Gene Expression Changes in the Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens of Mood Disorders Subjects That Committed Suicide

Suicidal behaviors are frequent in mood disorders patients but only a subset of them ever complete suicide. Understanding predisposing factors for suicidal behaviors in high risk populations is of major importance for the prevention and treatment of suicidal behaviors. The objective of this project was to investigate gene expression changes associated with suicide in brains of mood disorder patients by microarrays (Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus2.0) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC: 6 Non-suicides, 15 suicides), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC: 6NS, 9S) and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc: 8NS, 13S). ANCOVA was used to control for age, gender, pH and RNA degradation, with P≤0.01 and fold change±1.25 as criteria for significance. Pathway analysis revealed serotonergic signaling alterations in the DLPFC and glucocorticoid signaling alterations in the ACC and NAcc. The gene with the lowest p-value in the DLPFC was the 5-HT2A gene, previously associated both with suicide and mood disorders. In the ACC 6 metallothionein genes were down-regulated in suicide (MT1E, MT1F, MT1G, MT1H, MT1X, MT2A) and three were down-regulated in the NAcc (MT1F, MT1G, MT1H). Differential expression of selected genes was confirmed by qPCR, we confirmed the 5-HT2A alterations and the global down-regulation of members of the metallothionein subfamilies MT 1 and 2 in suicide completers. MTs 1 and 2 are neuro-protective following stress and glucocorticoid stimulations, suggesting that in suicide victims neuroprotective response to stress and cortisol may be diminished. Our results thus suggest that suicide-specific expression changes in mood disorders involve both glucocorticoids regulated metallothioneins and serotonergic signaling in different regions of the brain

The adolescent female athlete: current concepts and conundrums.

The adolescent female athlete has become a common part of the sports environment at all levels from childhood play to professional adult sports. This article considers various issues common to this athlete to help clinicians care for their patients. Basic sports physiology is reviewed and then specific conditions are considered, including iron deficiency anemia, stress urinary incontinence, breast issues (ie, pain, asymmetry, galactorrhea, injury), the female athlete triad (ie, menstrual dysfunction, abnormal eating patterns, and osteopenia or osteoporosis), and injuries. Clinical conundrums are considered including the difficulty in caring for a dedicated athlete whose intense love of her sport may lead to menstrual and bone loss complications. The knowledgeable clinician in the twenty-first century can be of considerable help to the female athlete who is at and beyond puberty

A Toy Model to Investigate Stability of AI‐Based Dynamical Systems

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