Salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone, and testosterone interrelationships in healthy young males: a pilot study with implications for studies of aggressive behavior.

The present small pilot study was designed to demonstrate the feasibility and relevance of using salivary assessments of biological markers to model a complex biological substrate of aggressive behavior. Five college-aged males completed the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory on enrollment and provided saliva samples at 2000, 0200 and 0800 h during one mid-week 24-h period for three consecutive weeks. Saliva samples were assayed for cortisol (C), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone (T). All three biological measures showed stable circadian rhythms for each individual across the weeks of the study. Circadian variations indicate the importance, for C in particular, of including collection at 0200 h. Examination of the relationship among C, DHEA and T and the scales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory provides preliminary evidence of an acceptable methodology to study complex interrelationships based on both levels and circadian variations of all three biological measures. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using salivary collection and assays to assess the level and stability of circadian variation in biological markers, and the necessity of formulating complex models to investigate the relationship between biology and behavior.

Juvenile sex offender re-arrest rates for sexual, violent nonsexual and property crimes: a 10-year follow-up.

We report the results of a 10-year follow-up recidivism study of two sex offender treatment programs for incarcerated juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) in Virginia. The programs vary in environment and intensity. The more intense JSO program ("self-contained") operates in specialized living units that are separate from those of the general juvenile incarcerated population. In the less intense program ("prescriptive"), JSOs remain housed with the general population of juvenile offenders. Arrest and incarceration data through January 2003 were obtained for 261 male JSOs released between 1992 and 2001. The inclusion of adult incarceration data allowed for a more accurate assessment of the actual time at risk for sexual re-offending. Outcomes are re-arrest rates, length of time to re-arrest and type of offense (property, nonsexual assault, sexual) on re-arrest, with analyses using survival curve functions. For both groups, actual re-arrest is most likely to be for a nonsexual person offense (31 and 47%, respectively) and least likely to be for a sexual offense (<5% for both groups). Comparing the nonequivalent groups, the self-contained treatment group has a lower predicted re-arrest rate and a longer mean time to re-arrest, for all types of offenses, than the prescriptive treatment group. In addition, juveniles who indicate high levels of impulsive/antisocial behaviors are significantly more likely to recidivate compared to juveniles with low-levels of impulsive/antisocial behaviors, regardless of treatment type. This is the first 10-year follow-up study of treatment outcomes for a relatively large sample of males who were incarcerated for sexual offenses as juveniles.

Effects of beef- and fish-based diets on the kinetics of n-3 fatty acid metabolism in human subjects.

BACKGROUND: The quantity and type of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can alter essential fatty acid metabolism in humans. Diets rich in 20- and 22-carbon PUFAs may inhibit desaturase expression or activity and decrease the synthesis of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids. OBJECTIVE: It was theorized that the fat content of a fish-based diet would inhibit the kinetics of the in vivo metabolism of n-3 fatty acids compared with a beef-based diet. DESIGN: A compartmental model was used to determine the coefficients of the kinetic rate constants from the plasma concentration time curves of pentadeuterated (d(5)) 18:3n-3, 20:5n-3, 22:5n-3, and 22:6n-3 of 10 subjects who subsisted on 3 diets with different long-chain PUFA contents. For 3 wk, subjects reported their food intake from their usual diets and then consumed a beef-based diet for 3 wk and then a fish-based diet for an additional 3 wk. Subjects consumed 1 g d(5)-18:3n-3 ethyl ester at weeks 3, 6, and 9. Blood was drawn over 168 h and the plasma analyzed for fatty acids. The coefficients of the kinetic constants of n-3 fatty acid metabolism and the percentage utilization of the substrates were determined. RESULTS: Across all diets, < 1% of plasma 18:3n-3 was utilized for long-chain PUFA synthesis. There was a 70% reduction in the value of the rate constant coefficient that regulated transfer of the isotope from the 22:5n-3 compartment to 22:6n-3 when the fish-based diet was compared with the beef-based diet. The turnover rate of plasma d(5)-22:6n-3 also decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The primary effect of a fish-based diet on the kinetics of n-3 metabolism involves processes that inhibit the synthesis of 22:6n-3 from 22:5n-3. These processes may involve a system of feedback control mechanisms responsive to the plasma concentration of 22:6n-3.