Pancreatic panniculitis associated with allograft pancreatitis and rejection in a simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipient

Pancreatic panniculitis is an uncommon condition that can occur in association with pancreatic disease. We present a case of pancreatic panniculitis in a female pancreas-kidney transplant recipient 5 months post-transplant. The patient was on standard immunosuppressive medications and had acute rejection of her renal allograft. The diagnosis of allograft pancreatitis and rejection presenting with pancreatic panniculitis was supported clinically, histopathologically and by laboratory and imaging data. This is the fourth case of pancreatic panniculitis occurring in a transplant recipient and the first in a simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipient. It is also the first case associated with allograft rejection. Clinicians should be aware that pancreatic panniculitis may be a manifestation of underlying allograft pancreatic disease.

Factors predicting PTSD, depression, and dissociative severity in female treatment-seeking childhood sexual abuse survivors

OBJECTIVE

Two main questions were asked: (1) what abuse characteristics relate to PTSD, depressive, and dissociative severity in adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA); and (2) what abuse characteristics influence the severity of dissociation during CSA.

METHOD

89 female CSA survivors' current symptoms of PTSD, depression, and dissociation were assessed with standardized measures. Additionally, abuse characteristics (e.g., age of onset, peritraumatic dissociation) were assessed with a structured interview.

RESULTS

Correlational analyses indicated that peritraumatic dissociation was most strongly related to all three types of symptom severity. Additional posthoc correlational analyses revealed that women who experienced penile penetration, believed someone/thing else would be killed, and/or were injured as a result of the abuse exhibited more severe peritraumatic dissociation. Regression analyses indicated that peritraumatic dissociation was the only variable to significantly predict symptom severity across symptom type or disorder. Furthermore, different abuse characteristics predicted adult symptom severity and peritraumatic dissociation.

CONCLUSIONS

The relation between peritraumatic dissociation and adult symptomatology was most intriguing and has two main clinical implications: (1) teaching engagement strategies to some CSA survivors in hopes of containing dissociative symptoms immediately following the abuse and (2) the inclusion of exposure-based interventions in the treatment of some adult CSA survivors where indicated.

Chronic life stress alters sympathetic, neuroendocrine, and immune responsivity to an acute psychological stressor in humans

OBJECTIVE

Life stress is hypothesized to alter the dynamic regulation of the autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune systems. This study examined the effects of antecedent chronic life stress on psychological and physiological responsivity after acute challenge with a psychological stressor.

METHOD

Using a within-subject mixed design, male volunteers with (N = 12) and without chronic life stress (N = 11) were administered a 12-minute laboratory stressor (mental arithmetic) vs a video control.

RESULTS

Acute psychological stress induced subjective distress, increases of circulating concentrations of epinephrine, norepinephrine, beta-endorphin, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and cortisol, and a selective redistribution of natural killer (NK) cells into the peripheral blood as compared with the video control condition. Although the two groups were almost identical at baseline in psychological, sympathetic, neuroendocrine, and immune domains, the chronic stress group showed greater subjective distress, higher peak levels of epinephrine, lower peak levels of beta-endorphin and of NK cell lysis, and a more pronounced redistribution of NK cells in response to the acute psychological challenge than the controls. Furthermore, the acute stressor induced a protracted decline in NK lysis per NK cell in the chronic stress group but had no effect in the controls.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, when persons who are undergoing chronic life stress are confronted with an acute psychological challenge, an exaggerated psychologic and peak sympathomedullary reactivity occurs that is associated with decrements in individual NK cell function and is protracted beyond termination of the stressor and sympathomedullary recovery.