Defensive Functioning of Individuals Diagnosed With Gender Dysphoria at the Beginning of Their Hormonal Treatment

Defense mechanisms are relevant indicators of psychological functioning and vulnerability to psychopathology. Their evaluation can unveil individuals' unconscious strategies for mediating reactions to emotional conflict and external stressors. At the beginning of their journey toward gender reassignment, individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria (GD) may experience conflict and stressful experiences that trigger a wide range of defense mechanisms. Mature defenses may strengthen these individuals as they travel along this important path, while neurotic and immature defenses may exacerbate their body dissatisfaction (BD) and hinder their processing of change. Only a few studies have investigated self-reported defensive functioning in transgender people, finding a higher frequency of maladaptive defense mechanisms relative to controls. The present study was the first to apply an in-depth clinician-rated tool to assess the entire hierarchy of defense mechanisms within a sample of transgender people. Defensive functioning and personality organization were assessed in 36 individuals diagnosed with GD (14 trans women, 22 trans men, mean age 23.47 years), using the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales (Perry, 1990) and the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 (Shedler et al., 2014). Body uneasiness was assessed using the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT; Cuzzolaro et al., 2006). The findings showed that defensive functioning correlated positively with healthy personality functioning and negatively with BD. Compared to cisgender controls, participants with GD who presented greater defensive functioning were found to be more immature and to demonstrate significant differences in many levels of functioning. The clinical implications of the results suggest that psychological interventions aimed at improving defensive functioning in individuals with GD will be important in helping them manage the challenges posed by their gender transition.

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Encapsulation and Ultrasound-Triggered Release of G-Quadruplex DNA in Multilayer Hydrogel Microcapsules

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym10121342 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1342 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Aaron Alford ◽

Brenna Tucker ◽

Veronika Kozlovskaya ◽

Jun Chen ◽

Nirzari Gupta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nucleic Acids ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

The Body ◽

Stimuli Responsive ◽

Triggered Release ◽

Quadruplex Dna ◽

Nucleic Acid Therapeutics ◽

Wide Range ◽

G Quadruplex ◽

Hydrogel Capsules

Nucleic acid therapeutics have the potential to be the most effective disease treatment strategy due to their intrinsic precision and selectivity for coding highly specific biological processes. However, freely administered nucleic acids of any type are quickly destroyed or rendered inert by a host of defense mechanisms in the body. In this work, we address the challenge of using nucleic acids as drugs by preparing stimuli responsive poly(methacrylic acid)/poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PMAA/PVPON)n multilayer hydrogel capsules loaded with ~7 kDa G-quadruplex DNA. The capsules are shown to release their DNA cargo on demand in response to both enzymatic and ultrasound (US)-triggered degradation. The unique structure adopted by the G-quadruplex is essential to its biological function and we show that the controlled release from the microcapsules preserves the basket conformation of the oligonucleotide used in our studies. We also show that the (PMAA/PVPON) multilayer hydrogel capsules can encapsulate and release ~450 kDa double stranded DNA. The encapsulation and release approaches for both oligonucleotides in multilayer hydrogel microcapsules developed here can be applied to create methodologies for new therapeutic strategies involving the controlled delivery of sensitive biomolecules. Our study provides a promising methodology for the design of effective carriers for DNA vaccines and medicines for a wide range of immunotherapies, cancer therapy and/or tissue regeneration therapies in the future.

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Gender Dysphoria, Eating Disorders and Body Image: An Overview

Endocrine Metabolic & Immune Disorders - Drug Targets ◽

10.2174/1871530319666191015193120 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 518-524 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Walter Milano ◽

Paola Ambrosio ◽

Francesa Carizzone ◽

Valeria De Biasio ◽

Giuseppina Foggia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Gender Identity ◽

Gender Dysphoria ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

The Body ◽

Prevention Measures ◽

Transgender People ◽

Effective Prevention ◽

Biological Sex ◽

And Gender

Background:: Gender dysphoria is a clinical condition in which a state of inner suffering, stress and anxiety is detected when biological sex and a person's gender identity do not coincide. People who identify themselves as transgender people are more vulnerable and may have higher rates of dissatisfaction with their bodies which are often associated with a disorderly diet in an attempt to change the bodily characteristics of the genus of birth and, conversely, to accentuate the characteristics of the desired sexual identity. Aim:: The purpose of this work is to examine the association between dissatisfaction with one's own body and eating and weight disorders in people with gender dysphoria. Results:: Gender dysphoria and eating disorders are characterized by a serious discomfort to the body and the body suffers in both conditions. The results of our study suggest that rates of pathological eating behaviors and symptoms related to a disordered diet are high in patients with gender dysphoria and that standard screening for these symptoms must be considered in both populations at the time of evaluation and during the course of the treatment. Conclusions:: In light of this evidence, clinicians should always investigate issues related to sexuality and gender identity in patients with eating disorders, to develop more effective prevention measures and better strategies for therapeutic intervention..

