Objective

Little is known regarding neuroendocrine responses in adolescent girls with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who have experienced sexual abuse. Therefore, we collected saliva samples three times daily for 3 days to assess concentrations of salivary alpha amylase (sAA) - a surrogate marker for autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and, in particular, sympathetic activity - in sexually abused adolescent girls.

Methods

Twenty-four girls (mean age: 15±1.4 years) who had experienced recent sexual abuse (i.e., sexual abuse occurred 1-6 months prior to study enrollment) and 12 healthy comparison subjects (mean age: 14.8±1.3 years) completed a structured interview and assessments to ascertain symptoms of posttraumatic stress, then collected saliva at home upon awakening, 30 minutes after waking, and at 5 p.m. on three consecutive school days.

Results

For sexually abused girls, total PTSD symptoms were associated with higher overall morning levels of sAA (r[20]=0.51, p=0.02), a finding driven by intrusive symptoms (r[20]=0.43, p<0.05) and hyperarousal symptoms (r[20]=0.58, p=0.01). There were no significant differences in diurnal sAA secretion between the sexually abused girls and healthy comparison adolescents.

Conclusions

Overall morning concentrations of sAA in sexually abused girls are associated with overall PTSD severity as well as symptoms of hyperarousal and intrusive symptoms, possibly reflecting symptom-linked increases in ANS tone. These data raise the possibility that alterations in ANS activity are related to the pathophysiology of sexual abuse-related PTSD in adolescent girls, and may inform therapeutic interventions (e.g., antiadrenergic medications).

We investigated the effect of the synthetic vitamin A derivative isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid) on advanced cancers in 103 patients and on preneoplastic lesions in five patients. Six of 14 patients with squamous cell epithelial cancers had objective regressions of skin or subcutaneous metastases. Three of five patients with preneoplastic lesions had objective responses. The major dose-limiting toxic effects were reversible dermatitis, emotional lability, and headaches. We conclude that the growth of some squamous cell epithelial malignancies can be inhibited by isotretinoin and suggest that other retinoids should be evaluated as antitumor agents.

Many winegrape farmers have installed nest boxes to attract barn owls to manage rodent pests, but this prospect has not been rigorously examined. We provide a brief history and context of the use of, and research on, barn owl nest boxes in California vineyards, and we suggest six key research questions necessary to better evaluate the capacity for barn owls to help control rodent pests: 1) How and where should boxes be placed to enhance barn owl occupancy? 2) How much are owls hunting in vineyards versus surrounding habitat? 3) How many rodents do they remove from vineyards? 4) Do they remove enough to meaningfully reduce rodent numbers and decrease crop damage? 5) What can farmers do to maximize hunting on their vineyards? and 6) What factors influence farmers’ decisions to use or not use nest boxes? Some work has recently been aimed at questions 1-3, but additional work is needed to confirm and generalize those results, and questions 4-6 remain, to date, unanswered. We suggest a research agenda to help address those unmet needs and advance our understanding of the potential for and application of barn owl nest boxes for pest management in winegrape vineyards.