Confirmatory factor analysis of the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury in a Spanish clinical sample

Objectives: The main aim of the present study was to confirm the two‐factor structure of the Inventory of Statements About Self‐injury‐ Part II (ISAS‐II), analyze its psychometric properties and test-retest reliability of Parts I and II of the ISAS. Method: The sample was composed of 355 Spanish participants diagnosed with eating disorders or borderline personality disorder (mean age 27.89, standard deviation = 13.31; 315 women, 40 men). Two models proposed for the ISAS‐II were analyzed by means of confirmatory factorial analysis. Results: A two‐factor model was confirmed, and a model with self‐care included in the intrapersonal factor was preferable. The ISAS‐II showed positive correlations with emotional dysregulation. Test-retest reliability showed statistically significant correlations at 7 months (n = 123). Conclusion: The ISAS‐II is a valid instrument to assess nonsuicidal self‐injury in Spanish populations, making it possible to assess these behaviors, which require valid and reliable measures worldwide

LH prevents cisplatin-induced apoptosis in oocytes and preserves female fertility in mouse

Premature ovarian failure and female infertility are frequent side effects of anticancer therapies, owing to the extreme sensitivity of the ovarian reserve oocytes to the damaging effects of irradiation and chemotherapy on DNA. We report here a robust protective effect of luteinizing hormone (LH) on the primordial follicle pool of prepubertal ovaries against the cisplatin (Cs)-induced apoptosis. In vitro LH treatment of prepubertal ovarian fragments generated anti-apoptotic signals by a subset of ovarian somatic cells expressing LH receptor (LHR) through cAMP/PKA and Akt pathways. Such signals, reducing the oocyte level of pro-apoptotic TAp63 protein and favoring the repair of the Cs-damaged DNA in the oocytes, prevented their apoptosis. Noteworthy, in vivo administration to prepubertal female mice of a single dose of LH together with Cs inhibited the depletion of the primordial follicle reserve caused by the drug and preserved their fertility in reproductive age, preventing significant alteration in the number of pregnancy and of delivered pups. In conclusion, these findings establish a novel ovoprotective role for LH and further support the very attracting prospective to use physiological 'fertoprotective' approaches for preventing premature infertility and risks linked to precocious menopause in young patients who survived cancer after chemotherapy

Ovarian damage from chemotherapy and current approaches to its protection

BACKGROUND: Anti-cancer therapy is often a cause of premature ovarian insufficiency and infertility since the ovarian follicle reserve is extremely sensitive to the effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. While oocyte, embryo and ovarian cortex cryopreservation can help some women with cancer-induced infertility achieve pregnancy, the development of effective methods to protect ovarian function during chemotherapy would be a significant advantage.OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE: This paper critically discusses the different damaging effects of the most common chemotherapeutic compounds on the ovary, in particular, the ovarian follicles and the molecular pathways that lead to that damage. The mechanisms through which fertility-protective agents might prevent chemotherapy drug-induced follicle loss are then reviewed.SEARCH METHODS: Articles published in English were searched on PubMed up to March 2019 using the following terms: ovary, fertility preservation, chemotherapy, follicle death, adjuvant therapy, cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, doxorubicin. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to the analysis of the protective agents.OUTCOMES: Recent studies reveal how chemotherapeutic drugs can affect the different cellular components of the ovary, causing rapid depletion of the ovarian follicular reserve. The three most commonly used drugs, cyclophosphamide, cisplatin and doxorubicin, cause premature ovarian insufficiency by inducing death and/or accelerated activation of primordial follicles and increased atresia of growing follicles. They also cause an increase in damage to blood vessels and the stromal compartment and increment inflammation. In the past 20 years, many compounds have been investigated as potential protective agents to counteract these adverse effects. The interactions of recently described fertility-protective agents with these damage pathways are discussed.WIDER IMPLICATIONS: Understanding the mechanisms underlying the action of chemotherapy compounds on the various components of the ovary is essential for the development of efficient and targeted pharmacological therapies that could protect and prolong female fertility. While there are increasing preclinical investigations of potential fertility preserving adjuvants, there remains a lack of approaches that are being developed and tested clinically

Examination of the complementary and alternative treatment use with breast cancer patients [Meme kanserli hastalarin tamamlayici ve alternatif tedavi yöntemlerini kullanma durumlarinin incelenmesi]

Objective: The aim of this study was aimed to assess the use of complementary and alternative treatment (CAT) methods for patients with breast cancer. Material and Methods: In this descriptive study, 100 patients with breast cancer who presented to the Hospital of Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Division of General Surgery, Breast Diseases Outpatient Clinic and Tülay Aktas Oncology Hospital between April 1 2005 and August 31 2005 and who volunteered to participate in the research were included. The subjects were interviewed face-to-face using a 47-item questionnaire. SPSS 11.0 was used for statistical analyses; data were expressed in numbers and percentages and Chi-square was used for comparisons. Results: CAT method was preferred by 87% of the participants; herbal treatment was the treatment choice in 62% of those who used CAT. At least one CAT method accompanied to various combinations of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatments in 80%. Media was the most common source of knowledge on CAT methods with a rate of 46.8%. Of the study patients, 19.5% indicated to have informed their physicians about their use of CAT. Conclusion: This study revealed that a large proportion (87%) of breast cancer patients used at least one CAT method. While metabolic/nutritional methods were the most commonly preferred, psychological/behavioral methods seemed to be much less common. Pharmacological/biological methods and device and equipment methods were the least frequently preferred. Reports indicate that herbs may pose direct and indirect health risks and cause side effects, allergic reactions, and toxic effects. Health care providers should be aware of the potential interaction between herbal medicine and drugs. Copyright © 2007 by Türkiye Klinikleri

Legendre wavelet solution of neutral differential equations with proportional delays

The aim of this paper is to solve neutral differential equations with proportional delays by using Legendre wavelet method. Using orthonormal polynomials is the main advantage of this method since it enables a decrease in the computational cost and runtime. Some examples are displayed to illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. Numerical results are compared with various numerical methods in literature and show that the present method is very effectual in solving neutral differential equations with proportional delays. © 2019, Korean Society for Computational and Applied Mathematics