Background: While exposure therapy effectively reduces anxiety associated with specific phobias, not all individuals respond to treatment and some will experience a return of fear after treatment ceases.
Aims: This study aimed to test the potential benefit of increasing the intensity of exposure therapy by adding an extra step that challenged uncontrollability (Step 15: allowing a spider to walk freely over one's body) to the standard fear hierarchy.
Method: Fifty-one participants who had a severe fear of spiders completed two 60-min exposure sessions 1 week apart in a context that was either the same or different from the baseline and follow-up assessment context. Participants were categorized into groups based on the last hierarchy step they completed during treatment (Step 14 or fewer, or Step 15).
Results: Those who completed Step 15 had greater reductions in fear and beliefs about the probability of harm from baseline to post-treatment than those who completed fewer steps. Although completing Step 15 did not prevent fear from returning after a context change, it allowed people to maintain their ability to tolerate their fear, which earlier steps did not. Despite some fear returning after a context change, individuals who completed Step 15 tended to report greater reductions in fear from baseline to the follow-up assessment than participants who completed 14 or fewer steps.
Conclusions: Overall, these results suggest that more intensive exposure that directly challenges harm beliefs may lead to greater changes in fear and fear beliefs than less intensive exposure.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1352465818000437 | DOI Listing |
J Neurol
January 2025
Center for Psychopharmacology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Background: Impaired impulse control is often seen in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients using dopamine agonists.
Methods: We performed a therapeutic drug monitoring study of 100 PD patients using ropinirole or pramipexole extended release. Three blood samples were collected on the same day.
Rheumatol Int
January 2025
Department of Rheumatology, Immunology and Internal Medicine, University Hospital in Kraków, Kraków, Poland.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune rheumatic disease (ARD) that results from the dysregulation of multiple innate and adaptive immune pathways. Late-onset SLE (Lo-SLE) is the term used when the disease is first diagnosed after 50-65 years, though the standard age cut-off remains undefined. Defining "late-onset" as lupus with onset after 50 years is more biologically plausible as this roughly corresponds to the age of menopause.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurol
January 2025
Division of Child Neurology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Background: The presented study identified the appropriate ocrelizumab dosing regimen for patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS).
Methods: Patients with POMS aged 10-17 years were enrolled into cohort 1 (body weight [BW] < 40 kg, ocrelizumab 300 mg) and cohort 2 (BW ≥ 40 kg, ocrelizumab 600 mg) during a 24-week dose-exploration period (DEP), followed by an optional ocrelizumab (given every 24 weeks) extension period.
Primary Endpoints: pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics (CD19 B-cell count); secondary endpoint: safety; exploratory endpoints: MRI activity, protocol-defined relapses, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score change.
Inflamm Res
January 2025
Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-744, Republic of Korea.
Particulate matter (PM) exposure has been proposed as one of the causes of steroid resistance. However, studies investigating this using patient samples or animals are still lacking. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the changes in cytokines and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) activation in patients with steroid resistant asthma and the role of mTOR in a mouse model of steroid resistant asthma induced by PM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Med Suisse
January 2025
Unité VIH/sida, Service des maladies infectieuses, Département de médecine, Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève, 1211 Genève 14.
The year 2024 saw many advances in HIV care, both in terms of treatment and prevention. The cure of a patient from Geneva made headlines and helped in understanding the complex immunology of the HIV virus. Long-acting injectable treatments improve the quality of life of peoplewith HIV (PWHIV) and area promising option for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!