Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in geriatric dogs.

Recordings of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) were taken from 28 geriatric dogs aged 12.2 ± 2.2 years and 15 control dogs aged 5.9 ± 3.0 years (mean ± standard deviation) to demonstrate frequency-specific changes in cochlear responses. Recordings were performed for primary frequencies of 2-12 kHz in 2 kHz increments. Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) recordings were also made from geriatric dogs for comparison with DPOAE responses. Significant decreases in DPOAE response amplitudes were observed at frequencies of 6-12 kHz in geriatric dogs compared to control dogs, reflecting loss of cochlear outer hair cells along the length of the cochlea. Significant decreases in response amplitudes were not seen at frequencies of 2 or 4 kHz. Decreases in BAER response amplitudes subjectively paralleled the depressed DPOAE amplitudes. No significant linear regression relationships were found for DPOAE response amplitude vs. age despite the progressive nature of age-related hearing loss. The reductions in response at all frequencies starting at the age where dogs are considered geriatric indicate that age-related hearing loss begins earlier in the life span. DPOAE recordings provide a means to assess cochlear function across different portions of the auditory spectrum for assessing hearing loss associated with aging, and potentially for losses from other causes of decreased auditory function.

Gender differences in perceptions of cancer.

The purpose of this study was to consider gender differences in laypeople's beliefs about and explanations of cancer. Over 700 adults answered a questionnaire about their perceptions and explanations of the disease. The majority of respondents identified cancer as the most fearful disease. Women were more frightened of cancer than were men, whereas men were more frightened of heart disease than were women. The greatest fear of cancer was its perceived incurability and the associated suffering, whereas the greatest fear of heart disease was perceived susceptibility. Men were more likely than women to hold a more negative attitude toward cancer information. Factor analysis of the perceived causes of cancer identified four causal factors, which were labelled Stress, Environmental, Health-related, and Behavioural. Men were more likely to identify behavioural items as important whereas women were more likely to rate heredity as important. Fear of cancer was highly correlated with the health beliefs but not with the perceived causes of cancer. However, a regression analysis found that these health beliefs explained only a small proportion of the variance in cancer fear. The findings are discussed with reference to cancer education.

Differential assessment and the treatment of alcoholism.

The major objective of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that more effective alcoholism treatment would result from the provision of differential therapy, based on a differential assessment of psychopathology. A total of 135 alcoholics (125 male, 10 female), in-patients of a large psychiatric hospital in Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland, were allocated to one of three psychopathological subgroups on the basis of their scores on the anxiety, depression and socialization factors of the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (n = 45 in each group). Fifteen patients from each subgroup were assigned to one of two experimental treatment conditions or a control group. Experimental treatment Group 1 received therapy directed toward their psychopathology, while experimental treatment Group 2 received therapy directed toward their drinking behaviour per se. Therapeutic procedures were behavioural. The control group received only supportive counselling. The results at follow-up nine months later revealed that differences in improvement rates across groups were not statistically significant. A number of subsidiary hypotheses were also investigated and significant differences were found between the three psychopathological subgroups on factors relating to aetiology, course of alcoholism and prognosis.