Obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders: Effective treatment with paroxetine

Objective: To examine whether, like pure obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders are treatable with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Method: Case histories of patients prescribed paroxetine for compulsive collecting skin-picking, and trichotillomania were reviewed. Results: All patients were successfully treated with paroxetine. Conclusions: Obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders may share a serotonin-related dysfunction, and SSRIs may prove effective in their treatment

Stressful life events and coping styles in relation to dysthymia and major depressive disorder: Variations associated with alleviation of symptoms following pharmacotherapy

1. 1. Both major depression and dysthymia (chronic, low grade depression) were associated with increased reports of minor stressors (daily hassles), and feelings of loneliness, reduced uplifts, as well as the use of inappropriate coping strategies (i.e., emotion-focussed rather than problem-oriented coping). 2. 2. Although major depressive and dysthymic patients shared several features with respect to symptomatology, dysthymics tended to report a greater number of hassles than major depressives. 3. 3. Treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors over an 8-week period resulted in a marked alleviation of the depressive symptoms in both patient groups, although the clinical effectiveness of the drugs appeared somewhat later in dysthymics. 4. 4. The attenuation of the depressive symptoms was accompanied by a modest, but significant diminution in reports of minor stressors, while the perception of uplifts remained unchanged. Moreover, recovery from depression was associated with changes in coping style, such that patients relied less on inappropriate emotion-focussed coping strategies

Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC

The article is the pre-print version of the final publishing paper that is available from the link below.Results are presented from searches for the standard model Higgs boson in proton–proton collisions At √s = 7 and 8 TeV in the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the LHC, using data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 5.1 fb−1 at 7TeV and 5.3 fb−1 at 8 TeV. The search is performed in five decay modes: γγ, ZZ, W+W−, τ+τ−, and bb. An excess of events is observed above the expected background, with a local significance of 5.0 standard deviations, at a mass near 125 GeV, signalling the production of a new particle. The expected significance for a standard model Higgs boson of that mass is 5.8 standard deviations. The excess is most significant in the two decay modes with the best mass resolution, γγ and ZZ; a fit to these signals gives a mass of 125.3±0.4(stat.)±0.5(syst.) GeV. The decay to two photons indicates that the new particle is a boson with spin different from one