Pregabalin and hyperbaric oxygen therapy on pain thresholds and anxio-depressive behaviors in a preclinical fibromyalgia pain model.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic, widespread pain disorder generally of a non-inflammatory nature with many known affective and cognitive comorbidities. There is promise in the implementation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) for alleviating FM pain and comorbidities, despite no work investigating the efficacy of this treatment in prominent preclinical FM models. This project aimed to investigate the affective components, specifically anhedonia and anxiety, associated with an acidic saline model of FM in rats.

Trimming and Re-shoeing Results in More Steps per Day and More Time Spent Lying per Day.

To examine the impact of trimming and re-shoeing on behavior, light horse geldings (3-21 year-old Quarter Horse, Dutch Warmblood, or Thoroughbred) were fitted with three-axis accelerometers (IceTag, Ice Robotics, Edinburgh, Scotland) on the left rear limb. Boots were placed under the accelerometer, and both were removed daily for approximately 1 hour while horses were stalled for morning feeding to examine the horses' limb. After a two-day adaptation period and five days of activity tracking, horses were treated by having shoes removed, feet trimmed, and new shoes fitted (re-shod; n = 3) or being handled but not trimmed or fitted with new shoes (sham; n = 4).

Mother-Infant Bonding and Emotional Availability at 12-Months of Age: The Role of Early Postnatal Bonding, Maternal Substance Use and Mental Health.

Introduction: The quality of the mother-child relationship in the first year of life has far reaching implications across the life course (Bornstein in Annu Rev Psychol 65:121-158, 2014). Yet little is known about predictors of maternal bonding and emotional availability in early infancy. In this study we examined the extent to which postnatal bonding, maternal mental health, and substance use at 8-weeks postpartum predicted mother-infant bonding (self-report) and mother emotional availability (observational) at 12-months of age.

Correction to: Prenatal alcohol exposure and infant gross motor development: a prospective cohort study.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors opted to revise the first paragraph of the section "Characteristics associated with maternal drinking in pregnancy". Below is the updated version.

Prenatal alcohol exposure and infant gross motor development: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Maternal alcohol consumption in pregnancy may have adverse effects on child gross motor (GM) development. There have been few human studies on this topic, particularly ones examining low exposure. This study examined the association between prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and infant GM development at 12-months of age.

Adherence to the Caffeine Intake Guideline during Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes: A Prospective Cohort Study.

The aims of this study were to identify: (i) the proportion of women exceeding the caffeine intake guideline (>200 mg/day) during each trimester, accounting for point of pregnancy awareness; (ii) guideline adherence trajectories across pregnancy; (iii) maternal characteristics associated with trajectories; and (iv) association between adherence and growth restriction birth outcomes. Typical and maximal intake per consumption day for the first trimester (T1; pre- and post-pregnancy awareness), second (T2), and third trimester (T3) were recorded for a prospective cohort of pregnant Australian women with singleton births ( = 1232). Birth outcomes were birth weight, small for gestational age, and head circumference.

Maternal and partner prenatal alcohol use and infant cognitive development.

Background: Teratogenicity of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is established, but uncertainty remains regarding the impact of moderate alcohol exposure on cognitive deficits in infants. Separating in utero effects from environmental confounding is a challenge for observational studies; consideration of alcohol use by partners as well as mothers may help clarify this. This study examined associations between prenatal alcohol use by both mothers and their partners and infant cognitive developmental outcomes at 12-months.

Alcohol consumption by breastfeeding mothers: Frequency, correlates and infant outcomes.

Introduction And Aims: There is limited research regarding the effects of alcohol consumption by breastfeeding mothers on infant development. This study examined the frequency, correlates and outcomes of alcohol use during lactation.

Design And Methods: Data were from an Australian cohort study.

Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study.

 Mother-infant bonding provides the foundation for secure attachment through the lifespan and organizes many facets of infant social-emotional development, including later parenting.  To describe maternal bonding to offspring across the pregnancy and postnatal periods, and to examine a broad range of sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of the maternal-offspring bond.  Data were drawn from a sample of 372 pregnant women participating in an Australian population-based longitudinal study of postnatal health and development.

Weight in the First Year of Life: Associations with Maternal Prepregnancy Body Mass Index and Gestational Weight Gain-Findings from a Longitudinal Pregnancy Cohort.

 To investigate the obesogenic influence of maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) on infant weight at birth and 12 months postpartum in an Australian general population sample.  Data on 1,305 pregnant women were collected on prepregnancy BMI and GWG through maternal interview, on infant weight at birth through hospital records, and on infant weight 12 months postbirth through direct measurement. Relationships between prepregnancy, gestational weight exposures, and infant weight outcomes were assessed with and without adjustment for potential confounding.

Prenatal Alcohol Consumption Between Conception and Recognition of Pregnancy.

