Decision-Making Deficits Linked to Real-life Social Dysfunction in Crack Cocaine-Dependent Individuals

Crack cocaine-dependent individuals (CCDI) present abnormalities in both social adjustment and decision making, but few studies have examined this association. This study investigated cognitive and social performance of 30 subjects (CCDI x controls); CCDI were abstinent for 2 weeks. We used the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Disadvantageous choices on the IGT were associated with higher levels of social dysfunction in CCDI, suggesting the ecological validity of the IGT. Social dysfunction and decision making may be linked to the same underlying prefrontal dysfunction, but the nature of this association should be further investigated. (Am J Addict 2010;00: 1-9).

Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: a preliminary report

Animal and human studies indicate that cannabidiol (CBD), a major constituent of cannabis, has anxiolytic properties. However, no study to date has investigated the effects of this compound on human pathological anxiety and its underlying brain mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to investigate this in patients with generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD) using functional neuroimaging. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) at rest was measured twice using (99m)Tc-ECD SPECT in 10 treatment-naive patients with SAD. In the first session, subjects were given an oral dose of CBD (400 mg) or placebo, in a double-blind procedure. In the second session, the same procedure was performed using the drug that had not been administered in the previous session. Within-subject between-condition rCBF comparisons were performed using statistical parametric mapping. Relative to placebo, CBD was associated with significantly decreased subjective anxiety (p < 0.001), reduced ECD uptake in the left parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, and inferior temporal gyrus (p < 0.001, uncorrected), and increased ECD uptake in the right posterior cingulate gyrus (p < 0.001, uncorrected). These results suggest that CBD reduces anxiety in SAD and that this is related to its effects on activity in limbic and paralimbic brain areas.

Social anxiety disorder: what are we losing with the current diagnostic criteria?

Objective: To assess the rate of comorbidities and the functional impairment associated with the social anxiety disorder (SAD), with an emphasis on the so-called subthreshold clinical signs and symptoms. Method: Psychiatric comorbidities and psychosocial functioning were evaluated in 355 volunteers (college students) who had been diagnosed as SAD (n = 141), Subthreshold SAD (n = 92) or Controls (n = 122). Results: The rate of comorbidities was 71.6% in the SAD group and 50% in subjects with Subthreshold SAD, both significantly greater than Controls (28.7%). Concerning psychosocial functioning, the SAD group had higher impairment than the other two groups in all domains evaluated, and subjects with Subthreshold SAD presented intermediate values. Conclusion: The rates of psychiatric comorbidities and the impairment of psychosocial functioning increase progressively along the spectrum of social anxiety. The fact that Subthreshold SAD causes considerable disability and suffering in comparison with control subjects justifies a review of the validity of the diagnostic criteria.

A longitudinal study on the transmission dynamics of human Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi infection in Amazonian Brazil, with special reference to its prevalence and incidence

This was a longitudinal study carried out during a period over 2 years with a cohort of 946 individuals of both sexes, aged 1 year and older, from an endemic area of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in Para State, Brazil. The object was to analyze the transmission dynamics of human Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi infection based principally on the prevalence and incidence. For diagnosis of the infection, the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and leishmanin skin test (LST) were performed with amastigote and promastigote antigens of the parasite, respectively. The prevalence by LST (11.2%) was higher (p < 0.0001) than that (3.4%) by IFAT, and the combined prevalence by both tests was 12.6%. The incidences by LST were also higher (p < 0.05) than those by IFAT at 6 (4.7% A- 0.6%), 12 (4.7% A- 2.7%), and 24 months (2.9% A- 0.3%). Moreover, there were no differences (p > 0.05) between the combined incidences by both tests on the same point surveys, 5.2%, 6.3%, and 3.6%. During the study, 12 infected persons showed high IFAT IgG titers with no LST reactions: five children and two adults developed AVL (2,560-10,120), and two children and three adults developed subclinical oligosymptomatic infection (1,280-2,560). The combined tests diagnosed a total of 231 cases of infection leading to an accumulated prevalence of 24.4%.

