Psicofarmacologia e análise existencial / Psychofarmacology and existential analysis

A psicofarmacologia e a análise existencial utilizam métodos de investigação científica e psiquiátrica diferentes, visando melhorar a prática psiquiátrica.Supondo que cada um destes métodos seja reconhcido com sua característica própria, eles podem ser complementar com sucesso.A análise existencial permite uma compreensão mais precisa das estruturas psicopatológicas essenciais das indicações terapêuticas das substâncias psicofarmacológicas. Os conhecimentos proporcionados pela análise existencial podem ser confirmados e verificados de forma quase experimental, mediante dados da psicofarmacologia. Conseqüentememte, é conveniente utilizar ambos os métodos simultaneamente e sempre manter os respectivos resultados em uma relação de reciprocidade efetiva(AU)

Usutu virus activity in Austria, 2001-2002.

Usutu virus (USUV), a member of the mosquito-borne clade within the Flaviviridae family, was responsible for avian mortality in Austria in 2001. In 2002, the virus continued to kill birds, predominantly blackbirds. High numbers of avian deaths were recorded within the city of Vienna and in surrounding districts of the federal state of Lower Austria, while single die-offs were noticed in the federal states of Styria and Burgenland. A total of 72 birds were submitted for laboratory examination, 30 of which tested positive for USUV by immunohistochemistry and/or polymerase chain reaction. Laboratory-confirmed cases of USUV infection originated from the federal states of Vienna and Lower Austria only. The data show that (i) USUV has managed to overwinter and has been able to establish a transmission cycle in Austria, (ii) the virus seems to have become a resident pathogen of Austria with a tendency to spread to other geographic areas, and (iii) the surveillance of dead blackbirds is a useful sentinel system for monitoring USUV activity.

Transmission studies of a European Sindbis virus in the floodwater mosquito Aedes vexans (Diptera: Culicidae).

Sindbis viruses are arthropod-borne viruses, which are maintained in nature in a Culex mosquito-bird associated transmission cycle, but Aedes species have been suspected as playing a role in infecting humans. In this study, we addressed the question whether or not Germany's most abundant floodwater mosquito species Aedes vexans (Diptera, Culicidae) can serve as an efficient vector for Sindbis viruses. Firstly, the overall susceptibility of Ae. vexans was tested by intrathoracic inoculation of 40 plaque forming units (PFU) Karelian fever virus (KFV, an European Sindbis virus isolate) per female mosquito. Viral titres rose after inoculation reaching a maximum (about a 350-fold increase) between days 5 and 7. Throughout the three weeks of the experiment, virus was recovered from 85% of the individuals demonstrating that Ae. vexans became persistently infected with KFV. Oral infection studies were performed using KFV-spiked bovine blood and an artificial feeding device mimicking viremic animals with KFV titres between 3.7 x 10(6) and 1.3 x 10(7) PFU/ml. The bodies and legs of the mosquitoes were investigated separately. One week after oral infection, 1 out of 49, and another week later, none of the 36 mosquitoes harboured detectable virus. None of the legs yielded detectable virus at any point in time, indicating that no disseminated infection took place after oral uptake of the virus. Virus titres at 12 and 24 hours after the infectious blood meal were found to directly correspond to the amount of blood meal remaining in the midgut of engorged mosquitoes. Within 24 hours, 50% of the mosquitoes have apparently digested and excreted the blood and no virus could be re-isolated. Interestingly, virus could be recqvered from the faeces of these mosquitoes, collected from the bottom of the cage at 24 hours after feeding. In conclusion, the strain of German Ae. vexans used in this study was found to be refractory to KFV because of a midgut infection barrier. Thus, we assume that in a scenario in which Sindbis virus viremic birds travel through and roost in Germany during their migration, Ae. vexans would probably not play a role either as a bridge vector for human infections or in establishing a natural transmission cycle in Germany.