Sexual behavior and knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among university students in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Objective: To investigate the sexual behavior and knowledge about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among undergraduate students in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Methods: Self-reported questionnaires were used. Results: Most of the 447 students in the study were single (97.3%), in their first year of university (87.7%), and the mean ages were 20.4 years (males) and 19.8 years (females). Vaginal intercourse was practiced by 69.7% of males and 48.4% of females, oral sex by 64.5% of males and 43.7% of females, and anal sex by 18.4% of males and 14.1% of females. Use of a condom during vaginal sex was practiced by 80.4% of males and 74.8% of females and during anal sex by 47.8% of males and 30.0% of females. Knowledge of transmission of STIs was greater than 90% for HIV, syphilis, genital herpes, and gonorrhea; 63%-76% for HPV and genital warts; 30%-34% for Trichomonas and only 16% for Chlamydia. Only 25%-34% knew that HIV was transmitted by breastfeeding; 56%-60% knew that HIV was transmitted by anal sex. Conclusion: Many students engage in high-risk sexual behavior with multiple partners and use condoms inconsistently. Knowledge of the acquisition and modes of sexual and vertical transmission of HIV are strikingly deficient. (C) 2010 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acute increase in urinary 6-sulfatoximelatonin after clomipramine, as a predictive measure for emotional improvement

Nocturnal melatonin pineal output is triggered by sympathetic outflow. Antidepressants that block norepinephrine neuronal uptake should increase pineal function. This can be monitored by measuring 6-sulfatoximelatonin (aMT6s), the main melatonin metabolite, in the urine. In this study, we compared the excretion of aMT6s before (baseline), one, and 21 days after administration of clomipramine to healthy subjects (n = 32). At the end of treatment, subjects were divided into responders (n = 12) and non-responders (n = 20) according to the improvement in their emotional state in three out of four domains (interpersonal tolerance, efficiency, well-being and feeling different from the usual self). There was no difference in aMT6s before clomipramine between responders and non-responders in any of the time intervals analysed (06:00-12:00, 12:00-18:00, 18:00-24:00 and 24:00-06:00 hours). At day one, but not at day 21, the fraction of aMT6s excreted during the time interval 24:00-06:00, relative to the total amount excreted by each subject per day, was significantly higher (P = 0.0287) than baseline (0.57 +/- 0.04) in responders. No significant difference was observed in non-responders. The increase in pineal function induced by clomipramine was restricted to day one, indicating that long-lasting adaptation restores pineal function. In addition, the day one increase in aMT6s was significantly increased only in the responders group, raising the possibility that the blocking of neuronal uptake is predictive of emotional improvement.

Etiological and Clinical Features of Childhood Psychotic Symptoms Results From a Birth Cohort

Context: It has been reported that childhood psychotic symptoms are common in the general population and may signal neurodevelopmental processes that lead to schizophrenia. However, it is not clear whether these symptoms are associated with the same extensive risk factors established for adult schizophrenia. Objective: To examine the construct validity of children`s self-reported psychotic symptoms by testing whether these symptoms share the risk factors and clinical features of adult schizophrenia. Design: Prospective, longitudinal cohort study of a nationally representative birth cohort in Great Britain. Participants: A total of 2232 twelve-year-old children followed up since age 5 years ( retention, 96%). Main Outcome Measure: Children`s self-reported hallucinations and delusions. Results: Children`s psychotic symptoms are familial and heritable and are associated with social risk factors (eg, urbanicity); cognitive impairments at age 5; home-rearing risk factors ( eg, maternal expressed emotion); behavioral, emotional, and educational problems at age 5; and comorbid conditions, including self-harm. Conclusions: The results provide a comprehensive picture of the construct validity of children`s self-reported psychotic symptoms. For researchers, the findings indicate that children who have psychotic symptoms can be recruited for neuroscience research to determine the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. For clinicians, the findings indicate that psychotic symptoms in childhood are often a marker of an impaired developmental process and should be actively assessed.

A NEUROECONOMIC MODELING OF ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

In this paper we present a new neuroeconomics model for decision-making applied to the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The model is based on the hypothesis that decision-making is dependent on the evaluation of expected rewards and risks assessed simultaneously in two decision spaces: the personal (PDS) and the interpersonal emotional spaces (IDS). Motivation to act is triggered by necessities identified in PDS or IDS. The adequacy of an action in fulfilling a given necessity is assumed to be dependent on the expected reward and risk evaluated in the decision spaces. Conflict generated by expected reward and risk influences the easiness (cognitive effort) and the future perspective of the decision-making. Finally, the willingness (not) to act is proposed to be a function of the expected reward (or risk), adequacy, easiness and future perspective. The two most frequent clinical forms are ADHD hyperactive (AD/HDhyp) and ADHD inattentive (AD/HDdin). AD/HDhyp behavior is hypothesized to be a consequence of experiencing high rewarding expectancies for short periods of time, low risk evaluation, and short future perspective for decision-making. AD/HDin is hypothesized to be a consequence of experiencing high rewarding expectancies for long periods of time, low risk evaluation, and long future perspective for decision-making.

