[Testosterone and depression in men aged over 50 years. Andropause and psychopathology: minimal systemic work-up]. / Testostérone et dépression chez l'homme de plus de 50 ans. Andropause et psychopathologie: bilan symptomatique mineur.

A reduced feeling of well being with unusual anxiety and irritability, nervousness, mood swings and a depressive state are often mentioned as the psychological symptoms of the age-related hypogonadism. However, psychological aspect of andropause has not yet been specifically studied and most data on psychological symptoms come from researchers' clinical impressions rather than from systematic studies. Therefore, it seems premature to assign them to the age-associated decline in testosterone levels. The implication of testosterone in psychological state has yielded mixed results. Among elderly men, lower testosterone levels were associated with depressive or dysthymic symptoms. Moreover, lower testosterone levels were reported in men with depression, independently of age. In contrast, some studies did not observe any significant difference in testosterone levels between depressed men and controls. Furthermore, several studies have suggested that testosterone replacement improved mood in hypogonadal men, but others did not, as in studies on eugonadal men. Several researchers have also suggested the potential use of testosterone as an antidepressant or adjuvant to current treatments in depressed hypogonadal men. The relationship between andropause and psychological symptoms such as depression is far from clear. Andropause may be associated with "minor depressive symptoms" that are not considered as pathological. Psychological manifestations do not appear specific to andropause and probably have a multifactorial origin.

[Ultra-fast opiate detoxification under general anesthesia: preliminary results of the Liege protocol]. / Le sevrage ultra-rapide des toxicomanes aux opiacés sous anesthésie générale: résultats préliminaires du protocole liégeois.

Many studies support the hypothesis of a substantial benefit in inducing an Opiate Receptor Blockade through a Rapid Opiate Detoxification under general Anaesthesia (RODA) in opiate dependent patients. However, prospective studies and long term evaluation of the technique are lacking. In order to evaluate long-term abstinence rates after a RODA among a sample of opiate addicts, a study was started in March 1999 at the University of Liège. To date, 45 patients were evaluated (mean age: 29 +/- 5 years) with a mean opiate dependence duration of 8 +/- 4 years. Most of them were both heroin and methadone dependent; 42.2% of them were included while 31.1% did not complete the whole inclusion procedure and 26.7% were excluded. None experienced severe withdrawal symptoms. At six months, abstinence rate was 67% and 46% at one year. These preliminary results suggest the interest of the procedure in carefully selected patients.

Antibody response after treatment in cattle infected with Psoroptes ovis.

The decline of anti-Psoroptes ovis antibody titres after treatment was studied in six groups of naturally infected cattle. In all trials, using a limiting dilution technique, the specific antibody levels were assessed by ELISA on sera collected at regular intervals up to 78 days post treatment. All individual antibody titres started to decline between day 7 and day 14 post treatment. A linear decrease was observed. In a limited trial, five experimentally infected animals were bled monthly after treatment and seronegativity was reached within four months. The results obtained were in agreement with those obtained in the five field trials. Using a linear regression model, it was estimated by interpolation that most of the animals would have been seronegative within seven months post treatment. These results suggest that the exposure to specific P ovis antigen stops with the end of parasite activity and that dead mites are relatively non-immunogenic.