Psychogenic dysphonia: diversity of clinical and vocal manifestations in a case series

Introduction: Psychogenic dysphonia is a functional disorder with variable clinical manifestations.Objective: To assess the clinical and vocal characteristics of patients with psychogenic dysphonia in a case series.Methods: The study included 28 adult patients with psychogenic dysphonia, evaluated at a University hospital in the last ten years. Assessed variables included gender, age, occupation, vocal symptoms, vocal characteristics, and videolaryngostroboscopic findings.Results: 28 patients (26 women and 2 men) were assessed. Their occupations included: housekeeper (n = 17), teacher (n = 4), salesclerk (n = 4), nurse (n = 1), retired (n = 1), and psychologist (n = 1). Sudden symptom onset was reported by 16 patients and progressive symptom onset was reported by 12; intermittent evolution was reported by 15; symptom duration longer than three months was reported by 21 patients. Videolaryngostroboscopy showed only functional disorders; no patient had structural lesions or changes in vocal fold mobility. Conversion aphonia, skeletal muscle tension, and intermittent voicing were the most frequent vocal emission manifestation forms.Conclusions: In this case series of patients with psychogenic dysphonia, the most frequent form of clinical presentation was conversion aphonia, followed by musculoskeletal tension and intermittent voicing. The clinical and vocal aspects of 28 patients with psychogenic dysphonia, as well as the particularities of each case, are discussed. (C) 2014 Associacao Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cervico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Xylella fastidiosa genetic diversity by fAFPL markers

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Contemporary and historic factors influence differently genetic differentiation and diversity in a tropical palm

Population genetics theory predicts loss in genetic variability because of drift and inbreeding in isolated plant populations; however, it has been argued that long-distance pollination and seed dispersal may be able to maintain gene flow, even in highly fragmented landscapes. We tested how historical effective population size, historical migration and contemporary landscape structure, such as forest cover, patch isolation and matrix resistance, affect genetic variability and differentiation of seedlings in a tropical palm (Euterpe edulis) in a human-modified rainforest. We sampled 16 sites within five landscapes in the Brazilian Atlantic forest and assessed genetic variability and differentiation using eight microsatellite loci. Using a model selection approach, none of the covariates explained the variation observed in inbreeding coefficients among populations. The variation in genetic diversity among sites was best explained by historical effective population size. Allelic richness was best explained by historical effective population size and matrix resistance, whereas genetic differentiation was explained by matrix resistance. Coalescence analysis revealed high historical migration between sites within landscapes and constant historical population sizes, showing that the genetic differentiation is most likely due to recent changes caused by habitat loss and fragmentation. Overall, recent landscape changes have a greater influence on among-population genetic variation than historical gene flow process. As immediate restoration actions in landscapes with low forest amount, the development of more permeable matrices to allow the movement of pollinators and seed dispersers may be an effective strategy to maintain microevolutionary processes.