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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 485-492 PubMed PMID: 18766161 Citation  Keywords:  Antipsychotic Agents:therapeutic use, Female, Humans, Male, Schizophrenia:blood, Serine:blood, Statistics as Topic,.   

OBJECTIVES: The main objective was to test the hypothesis of the association between D-serine serum levels and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Secondary objective was to examine the assumption of D-serine serum levels difference between a population of mostly chronic patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.

METHODS: We recruited outpatients with schizophrenia and age and gender matched healthy controls for the study. D-serine and total serine serum levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) were used to assess schizophrenic symptoms. Non-parametric statistics was used to test the differences in D-serine and total serine serum levels and rank correlation was used to detect the associations with psychopathology.

RESULTS: We did not find any differences between patients (n=50) and controls (n=50) in D-serine serum levels. Patients had significantly lower total serine serum levels and higher D-serine/total serine ratio. D-serine serum levels were not associated with the PANSS or the SANS total and subscales scores. Total se-rine serum levels inversely correlated with the SANS total and the PANSS negative symptom subscale scores.

CONCLUSION: Decreased, not increased, serum levels of total serine negatively associated with intensity of negative symptoms were detected in patients with schizophrenia. We did not find any relationship between D-serine serum levels and negative symptoms among the patients. These findings do not agree with the previous reports of decreased D-serine and increased total serine serum levels in schizophrenia....

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Case Reports 2008; 29(4): 431-434 PubMed PMID: 18766160 Citation  Keywords:  Brain:pathology, Calcinosis:complications, Calcium:metabolism, Dementia:etiology, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Movement Disorders:etiology, Syndrome,.   

: Fahr's disease is characterized by idiopathic calcification of the basal ganglia and other brain regions. Clinically it may be accompanied by extrapyramidal and behavioural disorders. In Fahr's syndrome, the same pathology is due to another well-defined disease. Calcium/phosphate metabolic disorders, e.g. hypoparathyroidism or pseudohyperparathyroidism, may be involved. Here, we report a case of 62-year-old man presenting with severe dementia but only mild movement disorders and mild calcium metabolism abnormalities. Extensive brain calcifications together with unevenly distributed perfusion on single photon emission tomography are documented....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 577-580 PubMed PMID: 18766159 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Cochlea:metabolism, Ear, Inner:anatomy & histology, Homeostasis, Mice, RNA, Messenger:metabolism, Rats, Receptors, Atrial Natriuretic Factor:genetics, Stria Vascularis:metabolism, Vestibule, Labyrinth:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether the atrial natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-A) is present in the secretory regions of the membrane labyrinth of the adult mouse inner ear.

SETTING: Recent studies have implied that the homeostasis of endolymph fluid in the inner ear may be regulated by receptor-mediated mechanisms. Several studies have identified the presence of atrial natriuretic peptide receptors in the inner ear of guinea pig and rat. As a member of the natriuretic peptide receptor family, which also includes B-type natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-B) and C-type natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-C), NPR-A may be involved in the regulation of fluid homeostasis in the inner ear.

METHODS: In this study, samples of stria vascularis, nonstrial tissue of the cochlear lateral wall and vestibular organ tissue from the ears of 6 adult mice were obtained by immediate excision of bony labyrinth under operating microscope after decapitation. Total RNA was isolated and mRNA was amplified by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using consensus primers flanking a region of 127 bp at the target sequence. Mouse renal cortex known to contain NPR-A was used as a positive control.

RESULTS: We demonstrated that NPR-A was expressed in the mouse stria vascularis as well as in the nonstrial tissue of the cochlear lateral wall and vestibular organ.

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that natriuretic peptides may play an important role in maintaining the fluid homeostasis of inner ear endolymph via interaction with NPR-A....

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Clinical Trial 2008; 29(4): 500-506 PubMed PMID: 18766158 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Antidepressive Agents:therapeutic use, Cognition:drug effects, Depressive Disorder, Major:drug therapy, Estradiol:blood, Female, Follicle Stimulating Hormone:blood, Humans, Korea, Luteinizing Hormone:blood, Menopause:psychology, Middle Aged, Postme.   

OBJECTIVES: A hypo-estrogenic status, as that occurring with menopause, has been proposed to negatively affect cognitive function in post-menopause women. Nevertheless, little is known about the improvement of cognitive functions during antidepressant treatment in post-menopausal women with major depressive disorder (MDD) and its relation with hormonal changes. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the role of menopausal status including the level of sex hormones on cognitive function during antidepressant treatment.

DESIGN AND SETTINGS: Thirty-nine female patients (n=17 in pre-menopause; n=22 in post-menopause) with MDD based on DSM-IV criteria and who were not on hormonal replacement therapies participated in a prospective, 6-week, open-label naturalistic study. All patients were recruited in a university-based hospital. The Hamilton rating scale for Depression (HAMD), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ) were administered at baseline, week 1, week 3, and week 6. Levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) were collected at baseline visit.

RESULTS: Cognitive functioning improved during antidepressant treatment in the overall sample (P=0.00001). In post-menopausal women, E2 levels were strongly correlated with CFQ scores at each measurement. After controlling for depression severity, E2 levels maintained a significant association with the baseline CFQ scores (regression analysis: beta= -0.55 P=0.010; correlation: R= -0.54). In addition, the reduction of CFQ scores during antidepressant treatment was significantly associated with E2 levels (P=0.021), independently from the improvement of depressive symptoms, which however had a strong effect (P=0.0003). Nevertheless, we failed to find any association of CFQ score with sex hormones in pre-menopausal women.

