Psychopathological symptoms and their association with the quality of life and the sexual functioning in women affected by systemic scleroderma: a preliminary investigation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the presence of psychopathological symptoms and the relations of these dimensions with the quality of life and sexual function in a group of women affected by systemic scleroderma. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Seventy-one women with systemic scleroderma were invited to participate in the study; 65 agreed to participate, while 6 declined. Four questionnaires were administered to the patients: a specific socio-demographic questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and the Quality-of-Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (QUALEFFO-41). RESULTS: Of all the participants in this study, 48% of patients showed a clinical score on SCL-90-R Somatization, 45% on depression, and 37% on obsessive-compulsive. As hypothesized, psychopathological symptoms were related to lower quality of life since somatization and depression predicted the total score of health-related quality of life and lower sexual functions, showing a specific effect of depression on sexuality. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlighted the presence of an association between psychopathological symptoms and reduced sexual functioning and the associations between somatization and the health-related quality of life dimensions in scleroderma patients. Furthermore, our results sustain the importance of also considering the mental health of patients with systemic sclerosis, within an integrated biopsychosocial care model.

Ultrastructural organization of seminal receptacle and sperm storage in Porcellio laevis latreille (crustacea: Isopoda oniscidea).

The seminal receptacle of Porcellio laevis is a specialized region of the genital tract placed at the confluence of the oviduct with the ovary. In virgin sexually mature females the seminal receptacle wall consists of a monolayered epithelium lying on a thin basal lamina and delimiting a narrow and anfractuous lumen. The cells are joined by cell junctions only in their apical portion and do not show marked secretory activity; numerous cells appear to undergo a partial or complete process of autophagy that preludes a remodelling of the seminal receptacle allowing it to receive and store a conspicuous number of spermatozoa. In mated females epithelial cells are characterized by wide intracellular spaces in their basal region, by an extensive development of smooth reticulum and by the release into the lumen of an abundant lipidic secretion. Some spermatozoa stored in the lumen are captured by pseudopodial-like protrusions produced by the epithelial cell surface and then drawn into cavities that form within the epithelial cells themselves. The spermatozoa stored in the seminal receptacle appeared to be well conserved and apparently able to fertilize even several months after insemination.