A prospective study on the dynamics of the clinical and immunological evolution of human Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi infection in the Brazilian Amazon region

This prospective study was carried out from October 2003 to December 2005 and involved a cohort of 946 individuals of both genders, aged 1-89 years, from an endemic area for American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL), in Para State, Brazil. The aim of the study was to analyze the dynamics of the clinical and immunological evolution of human Leishmania ( L.) infantum chagasi infection represented by the following clinical-immunological profiles: asymptomatic infection (AI); symptomatic infection (SI = AVL); subclinical oligosymptomatic infection (SOI); subclinical resistant infection (SRI); and indeterminate initial infection (III). Infection diagnosis was determined by the indirect fluorescent antibody test and leishmanin skin test. In total, 231 cases of infection were diagnosed: the AI profile was the most frequent (73.2%), followed by SRI (12.1%), III (9.9%), SI (2.6%) and SOI (2.2%). The major conclusion regarding evolution dynamics was that the III profile plays a pivotal role from which the cases evolve to either the resistant, SRI and AI, or susceptible, SOI and SI, profiles; only one of the 23 III cases evolved to SI, while most evolved to either SRI (nine cases) or SOI (five cases) and eight cases remained as III. (C) 2010 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Protonectin (1-6): A novel chemotactic peptide from the venom of the social wasp Agelaia pallipes pallipes

Peptides constitute the largest group of Hymenoptera venom toxins; some of them interact with GPCR, being involved with the activation of different types of leukocytes, smooth muscle contraction and neurotoxicity. Most of these toxins vary from dodecapeptides to tetradecapeptides, amidated at their C-teminal amino acid residue. The venoms of social wasps can also contains some tetra-, penta-, hexa- and hepta-peptides, but just a few of them have been structurally and functionally characterized up to now. Protonectin (ILG-TILGLLKGL-NH(2)) is a polyfunctional peptide, presenting mast cell degranulation, release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from mast cells, antibiosis against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and chemotaxis for polymorphonucleated leukocytes (PMNL), while Protonectin (1-6) (ILGTIL-NH(2)) only presents chemotaxis for PMNL However, the mixture of Protonectin (1-6) with Protonectin in the molar ratio of 1:1 seems to potentiate the biological activities dependent of the membrane perturbation caused by Protonectin, as observed in the increasing of the activities of mast cell degranulation, LDH releasing from mast cells, and antibiosis. Despite both peptides are able to induce PMNL chemotaxis, the mixture of them presents a reduced activity in comparison to the individual peptides. Apparently, when mixed both peptides seems to form a supra-molecular structure, which interact with the receptors responsible for PMNL chemotaxis, disturbing their individual docking with these receptors. In addition to this, a comparison of the sequences of both peptides suggests that the sequence ILGTIL is conserved, suggesting that it must constitute a linear motif for the structural recognition by the specific receptor which induces leukocytes migration. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SUBTYPING SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

SAD and numerous outcomes (age-of-onset, persistence, severity, comorbidity, treatment) were examined. Additional analyses examined associations with number of performance fears Versus number of interactional fears. Results: Lifetime social fears are quite common in both developed (15.9%) and developing (14.3%) countries, but lifetime SAD is much more common in the former (6.1%) than latter (2.1%) countries. Among those with SAD, persistence, severity, comorbidity, and treatment have dose response relationships with number of social fears, with no clear nonlinearity in relationships that would support a distinction between generalized and non-generalized SAD. The distinction between performance fears and interactional fears is generally not important in predicting these same outcomes. Conclusion: No evidence is found to support subtyping SAD on the basis of either number of social fears or number of performance fears versus number of interactional fears. Depression and Anxiety 27:390-403, 2010. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Reprint of ""Dynamics of the expression of intermediate filaments vimentin and desmin during myofibroblast differentiation after corneal injury""

Previous studies have suggested that abnormal corneal wound healing in patients after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is associated with the appearance of myofibroblasts in the stroma between two and four weeks after surgery. The purpose of this study was to examine potential myofibroblast progenitor cells that might express other filament markers prior to completion of the differentiation pathway that yields alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA)-expressing myofibroblasts associated with haze localized beneath the epithelial basement membrane after PRK. Twenty-four female rabbits that had -9 diopter PRK were sacrificed at 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks or 4 weeks after surgery. Corneal rims were collected, frozen at -80 degrees C, and analyzed by immunocytochemistry using anti-vimentin, anti-desmin, and anti-SMA antibodies. Double immunostaining was performed for the co-localization of SMA with vimentin or desmin with SMA. An increase in vimentin expression in stromal cells is noted as early as 1 week after PRK in the rabbit cornea. As the healing response continues at two or three weeks after surgery, many stromal cells expressing vimentin also begin to express desmin and SMA. By 4 weeks after the surgery most, if not all, myofibroblasts express vimentin, desmin and SMA. Generalized least squares regression analysis showed that there was strong evidence that each of the marker groups differed in expression over time compared to the other two (p < 0.01). Intermediate filaments - vimentin and desmin co-exist in myofibroblasts along with SMA and may play an important role in corneal remodeling after photorefractive keratectomy. The earliest precursors of myofibroblasts destined to express SMA and desmin are detectible by staining for vimentin at 1 week after surgery. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of the expression of intermediate filaments vimentin and desmin during myofibroblast differentiation after corneal injury

