Impact of Equine Interaction during Psychotherapy on Anxiety and Depression for Residential Treatment Program Patients Experiencing Substance Withdrawal

As incidences of substance use disorders (SUD) increase in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for more effective treatment approaches. Further, treatment approaches currently available struggle to retain patients during the period of substance withdrawal in early treatment due to patients’ withdrawal symptoms including increased feelings of anxiety and depression. Withdrawal symptoms have been linked to dysregulated cortisol concentrations present in this period. Psychotherapy incorporating equine interaction (PIE) has emerged in other populations as a treatment that decreases cortisol concentrations and improves treatment retention. The present study investigated the impact of 4 weeks of PIE on 10 (n = 10) withdrawing patients in a residential substance abuse treatment program. A survey instrument consisting of 17 questions tracking perceived anxiety and depression was given prior to the first week of PIE and at the end of the fourth week of PIE. On weeks 1 and 4 of PIE, heart rate and salivary cortisol measures were taken. Paired t-tests were performed to determine differences in survey responses and the mixed procedure was used to determine differences in heart rate and cortisol concentrations. The Spearman correlation was used to determine the association between survey responses and heart rate and cortisol measures. Significance was considered at P ≤ 0.05 and tendencies were reported at P ≤ 0.1. Significant improvements were seen in 24% of the survey questions analyzing nervousness (P = 0.01), control of worry (P = 0.05), trouble relaxing (P = 0.02), and irritability (P = 0.04), and tendencies toward improvements in another 17% of measures concerning control of one’s life (P = 0.10), worry (P = 0.10), and fear (P = 0.10). Patient heart rates were higher following the fourth week of PIE compared to the first week of PIE (P = 0.02), and no significant changes in cortisol concentrations were seen (P = 0.20). These results, in addition to therapist observations of limited activity levels in the first week of treatment, indicate potential increased activity and participation through the 4 weeks of PIE. This improvement is in addition to improvements in survey responses associated with severity of depression and anxiety during the withdrawal period, indicating PIE’s effectiveness in SUD treatment

In vivo antral follicle wall biopsy: a new research technique to study ovarian function at the cellular and molecular levels

Abstract Background In vivo studies involving molecular markers of the follicle wall associated with follicular fluid (FF) milieu are crucial for a better understanding of follicle dynamics. The inability to obtain in vivo samples of antral follicle wall (granulosa and theca cells) without jeopardizing ovarian function has restricted advancement in knowledge of folliculogenesis in several species. The purpose of this study in mares was to develop and validate a novel, minimally invasive in vivo technique for simultaneous collection of follicle wall biopsy (FWB) and FF samples, and repeated collection from the same individual, during different stages of antral follicle development. We hypothesized that the in vivo FWB technique provides samples that maintain the normal histological tissue structure of the follicle wall layers, offers sufficient material for various cellular and molecular techniques, and allows simultaneous retrieval of FF. Methods In Experiment 1 (ex vivo), each follicle was sampled using two techniques: biopsy forceps and scalpel blade (control). In Experiment 2 (in vivo), FWB and FF samples from 10-, 20-, and 30-mm follicles were repeatedly and simultaneously obtained through transvaginal ultrasound-guided technique. Results In Experiment 1, the thickness of granulosa, theca interna, and theca externa layers was not influenced (P > 0.05) by the harvesting techniques. In Experiment 2, the overall recovery rates of FWB and FF samples were 97 and 100%, respectively. However, the success rate of obtaining samples with all layers of the follicle wall and clear FF varied according to follicle size. The expression of luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) was mostly confined in the theca interna layer, with the estradiol-related receptor alpha (ERRα) in the granulosa and theca interna layers. The 30-mm follicle group had greater (P < 0.05) LHR expression in the theca interna and ERRα in the granulosa layer compared to the other groups. The overall expression of LHR and ERRα, and the intrafollicular estradiol were higher (P < 0.05 – P < 0.0001) in the 30-mm follicle group. Conclusion The in vivo technique developed in this study can be repeatedly and simultaneously used to provide sufficient FWB and FF samples for various cellular and molecular studies without jeopardizing the ovarian function, and has the potential to be translated to other species, including humans