Individual differences in the variance of event-related potential (ERP) slow wave (SW) measures were examined. SW was recorded at prefrontal and parietal sites during memory and sensory trials of a ...delayed-response task in 391 adolescent twin pairs. Familial resemblance was identified and there was a strong suggestion of genetic influence. A common genetic factor influencing memory and sensory SW was identified at the prefrontal site (accounting for an estimated 35%-37% of the reliable variance) and at the parietal site (51%-52% of the reliable variance). Remaining reliable variance was influenced by unique environmental factors. Measurement error accounted for 24% to 30% of the total variance of each variable. The results show genetic independence for recording site, but not trial type, and suggest that the genetic factors identified relate more directly to brain structures, as defined by the cognitive functions they support, than to the cognitive networks that link them.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
This study considers the interrelationships among coping, conflictual social interactions, and social support, as well as their combined associations with positive and negative mood. Research has ...shown that each of these variables affects adjustment to stressful circumstances. Few studies, however, examine this full set of variables simultaneously. One hundred forty HIV‐infected persons completed a questionnaire containing measures of coping, social support, conflictual social interactions, and positive and negative mood. Factor analyses showed that perceived social support and conflictual social interactions formed separate factors and were not strongly related. Compared to perceived social support, social conflict was more strongly related to coping behaviors, especially to social isolation, anger, and wishful thinking. Conflictual social interactions were more strongly related to negative mood than was perceived social support. Coping by withdrawing socially was significantly related to less positive and greater negative mood. The findings point to the importance of simultaneously considering coping, supportive relationships, and conflictual relationships in studies of adjustment to chronic illness. In particular, a dynamic may occur in which conflictual social interactions and social isolation aggravate each other and result in escalating psychological distress.
To compare paroxetine with placebo and imipramine with placebo for the treatment of adolescent depression.
After a 7- to 14-day screening period, 275 adolescents with major depression began 8 weeks ...of double-blind paroxetine (20-40 mg), imipramine (gradual upward titration to 200-300 mg), or placebo. The two primary outcome measures were endpoint response (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression HAM-D score < or = 8 or > or = 50% reduction in baseline HAM-D) and change from baseline HAM-D score. Other depression-related variables were (1) HAM-D depressed mood item; (2) depression item of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for Adolescents-Lifetime version (K-SADS-L); (3) Clinical Global Impression (CGI) improvement scores of 1 or 2; (4) nine-item depression subscale of K-SADS-L; and (5) mean CGI improvement scores.
Paroxetine demonstrated significantly greater improvement compared with placebo in HAM-D total score < or = 8, HAM-D depressed mood item, K-SADS-L depressed mood item, and CGI score of 1 or 2. The response to imipramine was not significantly different from placebo for any measure. Neither paroxetine nor imipramine differed significantly from placebo on parent- or self-rating measures. Withdrawal rates for adverse effects were 9.7% and 6.9% for paroxetine and placebo, respectively. Of 31.5% of subjects stopping imipramine therapy because of adverse effects, nearly one third did so because of adverse cardiovascular effects.
Paroxetine is generally well tolerated and effective for major depression in adolescents.
Recent advances in MR diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) enable the identification of anisotropic white matter tracts with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We aimed to use a novel DTI technique to ...safely study patients with recent stroke in a high field (3 T) MR machine with its intrinsically higher spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. Of ten patients studied, six had disruption of white matter tracts as determined by DTI. A further patient had distortion of white matter tracts around an infarct rather than actual disruption of the tracts themselves. The lack of tract destruction may imply a beneficial prognosis, information that is not available with conventional DWI.
Aims
To identify changes in multidirectional strain and strain rate (SR) in patients with aortic stenosis (AS).
Methods and results
A total of 420 patients (age 66.1 ± 14.5 years, 60.7% men) with ...aortic sclerosis, mild, moderate, and severe AS with preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF), ≥50% were included. Multidirectional strain and SR imaging were performed by two-dimensional speckle tracking. Patients were more likely to be older (P < 0.001) and at a worse New York Heart Association functional class (P < 0.001) with increasing AS severity. There was a progressive stepwise impairment in longitudinal, circumferential, and radial strain and SR with increasing AS severity (all P < 0.001). The myocardial dysfunction appeared to start in the subendocardium with mild AS, to mid-wall dysfunction with moderate AS, and eventually transmural dysfunction with severe AS. Aortic valve area, as a measure of AS severity, was an independent determinant of multidirectional strain and SR on multiple linear regressions.