Previous studies have suggested that abnormal corneal wound healing in patients after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is associated with the appearance of myofibroblasts in the stroma between two and four weeks after surgery. The purpose of this study was to examine potential myofibroblast progenitor cells that might express other filament markers prior to completion of the differentiation pathway that yields a-smooth muscle actin (SMA)-expressing myofibroblasts associated with haze localized beneath the epithelial basement membrane after PRK. Twenty-four female rabbits that had -9 diopter PRK were sacrificed at I week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks or 4 weeks after surgery. Corneal rims were collected, frozen at -80 degrees C, and analyzed by immunocytochemistry using anti-vimentin, anti-desmin, and anti-SMA antibodies. Double immunostaining was performed for the co-localization of SMA with vimentin or desmin with SMA. An increase in vimentin expression in stromal cells is noted as early as 1 week after PRK in the rabbit cornea. As the healing response continues at two or three weeks after surgery, many stromal cells expressing vimentin also begin to express desmin and SMA. By 4 weeks after the surgery most, if not all, myofibroblasts express vimentin, desmin and SMA. Generalized least squares regression analysis showed that there was strong evidence that each of the marker groups differed in expression over time compared to the other two (p < 0.01). Intermediate filaments - vimentin and desmin co-exist in myofibroblasts along with SMA and may play an important role in corneal remodeling after photorefractive keratectomy. The earliest precursors of myofibroblasts destined to express SMA and desmin are detectible by staining for vimentin at I week after surgery. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Response to AIDS in Brazil: contributions of social movements and the sanitary reform

This paper briefly outlines how the political scenario and the mobilization of different actors have contributed to the construction of a public health policy in response to the AIDS epidemics in Brazil. Three factors are presented and discussed: the political context of the 1980s, characterized by redemocratization, growth of social movements, and consolidation of the Brazilian health care reform; the socio-cultural context of the 1970s and 1980s, characterized by achievement of individual freedom, which was key to the organization of the AIDS movement; and finally the actions carried out in the international scenario to support the sustainability of the Brazilian domestic policy and the reinforcement of a global response to face the epidemics in lower-middle income economies.

Social dysfunction in bipolar disorder: pilot study

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to assess the social skills of euthymic patients with bipolar disorder. Methods: A group of 25 outpatients with bipolar disorder type I were evaluated in comparison with a group of 31 healthy volunteers who were matched in terms of level of education, age, sex and intelligence. Both groups were assessed using a self-report questionnaire, the Brazilian Inventario de Habilidades Sociais (IHS, Social Skills Inventory). Two Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests ( Picture Arrangement and Comprehension) were also used in order to assess subject ability to analyse social situations and to make judgements, respectively. Results: Patients with bipolar disorder had lower IHS scores for the domains that assessed conversational skills/social self-confidence and social openness to new people/situations. Patients with anxiety disorders had high scores for the domain that assessed self-confidence in the expression of positive emotions. No differences were found between patients and controls in performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Picture Arrangement and Comprehension subtests. Conclusions: Euthymic patients with bipolar disorder present inhibited and overattentive behaviour in relation to other people and their environment. This behaviour might have a negative impact on their level of social functioning and quality of life.

Insulin-like peptide genes in honey bee fat body respond differently to manipulation of social behavioral physiology

