Buprenorphine treatment for narcotic addiction: not without risks.

While most clinicians will never prescribe buprenorphine or combined buprenorphine/naloxone, familiarity with the risks of these pharmacological approaches to the treatment of narcotic addiction remains relevant. Overall, medication-assisted treatment has clearly resulted in meaningful gains for a number of individuals who are addicted to narcotics (i.e.

Comparing External Correlates of DSM-5 Section II and Section III Dimensional Trait Operationalizations of Borderline Personality Disorder.

The current study evaluated the relative associations of the DSM-5 Section II operationalization of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and dimensional traits included in a diagnosis of BPD in DSM-5 Section III with conceptually relevant external criterion variables. It is important to determine whether or not Section II BPD and constellation of Section III BPD traits have similar positions in the nomological network representing the BPD construct. Moreover, it is important to determine whether or not the trait-based Section III BPD diagnosis is an improvement upon the categorical Section II diagnosis in regard to its associations with external criteria.

Workplace bullying: a tale of adverse consequences.

Workplace bullying is defined as the repetitive and systematic engagement of interpersonally abusive behaviors that negatively affect both the targeted individual and the work organization. According to the findings of 12 studies, being bullied in the workplace affects approximately 11 percent of workers. Victims are frequently blue-collar and unskilled workers.

Body mass index and self-reported compliance with general health care.

Objectives: The relation between elevated body mass index (BMI)/overweight-obesity and compliance with health care remains unclear; some studies have demonstrated a relation whereas others have not. To add to the confusion, a number of studies have examined specialized populations (eg, patients with diabetes mellitus) and/or only one parameter of compliance (eg, taking medication). In the present study, we examined primary care outpatients for relations between BMI and multiple parameters of healthcare adherence/compliance.

Patient aggression: is the clinical practice setting safe?

Over the past 20 or so years, a number of studies have examined patient aggression toward healthcare professionals. While the majority of these studies has focused on healthcare professionals in the fields of emergency medicine, psychiatry, and primary care, available data extends beyond these three specialties. Studies have been done in the United States, other English-speaking countries, and elsewhere- all reporting surprisingly high rates of patient aggression.

Childhood bullying and healthcare adherence in adulthood.

Background: The relationship between childhood bullying and healthcare adherence in adulthood has been rarely studied, but one published study suggests that being bullied in childhood is related to lower healthcare adherence among adolescents. This previous study examined few adherence variables and was limited to youths.

Aims: In this study, we assessed five variables for childhood bullying as related to seven measures of healthcare adherence among a cohort of adult primary care outpatients.

Two sites of action for PLD2 inhibitors: The enzyme catalytic center and an allosteric, phosphoinositide biding pocket.

Phospholipase D (PLD) has been implicated in many physiological functions, such as chemotaxis and phagocytosis, as well as pathological functions, such as cancer cell invasion and metastasis. New inhibitors have been described that hamper the role of PLD in those pathologies but their site of action is not known. We have characterized the biochemical and biological behavior of the PLD1/2 dual inhibitor 5-Fluoro-2-indolyl des-chlorohalopemide (FIPI), and the specific PLD2 inhibitor, N-[2-[1-(3-Fluorophenyl)-4-oxo-1,3,-8-triazaspiro[4.

S6K is a morphogenic protein with a mechanism involving Filamin-A phosphorylation and phosphatidic acid binding.

Change of cell shape in vivo plays many roles that are central to life itself, such as embryonic development, inflammation, wound healing, and pathologic processes such as cancer metastasis. Nonetheless, the spatiotemporal mechanisms that control the concerted regulation of cell shape remain understudied. Here, we show that ribosomal S6K, which is normally considered a protein involved in protein translation, is a morphogenic protein.

Borderline personality symptomatology and compliance with general health care among internal medicine outpatients.

Objectives: The extant literature on borderline personality disorder (BPD) and compliance with mental health treatment contains conflicting findings. However, among those individuals with this type of personality dysfunction, reduced compliance with mental health treatment appears to be the predominant theme. To our knowledge, the relationship between BPD and compliance with general health care has not been studied.

Marijuana and body weight.

Acute marijuana use is classically associated with snacking behavior (colloquially referred to as "the munchies"). In support of these acute appetite-enhancing effects, several authorities report that marijuana may increase body mass index in patients suffering from human immunodeficiency virus and cancer. However, for these medical conditions, while appetite may be stimulated, some studies indicate that weight gain is not always clinically meaningful.

Mechanism of enzymatic reaction and protein-protein interactions of PLD from a 3D structural model.

