Effect of antiandrogen flutamide on measures of hepatic regeneration in rats

Male rat liver undergoes a process of demasculinization during hepatic regeneration following partial hepatectomy. The possibility that antiandrogens might potentiate this demasculinization process and in so doing augment the hepatic regenerative response was investigated. Adult male Wistar rats were treated with the antiandrogen flutamide (2 mg/rat/day or 5 mg/rat/day subcutaneously) or vehicle for three days prior to and daily after a 70% partial hepatectomy. At various times after hepatectomy, the liver remnants were removed and weighed. Rates of DNA and polyamine synthesis were assessed by measuring thymidine kinase and ornithine decarboxylase activities, respectively. Hepatic estrogen receptor status and the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase, an androgen-sensitive protein, were measured. Prior to surgery, the administration of 5 mg/day flutamide reduced the hepatic cytosolic androgen receptor activity by 98% and hepatic cytosolic estrogen receptor content by 92% compared to that present in vehicle-treated controls. After hepatectomy, however, all differences in sex hormone receptor activity between the treatment groups were abolished. The rate of liver growth after partial hepatectomy in the three groups was identical. Moreover, hepatectomy-induced increases in ornithine decarboxylase activity and thymidine kinase activity were comparable. These data demonstrate that, although flutamide administration initially alters the sex hormone receptor status of the liver, these affects have no effect on the hepatic regenerative response following a partial hepatectomy. © 1989 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Treatment of Children with Complicated Posttraumatic Stress Reactions.

Complicated or complex posttraumatic stress reactions in children typically indicate a history of protracted trauma and often include both a greater number of symptoms with heightened severity as compared with children experiencing single-incident traumas. Complicated traumatic stress responses in childhood are usually more difficult to treat than less complex ones. Characteristics of the traumatic event as well as mediating and moderating variables, which can render the child susceptible to a complicated trauma reaction, are delineated in this article. Interventions are presented to address the diverse difficulties presented by children with a complicated trauma reaction, including safety planning, grief work, family therapy, cognitive-behavioral individual treatment, and utilization of various systems of childhood (e.g., school)