MAIN FINDINGS: In post-menopausal women, the CFQ scores were correlated with E2 levels and the reduction of CFQ score during antidepressant treatment was also dependent on E2 levels, even controlling for depressive symptoms severity.

CONCLUSION: The present study further supports a crucial role of E2 on the cognitive function in post-menopause women. Moreover, our results suggest that E2 may influence the improvement of cognitive function in post-menopause women with MDD, during treatment with antidepressants....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 405-409 PubMed PMID: 18766157 Citation  Keywords:  Autistic Disorder:physiopathology, Electroencephalography, Epilepsy:physiopathology, Humans,.   

: Autism is associated with a high frequency of epileptiform EEG abnormalities (prevalence range 10.3-72.4%) and epilepsy (prevalence range 0-44.5%). A significant subgroup of autistic children (20-49%) experience autistic regression. The relationship among EEG abnormalities, epilepsy, and regression in autistic patients is not yet well understood. In this review, the current knowledge of the relationship is summarized. The evidence from clinical studies does not support the view that EEG abnormalities play a role in autistic regression. The majority of studies also failed to find any significant relationship between epilepsy and autistic regression. However, some results indicated that the higher the prevalence of epilepsy in the sample, the greater the probability of there being a significant association between epilepsy and autistic regression. Further research on the topic is needed....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 552-557 PubMed PMID: 18766156 Citation  Keywords:  Analgesics, Opioid:agonists, Animals, Hyperalgesia:chemically induced, Male, Pain:chemically induced, Pain Threshold:drug effects, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Selenium Compounds:metabolism, Vincristine:adverse effects,.   

PURPOSE: Effect of organoselenium compound (selol), on antinociceptive action of opioid agonists in vincristine neuropathic pain model was investigated.

METHODS: The changes in pain thresholds were determined using mechanical stimuli--the modification of the classic paw withdrawal test described by Randall-Selitto.

RESULTS: Daily administration of VIN (70 microg/kg, iv) resulted in progressive decrease of pain threshold. Neither morphine, fentanyl nor buprenorphine administered alone in 5 consecutive days modified the vincristine-induced hyperalgesia, whereas selol slightly increased the nociceptive threshold. Co-administration of selol with opioids markedly enhanced the analgesic activity of all three investigated compounds.

CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, concomitant administration of selenium and opioids may be beneficial in terminal neoplastic states....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 438-442 PubMed PMID: 18766153 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Antibodies, Monoclonal:metabolism, Cerebral Ventricles:anatomy & histology, Choroid Plexus:cytology, Epithelial Cells:cytology, Female, Flow Cytometry, P-Glycoprotein:metabolism, Sheep,.   

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies in the female sheep have shown that photoperiod modulates the passage of sex steroids between the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and have suggested the involvement of efflux transport. The objective of the present work was to assess the presence of P-glycoprotein (Pgp), which could be responsible for this transport at the level of the choroid plexuses (CP).

METHODS: We used flow cytometry and the UIC2 monoclonal antibody against Pgp, to demonstrate the presence of Pgp in the epithelial cell fraction isolated from the sheep choroid plexuses (CPEC). Thanks to the size of the brain structures in sheep, we analyse separately the CP from 4th ventricle (4V) and the CP from the lateral ventricle (LV).

RESULTS: In the whole population isolated from the CP, the 4V contained a higher percentage of living, epithelial cells than the LV. The immunoreactive cells to the UIC2 antibody i.e. bearing activated form of Pgp, represented 26.8% of the CPEC in the 4V, and 39.3% in the LV (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Pgp is expressed in the CPEC from the sheep. Differences in the expression of Pgp between CPEC from LV and 4V might suggest in vivo functional differences between LV and 4V CP in sheep....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 410-420 PubMed PMID: 18766151 Citation  Keywords:  Alzheimer Disease:drug therapy, Amyloid beta-Peptides:metabolism, Animals, Anti-Inflammatory Agents:therapeutic use, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal:therapeutic use, Antioxidants:therapeutic use, Cannabinoids:therapeutic use, Glucocorticoids:thera.   

: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a serious neurodegenerative disease of aging. Recent projections of the dramatic increase in AD incidence worldwide by 2050 reveal its magnitude as a world-wide health crisis and underscore the urgent need to understand the etiology of AD in order to develop therapeutic interventions. A popular debate among scientists has traditionally pitted those in support of Beta amyloid protein as a causative factor ("Baptists") against others who implicate tau hyperphosphorylation ("Tauists"). Considering the significance of Beta amyloid protein and hyperphosphorlyated tau protein aggregates in AD pathology, this article delves into the nature of inflammation associated with these aggregates. Aspects of inflammation focus on microglia, resident immune cells of the CNS that are activated during AD inflammation and are known to play a significant role in pathogenesis. This article discusses the role of microglia, inflammation, and the immune response as a middle ground in the debate between the "Tauists" and the "Baptists" respective positions. It explores recent advances in immunotherapy and supports continued research in and use of immunosuppressive regimens as potential therapeutic interventions for AD....

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