Perceived discrimination is associated with severity of positive and depression/anxiety symptoms in immigrants with psychosis: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Immigration status is a significant risk factor for psychotic disorders, and a number of studies have reported more severe positive and affective symptoms among immigrant and ethnic minority groups. We investigated if perceived discrimination was associated with the severity of these symptoms among immigrants in Norway with psychotic disorders.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional analyses of 90 immigrant patients (66% first-generation, 68% from Asia/Africa) in treatment for psychotic disorders were assessed for DSM-IV diagnoses with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID-I, sections A-E) and for present symptom severity by The Structured Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (SCI-PANSS). Perceived discrimination was assessed by a self-report questionnaire developed for the Immigrant Youth in Cultural Transition Study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Perceived discrimination correlated with positive psychotic (r = 0.264, p < 0.05) and depression/anxiety symptoms (r = 0.282, p < 0.01), but not negative, cognitive, or excitement symptoms. Perceived discrimination also functioned as a partial mediator for symptom severity in African immigrants. Multiple linear regression analyses controlling for possible confounders revealed that perceived discrimination explained approximately 10% of the variance in positive and depression/anxiety symptoms in the statistical model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Among immigrants with psychotic disorders, visible minority status was associated with perceived discrimination and with more severe positive and depression/anxiety symptoms. These results suggest that context-specific stressful environmental factors influence specific symptom patterns and severity. This has important implications for preventive strategies and treatment of this vulnerable patient group.</p

The impact of immigration and visible minority status on psychosis symptom profile

Purpose Immigrants have heightened risks of psychotic disorders, and it is proposed that migration influences symptom profiles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if either migration experience and/or visible minority status affected symptom profiles, using a cross-culturally validated five-factor model of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), in patients with broadly defined psychotic disorders. Methods PANSS was assessed in a large catchment area based sample of patients with psychotic disorders verified with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (n = 1,081). Symptom profiles based on Wallwork et al. five-factor model were compared for Norwegians (73 %), white immigrants (10.5 %), and visible minority groups (16.5 %). Results Visible minorities were significantly younger, had less education, more often a schizophrenia diagnosis and higher PANSS positive, negative and disorganized/concrete factor scores than Norwegians and white immigrants. After controlling for confounders only the items “Delusions” and “Difficulty in abstract thinking” differed between groups. Multivariate analyses indicated that these items were not associated with immigration per se, but rather belonging to a visible minority. Conclusion We found mostly similarities in psychotic symptoms between immigrants and Norwegians when using a cross-culturally validated five-factor model of the PANSS. Immigration did not directly influence psychotic symptom profiles but visible minority groups had higher levels of “Delusions” and “Difficulty in abstract thinking”, both symptoms that are partially context dependent. The final publication is available at Springer

Evidence for an age progression along the Tristan-Gough volcanic track from new 40Ar/39Ar ages on phenocryst phases

Age progressive hotspot chains are commonly believed to form by decompression melting as the lithosphere moves over a mantle plume. The Tristan-Gough volcanic track in the South Atlantic, composed of the Walvis aseismic ridge and the associated Guyot Province, extends from the Etendeka continental flood basalts (CFBs) in Namibia to the volcanically active islands of Tristan da Cunha and Gough. Here we present new laser step-heating 40Ar/39Ar ages of mineral separates from samples from the Tristan-Gough volcanic track and the Rio Grande Rise. The 40Ar/39Ar ages have primarily been determined on feldspar crystals, but also on biotite crystals (one sample) and whole rock chips (one sample). Our data indicate a younging age progression from the Etendeka CFBs to Tristan da Cunha and Gough. The ages range from 114 Ma at the northeastern end to 58–72 Ma for DSDP Sites 525A and 528 at the southwestern end of the Walvis Ridge, to 27–49 Ma for the Guyot Province and to 80–87 Ma for the Rio Grande Rise, which is believed to represent the counterpart of the Walvis Ridge on the South American Plate. We also found anomalously young (late-stage) volcanism on the Walvis Ridge (~ 55 Ma) and the Rio Grande Rise (~ 46 Ma), which, like late-stage volcanism on other hotspot tracks, represents more silica-undersaturated compositions than the main “shield stage” tholeiitic volcanism. Combining our new ages with published ages for the Etendeka CFBs yields a general volcanic migration rate of ~ 30 mm/a for the Tristan-Gough track assuming a constant velocity of the African Plate. Our new geochronological constraints for an age progression provide further support for a mantle plume origin of the Tristan-Gough track. Finally our new age data imply a faster volcanic migration rate for this hotspot track than previously published rates, which needs to be factored into plate tectonic reconstruction models

