[Societal Evolution of Sexuality].

[Societal evolution of sexuality].

Prog Urol. 2013 Jul; 23(9): 832-7
Cour F

To understand the societal evolution of sexuality with a reflection on its possible consequences on the therapeutic management of sexual disorders.Synthesis of key points from articles or books selected according to their scientific relevance, and epidemiologic studies published on this subject.Far from the classic framework of marriage and parallely to the social empowerment of women, relationships evolve in an increasingly short-lived way. The development of social networks leads to an externalization of owns intimacy. Adolescents are prematurely exposed to the easily accessible pornographic models through Internet. The development of internet encounters, this virtual sexuality, can lead to excessive behavior, at most a cyber addiction, with sometimes a major impact on the real relationship. The diktats of fashion, performance and youth are ever-present and broadly conveyed by the medias.The therapist must be aware of the societal evolution of sexuality, mainly orchestrated by the net and medias, to be able to adapt his management of the sexual disorders. He will ensure to protect each one’s individuality, without anxiety, in our normative society. HubMed – addiction

Male and Female Rats Differ in Brain Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor Density and Function and in Behavioural Traits Predisposing To Drug Addiction: Effect of Ovarian Hormones.

Curr Pharm Des. 2013 Jun 14;
Castelli MP, Fadda P, Casu A, Spano MS, Casti A, Fratta W, Fattore L

Sex-dependent differences are frequently observed in the biological and behavioural effects of substances of abuse, including cannabis. We recently demonstrated a modulating effect of sex and oestrous cycle on cannabinoid-taking and seeking behaviours. Here, we investigated the influence of sex and oestrogen in the regulation of cannabinoid CB1 receptor density and function, measured by [3H]CP55940 and CP55940-stimulated [35S]GTP?S binding autoradiography, respectively, in the prefrontal cortex (Cg1 and Cg3), caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, amygdala and hippocampus of male and cycling female rats, as well as ovariectomised (OVX) rats and OVX rats primed with oestradiol (10 ?g/rat) (OVX+E). CB1 receptor density was significantly lower in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala of cycling females than in males and in OVX females, a difference that appeared to be oestradiol-dependent, because it was no more evident in the OVX+E group. CP55940-stimulated [35S]GTP?S binding was significantly higher in the Cg3 of OVX rats relative to cycling and OVX+E rats. No difference was observed in CB1 receptor density or function in any of the other brain areas analysed. Finally, sex and oestradiol were also found to affect motor activity, social behaviour and sensorimotor gating in rats tested in locomotor activity boxes, social interaction and prepulse inhibition tasks, respectively. Our findings provide biochemical evidence for sex- and hormone-dependent differences in the density and function of CB1 receptors in selected brain regions, and in behaviours associated with greater vulnerability to drug addiction, revealing a more vulnerable behavioural phenotype in female than in male rats. HubMed – addiction

Investigating expectation and reward in human opioid addiction with [(11) C]raclopride PET.

Addict Biol. 2013 Jul 5;
Watson BJ, Taylor LG, Reid AG, Wilson SJ, Stokes PR, Brooks DJ, Myers JF, Turkheimer FE, Nutt DJ, Lingford-Hughes AR

The rewarding properties of some abused drugs are thought to reside in their ability to increase striatal dopamine levels. Similar increases have been shown in response to expectation of a positive drug effect. The actions of opioid drugs on striatal dopamine release are less well characterized. We examined whether heroin and the expectation of heroin reward increases striatal dopamine levels in human opioid addiction. Ten opioid-dependent participants maintained on either methadone or buprenorphine underwent [(11) C]raclopride positron emission tomography imaging. Opioid-dependent participants were scanned three times, receiving reward from 50-mg intravenous heroin (diamorphine; pharmaceutical heroin) during the first scan to generate expectation of the same reward at the second scan, during which they only received 0.1-mg intravenous heroin. There was no heroin injection during the third scan. Intravenous 50-mg heroin during the first scan induced pronounced effects leading to high levels of expectation at the second scan. There was no detectable increase in striatal dopamine levels to either heroin reward or expectation of reward. We believe this is the first human study to examine whether expectation of heroin reward increases striatal dopamine levels in opioid addiction. The absence of detectable increased dopamine levels to both the expectation and delivery of a heroin-related reward may have been due to the impact of substitute medication. It does however contrast with the changes seen in abstinent stimulant users, suggesting that striatal dopamine release alone may not play such a pivotal role in opioid-maintained individuals. HubMed – addiction

Active stable maintenance functions in low copy-number plasmids of Gram-positive bacteria II. Post-segregational killing systems.

Pol J Microbiol. 2013; 62(1): 17-22
Dmowski M, Jagura-Burdzy G

Active support is needed for low copy-number plasmids to be stably maintained in bacterial cells. The mechanisms that fulfill this role are (i) partition systems (PAR) acting to separate plasmid molecules to daughter cells and (ii) toxin-andidote (TA) (post-segregational killing-PSK) systems which arrest cell growth until the plasmid reaches the correct copy-number or kill the cells that have not inherited the plasmid. Our knowledge of toxin-antidote systems comes mainly from studies on Gram-negative bacteria. However, some addiction systems of Gram-positive bacteria have been characterized in detail or recently identified. Altogether, they bring new interesting data on toxin-antidote functioning in bacteria. HubMed – addiction