Mindfulness — New Research and Treatment Directions in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Combining mindfulness to strengthen emotion regulation with existing empirically supported post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments may improve outcomes through increasing (a) engagement, (b) compliance, and (c) decreasing the level of ruminations in PTSD. Several psychotherapeutic interventions incorporating training in mindfulness are clinically relevant to traumatic stress. In order to see how far PTSD treatment could benefit from including mindfulness into the therapeutic process, we analyzed researches regarding: (a) the neuroscience of mindfulness, (b) assessment instruments for mindfulness, (c) mechanism of mindfulness, respective, and (d) the relation between mindfulness and other techniques. Based on this analysis, we can conclude that mindfulness may improve the therapeutic results and the outcome of PTSD patients. Mindfulness can be used in two ways: (a) as an emotion regulation support technique for existing empirically supported PTSD treatments and (b) as a standalone treatment- mindfulness-based cognitive behavior psychotherapies

When does Subliminal Affective Image Priming Influence the Ability of Schizophrenic Patients to Perceive Face Emotions?

Background: Deficits in face emotion perception are among the most pervasive aspects of schizophrenia impairments which strongly affects interpersonal communication and social skills. Material/Methods Schizophrenic patients (PSZ) and healthy control subjects (HCS) performed 2 psychophysical tasks. One, the SAFFIMAP test, was designed to determine the impact of subliminally presented affective or neutral images on the accuracy of face-expression (angry or neutral) perception. In the second test, FEP, subjects saw pictures of face-expression and were asked to rate them as angry, happy, or neutral. The following clinical scales were used to determine the acute symptoms in PSZ: Positive and Negative Syndrome (PANSS), Young Mania Rating (YMRS), Hamilton Depression (HAM-D), and Hamilton Anxiety (HAM-A). Results: On the SAFFIMAP test, different from the HCS group, the PSZ group tended to categorize the neutral expression of test faces as angry and their response to the test-face expression was not influenced by the affective content of the primes. In PSZ, the PANSS-positive score was significantly correlated with correct perception of angry faces for aggressive or pleasant primes. YMRS scores were strongly correlated with PSZ’s tendency to recognize angry face expressions when the prime was a pleasant or a neutral image. The HAM-D score was positively correlated with categorizing the test-faces as neutral, regardless of the affective content of the prime or of the test-face expression (angry or neutral). Conclusions: Despite its exploratory nature, this study provides the first evidence that conscious perception and categorization of facial emotions (neutral or angry) in PSZ is directly affected by their positive or negative symptoms of the disease as defined by their individual scores on the clinical diagnostic scales

Schizophrenia: Early Recognition and Prevention

Schizophrenia is a heterogenous disorder presenting as episodes of psychosis against a background of cognitive, social, and functional impairments. Schizophrenia, a multifaceted neuropsychiatric disorder, is affecting approximately 1% of the population worldwide. Its onset is the result of a complex interplay of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. The clinical staging model of psychotic disorders implies that early successful treatment may improve prognosis and prevent progression to more severe stages of disorder. So, prevention and early intervention of schizophrenia are correlated with the prodromal phase, especially with “at risk mental state” (ARMS) and the prediction of their transition to a full-blown psychotic disorder. The psychosis prodrome includes nonspecific signs and symptoms (such as depressed mood, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and deterioration in role functioning), “basic symptoms” (thought interference, disturbance of receptive language, and visual perception disturbance), attenuated or subthreshold psychotic symptoms, neurocognitive deficits, and neurobiological changes measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Increasing improvements in the identification of those truly at “high risk” for psychotic disorder have paved the way of early intervention strategies in this population and increased the possibility of minimizing distress and disability and delaying or even preventing the onset of an evident psychotic disorder. The treatment (antipsychotic medication, psychological and social interventions) for young people who meet ARMS criteria should not only focus on the symptoms that constitute the ARMS criteria but also address the broader range of difficulties with which the young person might present. There are some ethical issues to consider when selecting specific treatment options, and the potential risks of treatment have to be balanced against the potential benefits