Background: Current estimates of the rates of alcohol-exposed pregnancies may underestimate prenatal alcohol exposure if alcohol consumption in early trimester 1, prior to awareness of pregnancy, is not considered. Extant literature describes predictors of alcohol consumption during pregnancy; however, alcohol consumption prior to awareness of pregnancy is a distinct behavior from consumption after becoming aware of pregnancy and thus may be associated with different predictors. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine prevalence and predictors of alcohol consumption by women prior to awareness of their pregnancy, and trajectories of change to alcohol use following pregnancy recognition.

Perinatal maternal alcohol consumption and methylation of the dopamine receptor in the offspring: the Triple B study.

Maternal alcohol use during the perinatal period is a major public health issue, the higher ends of which are associated with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and a range of adverse health outcomes in the progeny. The underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown but may include the epigenetic disruption of gene activity during development. Alcohol directly activates the neurotransmitter dopamine, which plays an essential role in neurodevelopment.

Predictors of postnatal mother-infant bonding: the role of antenatal bonding, maternal substance use and mental health.

The emotional bond that a mother feels towards her baby is critical to social, emotional and cognitive development. Maternal health and wellbeing through pregnancy and antenatal bonding also play a key role in determining bonding postnatally, but the extent to which these relationships may be disrupted by poor mental health or substance use is unclear. This study aimed to examine the extent to which mother-fetal bonding, substance use and mental health through pregnancy predicted postnatal mother-infant bonding at 8 weeks.

Long-term outcomes of risk-reducing surgery in unaffected women at increased familial risk of breast and/or ovarian cancer.

This study prospectively investigated long-term psychosocial outcomes for women who opted for risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) and/or risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO). Unaffected women from high-risk breast cancer families who had completed baseline questionnaires for an existing study and subsequently underwent RRM and/or RRSO, completed measures of perceived breast and ovarian cancer risk, anxiety, depression, cancer-related anxiety, body image, sexual functioning, menopausal symptoms, use of hormone replacement therapy and decision regret 3 years post-surgery. Outcomes were compared to age- and risk-matched controls.

Psychosocial factors and uptake of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy in women at high risk for ovarian cancer.

Bilateral risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. This study assessed factors predicting uptake of RRSO. Women participating in a large multiple-case breast cancer family cohort study who were at increased risk for ovarian and fallopian tube cancer (i.

Use of qualitative research to inform development of nutrition messages for low-income mothers of preschool children.

Objective: To develop and test nutrition messages and supporting content with low-income mothers for use with theory-based interventions addressing fruit and vegetable consumption and child-feeding practices.

Design: Six formative and 6 evaluative focus groups explored message concepts and tested messages, respectively.

Setting: Research facilities in Maryland, Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Alabama, and Illinois.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment decreases pain in two nerve injury models.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment has been used clinically to treat a variety of ailments, including severe burns and carbon monoxide poisoning, and in research settings has produced promising results when used to treat animal models of inflammatory pain. However, studies examining neuropathic pain or nerve injury models have been limited to physiological assessments and not whether the pain condition improves. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of HBO on two common models of neuropathic pain, L5 ligation and chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve.

Predictors of cancer worry in unaffected women from high risk breast cancer families: risk perception is not the primary issue.

Some women at increased familial risk of breast cancer experience elevated levels of cancer-specific worry, which can possibly act as a barrier to screening, and may be a significant factor in decisions regarding risk-reducing surgery. The aim of this study was to comprehensively examine predictors of cancer-specific worry in high risk women and to test a model which proposes that perceived breast cancer risk mediates the impact of other factors on worry. 1,437 unaffected women from high risk breast cancer families completed questionnaires and interviews.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is comparable to acetylsalicylic acid treatment in an animal model of arthritis.

Unlabelled: Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the United States are affected by the pain, disability, and decreased quality of life associated with arthritis. The primary focus of treatment is on reducing joint inflammation and pain through a variety of pharmacotherapies, each of which is associated with various side effects. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an alternative treatment that has been recommended to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases, ranging from chronic brain injury to exercise induced muscle soreness.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment decreases inflammation and mechanical hypersensitivity in an animal model of inflammatory pain.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used to treat a variety of ailments from carbon monoxide poisoning to fibromyalgia. The purpose of this experiment was to explore the effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on carrageenan-induced inflammation and pain in rats. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment significantly decreased inflammation and pain following carrageenan injection.

A toxicity index of skin and wound cleansers used on in vitro fibroblasts and keratinocytes.

Objective: To determine toxicity indexes of commercially available skin, wound, and skin/wound cleansers on in vitro fibroblasts and keratinocytes.

Design: Seventeen cleansers and 3 liquid bath soaps were evaluated for cytotoxic effect on human infant dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes. Both skin cell types were exposed to serial 10-fold dilutions of each cleanser until treated cell viability was comparable to untreated controls.

Brown recluse spider bites: a complex problem wound. A brief review and case study.

Brown recluse spiders (Loxosceles reclusa) are responsible for virtually all documented cases of spider bites leading to significant necrosis. The actual spider bite often goes unnoticed for as long as 4 to 6 hours, which makes diagnosis and, therefore, appropriate treatment, difficult. The spider bite generally results in either a necrotic wound or systemic symptoms that can lead to hemolysis.