Sex Differences in the Relationship between PTSD Spectrum Symptoms and Autistic Traits in a Sample of University Students.

BACKGROUND: While growing literature is stressing the link between Autistic Traits (AT) and trauma-/stress-related disorders, in both conditions significant differences have been separately reported. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between AT and trauma-/stress-related symptoms with respect to sex. METHODS: 178 university students were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5, the Trauma and Loss Spectrum (TALS) and the Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS). In order to evaluate sex differences in trauma-/stress-related symptoms among subjects with higher or lower AT, the sample was split in two groups with an equal number of subjects on the basis of the median score reported on AdAS Spectrum ("AdAS high scorers" and "AdAS low scorers"). RESULTS: Females reported significantly higher TALS total score, Loss events and Grief reaction domain scores than males in the whole sample, while AdAS high scorers reported significantly higher TALS total and domain scores than AdAS low scorers. A significant interaction between high/low AdAS score and sex emerged for TALS domains, with females scoring significantly higher than males only among AdAS low scorers, specifically on Loss events, Grief reaction, Re-experiencing and Personal characteristics/Risk factors domains. Finally, among AdAS high scorers a significantly higher rate of subjects fulfilled symptomatological criteria for PTSD than among AdAS low scorers, without sex differences. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm a significant relationship between AT and trauma-/stress-related symptoms, which seems to prevail on sex differences among high-risk subjects.

Malignant hypomelanotic melanoma of mules. A histologic, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study of a case with unknown primary site and widespread metastases.

An unusual case of malignant hypomelanotic melanoma occurred in a 15-year-old gray mantle mule with unknown primary site and widespread metastatic growth is described. An ante-mortem examination, the presence of subcutaneous nodules was noted; histologically they are constituted by spindle or polygonal-shaped tumour cells with rare black granules in the cytoplasm; the immunohistochemical procedures showed a large expression of S-100, vimentin and HMB-45 antibodies, suggesting thus a diagnosis of malignant melanoma. Ultrastructural findings, obtained on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded material, showed characteristic melanosomes and irregular fibrillary centers in nuclei of neoplastic cells. At post-mortem examination, other nodular mostly melanotic lesions were appreciable in lungs, kidneys, brain, liver, pancreas, spleen, lymph nodes and muscles. The importance of immunohistochemical and ultrastructural findings for the differential diagnosis of this neoplasm is emphasized.

Conduction velocity study in type 1 diabetic patients.

The role of metabolic abnormalities in the development of diabetic neuropathy is controversial. To investigate the peripheral nerve function and the influence of hyperglycemia on nerve conduction in insulin-dependent diabetes, a one-year neurophysiological study was carried out in 30 type 1 diabetic patients ranging in age from 2-16 years. During the 12-month follow-up period the glycosylated hemoglobin determination, motor conduction velocity of the peroneal nerve and the motor and sensory conduction of the tibial nerve were assessed 3 times, at the beginning of the study and every 6 months thereafter. The sensory latency was found significantly delayed in these patients as compared with the controls. The degree of sensory conduction slowing correlated well with the glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations and improved with the reduction in hyperglycemia.

[Practical method to isolate diethylstilbestrol by thin-layer chromatography. Technical note].

PIP: 9 M sulfuric acid spray reagent was found to be particularly suitable for differentiating natural estrogens from diethylstilbestrol in both a mixture of natural steroids and in biologic preparations under daylight as well as ultraviolet light. The method described is useful in analyzing animal feed and meat for human consumption and solves the problem of isolating estrone from diethylstilbestrol by giving different colors to the 2 compounds: under natural light, estrone shows an orange yellow color, while diethylstilbestrol appears dark gray; under ultraviolet light, the colors are lemon yellow and violet, respectively.^ieng