Ticks infesting amphibians and reptiles in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil / Carrapatos infestando anfíbios e répteis em Pernambuco, Nordeste do Brasil

Ticks infesting amphibians and reptiles in the State of Pernambuco are reviewed, based on the current literature and new collections recently carried out by the authors. To date, three tick species have been found on amphibians and reptiles in Pernambuco. Amblyomma fuscum appears to be exclusively associated with Boa constrictor, its type host. Amblyomma rotundatum has a relatively low host-specificity, being found on toads, snakes, and iguana. Amblyomma dissimile has been found on a lizard and also small mammals (i.e., rodents and marsupials). New tick-host associations and locality records are given.

Os carrapatos encontrados infestando anfíbios e répteis no Estado de Pernambuco são revisados com base na literatura atual e em novas coletas realizadas recentemente pelos autores. Até o momento, três espécies de carrapatos foram encontradas sobre anfíbios e répteis em Pernambuco. Amblyomma fuscum parece estar exclusivamente associado à Boa constrictor, seu hospedeiro-tipo. Amblyomma rotundatum tem uma especificidade parasitária relativamente baixa, sendo encontrado em sapos, serpentes e iguana. Amblyomma dissimile já foi encontrado sobre um lagarto e também sobre pequenos mamíferos (isto é, roedores e marsupiais). Novas associações carrapato-hospedeiro e novos registros de localidades são apresentados.

Ticks infesting amphibians and reptiles in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil.

Ticks infesting amphibians and reptiles in the State of Pernambuco are reviewed, based on the current literature and new collections recently carried out by the authors. To date, three tick species have been found on amphibians and reptiles in Pernambuco. Amblyomma fuscum appears to be exclusively associated with Boa constrictor, its type host. Amblyomma rotundatum has a relatively low host-specificity, being found on toads, snakes, and iguana. Amblyomma dissimile has been found on a lizard and also small mammals (i.e., rodents and marsupials). New tick-host associations and locality records are given.

Clonazepam in the treatment of social phobia: a pilot study.

Twenty-three patients who met DSM-III-R criteria for social phobia were randomly assigned either to a clonazepam treatment group or to a nontreatment control group in an 8-week pilot study. Clonazepam was found to have a significant effect on the treated patients, as demonstrated by scores on a variety of instruments measuring overall anxiety and phobic avoidance, and social phobic symptoms. Initial sedation, which was experienced by 70% of the treated subjects, was the most common side effect of clonazepam treatment and usually resolved spontaneously or with dose reduction. The preliminary findings of this pilot study are sufficiently promising to warrant further study of the efficacy of clonazepam in this condition.

Generalized anxiety disorder: some biochemical aspects.

Fifty-one patients who met DSM-III criteria for generalized anxiety disorder, and who were recruited to participate in a drug outcome study, filled out a variety of rating scales and had blood samples drawn for plasma norepinephrine, epinephrine, and free 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) after a 20-min rest period. This group was compared to 15 normal controls who also had their blood drawn after a 20-min rest period. While the two groups were initially found to have significantly different levels of plasma free MHPG through the use of t tests, this finding was not confirmed by subsequent discriminant analysis.

Nortriptyline in the treatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia with panic attacks.

Thirty-four consecutive patients with panic disorder or agoraphobia with panic attacks were treated with nortriptyline at the LAC-USC Medical Center's Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Fourteen (67%) of the 21 completers totally lost their panic attacks, five (24%) showed partial improvement, and two (10%) showed no improvement. The relationship of treatment outcome to pretreatment and posttreatment measures of depression is discussed, in addition to the potential role of nortriptyline in treating panic attacks in clinical practice.