1.  

Cohen JA, Mannarino AP, Knudsen K. Treating childhood traumatic grief: a pilot study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2004 Oct;43(10):1225-33.

Drexel University College of Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh 15212, USA. jcohen@wpahs.org

OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential efficacy and specific timing of treatment response of individual child and parent trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood traumatic grief (CTG), a condition in which trauma symptoms impinge on the child's ability to successfully address the normal tasks of grieving. METHOD: Twenty-two children and their primary caretakers received a manual-based 16-week treatment with sequential trauma- and grief-focused interventions. RESULTS: Children experienced significant improvements in CTG, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive, anxiety, and behavioral problems, with PTSD symptoms improving only during the trauma-focused treatment components and CTG improving during both trauma- and grief-focused components. Participating parents also experienced significant improvement in PTSD and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The timing of improvements in CTG and PTSD symptoms lends support to providing sequential trauma- and grief-focused interventions and to the concept that CTG is related to but distinct from PTSD. The results also suggest the benefit of individual treatment for CTG and for including parents in the treatment of CTG. Randomized, controlled trials are needed to further test the efficacy of this treatment model.

2.  

Highet NJ, McNair BG, Davenport TA, Hickie IB. How much more can we lose?": carer and family perspectives on living with a person with depression. Med J Aust. 2004 Oct 4;181(7 Suppl):S6-9.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of carers and families of people with depression. DESIGN AND SETTING: Structured focus groups conducted in six Australian capital cities between February 2002 and July 2002. Thematic analyses were conducted using the QSR NUD*IST software package for qualitative data. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven carers or family members. RESULTS: Thematic analyses highlighted five key themes. Most notably, the carer's role is made more difficult by the lack of community awareness about depression, and, in some instances, an unwillingness of other family and friends to provide ongoing support. Carers experience a resulting sense of isolation, often exacerbated by adverse experiences with healthcare providers. Carers and family members are frequently excluded when key decisions are made, and report that emergency services are relatively unresponsive to their concerns. By contrast, community support organisations usually provided a sense of inclusion and common purpose. CONCLUSIONS: The experiences of carers and families of people with depression highlight the urgent need for more extensive community education about the illness and more productive collaboration within the healthcare system.

3.  

Myers MF. Medical marriages and other intimate relationships. Med J Aust. 2004 Oct 4;181(7):392-4.         

Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. myers@telus.net

Marital challenges are ubiquitous in the relationships of doctors. Common issues include overwork, a need for control, self-neglect, perceived and felt stigma, being a "wounded healer", trouble with boundaries, chemical dependency, depression, and more. Knowing the hallmarks of a healthy relationship, recognising warning signals of trouble, and taking action through suggested strategies can be salutary.

4.

Verma S, Szmitko PE, Anderson TJ. Endothelial function: ready for prime time? Can J Cardiol. 2004 Nov;20(13):1335-9.

Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Subodh.Verma@Sympatico.ca

The strategic location of the endothelium allows it to detect changes in hemodynamic forces and blood-borne signals, and to respond by releasing a number of autocrine and paracrine substances. The balanced release of these bioactive factors facilitates vascular homeostasis. If disrupted, endothelial cell dysfunction ensues. This predisposes the vessel wall to vasoconstriction, leukocyte adherence, platelet activation, thrombosis, vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis. Given the central role of the endothelium in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, endothelial function testing may serve as a useful biomarker of atherosclerotic disease. The present review highlights the current modalities used in assessing endothelial function, explores how endothelial function may serve as a biomarker for atherosclerosis, comments on the prognostic relevance of endothelial function and describes its use in the clinical setting.

5.  

Verma S, Szmitko PE, Anderson TJ. Endothelial function: ready for prime time? Can J Cardiol. 2004 Nov;20(13):1335-9.

Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Subodh.Verma@Sympatico.ca

The strategic location of the endothelium allows it to detect changes in hemodynamic forces and blood-borne signals, and to respond by releasing a number of autocrine and paracrine substances. The balanced release of these bioactive factors facilitates vascular homeostasis. If disrupted, endothelial cell dysfunction ensues. This predisposes the vessel wall to vasoconstriction, leukocyte adherence, platelet activation, thrombosis, vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis. Given the central role of the endothelium in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, endothelial function testing may serve as a useful biomarker of atherosclerotic disease. The present review highlights the current modalities used in assessing endothelial function, explores how endothelial function may serve as a biomarker for atherosclerosis, comments on the prognostic relevance of endothelial function and describes its use in the clinical setting.