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Matrix-Immobilized BMP-2 on Microcontact Printed Fibronectin as an in vitro Tool to Study BMP-Mediated Signaling and Cell Migration

During development, growth factors (GFs) such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) exert important functions in several tissues by regulating signaling for cell differentiation and migration. In vivo, the extracellular matrix (ECM) not only provides support for adherent cells, but also acts as reservoir of GFs. Several constituents of the ECM provide adhesive cues, which serve as binding sites for cell trans-membrane receptors, such as integrins. In conveying adhesion-mediated signaling to the intracellular compartment, integrins do not function alone but rather crosstalk and cooperate with other receptors, such as GF receptors. Here, we present a strategy for the immobilization of BMP-2 onto cellular fibronectin (cFN), a key protein of the ECM, to investigate GF-mediated signaling and migration. Following biotinylation, BMP-2 was linked to biotinylated cFN using NeutrAvidin as cross-linker. Characterization with quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay confirmed the efficient immobilization of BMP-2 on cFN over a period of 24 h. To validate the bioactivity of matrix-immobilized BMP-2 (iBMP-2), we investigated short- and long-term responses of C2C12 myoblasts, which are an established in vitro model for BMP-2 signaling, in comparison to soluble BMP-2 (sBMP-2) or in absence of GFs. Similarly to sBMP-2, iBMP-2 triggered Smad 1/5 phosphorylation and translocation of the complex to the nucleus, corresponding to the activation of BMP-mediated Smad-dependent pathway. Additionally, successful suppression of myotube formation was observed after 6 days in sBMP-2 and iBMP-2. We next implemented this approach in the fabrication of cFN micropatterned stripes by soft lithography. These stripes allowed cell-surface interaction only on the patterned cFN, since the surface in between was passivated, thus serving as platform for studies on directed cell migration. During a 10-h observation time, the migratory behavior, especially the cells' net displacement, was increased in presence of BMP-2. As such, this versatile tool retains the bioactivity of GFs and allows the presentation of ECM adhesive cues

Phosphokinome Analysis of Barth Syndrome Lymphoblasts Identify Novel Targets in the Pathophysiology of the Disease

Barth Syndrome (BTHS) is a rare X-linked genetic disease in which the specific biochemical deficit is a reduction in the mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin (CL) as a result of a mutation in the CL transacylase tafazzin. We compared the phosphokinome profile in Epstein-Barr-virus-transformed lymphoblasts prepared from a BTHS patient with that of an age-matched control individual. As expected, mass spectrometry analysis revealed a significant (>90%) reduction in CL in BTHS lymphoblasts compared to controls. In addition, increased oxidized phosphatidylcholine (oxPC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) levels were observed in BTHS lymphoblasts compared to control. Given the broad shifts in metabolism associated with BTHS, we hypothesized that marked differences in posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation would be present in the lymphoblast cells of a BTHS patient. Phosphokinome analysis revealed striking differences in the phosphorylation levels of phosphoproteins in BTHS lymphoblasts compared to control cells. Some phosphorylated proteins, for example, adenosine monophosphate kinase, have been previously validated as bonafide modified phosphorylation targets observed in tafazzin deficiency or under conditions of reduced cellular CL. Thus, we report multiple novel phosphokinome targets in BTHS lymphoblasts and hypothesize that alteration in the phosphokinome profile may provide insight into the pathophysiology of BTHS and potential therapeutic targets.Medicine, Faculty ofNon UBCPathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department ofReviewedFacult

M. Los is supported by CRC “New Cancer Therapy Development ” program. Summary

Peptide-based approaches to treat asthma, arthritis, other autoimmune diseases and pathologies of the central nervous syste