Red scrotum syndrome is a poorly understood, chronic dysesthetic erythema primarily involving the anterior scrotum. Previous reports have indicated that red scrotum syndrome is occasionally responsive to oral doxycycline and oral gabapentin. Otherwise, few therapies have proven successful in treating the disorder. We report two cases of red scrotum syndrome responding to oral pregabalin, an anticonvulsant medication commonly used for neuropathic pain. These two cases suggest pregabalin as an effective means for treating red scrotum syndrome and endorse a neuropathic etiology.

Histiocytoid Sweet syndrome (HSS) is a rare histologic variation of Sweet syndrome (SS) predominantly exhibiting mononuclear histiocytoid cells instead of neutrophils. We report a 22-year-old woman with HSS, who, after minimal improvement with colchicine and dapsone, had significant improvement of her cutaneous eruption and systemic symptoms following empiric treatment with azathioprine. Since azathioprine has historically been known to cause SS, this case highlights a previously unreported treatment response for the histiocytoid variant.

The purpose of this study was to compare western family therapy to the "imbizo" system that is used as a kind of family therapy in the black cultural environment. The "imbizo" system is different from western therapy in its composition. Relatives play a more prominent role than in western family therapy. The imbizo system provides unique support and aftercare to its clients. Unlike western therapy, it requires no payment of fees. The "imbizo" excludes children while western family therapy includes every family member as part of the system in the therapeutic process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three male respondents from the Nguni ethnic group and one male and two females from the Sotho ethnic group. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This thesis sets out to explore the processes involved when family therapists decide to introduce an action method into a therapy session. Action methods are defined as therapist led physical activities which are introduced into the session for the purpose of enabling the healing of relationships. The literature is examined in relation to connections between family therapy approaches using action and psychodrama psychotherapy relation to work with families and couples. Literature which integrates the two approaches is identified. The core of the study is composed of five interviews with experienced and senior family therapists about how they use action with clients in sessions. It focuses on the beliefs, behaviours and actions which are present at the moment the therapists decide to use action. The interviews examine the therapists’ training and current practice culture, their guiding beliefs and principles about the use of action and the theories on which they have drawn in considering the implementation of action methods. Participants were asked to describe an episode of action by giving a verbal account as well as undertaking a sculpt of the episode using ‘small world’ figures. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using a unique approach blending psychodramatic role analysis (Williams 1989) with the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) (Cronen and Pearce 1985) a communication theory approach used by systemic psychotherapists. The findings indicate that systemic therapists do not have one overarching theoretical approach to using action in therapy, but draw on a range of different models which may be derived from different systemic approaches. The findings further indicate that theories of action which include neurobiological information processing and embodiment are introduced into systemic trainings as important in understanding how action methods impact on individuals and families. A format for therapists to evaluate their use of action methods is proposed for use in supervision or training. It follows the format that is used in the analysis, using psychodramatic role analysis and a CMM hierarchical structure which proposes opening space, spontaneity and playfulness as markers for the culture, identity and relationship levels of the analysis.