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Transgender embodiment: a feminist, situated neuroscience perspective

Journal of the International Network for Sexual Ethics & Politics ◽

10.3224/insep.si2020.04 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 56-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Reubs Walsh ◽

Gillian Einstein

Keyword(s):

Somatosensory Cortex ◽

Gender Dysphoria ◽

The Body ◽

Social Constructionist ◽

Individual Autonomy ◽

Medical Necessity ◽

Transgender People ◽

Sexual Identities ◽

Trans People ◽

Biomedical Interventions

The policing of boundaries of acceptable sexual identities and behaviour is a recurring theme in numerous marginalities. Gender (especially womanhood) is often instantiated socially through the harms to which members of that gender are subjected. For transgender people, the assumption that genitals define gender translates the ubiquitous misapprehension that genitals and sex are binary into an assumption that gender must also be binary. This circumscribes the potentiality of cultural intelligibility for trans gender identities, and may interfere with the ability of transgender people to select the most appropriate medical and social means of expressing their authentic identities, even altering what is possible or appropriate, thereby curtailing trans people’s authenticity and freedom. We therefore distinguish social from bodily aspects of gender dysphoria, proposing a model of their distinct, intersecting origins. We explore ways in which transgender medicine reflects aspects of other gendered surgeries, proposing a biopsychosocial understanding of embodiment, including influences of culture on the neurological representation of the body in the somatosensory cortex. This framework proposes that cultural cissexism, causes trans people to experience (neuro)physiological damage, creating or exacerbating the need for medical transition within a framework of individual autonomy. Our social-constructionist feminist neuroscientific account of gendered embodiment highlights the medical necessity of bodily autonomy for trans people seeking surgery or other biomedical interventions, and the ethical burden therein.

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Zen in Distress: Theorizing Gender Dysphoria and Traumatic Remembrance within Sōtō Zen Meditation

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel11110582 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 582

Author(s):

Ray Buckner

Keyword(s):

Gender Dysphoria ◽

The Body ◽

Transgender People ◽

Fundamental Nature ◽

Soto Zen ◽

Psychological Gender ◽

Meditation Experience

Gender dysphoria is considered a pronounced experience of distress in the bodies and minds of some transgender people. Examining the text Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryū Suzuki, I analyze some of the difficulties that may arise for transgender practitioners experiencing acutely strong gender dysphoria within the Sōtō Zen meditation experience. I seek to understand how physical and psychological gender distress may make concentration, and thereby realization, challenging and potentially harmful within a context of Sōtō Zen meditation. I consider how meditation can exacerbate the panic and traumatic remembrance of the body and mind, leading both to embodied struggles, as well as undoubtedly philosophical ones too. This paper theorizes gender dysphoria to exist beyond a state of unitary “distress” to include trauma. I put forward an understanding of gender dysphoria that is grounded in traumatic, gendered remembrances—what I call “sustained traumas.” Within the meditation experience, I argue trans, gender dysphoric people may experience heightened disconnect, separation, and deepening into their solid and suffering “self” rather than open to the fundamental nature of emptiness, non-duality, and an empty and move-able core. Ultimately, I argue meditation may lead to a deepening of traumatic remembrance, posing potential corporeal and philosophical problematics for gender dysphoric practitioners within Sōtō Zen meditation.

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Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Potential Antioxidant Defense Mechanisms of Myzus persicae in Response to UV-B Stress

10.21203/rs.2.18311/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Changli Yang ◽

Changyu Zhang ◽

Jianyu Meng ◽

Mengshuang Yao

Keyword(s):

Environmental Stress ◽

Myzus Persicae ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Light Emitting Diode ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Membrane Lipid ◽

The Body ◽

Ultraviolet B ◽

Wide Range

Abstract Background: As an environmental stress factor, ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation directly affects the growth and development of Myzus persicae. Excessive UV-B stress leads to DNA, membrane lipid, and protein damage by the production of reactive oxygen species. However, M. persicae can adaptively respond to such environmental stress by activating the relevant mechanisms in the body. How M. persicae responds to UV-B stress and the molecular mechanisms underlying this adaptation remain unknown. Results: Here, we compared and analyzed transcriptome data for M. persicae following exposure to a light-emitting diode fluorescent lamp and UV-B radiation for 30 min. We identified 758 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) following exposure to UV-B stress, including 423 upregulated and 335 downregulated genes. In addition, enrichment analysis using the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases illustrated that these DEGs are associated with antioxidation and detoxification, metabolic and protein turnover, immune response, and stress signal transduction. Simultaneously, these DEGs are closely related to the adaptability to UV-B stress.Conclusions: Our results suggest that UV-B stress is associated with a wide range of physiological effects in M. persicae. Our research can raise awareness of the mechanisms of insect responses to UV-B stress.

