youth in psychiatric outpatient settings. Using a semi-structured diagnostic interview we evaluated 132 youth (ages 8-17) with NCCP recruited from two medical settings.

Do mindfulness-based interventions reduce pain intensity? A critical review of the literature.

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) emphasizing a nonjudgmental attitude toward present moment experience are widely used for chronic pain patients. Although changing or controlling pain is not an explicit aim of MBIs, recent experimental studies suggest that mindfulness practice may lead to changes in pain tolerance and pain intensity ratings.

Objective: The objective of this review is to investigate the specific effect of MBIs on pain intensity.

[Fever phobia in the ultra-religious community in Israel].

Introduction: Fever phobia has been described for over 30 years without significant prevalence change. NevertheLess, there is only minimal data about this phenomenon in IsraeL and within its varied sub-populations. The study goal was to examine the prevalence of this phobia among parents seeking care for their febrile child in an urgent care center (UCC), especialLy Charedi (ultra-religious) parents.

Haven't we met somewhere before? The effects of a brief Internet introduction on social anxiety in a subsequent face to face interaction.

Social anxiety occurs in a range of social situations, the salience of which is influenced by prevailing modes of social contact. The emergence of computer mediated communication (CMC), buoyed by the recent explosion of social networks, has changed the way many people make and maintain social contacts. We randomly assigned 30 socially anxious and 30 low social anxiety participants to a brief internet chat introduction or a control internet surfing condition followed by a standardized face to face (FTF) interaction.

Therapist adherence to interpersonal vs. supportive therapy for social anxiety disorder.

We assessed therapist adherence to interpersonal therapy (IPT) and supportive therapy (ST) in a controlled trial for social anxiety disorder. Raters blindly scored n = 133 videotapes from 53 participants using the Collaborative Study Psychotherapy Rating Scale (CSPRS). Results reveal statistical differences across groups, but higher than expected overlap.

Depressive symptoms, risk factors and sleep in asthma: results from a national Israeli health survey.

Objective: The objective was to assess the association between asthma and depressive symptoms (DS) and to evaluate the relationship between DS and risk factors [smoking, physical inactivity, body mass index (BMI) and sleep duration] in asthmatic individuals.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Israeli National Health Interview Survey, conducted among 9509 participants aged ≥21 years in 2003-2004. Data on sociodemographic factors, chronic respiratory disorders, DS and risk factors were obtained through telephone interviews.

Psychiatric disorders in youth with medically unexplained chest pain versus innocent heart murmur.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition psychiatric disorders in youth with chest pain compared with a control sample with innocent heart murmur.

Study Design: We assessed youth ages 8 to 17 years who were examined in cardiology settings for medically unexplained chest pain (n=100) or innocent heart murmur (n=80). We conducted semi-structured interviews and assessed medical history, quality of life, and disability.

[Chronic asthma, depressive symptoms and risk behaviors: results from a national health survey].

Background: Previous research suggests that depression is common in individuals with asthma. Research on the association between depressive symptoms and health-related risk behaviors in persons with respiratory disorders is scarce.

Objective: To assess the association between asthma and depressive symptoms; and to evaluate the relationship between depressive symptoms and risk behaviors (smoking, physical inactivity and obesity) in individuals with asthma.

The challenge of estimating PTSD prevalence in the context of ongoing trauma: the example of Israel during the Second Intifada.

Many studies attempt to gauge population prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a major catastrophe. However, little is known about the validity of these estimates in the increasingly common situation of ongoing trauma. During the period of the Second Intifada in Israel, which involved frequent and widespread terrorist attacks, several studies generated estimates of PTSD prevalence in the Israeli population, but yielded widely discrepant findings.

Family history of alcohol use disorders among adults with panic disorder in the community.

Objective: Clinical studies suggest a familial association between panic disorder and alcohol use disorders but this relationship has not been examined in a representative community sample. The objective of this study is to examine the familial association between panic disorder and alcohol use disorders among adults in the community.

Method: Data were drawn from the NESARC, a nationally representative sample of over 43,000 adults in the United States.

A psychological intervention for pediatric chest pain: development and open trial.

Objective: Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is a common and persistent problem for children and adolescents; typically there is no clear medical cause. To date, no psychological intervention has been studied for chest pain in a pediatric sample.

Methods: (a) We developed a brief psychological treatment for chest pain and associated worry in children and adolescents with NCCP.