Sexual problems, women and aging: an overview.

Expression of one's sexuality is a fundamental mental health need of all individuals, regardless of age and gender. While the popularity and widespread use of Viagra and similar medications for male erectile dysfunction have helped many individuals, it has also reinforced a more male dominated view of sexuality-one that focuses more on genital function, and less on the relationship and issues of intimacy and meaning. Highlighting important issues and recent trends, the paper provides an overview of the diagnosis, description, etiology, assessment and treatment of women's sexual problems.

Introduction: the need to address older women's mental health issues.

Women are the primary consumers of mental health services. Ironically, research addressing their unique needs lags behind that of men's issues. The aging process introduces an important variable that accentuates the relative lack of information and specific treatment guidelines for older women who are confronted by mental health problems.

Obsessive compulsive patients with comorbid personality disorder: associated problems and response to a comprehensive behavior therapy.

Background: The present study examined a group of patients who have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and certain comorbid personality disorders to provide data on types of clinical problems that complicate treatment. Data are presented on patient response to a comprehensive behavior therapy.

Method: Forty-one consecutively referred, adult, nonpsychotic patients with OCD were evaluated independently by their attending psychiatrist and a consulting psychologist for presence of DSM-III-R personality disorder.

Photocytotoxicity of anthracyclines upon laser excitation in their long-wavelength absorption bands.

Newly synthesized daunomycin derivatives with red-shifted absorption compared to the parent molecule are shown to be able to photosensitize cells in vitro upon excitation with either argon or argon-pumped dye laser. Administering 86 J/cm2 total fluence (1 h irradiation) to Fisher rat thyroid cells during 2 h incubation with either daunomycin (excitation wavelength: 488 nm) or 5-iminodaunomycin (595 nm) produced cell killing at doses (about 2.7 X 10(-7) M for 50% cell survival) which were not toxic if administered in the dark.

Enhancement of antitumor drug cytotoxicity via laser photoactivation.

We investigate the efficacy of daunomycin, some imino- and amino-substituted daunomycin analogues and the disubstituted aminoanthracenedione, mitoxantrone, in photosensitizing short-term cell kill upon irradiation in the long wavelength visible range, during incubation of Fisher rat thyroid cells with the drugs. While all compounds exhibit similar cytocidal effects on our cell line, in the absence of irradiation, administering 86 J/cm2 at wavelengths either coincident or close to drug absorption peaks causes greater enhancement in cell mortality for the 4-demethoxydaunomycin analogues than either the parent drug or its 5-imino-derivative. A lower enhancement is observed with mitoxantrone.

Hospital-based behavior therapy services.

Behavior therapy has been underutilized in the private psychiatric hospital setting. A recent survey of member hospitals of the National Association of Private Psychiatric Hospitals (NAPPH) found that fewer than 25 percent of those surveyed provided behavior-therapy consultation for inpatients and fewer than 40 percent had a behavior therapist on staff (1). This situation is unfortunate because behavior therapy has made significant contributions to the mental health field, and the approach offers a research-based system of accountability and cost-efficiency.

Cardiotoxicity and antitumor activity of a copper(II)-doxorubicin chelate.

The cardiotoxic and cytotoxic effects of the Cu(II)-doxorubicin (DXR) complex [Cu(DXR)]n are compared with those of the parent drug. It is shown that 10(-4) M [Cu(DXR)]n has no depressant effects on isolated rat atria, in contrast with an equimolar concentration of the parent drug. No differences were found between the cytotoxic activities of the Cu(II) complex and free DXR on B16 melanoma and HeLa cells.

Cell photosensitization by 5-iminodaunomycin activated with red light.

5-Iminodaunomycin, an anthracycline antitumor drug exhibiting an absorption peak at 595 nm, is shown to photosensitize in vitro cell kill. The photoactivation is performed irradiating the culture dishes during the incubation with the drug for 2 h with 34 mW/cm2 intensity, that is with light doses of up to 245 J/cm2. Long-term effects of administering 50 ng/ml and light for 2 h are studied in terms of growth curves.

Laser time-resolved fluorescence study of the interaction between anthracyclines and cardiolipin.

The molecular interaction between cardiolipin vesicles and two representative anthracyclines, daunomycin and 5-iminodaunomycin, has been studied at pH 7.1 by laser time-resolved fluorescence, for a cardiolipin-to-anthracycline ratio r ranging from 0.02 to 5.