Conclusions
Patients with AS have evidence of subclinical myocardial dysfunction early in the disease process despite normal LVEF. The myocardial dysfunction appeared to start in the subendocardium and progressed to transmural dysfunction with increasing AS severity. Symptomatic moderate and severe AS patients had more impaired multidirectional myocardial functions compared with asymptomatic patients.
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and highly heritable neuropsychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 1%. Molecular genetic studies have identified the first BD susceptibility genes. ...However, the disease pathways remain largely unknown. Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs, a class of small noncoding RNAs, contribute to basic mechanisms underlying brain development and plasticity, suggesting their possible involvement in the pathogenesis of several psychiatric disorders, including BD. In the present study, gene-based analyses were performed for all known autosomal microRNAs using the largest genome-wide association data set of BD to date (9747 patients and 14 278 controls). Associated and brain-expressed microRNAs were then investigated in target gene and pathway analyses. Functional analyses of miR-499 and miR-708 were performed in rat hippocampal neurons. Ninety-eight of the six hundred nine investigated microRNAs showed nominally significant P-values, suggesting that BD-associated microRNAs might be enriched within known microRNA loci. After correction for multiple testing, nine microRNAs showed a significant association with BD. The most promising were miR-499, miR-708 and miR-1908. Target gene and pathway analyses revealed 18 significant canonical pathways, including brain development and neuron projection. For miR-499, four Bonferroni-corrected significant target genes were identified, including the genome-wide risk gene for psychiatric disorder CACNB2. First results of functional analyses in rat hippocampal neurons neither revealed nor excluded a major contribution of miR-499 or miR-708 to dendritic spine morphogenesis. The present results suggest that research is warranted to elucidate the precise involvement of microRNAs and their downstream pathways in BD.
Background
Largely unexplored, we investigated if lower lung function, impaired skin barrier function by transepidermal water loss (TEWL), eczema, and filaggrin (FLG) mutations in infancy were ...associated with asthma in early childhood.
Methods
From the factorially designed randomized controlled intervention study PreventADALL, we evaluated 1337/2394 children from all randomization groups with information on asthma at age 3 years, and at age 3 months either lung function, TEWL, eczema, and/or FLG mutations. Lower lung function was defined as the time to peak tidal expiratory flow to expiratory time (tPTEF/tE) <0.25, and skin barrier impairment as a high TEWL >9.50 g/m2/h. Eczema was clinically observed, and DNA genotyped for FLG mutations. Asthma was defined as asthma‐like symptoms (≥3 episodes of bronchial obstruction) between age 2–3 years as well as a history of doctor‐diagnosed asthma and/or asthma medication use. Associations were analyzed in logistic regression models, presented with adjusted ORs (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results
Lower lung function and skin barrier impairment were associated with asthma in general; aOR (95% CI) 5.4 (2.1, 13.7) and 1.6 (1.1, 2.5), while eczema and FLG mutations were associated with asthma in children with atopic dermatitis or allergic sensitization only. Stratifying for sex, the risk of asthma was only increased in boys with lower lung function; aOR (95% CI) 7.7 (2.5, 23.6), and in girls with FLG mutations; aOR (95% CI) 3.5 (1.5, 8.2).
Conclusion
Lower lung function and impaired skin barrier function in infancy may increase the risk of asthma at age 3 years.
In a large pediatric population from the factorially designed randomized controlled intervention study PreventADALL, we investigated if lower lung function, impaired skin barrier function by TEWL, eczema at age 3 months and FLG mutations were associated with asthma at age 3 years. Lower lung function and skin barrier impairment in infancy increased the risk of asthma in general. Stratifying for sex, the risk of asthma was only increased in boys with lower lung function. Eczema and FLG mutations were associated with asthma in children with AD or AS only.Abbreviations: AD, atopic dermatitis; AS, allergic sensitization; aOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; FLG, filaggrin; PreventADALL, Preventing Atopic Dermatitis and ALLergies in children; TEWL, transepidermal water loss.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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