Evaluaton of regional cerebral blood flow alterations by limbic activation in patients with schizophrenia

The aim of study is to evaluate the functions of limbic system in schizophrenia by performing procaine administration and using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). 22 patients and 19 controls were included in the study. Patients were evaluated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A), Calgary Depression Rating Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the controls were evaluated with BPRS, HAM-D and HAM-A. The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) values were measured by SPECT. The rCBF following placebo and the alteration ratios of the rCBF following procaine of patients compared to controls. The rCBF following placebo in bilateral frontal, bilateral superior temporal, bilateral parahippocampus, thalamus, insula and alteration ratios of rCBF following procaine in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and left thalamus of patients were lower. Poor limbic activation to procaine was observed in the ACC and left thalamus of patients with schizophrenia. These findings support that the ACC and thalamus are crucial role in pathophysiology of schizophrenia. [Med-Science 2018; 7(3.000): 645-50

White matter characteristics in the early and late stages of bipolar disorder: A diffusion tensor imaging study

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by recurrent mood episodes that may progress over time. Staging models may be used to follow the long-term course of BD. BD is associated with microstructural changes in white matter (WM). This study aims to compare the WM integrity within patients groups who are in different stages of BD and healthy controls and investigate whether WM integrity changes may be a biomarker that can be used in the clinical staging of BD. Methods: The study sample included euthymic 54 patients diagnosed with BD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) and 27 healthy volunteers. Early-stage patients (n = 26) were determined as patients who have not had any mood episodes after the first manic episode, and late-stage patients (n = 28) determined as patients with recurrent mood episodes. MRI was performed using a 1.5 Tesla MR system and DTI sequences were acquired. Results: Region of interest (ROI) analyses showed that late-stage patients had significantly reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right sagittal stratum and genu of the corpus callosum compared with healthy controls and early-stage patients. Regression models show that corpus callosum genu and right sagittal stratum FA values are predictive for the late-stage patient group. Limitations: There are some limitations of the ROI method. The cross-sectional design is another limitation of this study. Conclusions: WM integrity of corpus callosum genu and right sagittal stratum may be a biomarker for clinical staging of BD. Identifying stage-specific biomarkers may help us predict the neuroprogressive course of BD. Longitudinal studies would be required to detect stage-specific biomarkers

Plasma 8-Isopgf2 Alpha and Serum Melatonin Levels in Patients with Minimal Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer Disease

Background/aim: F2 alpha-isoprostane is accepted as an oxidative stress indicator and melatonin shows neuroprotective effects by antioxidative and antiamyloidogenic influences. By measuring these in patients diagnosed with minimal cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer-type dementia, we intended to demonstrate whether the measurement of these markers contributes to early diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) in the MCI stage or not. Materials and methods: Three groups (n = 63) were created: the AD group, MCI group, and control group. Serum melatonin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay method, and plasma total 8-isoPGF2 alpha levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay method. Results: Significant differences were observed in the melatonin levels between the MCI group and AD group (P = 0.009), and in 8-isoPGF2 alpha levels between the AD group and control group (P = 0.022). A negative correlation between mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores and 8-isoPGF2 alpha levels (r = -0.459, P < 0.001) and positive correlation between MMSE scores and melatonin levels (r = 0.317, P = 0.011) were found. Conclusion: Although the plasma 8-isoPGF2 alpha and serum melatonin levels in MCI were not found to be good early diagnostic markers to indicate risk of AD, results were found to support the role of oxidative stress in AD.WoSScopu