Race Renounced, Culture Arraigned: The Case of the So-Called Culture-Bound Psychoses

Scanning the literature on culture and disease in developing regions of the world, one is struck by a peculiar paralogism. Ethnopsychiatric studies and psychodynamic anthropological formulations suggest that the ills of the impoverished are largely psychogenic, psychosomatic and culture-induced. A high frequency of mental disease, once linked to racial infantile mentality, is now imputed to a 'cultural personality' generally predisposed to a poor tolerance of anxiety, to somatising social distress and conflict, or to acting out unresolved tension through aggressive panic or hysterical de-viance (cf. Stoller 1969; Wittkower and Termanson 1969; Obeysekere 1970, 1977; Leighton 1982; Kleinman 1980). The high incidence of diseases manifesting mental symptoms among populations of Southeast Asia in general and the poor in particular is indisputable. But is a significant proportion of this morbidity actually due to a kind of cultural deficit? What of the ecological, biochemical and genetic factors involved in the dynamics of mental disorder

Detection of circulating microparticles by flow cytometry: influence of centrifugation, filtration of buffer, and freezing

The clinical importance of microparticles resulting from vesiculation of platelets and other blood cells is increasingly recognized, although no standardized method exists for their measurement. Only a few studies have examined the analytical and preanalytical steps and variables affecting microparticle detection. We focused our analysis on microparticle detection by flow cytometry. The goal of our study was to analyze the effects of different centrifugation protocols looking at different durations of high and low centrifugation speeds. We also analyzed the effect of filtration of buffer and long-term freezing on microparticle quantification, as well as the role of Annexin V in the detection of microparticles. Absolute and platelet-derived microparticles were 10- to 15-fold higher using initial lower centrifugation speeds at 1500 × g compared with protocols using centrifugation speeds at 5000 × g (P < 0.01). A clear separation between true events and background noise was only achieved using higher centrifugation speeds. Filtration of buffer with a 0.2 μm filter reduced a significant amount of background noise. Storing samples for microparticle detection at −80°C decreased microparticle levels at days 28, 42, and 56 (P < 0.05 for all comparisons with fresh samples). We believe that staining with Annexin V is necessary to distinguish true events from cell debris or precipitates. Buffers should be filtered and fresh samples should be analyzed, or storage periods will have to be standardized. Higher centrifugation speeds should be used to minimize contamination by smaller size platelets

Chronic Endothelial Dysfunction after COVID-19 Infection Shown by Transcranial Color-Coded Doppler: A Cross-Sectional Study

In addition to respiratory symptoms, COVID-19 often causes damage to many other organs, especially in severe forms of the disease. Long-term consequences after COVID-19 are common and often have neurological symptoms. Cerebral vasoreactivity may be impaired after acute COVID-19 and in our study, we wanted to show how constant and reversible are the changes in brain vasoreactivity after infection. This cross-sectional observational study included 49 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and mild neurological symptoms 300 days after the onset of the disease. We used a transcranial color-coded Doppler (TCCD) and a breath-holding test (BHT) to examine cerebral vasoreactivity and brain endothelial function. We analyzed the parameters of the flow rate through the middle cerebral artery (MCA): peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), mean velocity (MV), resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI), and we calculated the breath-holding index (BHI). Subjects after COVID-19 infection had lower measured velocity parameters through MCA at rest period and after BHT, lower relative increases of flow velocities after BHT, and lower BHI. We showed that subjects, 300 days after COVID-19, still have impaired cerebral vasoreactivity measured by TCCD and they have chronic endothelial dysfunction