Search

Hitoshi Takahashi,1 Hisashi Higuchi,2 Kazuhiro Sato,3 Mitsuhiro Kamata,3 Keizo Yoshida,4 Katsuji Nishimura1 1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Tokyo Women’s Medical University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, 2Suzuki Jikoh Hospital, Ome-shi, Tokyo, 3Akita Kaiseikai Hospital, Akita-shi, 4Health Care Promotion Division, DENSO Corporation, Kariya-shi, Aichi, Japan Objective: We investigated the association between serotonin- or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-related gene polymorphisms and response to antidepressant treatment in a specific symptom cluster of major depression by using the three-factor model of the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), ie, dysphoria (items of sadness, pessimistic thoughts, and suicidal thoughts), retardation (items of lassitude, inability to feel, apparent sadness, and concentration difficulties), and vegetative symptoms (items of reduced sleep, reduced appetite, and inner tension). Methods: This study was an open-label and nonrandomized trial. A total of 160 patients with baseline MADRS scores of ≥21, who were treated with fluvoxamine or milnacipran for 6 weeks, were included in the statistical analysis. Polymorphisms within a 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), a variable number of tandem repeats in the second intron of the 5-HTT gene (5-HTTVNTR), and 5HT2A receptor (1438G/A) were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: The 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms affected the MADRS score change in dysphoria, but not in retardation, vegetative, or total symptoms. Dysphoria scores significantly decreased in patients with the S/S genotype compared to those in patients with the short (S)/long (L) + L/L genotype. However, 5-HTTVNTR and 1438G/A polymorphisms were not significantly associated with the treatment response to any cluster of depressive symptoms. When a Bonferroni correction was made, however, our results did not reach the criteria for statistical significance. Conclusion: The use of a single total depression rating scale may not be sufficient to accurately estimate the clinical response to antidepressants. Analyzing a subset of symptoms in psychological scales could be important when performing pharmacogenetic studies. Keywords: serotonin transporter polymorphism, dysphoria score, antidepressants, MADRS

Keiichiro Tominaga¹, Mioto Okazaki¹, Hisashi Higuchi¹, Itaru Utagawa¹, Etsuko Nakamura², Noboru Yamaguchi¹¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, St Marianna University School of Medicine, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa, ²Tsurukawa Sanatorium Hospital, Machida City, Tokyo, JapanBackground: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been used for treatment-resistant depression. However, predictors of response to ECT have not been adequately studied using the Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, especially in older patients with treatment-resistant depression.Methods: This study included 18 Japanese patients who fulfilled the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision criteria for a diagnosis of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder with a current major depressive episode, and met the definition of treatment-resistant depression outlined by Thase and Rush, scoring ≥21 on the Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. The three-factor model of the Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale was used for analysis. Factor 1 was defined by three items, factor 2 by four items, and factor 3 by three items, representing dysphoria, retardation, and vegetative symptoms, respectively. ECT was performed twice a week for a total of six sessions using a Thymatron System IV device with the brief pulse technique. Clinical responses were defined on the basis of a ≥50% decrease in total pretreatment Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores.Results: The mean pretreatment factor 2 score for responders (n = 7) was significantly lower than that for nonresponders (n = 11). Furthermore, a significant difference in mean factor 3 score between responders and nonresponders was observed one week after six sessions of ECT, indicating a time lag of response. No significant differences were observed for age, number of previous episodes, and duration of the current episode between responders and nonresponders.Conclusion: This study suggests that a low pretreatment factor 2 score is a good predictor of response to ECT in older patients with major depression.Keywords: factor analysis, electroconvulsive therapy, refractory depression, Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, predictors of response

The demand for chemical fertilizers in Bangladesh is increasing by the day. Seaweed extracts are high in a variety of bioactive substances that can be used as a biostimulant as an alternative to agricultural plants. To assess the impact of foliar spraying of red seaweed (Gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui) extracts at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% concentrationsin comparison to the control condition (water spray only) and soil application of recommended doses of fertilizer (RDF) as basal on growth, chlorophyll and yield of mungbean variety BU mug5, a pot experiment was conducted at the Department of Agronomy, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur, Bangladesh during Kharif-1 season (March to May 2021). Seven (7) treatments: T1 - Control (foliar spray using water), T2 - Recommended doses of fertilizers (RDF) as basal, T3 - Foliar spray of 5% seaweed extracts, T4 - Foliar spray of 10% seaweed extracts, T5 - Foliar spray of 15% seaweed extracts, T6 - Foliar spray of 20% seaweed extracts and T7 - Foliar spray of 25% seaweed extracts were imposed following completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The results revealed that seaweed liquid fertilizer at 20% concentration increased leaf area, total dry matter and chlorophyll (SPAD value) by 25.00, 40.21 and 9.11% over the control and 15.42, 8.27 and 2.08% compared to RDF, respectively. Seed yield increased by 93.14% when compared to a control with 20% seaweed foliar spray, and by 9.04%, when compared to RDF. Foliar application of 20% seaweed liquid fertilizer performed best among the treatments in terms of mungbean growth and yield, according to findings of the experiment. The results of this study suggest that red seaweed extracts from Gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui may be used as a fertilizer to reduce the chemical fertilizer to boost mungbean yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracellular theology is a useful probe of the mechanisms underlying spontaneous or chemotactic locomotion and transcellular migration of leukocytes. We characterized regional rheological differences between the leading, body, and trailing regions of isolated, adherent, and spontaneously locomoting human neutrophils. We optically trapped intracellular granules and measured their displacement for 500 ms after a 100-nm step change in the trap position. Results were analyzed in terms of simple viscoelasticity and with the use of structural damping (stress relaxation follows a power law in time). Structural damping fit the data better than did viscoelasticity. Regional viscoelastic stiffness and viscosity or structural damping storage and loss moduli were all significantly lower in leading regions than in pooled body and/or trailing regions (the latter were not significantly different). Structural damping showed similar levels of elastic and dissipative stresses in body and/or trailing regions; leading regions were significantly more fluidlike (increased power law exponent). Cytoskeletal disruption with cytochalasin D or nocodazole made body and/or trailing regions ~50% less elastic and less viscous. Cytochalasin D completely suppressed pseudopodial formation and locomotion; nocodazole had no effect on leading regions. Neither drug changed the dissipation-storage energy ratio, These results differ from those of studies of neutrophils and other cell types probed at the cell membrane via [[beta].sub.2]-integrin receptors, which suggests a distinct role for the cell cortex or focal adhesion complexes. We conclude that 1) structural damping well describes intracellular rheology, and 2) while not conclusive, the significantly more fluidlike behavior of the leading edge supports the idea that intracellular pressure may be the origin of motive force in neutrophil locomotion. structural damping; power law; viscoelasticity; optical trap