[Myocardial revascularization using the internal thoracic artery: pro and con].

Internal thoracic artery (ITA) has superior histological, physiological and pharmacological properties over the venous grafts, and it is considered to be the graft of choice for myocardial revascularization. It has low incidence of late atherosclerotic lesions, and excellent long-term patency. Usage of ITA yields improved clinical results in all subgroups of patients with coronary artery disease, including patients with poor left ventricular function (EF%), left main stenosis, diffuse coronary artery disease and octogenarians.

[History of surgical treatment of atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries--the first 100 years].

Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality. The incidence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has been doubled in our country during the period 1980 through 1996. Surgical treatment of the atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is already a century old, ever since Francois-Franck (in 1899) tried to achieve sympathetic denervation of the cervical ganglion.

The role of client choice and target selection in self-management therapy for depression in older adults.

In a study designed to maximize the effectiveness of treatment by allowing participants to select the target of treatment, 40 depressed older adults were randomly assigned to a waiting-list control condition or to conditions in which the target of treatment was either chosen or assigned. All participants received self-management therapy and the choice was between changing behavior or changing cognition. It was found that individually administered self-management therapy was effective in treating depression for older adults.

Mirtazapine augmentation in the treatment of refractory depression.

Background: Pharmacotherapeutic strategies that target specific actions at multiple neuronal receptors or cellular components may offer a superior approach for treatment of refractory depression. Mirtazapine is a novel antidepressant which has a mechanism that involves the enhancement of noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmission via blockade of alpha2-adrenergic autoreceptors and heteroreceptors without activity at the serotonin transporter. Mirtazapine is thus a compelling candidate for augmentation treatment in patients who fail to achieve adequate response with other antidepressant medications.

Relationship of childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders.

Objective: To review the literature that has examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and the eating disorders.

Method: Each of the five authors reviewed all identified empirical studies to be certain that inclusion/exclusion criteria were met. Two teams of raters then independently reviewed each study to determine whether it supported any of a series of six hypotheses that had been tested in this literature.