Dissociative Identity Disorder: Etiology, Media, and Stigma

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is often portrayed incorrectly in the media, causing the public to know little about the disorder other than the stigmatizing information from the media. Because of this, individuals with the disorder often face more stigmatizing behaviors than the normal amount of stigma those with mental disorders often face. The newest revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) contributes the etiology of the disorder to underlying trauma, however many psychologists consider a sociocognitive or fantasy model. Current research provides more support for the trauma/posttraumatic model of the disorder and further supports the harm the media is causing

Compassion focused therapy for women in the perinatal period: A summary of the current literature

Introduction: Compassion focused therapy (CFT) is emerging as an effective psychological intervention to treat those experiencing mental health difficulties. CFT was adapted for women who are mothers during the perinatal period (from conception to 2 year postpartum). Although CFT is being delivered in NHS perinatal mental health services in the United Kingdom (UK), its current evidence-base for the treatment of women's mental health problems is unclear. As part of this Mini Review, we aimed to identify the current findings relating to CFT for women in the perinatal period (with or without a mental health condition) in order to identify any associated future research and clinical implications.Method: A systematic search of two databases was undertaken. Included studies were required to meet the following criteria: (1) offered an intervention using CFT or perinatal CFT (P-CFT), (2) participants were women in the perinatal period, and (3) studies used a pre- and post-intervention study design. No language restrictions were used. A narrative synthesis was then conducted.Results: Five studies, dating from 2018 to 2023, met the inclusion criteria. A total of 1,258 participants were included across those studies. Significant improvements in compassion-based outcomes (i.e., self-compassion, self-criticism/self-reassurance) were observed. However, these findings were primarily derived from non-clinical samples (n = 4) and could only be seen as preliminary.Conclusion: Although these results are encouraging for mothers presenting with sub-clinical mental health symptoms, further research is clearly warranted to determine whether CFT/P-CFT may benefit mothers, including those presenting with more significant perinatal mental health difficulties.<br/

Relationship between latent and rebound viruses in a clinical trial of anti-HIV-1 antibody 3BNC117.

A clinical trial was performed to evaluate 3BNC117, a potent anti-HIV-1 antibody, in infected individuals during suppressive antiretroviral therapy and subsequent analytical treatment interruption (ATI). The circulating reservoir was evaluated by quantitative and qualitative viral outgrowth assay (Q2VOA) at entry and after 6 mo. There were no significant quantitative changes in the size of the reservoir before ATI, and the composition of circulating reservoir clones varied in a manner that did not correlate with 3BNC117 sensitivity. 3BNC117 binding site amino acid variants found in rebound viruses preexisted in the latent reservoir. However, only 3 of 217 rebound viruses were identical to 868 latent viruses isolated by Q2VOA and near full-length sequencing. Instead, 63% of the rebound viruses appeared to be recombinants, even in individuals with 3BNC117-resistant reservoir viruses. In conclusion, viruses emerging during ATI in individuals treated with 3BNC117 are not the dominant species found in the circulating latent reservoir, but frequently appear to represent recombinants of latent viruses

Genomic, transcriptomic, and protein landscape profile of CFTR and cystic fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is caused most often by removal of amino acid 508 (Phe508del, deltaF508) within CFTR, yet dozens of additional CFTR variants are known to give rise to CF and many variants in the genome are known to contribute to CF pathology. To address CFTR coding variants, we developed a sequence-to-structure-to-dynamic matrix for all amino acids of CFTR using 233 vertebrate species, CFTR structure within a lipid membrane, and 20 ns of molecular dynamic simulation to assess known variants from the CFTR1, CFTR2, ClinVar, TOPmed, gnomAD, and COSMIC databases. Surprisingly, we identify 18 variants of uncertain significance within CFTR from diverse populations that are heritable and a likely cause of CF that have been understudied due to nonexistence in Caucasian populations. In addition, 15 sites within the genome are known to modulate CF pathology, where we have identified one genome region (chr11:34754985-34836401) that contributes to CF through modulation of expression of a noncoding RNA in epithelial cells. These 15 sites are just the beginning of understanding comodifiers of CF, where utilization of eQTLs suggests many additional genomics of CFTR expressing cells that can be influenced by genomic background of CFTR variants. This work highlights that many additional insights of CF genetics are needed, particularly as pharmaceutical interventions increase in the coming years

Continuous blockade of CXCR4 results in dramatic mobilization and expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells

Interaction between the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its chief ligand CXCL12 plays a critical role in the retention and migration of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment. In this study, qualitative and quantitative effects of long-term pharmacologic inhibition of the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis on the HSPC compartment were investigated by using 3 structurally unrelated small molecule CXCR4 antagonists. A >10-fold increase in mobilization efficiency was achieved by administering the antagonists as a subcutaneous continuous infusion for 2 weeks compared to a single bolus injection. A concurrent increase in self-renewing proliferation leading to a twofold to fourfold expansion of the HSPC pool in the BM was observed. The expanded BM showed a distinct repopulating advantage when tested in serial competitive transplantation experiments. Furthermore, major changes within the HSPC niche associated with previously described HSPC expansion strategies were not detected in bones treated with a CXCR4 antagonist infusion. Our data suggest that prolonged but reversible pharmacologic blockade of the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis represents an approach that releases HSPC with efficiency superior to any other known mobilization strategy and may also serve as an effective method to expand the BM HSPC pool