Nutrient sensitive insulin-like peptides (ILPs) have profound effects on invertebrate metabolism, nutrient storage, fertility and aging. Many insects transcribe ILPs in specialized neurosecretory cells at changing levels correlated with life history. However, the major site of insect metabolism and nutrient storage is not the brain, but rather the fat body, where functions of ILP expression are rarely studied and poorly understood. Fat body is analogous to mammalian liver and adipose tissue, with nutrient stores that often correlate with behavior. We used the honey bee (Apis mellifera), an insect with complex behavior, to test whether ILP genes in fat body respond to experimentally induced changes of behavioral physiology. Honey bee fat body influences endocrine state and behavior by secreting the yolk protein precursor vitellogenin (Vg), which suppresses lipophilic juvenile hormone and social foraging behavior. In a two-factorial experiment, we used RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated vg gene knockdown and amino acid nutrient enrichment of hemolymph (blood) to perturb this regulatory module. We document factor-specific changes in fat body ilp1 and ilp2 mRNA, the bee`s ILP-encoding genes, and confirm that our protocol affects social behavior. We show that ilp1 and ilp2 are regulated independently and differently and diverge in their specific expression-localization between fat body oenocyte and trophocyte cells. Insect ilp functions may be better understood by broadening research to account for expression in fat body and not only brain.

Dynamics of Parathyroid Hormone Secretion After Total Parathyroidectomy and Autotransplantation

Secondary hyperparathyroidism is a common complication in uremic patients. Total parathyroidectomy combined with partial autotransplantation into brachioradialis muscle has been the preference among the options for surgical treatment. This study was designed to evaluate the reserve and ability of suppression of autotransplanted parathyroid tissue using dynamics tests. We studied, prospectively, 12 patients in recent (RP) and late (LP) postoperative of total parathyroidectomy with autotransplantation. For analysis of the secretory reserve capacity, we induced hypocalcemia by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) infusion. Furthermore, for analysis of the ability for parathyroid hormone (PTH) suppression, the hypercalcemia test was used, by intravenous administration of calcium in LP. In RP, there was a decrease in the average serum levels of PTH, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase, which ranged from 13 to 231 (87 +/- A 65) pg/ml, 2.3 to 6.2 (3.3 +/- A 1.1) mg/dl, and 77 to 504 (250 +/- A 135) U/L, respectively, similar to that observed in LP. The analysis of the average curve of variations in PTH during testing of the stimulus with EDTA showed lack of secretion in RP and partial response in LP. Impaired suppression ability of the graft in LP was observed in the test with intravenous calcium. Total parathyroidectomy followed by partial autotransplantation was effective in reducing PTH serum levels in patients with terminal kidney disease. The elevation of serum calcium during the suppression test was not able to inhibit the autograft gland secretion of PTH. The assessment of parathyroid graft function demonstrated an inability to respond to the stimulus of hypocalcemia induced by EDTA, although there was a partial recovery, in late postoperative period.

Anticoagulant and fibrinogenolytic properties of the venom of Polybia occidentalis social wasp

Previous studies have shown that venoms of social wasps and bees exhibit strong anticoagulant activity. The present study describes the anticoagulant and fibrinogen-degrading pharmacological properties of the venom of Polybia occidentalis social wasp. The results demonstrated that this venom presented anticoagulant effect, inhibiting the coagulation at different steps of the clotting pathway (intrinsic, extrinsic and common pathway). The venom inhibited platelet aggregation and degraded plasma fibrinogen, possibly containing metal-dependent metalloproteases that specifically cleave the B beta-chain of fibrinogen. In conclusion, fibrinogenolytic and anticoagulant properties of this wasp venom find a potential application in drug development for the treatment of thrombotic disorders. For that, further studies should be carried out in order to identify and isolate the active compounds responsible for these effects. Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis 21: 653-659 (c) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Migration in Afro-Brazilian Rural Communities: Crossing Demographic and Genetic Data

Many studies have used genetic markers to understand global migration patterns of our species. However, there are only few studies of human migration on a local scale. We, therefore, researched migration dynamics in three Afro-Brazilian rural communities, using demographic data and ten Ancestry Informative Markers. In addition to the description of migration and marriage structures, we carried out genetic comparisons between the three populations, as well as between locals and migrants from each community. Genetic admixture analyses were conducted according to the gene-identity method, with Sub-Saharan Africans, Amerindians, and Europeans as parental populations. The three analyzed Afro-Brazilian rural communities consisted of 16% to 30% of migrants, most of them women. The age pyramid revealed a gap in the segment of men aged between 20 to 30 yrs. While endogamous marriages predominated, exogamous marriages were mainly patrilocal. Migration dynamics are apparently associated with matrimonial customs and other social practices of such communities. The impact of migration upon the populations` genetic composition was low but showed an increase in European alleles with a concomitant decrease in the Amerindian contribution. Admixture analysis evidenced a higher African contribution to the gene pool of the studied populations, followed by the contribution of Europeans and Amerindians, respectively.