O carcinoma mucoepidermoide (CME) representa a neoplasia maligna de glândula salivar mais comum. Tumores com alto grau histológico e casos avançados, com metástase regional ou a distância, apresentam taxas de sobrevida extremamente baixas em decorrência da falta de terapias eficazes. A radioterapia é usualmente aplicada como terapia adjuvante ou primeira linha de tratamento de tumores inoperáveis, entretanto o perfil de resistência do CME à radioterapia permanece não elucidado. Outra abordagem em tumores avançados é a quimioterapia, usualmente a base de cisplatina, aplicada como tratamento meramente paliativo. Um dos principais pontos chave envolvidos na resistência tumoral às terapias convencionais é a manutenção de uma população celular com alto potencial tumorigênico, chamadas de células tronco tumorais (CTT). Estas células apresentam capacidade de evadir terapias convencionais e são responsáveis pelo aparecimento de metástases e recidivas. Evidências recentes sugerem que a utilização de terapias combinadas possuem maior potencial de reduzir a resistência tumoral. Desta forma, no primeiro estudo nosso objetivo foi identificar o perfil de resistência à radioterapia de linhagens celulares de CME, vias associadas com a radio-resistência adquirida e formas de sensibilizar farmacologicamente as células de CME, incluindo as CTT, à radiação ionizante. Os resultados demonstraram que as linhagens de CME apresentam diferentes perfis de resistência à radiação ionizante, sendo a linhagem mais resistente capaz de ativar intrinsicamente o NFκB frente a baixas doses de radiação. Além disso, a resistência das linhagens mais sensíveis foi estimulada quando a vida do NFκB foi excitada. A inibição farmacológica do NFκB com Emetine foi realizada com sucesso através da inibição do eixo IKK-β/IκBα/NFκB. A utilização de Emetine previamente a radiação ionizante foi capaz de aumentar a sensibilidade das células de CME assim como diminuir o percentual de CTT. No segundo estudo nosso objetivo foi identificar a resposta tumoral, incluindo das CTT, à terapia única ou combinada utilizando dois alvos terapêuticos distintos: NFκB (tratamento com Emetine) e acetilação de histonas (tratamento com SAHA). Os resultados mostraram que uma dose de Emetine é capaz de inibir a proliferação celular em todas as linhagens de CME analisadas, enquanto que o SAHA apresentou este efeito em apenas 50% das linhagens. Por outro lado, o SAHA foi mais eficaz em reduzir a população de CTT que o Emetine. A terapia combinada foi mais eficaz do que as terapias individuais em relação a proliferação celular e a depleção de CTT. Através da analise dos resultados dos dois estudos, podemos concluir que a resistência tumoral do CME é superada com maior êxito quando mais de uma forma de tratamento é empregada. A associação de Emetine com a irradiação ou de SAHA com Emetine se mostrou eficaz no controle do tumor através da erradicação da população de CTT. / Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) represents the most common salivary gland cancer. High-grade tumors and advanced cases, presenting regional or distant metastasis, exhibit extremely low survival rates due to a lack of effective therapies. Radiotherapy is frequently applied as adjuvant therapy or as first-line treatment in inoperable cases. Nevertheless, the resistance profile of MEC to radiotherapy remains unclear. Chemotherapy, most commonly cisplatin, used for advanced cases is considered merely palliative. A key point involved in tumor resistance to conventional therapies is the maintenance of a cell population with high tumorigenic potential, called cancer stem cells (CSC). These cells have the ability to evade conventional therapies and are responsible for metastases and recurrences. Recent evidences support that combined therapies are more effective in reducing tumor resistance. Therefore, in the first study our objective was to identify the resistance profile of MEC cell lines to ionizing radiation, pathways associated with acquired resistance and ways to sensitize pharmacologically MEC cells, including CSC, to ionizing radiation. The results demonstrated that MEC cell lines present different resistance profile to ionizing radiation and the most resistant cell line is capable to activate intrinsically NFκB after low doses of irradiation. Moreover, resistance of sensitive cell lines can be triggered by NFκB activation. Pharmacological inhibition of NFκB with Emetine was achieved through IKK-β/IκBα/NFκB axis inhibition. The use of Emetine prior to irradiation was efficient in increasing cell sensibility as well as decrease the percentage of CSC. In the second study, our aim was to identify the tumor response, including of CSC, to single or combined therapy using two distinc therapeutic targets: NFκB (treated with Emetine) and histone acetylation (treated with SAHA). The results demonstrated that a single dose of Emetine was capable to inhibit cell proliferation in all MEC cell lines, while SAHA achieved this result in only 50% of cell lines analyzed. On the other side, SAHA was more efficient than Emetine in disrupting CSC population. The combined therapy was more effective than both single agent therapies regarding cell proliferation and CSC depletion. By analysing both studies results, we can conclude that the tumor resistance of MEC is overcome with greater success when more than one form of treatment is employed. The association of Emetine with irradiation or SAHA with Emetine is effective in tumor control by eradicating the CSC population.

No description available.

Thesis project (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 243-268).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-137).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-110).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-137).