A Review of Pharmacologic Treatment for Compulsive Buying Disorder

At present, no treatment recommendations can be made for compulsive buying disorder. Recent studies have found evidence for the efficacy of psychotherapeutic options, but less is known regarding the best pharmacologic treatment. The purpose of this review is to present and analyze the available published evidence on the pharmacological treatment of compulsive buying disorder. To achieve this, we conducted a review of studies focusing on the pharmacological treatment of compulsive buying by searching the PubMed/MEDLINE database. Selection criteria were applied, and 21 studies were identified. Pharmacological classes reported included antidepressants, mood stabilizers, opioid antagonists, second-generation antipsychotics, and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists. We found only placebo-controlled trials for fluvoxamine; none showed effectiveness against placebo. Three open-label trials reported clinical improvement with citalopram; one was followed by a double-blind discontinuation. Escitalopram was effective in an open-label trial but did not show efficacy in the double-blind phase. Memantine was identified as effective in a pilot open-label study. Fluoxetine, bupropion, nortriptyline, clomipramine, topiramate and naltrexone were only reported to be effective in clinical cases. According to the available literature, there is no evidence to propose a specific pharmacologic agent for compulsive buying disorder. Future research is required for a better understanding of both pathogenesis and treatment of this disorder.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Flow distortion around underwater gliders and impacts on sensor measurements: a pilot study using large-eddy simulations

The suitability of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to numerically simulate the flow of water over autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) was investigated. The aim was to examine the feasibility of using large-eddy simulation to investigate; 1) the extent to which the measurements of sensors (including turbulence sensors) on an AUV are affected by the distortion of the flow around the vehicle body, and 2) the quantification of the hydrodynamic forces on AUV’s. To this end the large-eddy simulation (LES) code Gerris was used to numerically simulate the flow around underwater gliders. Two example simulations were conducted. In both cases the flow around a Slocum Mk II glider was simulated and the second example included a MicroRider turbulence package mounted on top of the glider. The results of these studies illustrate the capability of CFD simulations but a more detailed study including further runs to examine the sensitivity of the results to model parameters and in some cases validation with experimental studies would be required before we could have full confidence in the results. The results suggest that CFD studies may have significant value in assessing the flow distortion around glider bodies and the resulting affects upon sensor measurements. Our preliminary results suggest that the usual position of the oxygen sensor on a Slocum glider may be within a separated wake that could significantly affect the data quality. Flow distortion at the location of the shear probes on the turbulence package is low but could result in a small underestimation of the magnitude of dissipation. Lift and drag forces diagnosed from the simulations were consistent with data from gliders but a more detailed study is needed to assess the quantitative accuracy of these results

Unlocking a Caged Lysosomal Protein from a Polymeric Nanogel with a pH Trigger

A polymeric nanogel has been used to sequester and turn off a lysosomal protein, acid α-glucosidase (GAA). The nanogel contains a β-thiopropionate cross-linker, which endows the nanogel with pH-sensitivity. While encapsulation of the enzyme fully turns off its activity, approximately 75% of the activity is recovered upon reducing the pH to 5.0. The recovered activity is ascribed to pH-induced degradation of the β-thiopropionate cross-linker causing the swelling of the nanogel and ultimately causing the release of the enzyme. We envision that strategies for sequestering protein molecules and releasing them at lysosomal pH might open up new directions for therapeutic treatment of lysosomal storage diseases