Triplet state characteristics and singlet oxygen generation properties of anthracyclines.

The triplet states of adriamycin (Ad), daunomycin (D) and two daunomycin analogues, daunomycinone (Dc) and daunomycin N-trifluoroacetamide (DAc), have been studied using laser flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis techniques. Triplet lifetimes, molar absorption coefficients, energy levels and quantum yields have been obtained for Dc and DAc, and estimated for D and Ad. Time-resolved near-infrared singlet oxygen luminescence measurements have been carried out on D, Ad and 5-iminodaunomycin (5-ID) in 2H2O solution and Dc in benzene solution at room temperature.

Application of behavioral principles in the management of suffocation phobia: a case study of chronic respiratory failure.

This case study presents the first application of behavioral techniques in the management of psychological reactions associated with respiratory weaning. A forty-eight-year-old woman, with a history of brain stem dysfunction and repeated respiratory arrests participated in a four-week behavioral treatment program designed to 1) eliminate suffocation fear and depression, 2) promote respiratory self-sufficiency, and 3) facilitate successful ventilatory weaning. At one year follow-up, the patient continued to display no evidence of respiratory difficulty, depressive symptomatology, or agitated mood states.

Role of daunosamine and hydroxyacetyl side chain in reaction with iron and lipid peroxidation by anthracyclines.

Doxorubicin (Adr), daunorubicin (Dnr), and analogs of Adr modified in daunosamine (4'-epi-Adr and 3'-N-acetyl-Adr) were investigated with respect to their reaction with Fe(III) and analyzed for the ability of the corresponding iron complexes to sustain lipid peroxidation of isolated human platelet membranes. When the proportion of iron [25 microM Fe(III)] to Adr was 1:4, almost 50% of the metal was reduced following 1 hour of anaerobic reaction, while only approximately equal to 14% of the bound iron could be extracted as Fe(II) in the reactions of the Dnr complexes. The reaction of Adr was associated with formation of two main novel anthracyclines.

Direct detection of paramagnetic species in adriamycin perfused rat hearts.

Direct detection of paramagnetic species in control and adriamycin-perfused rat hearts has been carried out. Depending on the flow rate of the perfusion solution (8,4,2 and 1 ml/min) different paramagnetic species were observed: Fe(III)(g = 2.12) at 4 ml/min; three types of oxygen centered radicals of which two in control hearts (g = 2.

Widowhood, sexuality and aging: a life span analysis.

In an attempt to evaluate how widows of various ages adapt sexually to loss of a marital partner, 100 relatively healthy, community-dwelling widows between the ages of 40 and 89 completed a reliable 101-item questionnaire which evaluated three major areas: 1) barriers to sexual expression posed by age-related changes in body image, mood state and environmental context; 2) degree of unhappiness associated with loss of various marriage-oriented activities; and 3) perceived utility of various activities which indirectly might satisfy sexual and affectional needs. Controlling for income, education, heterosocial involvement, and family contact, and using level of morale and depression as corroborative measures, results showed specific age differences across variables assessed. In particular, younger widows, when compared with their older counterparts, viewed changes in body image, the dearth of unattached men, and limited financial resources for social activities as representing significant sexual barriers.

Knee arthrography: effects of various contrast media and epinephrine on synovial fluid.

Changes in synovial fluid leukocytes, total protein, and total complement were studied in 58 patients after they underwent single contrast material-enhanced knee arthrography with ionic (sodium iothalamate, sodium meglumine diatrizoate, meglumine iothalamate) and nonionic (iopamidol, iohexol) contrast media. In 30 of 58 cases, 0.3 mg epinephrine was also injected.

[Ioexol in arthrography].

Single contrast knee arthrography was performed in a group of 50 patients, using either Urografin or Ioexol as contrast agents. Both contrast media were well tolerated clinically and no significant difference was found to exist as far as image quality is concerned. However, while Urografin produced a significant increase of the white cells in the synovial fluid, no inflammatory change was observed in the synovial fluid after Ioexol.

Age differences in dark-interval threshold across the life-span.

The threshold for the dark interval between two flashes was used to examine differences in stimulus persistence in 72 subjects aged 20 to 79 years. The data were then combined with results from two previous studies involving children and adolescents; thus, a cross sectional, adult, life-span view of differences in the dark-interval threshold was presented. Results showed that during childhood and adolescence there is a decline in stimulus persistence as a result of decreased receptor sensitivity.