The process of restructuring and the treatment of obesity in women.

Obesity is a prevalent health behavior that is difficult to treat because of its complexity, constraints on provider time, and negligible insurer reimbursement. In this comparative case study the authors describe two obese women's weight loss and lifestyle change efforts while enrolled in a nine-month, multidisciplinary weight loss program. The researchers conducted three semistructured interviews during six months. Eight major themes were identified: (1) support networks. (2) internalization/externalization, (3) routines, (4) relapse, (5) change in perspective, (6) reward/punishment, (7) emotional issues, and (8) life balance. These themes parallel Johnson's three-stage theory of cognitive restructuring. (See Johnson, 1990, "Restructuring: An Emerging Theory on the Process of Losing Weight." Journal of Advanced Nursing, 15, 1289-1296.) Researchers reveal that complex health problems are replete with social and psychological factors that may undermine treatment success. Understanding a client's experience while attempting behavior change is crucial for the development of interventions that address difficult and costly health behaviors.

Prevalence of genital mycoplasma & ureaplasma infections in pregnancy & their effect on pregnancy outcome.

A cohort of 200 women with singleton pregnancies attending the antenatal clinic, were studied to determine the prevalence of genital mycoplasma and ureaplasma infections in pregnant women and the effect of infection on pregnancy outcome. Vaginal and endocervical swabs were taken at 26-30 wk and again at 36-38 wk of pregnancy and cultured for mycoplasma and ureaplasma. Forty (20%, 95% CI 14.5-25.6%) women were found to be infected with arginine metabolising mycoplasmas and 79 (39.5%, 95% CI 32.7-46.3%) with ureaplasma at either site or either time. The mean +/- SD birth weight of infants born to women infected with mycoplasma alone was 2879 +/- 471 g while that of infants born to women infected with ureaplasma alone was 2964 +/- 412 g. Mean +/- SD birthweight of infants born to women infected with both organisms was 2969 +/- 389 g while that of infants born to uninfected women was 2919 +/- 432 g. These differences were not statistically significant. The median gestation at delivery was 39 wk in the cohort; the differences among the groups were minor and statistically not significant. Thus, although genital mycoplasma/ureaplasma infections were frequent, no association was observed between infection and pregnancy outcome.

Long experimental durations are required for double label [14C]- and [3H]2-deoxyglucose autoradiographic methods.

Double-label 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) studies using sequential [14C]- and [3H]2-DG injections demonstrate increased [14C]2-DG uptake during the first and second stimulation periods. To understand why this occurs, the rat mystacial vibrissae were stimulated at various times following [14C]2-DG injection. Local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) increased when whisker stimulation was performed at 0-90 min following [14C]2-DG injection. LCGU did not increase when whisker stimulation was performed at 90-150 min following [14C]2-DG injection. To minimize contamination of the two tracers in double label 2-DG mapping studies, the time between [14C]- and [3H]2-DG administration should be increased to 90 min.

Suppression of puerperal lactation using jasmine flowers (Jasminum sambac).

The efficacy of jasmine flowers (Jasminum Sambac) applied to the breasts to suppress puerperal lactation was compared that of Bromocriptine. Effectiveness of both regimens was monitored by serum prolactin levels, clinical evaluation of the degree of breast engorgement and milk production and the analgesic intake. While both bromocriptine and jasmine flowers brought about a significant reduction in serum prolactin, the decrease was significantly greater with bromocriptine. However, clinical parameters such as breast engorgement, milk production and analgesic intake showed the 2 modes of therapy to be equally effective. The failure rates of the 2 regimens to suppress lactation were similar; however, rebound lactation occurred in a small proportion of women treated with bromocriptine. Jasmine flowers seem to be an effective and inexpensive method of suppressing puerperal lactation and can be used as an alternative in situations where cost and nonavailability restrict the use of bromocriptine.