Supracervical Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Supracervical robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy was found to be an effective repair of apical vaginal defects in patients with pelvic organ prolapse who had not undergone previous hysterectomy

The Nature of Attachment Relationships and Grief Responses in Older Adults: An Attachment Path Model of Grief

BACKGROUND: Various researchers have theorized that bereaved adults who report non-secure attachment are at higher risk of pathological grief. Yet past findings on avoidant attachment representations and grief have yielded limited and contradictory outcomes. Little research has been conducted with older adults to identify the psychological processes that mediate between self-reported attachment representations and the patterns of grief. OBJECTIVE: To examine the impacts of avoidant attachment and anxious attachment dimensions on emotion and non-acceptance, in response to the loss of a conjugal partner, and the mediating effect of yearning thoughts. DESIGN: Men (N = 21) and women (N = 68) aged 60 years and above who had lost a partner within the last 12 to 72 months were invited to participate. Participants rated their levels of yearning thoughts about the deceased, emotions and non-acceptance on the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief (TRIG-Present), and their type and level of general romantic attachment on the Experiences In Close Relationship questionnaire (ECR). RESULTS: Structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that individuals who reported higher levels of avoidant attachment reported less emotional responses and less non-acceptance. SEM also showed that individuals who reported higher levels of anxious attachment reported greater emotional responses and greater non-acceptance. SEM further indicated that these relationships were mediated by yearning thoughts. CONCLUSION: People adopt different grief coping patterns according to their self-reported attachment representations, with the nature of their yearning thoughts influencing the process. Grief therapy may be organized according to individual differences in attachment representations

Dysfunction of homeostatic control of dopamine by astrocytes in the developing prefrontal cortex leads to cognitive impairments.

Astrocytes orchestrate neural development by powerfully coordinating synapse formation and function and, as such, may be critically involved in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental abnormalities and cognitive deficits commonly observed in psychiatric disorders. Here, we report the identification of a subset of cortical astrocytes that are competent for regulating dopamine (DA) homeostasis during postnatal development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), allowing for optimal DA-mediated maturation of excitatory circuits. Such control of DA homeostasis occurs through the coordinated activity of astroglial vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) together with organic cation transporter 3 and monoamine oxidase type B, two key proteins for DA uptake and metabolism. Conditional deletion of VMAT2 in astrocytes postnatally produces loss of PFC DA homeostasis, leading to defective synaptic transmission and plasticity as well as impaired executive functions. Our findings show a novel role for PFC astrocytes in the DA modulation of cognitive performances with relevance to psychiatric disorders