Asthma:  

11733.     Bender BG, Annett RD, Strunk RC. Retrospective and prospective parental reports of sleep in children with asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 Oct;114(4):985-8.

Depression:

11734.     Ben-Ezra M, Essar N. Depression and anxiety in developing countries. Lancet. 2004 Oct 23;364(9444):1488.

11735.    Cohen JA, Mannarino AP, Knudsen K. Treating childhood traumatic grief: a pilot study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2004 Oct;43(10):1225-33.

11736.    Girod JP, Brotman DJ. Does altered glucocorticoid homeostasis increase cardiovascular risk? Cardiovasc Res. 2004 Nov 1;64(2):217-26. Review.

11737.    Gross D, Fogg L, Garvey C, Julion W. Behavior problems in young children: an analysis of cross-informant agreements and disagreements. Res Nurs Health. 2004 Dec;27(6):413-25.

11738.    Highet NJ, McNair BG, Davenport TA, Hickie IB. How much more can we lose?": carer and family perspectives on living with a person with depression. Med J Aust. 2004 Oct 4;181(7 Suppl):S6-9.

11739.    Luby JL, Mrakotsky C, Heffelfinger A, Brown K, Spitznagel E. Characteristics of depressed preschoolers with and without anhedonia: evidence for a melancholic depressive subtype in young children. Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Nov;161(11):1998-2004.

11740.    Myers MF. Medical marriages and other intimate relationships. Med J Aust. 2004 Oct 4;181(7):392-4.

11741.    Sala M, Perez J, Soloff P, Ucelli di Nemi S, Caverzasi E, Soares JC, Brambilla P. Stress and hippocampal abnormalities in psychiatric disorders. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2004 Oct;14(5):393-405. Review.

11742.     Sjostrom H, Langius-Eklof A, Hjertberg R. Well-being and sense of coherence during pregnancy. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2004 Dec;83(12):1112-8.

11743.     Visser A, Huizinga GA, van der Graaf WT, Hoekstra HJ, Hoekstra-Weebers JE. The impact of parental cancer on children and the family: a review of the literature. Cancer Treat Rev. 2004 Dec;30(8):683-94. Review.

11744.      Zimmerman M, Chelminski I, Young D. On the threshold of disorder: a study of the impact of the DSM-IV clinical significance criterion on diagnosing depressive and anxiety disorders in clinical practice. J Clin Psychiatry. 2004 Oct;65(10):1400-5.

Heart Disease:

11745.    Chesebro JH. Acute coronary syndromes: pathogenesis, acute diagnosis with risk stratification, and treatment. Am Heart Hosp J. 2004 Fall;2(4 Suppl 1):21-30. Review.

11746.    Ellestad MH. Stress testing: Problems and appropriate use in acute coronary syndromes. Am J Cardiol. 2004 Dec 15;94(12):1534-6.

11747.     Kojda G. Direct vasoprotection by aspirin: a significant bonus to antiplatelet activity? Cardiovasc Res. 2004 Nov 1;64(2):192-4.

11748.     Macleod J, Smith GD. Re: "does job strain increase the risk for coronary heart disease or death in men and women? The Framingham offspring study". Am J Epidemiol. 2004 Nov 15;160(10):1031-2; author reply 1032.

11749.    Scarabelli T, Knight R. Urocortins: take them to heart. Curr Med Chem Cardiovasc Hematol Agents. 2004 Oct;2(4):335-342. Review.

11750.    Verma S, Szmitko PE, Anderson TJ. Endothelial function: ready for prime time? Can J Cardiol. 2004 Nov;20(13):1335-9. Review.

11751.     Wang G, Mao JM, Wang X, Zhang FC. Effect of homocysteine on plaque formation and oxidative stress in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Chin Med J (Engl). 2004 Nov;117(11):1650-4.

Hypertension:

11752.     Seckl JR. Prenatal glucocorticoids and long-term programming. Eur J Endocrinol. 2004 Nov;151 Suppl 3:U49-62. Review.

11753.    Vanderheyden M, Goethals M, Verstreken S, De Bruyne B, Muller K, Van Schuerbeeck E, Bartunek J. Wall stress modulates brain natriuretic peptide production in pressure overload cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004 Dec 21;44(12):2349-54.