The phospholipase D (PLD) superfamily catalyzes the hydrolysis of cell membrane phospholipids generating the key intracellular lipid second messenger phosphatidic acid. However, there is not yet any resolved structure either from a crystallized protein or from NMR of any mammalian PLDs. We propose here a 3D model of the PLD2 by combining homology and ab initio 3 dimensional structural modeling methods, and docking conformation.

The molecular basis of leukocyte adhesion involving phosphatidic acid and phospholipase D.

Defining how leukocytes adhere to solid surfaces, such as capillary beds, and the subsequent migration through the extracellular matrix, is a central biological issue. We show here that phospholipase D (PLD) and its enzymatic reaction product, phosphatidic acid (PA), regulate cell adhesion of immune cells (macrophages and neutrophils) to collagen and have defined the underlying molecular mechanism in a spatio-temporal manner that coincides with PLD activity timing. A rapid (t½ = 4 min) and transient activation of the PLD1 isoform occurs upon adhesion, and a slower (t½ = 7.

Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia: an examination of psychological antecedents.

Herpes zoster and an associated complication, postherpetic neuralgia, are both attributable to the varicella zoster virus. This virus, which lies dormant within the affected sensory ganglia after an initial infection, appears to be triggered in part by a decrease in immunity. According to available research, stress, stressful life events, and depressive symptoms are identified antecedents to outbreaks of herpes zoster.

A river runs through it: how autophagy, senescence, and phagocytosis could be linked to phospholipase D by Wnt signaling.

Neutrophils and macrophages are professional phagocytic cells, extremely efficient at the process of engulfing and killing bacteria. Autophagy is a similar process, by which phagosomes recycle internal cell structures during nutrient shortages. Some pathogens are able to subvert the autophagy process, funneling nutrients for their own use and for the host's detriment.

Phospholipase D in cell signaling: from a myriad of cell functions to cancer growth and metastasis.

Phospholipase D (PLD) enzymes play a double vital role in cells: they maintain the integrity of cellular membranes and they participate in cell signaling including intracellular protein trafficking, cytoskeletal dynamics, cell migration, and cell proliferation. The particular involvement of PLD in cell migration is accomplished: (a) through the actions of its enzymatic product of reaction, phosphatidic acid, and its unique shape-binding role on membrane geometry; (b) through a particular guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity (the first of its class assigned to a phospholipase) in the case of the mammalian isoform PLD2; and (c) through protein-protein interactions with a wide network of molecules: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASp), Grb2, ribosomal S6 kinase (S6K), and Rac2. Further, PLD interacts with a variety of kinases (PKC, FES, EGF receptor (EGFR), and JAK3) that are activated by it, or PLD becomes the target substrate.

Overexpression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 attenuates tonically active glutamatergic input to the rostral ventrolateral medulla in hypertensive rats.

The rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) plays a key role in cardiovascular regulation. It has been reported that tonically active glutamatergic input to the RVLM is increased in hypertensive rats, whereas angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the brain has been suggested to be beneficial to hypertension. This study was designed to determine the effect of ACE2 gene transfer into the RVLM on tonically active glutamatergic input in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).

Serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors: a pharmacological comparison.

The serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are a family of antidepressants that inhibit the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine. While these drugs are traditionally considered a group of inter-related antidepressants based upon reuptake inhibition, they generally display different chemical structures as well as different pharmacological properties. In this article, we discuss these and other differences among the serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, including the year of approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration, generic availability, approved clinical indications, half-lives, metabolism and excretion, presence or not of active metabolites, dosing schedules, proportionate effects on serotonin and norepinephrine, and the timing of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake (i.

Incidence and etiology of unplanned cast changes for fractures in the pediatric population.

Background: The majority of pediatric fractures are treated in casts due to the child's ability to heal rapidly and remodel. Unplanned cast changes are a time and economic burden with potentially adverse effects on fracture management. The purpose of this study is to document the incidence, etiology, and complications related to unplanned cast changes.

Pain catastrophizing and employment histories.

Background: Studies examining pain catastrophizing and employment have had mixed findings. No study of pain catastrophizing has examined its relationship to lifetime employment status in a general clinical population.

Aims: To examine pain catastrophizing in relationship to lifetime employment functioning in a sample of US primary care patients (rather than injured workers).

"I'm Your Number One Fan"- A Clinical Look at Celebrity Worship.

Celebrity worship-is it more than just being a casual fan? To explore this question, a number of scales have been developed to assess celebrity adulation. The most prevalent scale of this type in the literature is the Celebrity Attitudes Scale. Using these types of scales, investigators have examined various college-student and community samples.