The patient was an 18-year-old man who developed nephrotic syndrome after a 'wheat spider' bite (Latrodectus mactans). Due to this atypical manifestation of latrodectism, a renal biopsy was performed showing minimal change disease. The nephrotic syndrome subsided after 1 week without specific treatment. This self-limited evolution suggests that the mechanism of podocyte damage was temporary and...

BACKGROUND Evidence from animal and human studies imply the amygdala as the most critical structure involved in processing of fear-relevant stimuli. In phobias, the amygdala seems to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis and maintenance of the disorder. However, the neuropathology of specific phobias remains poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated whether patients with spider...

Disgust sensitivity and concern with contamination have been frequently associated with Spider and Blood-Injection-Injury (BII) Phobias. This study assessed the domain specificity of disgust sensitivity and concern with contamination in 29 Non-Phobic Controls, 25 clinical Spider Phobics, 26 clinical BII Phobics, and 27 persons who met clinical criteria for Spider Phobia and BII Phobia. On self-...

Vision is the key sensory system in humans, leading to the implicit assumption that the acquisition of spider phobia is predominantly mediated through the visual pathway. We report on a congenitally blind person with spider phobia, showing that the acquisition of spider phobia does not necessarily depend on visual cues.

This article is a case study of a patient cared for in the hours before her death. After the patient's death, we learned the patient died of a black widow spider bite. This article sheds light on the potential seriousness of this venom and allows for more rapid detection and treatment of those who are unfortunate enough to be bitten. The authors have documented the sequence of events for the pa...

BACKGROUND Lymphangitic streaking, characterized by linear erythema on the skin, is most commonly observed in the setting of bacterial infection. However, a number of nonbacterial causes can result in lymphangitic streaking. We sought to elucidate the nonbacterial causes of lymphangitic streaking that may mimic bacterial infection to broaden clinicians' differential diagnosis for patients prese...

1. Correlated individual differences in behaviour across ecological contexts, or behavioural syndromes, can theoretically constrain individuals’ ability to optimally adjust their behaviour for specific contexts. 2. Female Anelosimus studiosus exhibit a unique behavioural polymorphism: ‘social’ females are tolerant of conspecifics and aggregate in multi-female colonies, while ‘solitary’ females ...

Empirical research has demonstrated the existence of attentional biases towards threat in anxiety disorders. Paradigms commonly used to assess attentional biases have failed to demonstrate consistent findings as well as reveal the specific features of attentional biases. The current study investigated the utility of the rapid serial visual presentation paradigm in assessing attentional biases a...

In the United States, Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of skin and soft tissue infections. Methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is resistant to ßlactam antibiotics, including penicillinase-resistant penicillins (methicillin, oxacillin, nafcillin) and cephalosporins, and has long been a recognized pathogen among hospitalized patients and persons with certain healthcare...

A growing body of research has revealed that labeling an emotion, or putting one's feelings into words, can help to downregulate that affect, as occurs with intentional forms of emotion regulation, such as reappraisal and distraction. We translated this basic research to a real-world clinical context, in which spider-fearful individuals were repeatedly exposed to a live spider. Using a between-...