Non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis: the goal or own goal?

Non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis: the goal or own goal?

Laparoscopy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of endometriosis. Although some forms of the disease, such as ovarian endometriomas or deep infiltrating lesions, can now be reliably diagnosed using non-invasive instruments, adhesions and superficial implants cannot be identified without surgery. Identification of these latter forms of the disease has been the main rationale for claiming the ...

Fitness : Goal or Grail ?

THE author of this column is a layman in the area of physical fitness and health, although he did play touch foot ball as a youngster and still plays a rough game of volleyball each week. This latter endeavor, he is convinced, is an out growth of the impact of the culture as well as an expanding waistline. He seeks physical fitness though he often feels like either a knight seeking the Holy Gra...

Non-conscious goal conflicts

Invasive or non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis?

About 40 years ago, invasive prenatal diagnosis techniques were introduced in obstetrics. Initially, amniocentesis was performed followed by placentacentesis, fetoscopy, fetal blood sampling (FBS), and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). These procedures, while invading the uterine environment, have made it possible to proceed with the retrieval of biological tissue of fetal origin for analysis an...

Appetitive and Defensive Motivation: Goal-Directed or Goal-Determined?

Our view is that fundamental appetitive and defensive motivation systems evolved to mediate a complex array of adaptive behaviors that support the organism's drive to survive-defending against threat and securing resources. Activation of these motive systems engages processes that facilitate attention allocation, information intake, sympathetic arousal, and, depending on context, will prompt ta...