Sertraline and Phenytoin Drug Interaction in a Geriatric Patient

This report presents the case of a 78-year-old man residing in a nursing home who presented with a 2-month history of increasing lethargy and confusion. These symptoms coincided with the initiation of sertraline in the patient. Among other medications, he was also taking phenytoin. The medical team concluded that the cause of the patient’s lethargy and confusion was a drug interaction between sertraline and phenytoin. Phenytoin was held, while the sertraline was slowly tapered to discontinuation. The patient’s symptoms resolved soon thereafter. Future research is needed to better guide clinicians in appropriate selection, dosing, and monitoring of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors with concomitant phenytoin use.Key words: phenytoin, sertraline, SSRIs, drug interactio

Regional Differences and Race Effects in Mental Health Symptoms Among Juvenile Offenders

Regional differences in the reporting of mental health symptoms among juvenile justice (JJ) involved youth were examined using data from the 70,423 youths in the MAYSI-2 national norm study (Vincent et al., 2008). The percentage of youth scoring above Caution on MAYSI-2 scales was examined by race/ethnicity (white vs. minorities) and sex. Regional differences were assessed using Cochran’s Mantel-Haenszel (CMH) analyses. White youth were more likely to score above caution on all clinical scales except Depressed-Anxious. An interesting gender and race/ethnicity effect emerged such that White male youth in the Northeast and Midwest were more likely than Minority youth to score above caution; whereas White female youth in the West were more likely than Minority youth to score above caution

Reinstatement of methamphetamine seeking in male and female rats treated with modafinil and allopregnanolone

Background Sex differences in methamphetamine (METH) use (females>males) have been demonstrated in clinical and preclinical studies. This experiment investigated the effect of sex on the reinstatement of METH-seeking behavior in rats and to determine whether pharmacological interventions for METH-seeking behavior vary by sex. Treatment drugs were modafinil (MOD), an analeptic, and allopregnanolone (ALLO), a neuroactive steroid and progesterone metabolite. Method Male and female rats were trained to self-administer i.v. infusions of METH (0.05mg/kg/infusion). Next, rats self-administered METH for a 10-day maintenance period. METH was then replaced with saline, and rats extinguished lever-pressing behavior over 18 days. A multi-component reinstatement procedure followed where priming injections of METH (1 mg/kg) were administered at the start of each daily session, preceded 30 min by MOD (128 mg/kg, i.p.), ALLO (15 mg/kg, s.c.), or vehicle treatment. MOD was also administered at the onset of the session to determine if it would induce the reinstatement of METH-seeking behavior. Results Female rats had greater METH-induced reinstatement responding compared to male rats following control treatment injections. MOD (compared to the DMSO control) attenuated METH-seeking behavior in male and female rats; however, ALLO only reduced METH-primed responding in females. MOD alone did not induce the reinstatement of METH-seeking behavior. Conclusions These results support previous findings that females are more susceptible to stimulant abuse compared to males and ALLO effectively reduced METH-primed reinstatement in females. Further, they illustrate the utility of MOD as a potential agent for prevention of relapse to METH use in both males and females

Seasonal Variation in Nymphal Blacklegged Tick Abundance in Southern New England Forests

In the northeastern United States, risk of human exposure to tick transmitted disease is primarily a function of the abundance of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say. We assessed seasonal variability in the abundance of nymphal stage I. scapularis over 13 yr, collected from several forested areas throughout Rhode Island. Specifically, we examined intraseasonal differences by using two temporally distinct tick collections made during the peak nymphal tick season. Intraseasonal factors significantly impacted tick abundance, with the June tick rate (mean = 40.42, SD = 14.79) significantly more abundant than the July tick rate (mean = 27.64, SD = 15.47). The greater variability in July (coefficient of variation: June, 36.61%; July, 55.95%) lead us to conclude June tick rates are relatively stable from year to year, whereas July tick rates contribute more to intraseasonal and yearly variation

Quark spin coupling in baryons - revisited

A direct connection can be made between mixing angles in negative parity baryons and the spin coupling of constituent quarks. The mixing angles do not depend on spectral data. These angles are recalculated for gluon exchange and pion exchange between quarks. For pion exchange the results of Glozman and Riska are corrected. The experimental data on mixing are very similar to those derived from gluon exchange but substantially different from the values obtained for pion exchange.Comment: 10 pages, RevTex; a sign error is corrected, spin-orbit results are include