Comorbid Anxiety in Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder

There is some evidence that antipsychotic medication (Quetiapine) is somewhat efficient in reducing anxiety in schizophrenic patients

Efecto del estado de madurez, condición de almacenaje y uso de PPA sobre la incidencia de escaldado en manzana cv. Granny smith

Resumen (Spanish, English)92 p.Manzanas cv. Granny Smith provenientes del huerto María Gacitúa (VII Región) y del huerto Santa Bárbara (VIII Región), fueron cosechados en dos épocas en la temporada 92/93, la primera el 15 de marzo y la segunda, el 05 de abril, a fin de evaluar la efectividad del sistema de almacenaje (temperatura y composición atmosférica) en la incidencia de escaldado superficial, así como también, el efecto del uso de difenilamina (DPA) y la fecha de cosecha. La fruta con o sin DPA se almacenó en frío convencional (FC) (0 -0.5 C, 90-95% HR) y en atmósfera controlada (AC) a 0 y 4 C (1.0-2.0% 02 y 1.3-1.5% CO2, 92-95% HR) por tres y cinco meses. La incidencia de escaldado, tanto en cubrimiento como en severidad, se evaluó a salida de cada período de almacenaje y después de simulación de embarque (un mes a 0 C más siete días a temperatura ambiente). En ambos huertos, luego de tres meses de almacenaje y simulación de embarque, se observó un control satisfactorio de escaldado en fruta almacenada en ambas AC. Sin embargo, a los cinco meses, el porcentaje de frutos sanos fue bajo y similar para los distintos sistemas de almacenaje. El uso de DPA permitió un buen control del desorden, independiente del tipo de almacenaje y época de cosecha. Frutos cosechados tardíamente presentaron menor incidencia de escaldado, que aquellos recolectados temprano, tanto en FC como en AC a 0 C; sin embargo, en las dos épocas de cosecha, AC a 4 C fue igualmente efectiva. En ambos huertos, hubo un efecto sinérgico entre la fecha de cosecha tardía y el uso de DPA, sobre una menor incidencia de escaldado, siendo este efecto más notorio en fruta almacenada por cinco meses

Thoracic spine type C injuries: Injury profile, management and outcome

In the last years we observed an increased number of patients with multiple lesions after high energy accidents. Type C injuries of the thoracic spine are the most severe lesions, with the worse prognosis. The study analyzes the injury profile, management and outcome of all patients with thoracic spine, from T1- to T10, type C injuries treated in the Spinal Surgery Department of “Bagdsar- Arseni” Emergency Hospital, in the last 5 years. There were 26 patients admitted in the study, mostly male, 77%, with a mean age of 33.8 years. All of them were victims of high energy accidents, and all had spine injury associated with multiple lesions (head, thoracic, abdominal and limbs). We have chosen a posterior approach in all cases, with laminectomy or hemilaminectomy, permitting us to achieve all the major objectives of surgery, with the advantage of lower blood loss and a reduced operating time. The purpose of surgery was to achieve decompression of the spinal cord and stability of the thoracic spine. We treated 19 patient surgically and 4 patient conservative. Thoracic spine type C fractures remain a challenge for the spinal surgeon. These lesions require a multidisciplinary team approach for the treatment of associated lesions. The main goal of surgery is to achieve stability of the fractured segments. The timing for surgery is indicated mainly by associated respiratory problems

