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Abstract Background About twice as many women as men develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even though men as a group are exposed to more traumatic events. Exposure to different trauma types does not sufficiently explain why women are more vulnerable. Methods The present work examines the effect of age, previous trauma, negative affectivity (NA), anxiety, depression, persistent dissociation, and social support on PTSD separately in men and women. Subjects were exposed to either a series of explosions in a firework factory near a residential area or to a high school stabbing incident. Results Some gender differences were found in the predictive power of well known risk factors for PTSD. Anxiety predicted PTSD in men, but not in women, whereas the opposite was found for depression. Dissociation was a better predictor for PTSD in women than in men in the explosion sample but not in the stabbing sample. Initially, NA predicted PTSD better in women than men in the explosion sample, but when compared only to other significant risk factors, it significantly predicted PTSD for both men and women in both studies. Previous traumatic events and age did not significantly predict PTSD in either gender. Conclusion Gender differences in the predictive value of social support on PTSD appear to be very complex, and no clear conclusions can be made based on the two studies included in this article.

Introduction: Even if proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors have replaced lipoprotein apheresis in many patients, lipoprotein apheresis still is an important option in homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, progressive atherosclerosis or when removal of lipoprotein(a) is indicated. Additional possible favorable effects beyond lipid lowering could include changes in the concentration of cytokines and improvement of hemorheology. Methods: We evaluated how whole blood adsorption, dextran sulfate plasma adsorption, and double filtration plasmapheresis lipoprotein apheresis systems affected cytokine concentrations, using a human whole blood ex vivo model differentiating the effect of the lipoprotein apheresis and plasma separation columns and describing temporal changes. Results: Compared to the control bag, the whole blood adsorption system reduced Interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), IL‐8, IL‐1ra, eotaxin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP‐1), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)‐BB, regulated on activation T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), macrophage inflammatory protein‐1β (MIP‐1β), and IP‐10 (P <.05). The dextran sulfate plasma adsorption system reduced IFN‐γ, IL‐8, IL‐1ra, eotaxin, TNF, MCP‐1, PDGF‐BB, MIP‐1β, and IP‐10 (P <.05). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) were increased in the whole blood and dextran sulfate plasma adsorption systems (P <.05). The double filtration plasmapheresis system reduced IFN‐γ, IL‐1ra, TNF, MIP‐1β, and IP‐10 (P <.05), while MCP‐1,VEGF, GM‐CSF, and RANTES were increased (P <.05). The plasma separation column increased concentration of RANTES, and was a barrier to reduction of eotaxin. Temporal patterns of concentration change indicated first pass increase of PDGF‐BB and first pass reduction of IP‐10. Conclusion: There were marked differences in how the three systems affected total and temporal cytokine concentration changes in this in vitro model, as well as compared to former in vivo studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a number of studies have investigated the prediction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through the presence of acute stress disorder (ASD). The predictive power of ASD on PTSD was examined in a population of 148 female rape victims who visited a center for rape victims shortly after the rape or attempted rape. The PTSD diagnosis based solely on the three core symptom clusters was best identified by a subclinical ASD diagnosis based on all ASD criteria except dissociation. However, a full PTSD diagnosis including the A 2 and F criteria was best identified by classifying victims according to a full ASD diagnosis. Regardless of whether cases were classified according to full PTSD status or according to meeting the criteria for the three PTSD core symptom clusters, the classification was correct only in approximately two thirds of the cases. A regression analysis based on ASD severity and sexual problems following the rape accounted for only 28% of the PTSD severity variance. In conclusion, the ASD diagnosis is not an optimal method for identifying those most at risk for PTSD. It remains to be seen whether a better way can be found.

Infant loss occurring prior to, during, or up to one year after birth, is a relatively common event that often affects mothers and fathers deeply. Although infant loss is most commonly characterised as a loss event, it can also be highly traumatic and lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with prevalence rates falling in the moderate-to-severe range compared to other traumatic events. Pre- and post-loss risk factors associated with PTSD following other types of trauma also predict PTSD following infant loss. Early identification of PTSD is extremely important, as the disorder is severely under-diagnosed in the parent population and may have a high number of adverse effects for the bereaved parent as well as his/her family, including children born subsequent to the loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of complement factor 5 (C5) in reactions elicited by plasma separation using blood from a C5‐deficient (C5D) individual, comparing it to C5‐deficient blood reconstituted with C5 (C5DR) and blood from healthy donors. Blood was circulated through an ex vivo plasma separation model. Leukocyte CD11b expression and leukocyte–platelet conjugates were measured by flow cytometry during a 30‐min period. Other markers were assessed during a 240‐min period. Granulocyte and monocyte CD11b expression did not increase in C5D blood during plasma separation. In C5DR samples granulocytes CD11b expression, measured by mean fluorescence intensity (MFI), increased from 10481 ± 6022 (SD) to 62703 ± 4936, and monocytes CD11b expression changed from 13837 ± 7047 to 40063 ± 713. Granulocyte–platelet conjugates showed a 2.5‐fold increase in the C5DR sample compared to the C5D sample. Monocyte–platelet conjugates increased independently of C5. In the C5D samples, platelet count decreased from 210 × 109/L (201–219) (median and range) to 51 × 109/L (50–51), and C3bc increased from 14 CAU/mL (21–7) to 198 CAU/mL (127–269), whereas TCC formation was blocked during plasma separation. In conclusion, up‐regulation of granulocyte and monocyte CD11b during plasma separation was C5‐dependent. The results also indicate C5 dependency in granulocyte–platelet conjugates formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]