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Alterations in Body Uneasiness, Eating Attitudes, and Psychopathology Before and After Cross-Sex Hormonal Treatment in Patients with Female-to-Male Gender Dysphoria

Archives of Sexual Behavior ◽

10.1007/s10508-018-1189-4 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (8) ◽

pp. 2349-2361 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Şenol Turan ◽

Cana Aksoy Poyraz ◽

Nazife Gamze Usta Sağlam ◽

Ömer Faruk Demirel ◽

Özlem Haliloğlu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gender Dysphoria ◽

Hormonal Treatment ◽

Eating Attitudes ◽

Male Gender ◽

Before And After ◽

Body Uneasiness

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Assessing children’s defense mechanisms with the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales Q-sort for Children

Research in Psychotherapy Psychopathology Process and Outcome ◽

10.4081/ripppo.2021.590 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe ◽

Tracy A. Prout ◽

Lauren Ammar ◽

Thomas Kui ◽

Ciro Conversano

Keyword(s):

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Child Psychotherapy ◽

Self Report ◽

Ample Evidence ◽

Defensive Functioning ◽

Mental Health Literature ◽

The Individual ◽

Q Sort

Defense mechanisms are unconscious and automatic psychological processes that serve to protect the individual from painful emotions and thoughts. There is ample evidence from the adult psychotherapy and mental health literature suggesting the salience of defenses in the maintenance and amelioration of psychological distress. Although several tools for the assessment of children’s defenses exist, most rely on projective and self-report tools, and none are based on the empirically derived hierarchy of defenses. This paper outlines the development of the defense mechanisms rating scale Q-sort for children (DMRS-Q-C), a 60-item, observer-rated tool for coding the use of defenses in child psychotherapy sessions. Modifications to the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale Q-Sort for adults to create a developmentally relevant measure and the process by which expert child psychotherapists collaborated to develop the DMRS-Q-C are discussed. A clinical vignette describing the child’s defensive functioning as assessed by the innovative DMRS-Q-C method is also reported. Finally, we provide an overview of forthcoming research evaluating the validity of the DMRS-Q-C.

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Defense Mechanisms and Treatment Response in Depressed Inpatients

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633939 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Yves de Roten ◽

Slimane Djillali ◽

Fabienne Crettaz von Roten ◽

Jean-Nicolas Despland ◽

Gilles Ambresin

Keyword(s):

Treatment Response ◽

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Defense Mechanism ◽

Symptomatic Improvement ◽

Inpatient Setting ◽

Therapy Program ◽

Defensive Functioning

The study investigated the extent to which defensive functioning and defense mechanisms predict clinically meaningful symptomatic improvement within brief psychodynamic psychotherapy for recurrent and chronic depression in an inpatient setting. Treatment response was defined as a reduction in symptom severity of 46% or higher from the baseline score on the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). A subsample of 41 patients (19 responders and 22 non-responders) from an RCT was included. For each case, two sessions (the second and the penultimate) of brief inpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy (a manualized 12-session therapy program developed in Lausanne) were transcribed and then coded using the Defense Mechanism Rating Scales (DMRS) and the Psychotic Defense Mechanism Rating Scales (P-DMRS), an additional scale developed to study psychotic defenses. Results showed that defensive functioning and mature and immature defense changed during psychotherapy and predicted treatment response. Patient’s defenses observed throughout therapy also predicted treatment response at 12-month follow-up. The addition of psychotic defenses allows a better prediction of the treatment response. Overall, these results are in line with previous research and provide further validation of defensive functioning as a predictor of outcomes and a mechanism of change in psychotherapy.

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A short overview of vitamin C and selected cells of the immune system

Open Medicine ◽

10.2478/s11536-010-0066-x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Voja Pavlovic ◽

M. Sarac

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Vitamin C ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

The Body ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Toxicological Effects ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Wide Range ◽

Vitamin C Supplementation

AbstractVitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential water-soluble nutrient that primarily exerts its effect on a host defense mechanisms and immune homeostasis and is the most important physiological antioxidant. Stable intake of vitamin C is essential for life in humans because the body does not synthesize it. Even the numerous studies have demonstrated that vitamin C supplementation stimulates the immune system, prevents DNA damage and significantly decreases the risk of a wide range of pathologies; the potential protective mechanisms are still largely unknown. This review summarizes the recently known facts about the role of vitamin C on the selected cells of the immune system and potential molecular mechanisms involved. Further, in this review, many new data about the positive effects of vitamin C on the immune system, potential toxicological effects, vitamin C supplementation in disease development, as well as some proposed mechanisms of vitamin C activity, are discussed.

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