Vampiristic behaviors are rarely seen clinically and less than 100 cases have been reported in the world literature to date. A distinction is usually made as to whether the patient drinks their own blood or the blood ...Vampiristic behaviors are rarely seen clinically and less than 100 cases have been reported in the world literature to date. A distinction is usually made as to whether the patient drinks their own blood or the blood of others. We describe a 38-year-old patient who had vampiristic thoughts and fantasies that began in adolescence, but did not act on these thoughts until after she suffered a traumatic brain injury with a three-week loss of consciousness while serving in the military. Brain imaging showed focal damage to her bilateral frontal lobes. Psychological testing demonstrated impairment of executive function. We review the proposed diagnostic criteria for vampirism and discuss how behavioral disinhibition may have affected the emergence into behavior of her previously inhibited vampiristic thoughts.展开更多
Obesity increases risks for heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Disinhibited Eating (DE) is an inconsistent ability to control overeating in the absence of hunger and is related to obesity and failed weight los...Obesity increases risks for heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Disinhibited Eating (DE) is an inconsistent ability to control overeating in the absence of hunger and is related to obesity and failed weight loss attempts. However, there are no effective interventions for simultaneously treating DE and obesity, so the Biofeedback Enhanced Lifestyle Intervention (BELI) was developed. BELI included novel techniques and some that could be considered burdensome and uncomfortable. Evidence of acceptability and feasibility of BELI should be established before resources are devoted to an efficacy study. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of BELI. Overweight/obese (OW/Ob) women with a tendency toward DE were recruited. BELI consisted of five counseling sessions, hunger biofeedback, child role modeling, and self-monitoring. Focus group data, process evaluation data, a satisfaction survey, and objective measures of weight and eating behaviors were collected. In exit focus groups participants reported BELI facilitated positive changes. Process evaluation data showed modest attrition (20%), good compliance, and feasibility of delivery. 100% of BELI completers reported high satisfaction. There were trends in improvements in weight status, eating behaviors, mood, and stress. Implications of this study are to conduct a pilot study of BELI to establish efficacy.展开更多
Dystrobrevin-binding protein 1 （Dtnbp1） is one of the earliest identified schizophrenia susceptibility genes. Reduced expression of DTNBP1 is commonly found in brain areas of schizophrenic patients. Dtnbp1-nuU mutan...Dystrobrevin-binding protein 1 （Dtnbp1） is one of the earliest identified schizophrenia susceptibility genes. Reduced expression of DTNBP1 is commonly found in brain areas of schizophrenic patients. Dtnbp1-nuU mutant mice exhibit abnormalities in beha- viors and impairments in neuronal activities. However, how diminished DTNBP1 expression contributes to clinical relevant fea- tures of schizophrenia remains to be illustrated. Here, using a conditional Dtnbp1 knockout mouse line, we identified an in vivo schizophrenia-relevant function of DTNBP1 in pyramidal neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex （mPFC）. We demonstrated that DTNBP1 elimination specifically in pyramidal neurons of the mPFC impaired mouse pre-pu[se inhibition （PPI） behavior and reduced perisomatic GABAergic synapses. We further revealed that loss of DTNBP1 in pyramidal neurons diminished activity- dependent secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF）. Finally, we showed that chronic BDNF infusion in the mPFC fully rescued both GABAergic synaptic dysfunction and PPI behavioral deficit induced by DTNBP1 elimination from pyramidal neurons. Our findings highlight brain region- and cell type-specific functions of DTNBP1 in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and under- score BDNF restoration as a potential therapeutic strategy for schizophrenia.展开更多
文摘Vampiristic behaviors are rarely seen clinically and less than 100 cases have been reported in the world literature to date. A distinction is usually made as to whether the patient drinks their own blood or the blood of others. We describe a 38-year-old patient who had vampiristic thoughts and fantasies that began in adolescence, but did not act on these thoughts until after she suffered a traumatic brain injury with a three-week loss of consciousness while serving in the military. Brain imaging showed focal damage to her bilateral frontal lobes. Psychological testing demonstrated impairment of executive function. We review the proposed diagnostic criteria for vampirism and discuss how behavioral disinhibition may have affected the emergence into behavior of her previously inhibited vampiristic thoughts.
文摘Obesity increases risks for heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Disinhibited Eating (DE) is an inconsistent ability to control overeating in the absence of hunger and is related to obesity and failed weight loss attempts. However, there are no effective interventions for simultaneously treating DE and obesity, so the Biofeedback Enhanced Lifestyle Intervention (BELI) was developed. BELI included novel techniques and some that could be considered burdensome and uncomfortable. Evidence of acceptability and feasibility of BELI should be established before resources are devoted to an efficacy study. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of BELI. Overweight/obese (OW/Ob) women with a tendency toward DE were recruited. BELI consisted of five counseling sessions, hunger biofeedback, child role modeling, and self-monitoring. Focus group data, process evaluation data, a satisfaction survey, and objective measures of weight and eating behaviors were collected. In exit focus groups participants reported BELI facilitated positive changes. Process evaluation data showed modest attrition (20%), good compliance, and feasibility of delivery. 100% of BELI completers reported high satisfaction. There were trends in improvements in weight status, eating behaviors, mood, and stress. Implications of this study are to conduct a pilot study of BELI to establish efficacy.
文摘Dystrobrevin-binding protein 1 （Dtnbp1） is one of the earliest identified schizophrenia susceptibility genes. Reduced expression of DTNBP1 is commonly found in brain areas of schizophrenic patients. Dtnbp1-nuU mutant mice exhibit abnormalities in beha- viors and impairments in neuronal activities. However, how diminished DTNBP1 expression contributes to clinical relevant fea- tures of schizophrenia remains to be illustrated. Here, using a conditional Dtnbp1 knockout mouse line, we identified an in vivo schizophrenia-relevant function of DTNBP1 in pyramidal neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex （mPFC）. We demonstrated that DTNBP1 elimination specifically in pyramidal neurons of the mPFC impaired mouse pre-pu[se inhibition （PPI） behavior and reduced perisomatic GABAergic synapses. We further revealed that loss of DTNBP1 in pyramidal neurons diminished activity- dependent secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF）. Finally, we showed that chronic BDNF infusion in the mPFC fully rescued both GABAergic synaptic dysfunction and PPI behavioral deficit induced by DTNBP1 elimination from pyramidal neurons. Our findings highlight brain region- and cell type-specific functions of DTNBP1 in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and under- score BDNF restoration as a potential therapeutic strategy for schizophrenia.