The upper cervical spine tumor pathology c1-c2: Therapeutic attitude

Surgical treatment of upper cervical spine tumors, whether they are vertebral, epidural, subdural or intramedullary, raises technical and decisional difficulties regarding the approach of the region as well as in maintaining its stability.The authors performed a retrospective study on C1, C2 spinal tumor pathology, managed surgically in the Spinal Surgery Department of Bagdasar Arseni Clinical Hospital, between January 2007 and December 2011.We included in the study 44 patients, operated for C1, C2 cervical spine tumors, 23 men and 21 women with ages between 13 and 71 years. The pathology included 24 C1-C2 vertebral tumors, 11 subdural tumors, 2 epidural tumors and 7 intramedullary tumors.Presenting symptoms were cervical pain, occipital neuralgia, medullary compression syndrome, and/or cranio-spinal junction instability.The purpose of surgery was to establish a histopathologic diagnosis and to decompress the neural elements by attempting a total tumor removal as well as to stabilize the cranio - cervical junction in order to improve the patient's quality of life. The approach was chosen based on tumor location, prognosis and the need for fixation. For 6 patients an anterior approach was used, for 31 pacients we used a posterior approach and 7 patients required a combined anterior and posterior approach.Neurological improvement was observed in 17 patients, with a mean increase of 8 points on ASIA scale, 7 patients worsened immediately postoperatively with a mean decrease of 10 points on ASIA scale, (2 patients died), and 20 patients without neurological deficits preoperatively remained unchanged. In all cases where the craniospinal junction instability was the cause of occipito-cervical pain we noted the disappearence of pain after surgery.The development of new surgical techniques and fixation systems paved the way to a successful treatment for these difficult tumors, some of them considered inoperable in the past

Chordomas, malignant spinal tumors: A 15-year experience

Objective: Spinal chordomas are rare, locally invasive, malignant neoplasm, representing 5% of all malignant tumors of the skeleton. In the majority of cases the segment involved is the sacrum. This study reviews our experience during the last 15 years at The Spinal Surgery Department of “Bagdasar-Arseni” Clinical Hospital, to determine the effects of various treatment methods on the overall course of this disease process.Methods: A retrospective study was performed, from 2000 to 2015, in which, 31 patients with spinal chordomas were evaluated at our institution.Results: Two thirds of patients were male, with a mean age of 57 years. Patients presented with local pain, radiculopathy and bladder-bowel dysfunction at hospital admission. There were 24 patients with sacral chordomas, 4 with cervical chordomas, 2 with thoracic and one with lumbar chordoma. Al patients underwent at least one surgical procedure. The main goal of surgery was to achieve total resection of the tumor.Conclusion: Our study suggests that spinal chordomas are rare tumors with a high risk of tumor recurrence. If total resection is achieved, the risk of recurrence diminishes. If the tumor resection is subtotal, than recurrence appears in all cases. After tumor resection, the surgeon faces the problem of spinal instability that needs solving. Based on these findings, we think that, whenever possible, radical resection should be the treatment of choice for spinal chordomas

Overview on Multienzymatic Cascades for the Production of Non-canonical α-Amino Acids

SM-R thanks the University of Granada for the support provided by project PPJI2017-1 and the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Action CA15133). Authors are also grateful to the Andalusian Regional Government through Endocrinology & Metabolism Group (CTS-202).The 22 genetically encoded amino acids (AAs) present in proteins (the 20 standard AAs together with selenocysteine and pyrrolysine), are commonly referred as proteinogenic AAs in the literature due to their appearance in ribosome-synthetized polypeptides. Beyond the borders of this key set of compounds, the rest of AAs are generally named imprecisely as non-proteinogenic AAs, even when they can also appear in polypeptide chains as a result of post-transductional machinery. Besides their importance as metabolites in life, many of D-α- and L-α-“non-canonical” amino acids (NcAAs) are of interest in the biotechnological and biomedical fields. They have found numerous applications in the discovery of new medicines and antibiotics, drug synthesis, cosmetic, and nutritional compounds, or in the improvement of protein and peptide pharmaceuticals. In addition to the numerous studies dealing with the asymmetric synthesis of NcAAs, many different enzymatic pathways have been reported in the literature allowing for the biosynthesis of NcAAs. Due to the huge heterogeneity of this group of molecules, this review is devoted to provide an overview on different established multienzymatic cascades for the production of non-canonical D-α- and L-α-AAs, supplying neophyte and experienced professionals in this field with different illustrative examples in the literature. Whereas the discovery of new or newly designed enzymes is of great interest, dusting off previous enzymatic methodologies by a “back and to the future” strategy might accelerate the implementation of new or improved multienzymatic cascades.University of Granada PPJI2017-1European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) CA15133Andalusian Regional Government through Endocrinology & Metabolism Group CTS-20