Regulation of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor-Binding Protein Expression in Amygdalar Neuronal Cultures

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73102/1/j.1365-2826.1999.00413.x.pd

Depressive symptoms and suicide in 56,000 older Chinese: a Hong Kong cohort study

Objective: To examine dose-response associations between depressive symptoms and suicide and modification effects of sex, age and health status in older Chinese. Methods: We used the Chinese version of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) to measure depressive symptoms (GDS score ≥ 8) and Cox regression to examine association with suicide mortality in a population-based cohort of 55,946 individuals, aged 65 years or above, enrolled from July 1998 to December 2000 at one of 18 Elderly Health Centres of Hong Kong Department of Health. The cohort was followed up for suicide mortality till 31 March 2009 (mean follow-up 8.7 years). Results: Depressive symptoms were associated with suicide in men [hazard ratio (HR) 2.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96-4.29] and women (HR = 2.36, 95% CI 1.31-4.24) after adjusting for age, education, monthly expenditure, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, body mass index, health status, and self-rated health. There was no threshold for GDS score and suicide in either sex. Age, sex and health status did not modify the association. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms predict higher suicide risk in older Chinese in a dose-response pattern. These associations were not attenuated by adjustment for health status, suggesting that depressive symptoms in older people are likely to be an independent causal factor for suicide. The GDS score showed no threshold in predicting suicide risk, suggesting that older people with low GDS scores deserve further attention and those with very high scores need urgent intervention. © 2011 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Qualité de vie, schizophrénie et avancée en âge

International audienceAu-delà de 65 ans, la prévalence de la schizophrénie est estimée entre 0,1 % et 0,5 %. La majorité des sujets âgés avec une schizophrénie ont développé la maladie avant l'âge de 45 ans et 85 % d'entre eux vivent dans la communauté. Alors que près d'une personne sur sept atteint de schizophrénie est âgée de 65 ans ou plus et que le nombre de sujets âgés avec une schizophrénie va croître considérablement dans les prochaines années, 1 % seulement de la littérature s'intéressant à la schizophrénie est dédiée aux questions en lien avec l'avancée en âge. La schizophrénie, véritable handicap psychique, a un retentissement important sur le fonctionnement global de la personne et en particulier sur sa qualité de vie (QDV). La QDV des sujets avec une schizophrénie est déterminée par de nombreux facteurs, et ne se limite pas seulement à la symptomatologie présentée par le patient

Exposure to an Antisense Oligonucleotide Decreases Corticotropin‐Releasing Factor Receptor Binding in Rat Pituitary Cultures

: Corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) appears to integrate the endocrine, autonomic, immunologic, and behavioral responses of mammals to stress. To investigate further the role of CRF in the CNS, we have begun investigating the usefulness of “antisense knockdown” strategies directed against the CRF receptor using rat anterior pituitary gland primary cell cultures. The 15‐mer antisense (5′ CTG‐CGG‐GCG‐CCG‐TCC 3′) and “scrambled” control (5′ CGT‐CCG‐CGC‐GCT‐GCG 3′) oligonucleotides were synthesized based on the rat CRF receptor sequence just downstream of the initiation codon. In each of four separate experiments, exposure to 10 µmol/L of antisense oligonucleotide for 40–67 h resulted in significant (17–36%) decreases in 125I‐ovine CRF binding to pituitary cells as compared with either control (no oligonucleotide) or 10 µmol/L of “scrambled” oligonucleotide. Moreover, compared with scrambled oligonucleotide, exposure to 10 µmol/L of antisense oligonucleotide, which produced a 22% decrease in CRF receptor binding, also resulted in a significant attenuation of the adrenocorticotrophic hormone response following a 30‐min challenge with 100 pmol/L of CRF. Thus, CRF receptor antisense oligonucleotides apparently reduce functional expression of CRF receptors. This technique may be useful in studying the kinetics of CRF receptor production and the physiological functions of CRF receptors within the CNS