Ex vivo and in vivo biological behavior of Leishmania (Viannia) shawi

Since the first description of Leishmania (Viannia) shawi, few studies were performed with this parasite. In the present work, the in vivo and ex vivo behavior of L. (Viannia) shawi infection was studied using murine model. Peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were infected with promastigotes in the stationary phase of growth; after 24 h, the infection index and nitric oxide (NO) levels in the supernatant of the cultures were analyzed. BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were infected into the hind footpad, and at each 2 weeks, mice were sacrificed, and the histological changes of the skin inoculation site, parasitism, and humoral immune responses were evaluated during 8 weeks. Ex vivo experiments showed that macrophages of BALB/c presented higher infection index and lesser NO levels than macrophages of C57BL/6. In vivo experiments showed that BALB/c presented higher lesion size than C57BL/6 mice; similarly, the histopathological changes and the parasitism in skin were more exacerbate in BALB/c mice. In draining lymph nodes, the main change was increase of germinative centers, and parasites were detected from 6 weeks pi onwards in both mice strain. IgG was detected in BALB/c mice from 4 weeks, while in C57BL/6, from 6 weeks pi onwards. Taken together, these results indicate that BALB/c showed a classical behavior of susceptibility when compared to C57BL/6 mice.

Abnormal Left and Right Amygdala-Orbitofrontal Cortical Functional Connectivity to Emotional Faces: State Versus Trait Vulnerability Markers of Depression in Bipolar Disorder

Background: Amygdala-orbitofrontal cortical (OFC) functional connectivity (FC) to emotional stimuli and relationships with white matter remain little examined in bipolar disorder individuals (BD). Methods: Thirty-one BD (type 1; n = 17 remitted; n = 14 depressed) and 24 age- and gender-ratio-matched healthy individuals (HC) viewed neutral, mild, and intense happy or sad emotional faces in two experiments. The FC was computed as linear and nonlinear dependence measures between amygdala and OFC time series. Effects of group, laterality, and emotion intensity upon amygdala-OFC FC and amygdala-OFC FC white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) relationships were examined. Results: The BD versus HC showed significantly greater right amygdala-OFC FC (p <= .001) in the sad experiment and significantly reduced bilateral amygdala-OFC FC (p = .007) in the happy experiment. Depressed but not remitted female BD versus female HC showed significantly greater left amygdala-OFC FC (p = .001) to all faces in the sad experiment and reduced bilateral amygdala-OFC FC to intense happy faces (p = .01). There was a significant nonlinear relationship (p = .001) between left amygdala-OFC FC to sad faces and FA in HC. In BD, antidepressants were associated with significantly reduced left amygdala-OFC FC to mild sad faces (p = .001). Conclusions: In BD, abnormally elevated right amygdala-OFC FC to sad stimuli might represent a trait vulnerability for depression, whereas abnormally elevated left amygdala-OFC FC to sad stimuli and abnormally reduced amygdala-OFC FC to intense happy stimuli might represent a depression state marker. Abnormal FC measures might normalize with antidepressant medications in BD. Nonlinear amygdala-OFC FC-FA relationships in BID and HC require further study.

Brainstem pathology and non-motor symptoms in PD

Parkinson`s disease (PD) is considered a multisystem disorder involving dopaminergic, noradrenergic. serotoninergic. and cholinergic systems, characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. The causes of the non-motor symptoms in PD are multifactorial and unlikely to be explained by single lesions However, several evidence link them to damage of specific brainstem nuclei Numerous brainstem nuclei are engaged in fundamental homeostatic mechanisms, including gastrointestinal regulation, pain perception, mood control, and sleep-wake cycles In addition, these nuclei are locally interconnected in a complex manner and are subject to supraspinal control. The objective of this review is to provide a better overview of the current knowledge about the consequences of the involvement of specific brainstem nuclei to the most prevalent non-motor symptoms occurring in PD The multidisciplinary efforts of research directed to these non-nigral brainstem nuclei, in addition to the topographical and chronological spread of the disease - especially in the prodromal stages of PD. are discussed (C) 2009 Elsevier B V. All rights reserved

Individual vulnerability to escalated aggressive behavior by a low dose of alcohol: decreased serotonin receptor mRNA in the prefrontal cortex of male mice

Low to moderate doses of alcohol consumption induce heightened aggressive behavior in some, but not all individuals. Individual vulnerability for this nonadaptive behavior may be determined by an interaction of genetic and environmental factors with the sensitivity of alcohol`s effects on brain and behavior. We used a previously established protocol for alcohol oral self-administration and characterized alcohol-heightened aggressive (AHA) mice as compared with alcohol non-heightened (ANA) counterparts. A week later, we quantified mRNA steady state levels of several candidate genes in the serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] system in different brain areas. We report a regionally selective and significant reduction of all 5-HT receptor subtype transcripts, except for 5-HT(3), in the prefrontal cortex of AHA mice. Comparable gene expression profile was previously observed in aggressive mice induced by social isolation or by an anabolic androgenic steroid. Additional change in the 5-HT(1B) receptor transcripts was seen in the amygdala and hypothalamus of AHA mice. In both these areas, 5-HT(1B) mRNA was elevated when compared with ANA mice. In the hypothalamus, AHA mice also showed increased transcripts for 5-HT(2A) receptor. In the midbrain, 5-HT synthetic enzyme, 5-HT transporter and 5-HT receptors mRNA levels were similar between groups. Our results emphasize a role for postsynaptic over presynaptic 5-HT receptors in mice which showed escalated aggression after the consumption of a moderate dose of alcohol. This gene expression profile of 5-HT neurotransmission components in the brain of mice may suggest a vulnerability trait for alcohol-heightened aggression.