Depressive and anxiety symptoms among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

Introduction. This study was conducted on a population of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and was based on an assessment of the prevalence and severity of depression and anxiety symptoms in various clinical aspects. The psychological features of IBD patients are very important in the perception of symptoms, but crucial as triggers of IBD or as a releasing factor for IBD symptoms recurrence. Methods. The study included 130 patients with IBD, including 68 with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 62 with ulcerative colitis (UC). The severity of anxiety and depression symptoms were examined by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Patients were also subjected to assessment of anthropometric attributes, clinical factors, quality of life, and symptoms of the disease, with dedicated clinical scales. Results. The occurrence of significant symptoms of anxiety was estimated at 45.5% in patients with CD and 30.5% in the UC patients. Significant depressive symptoms related to 20.5% of people with CD and 17.5% of patients with UC. The parameters of anxiety and depression showed significant associations with parameters of quality of life, BMI, and the scales describing the exacerbation of the diseases. Conclusions. The analyses did not reveal significant differences in the severity and prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in subgroups with IBD. The expansion of relevant symptoms of anxiety and depression in this population was greater than in the general population. In addition, there was a significant correlation between parameters of HADS and clinical factors

Ductus venosus opens in high-risk pregnancies without signs of increased central venous pressure

Objectives: It has been belived that changes in diastolic blood velocities in the fetal ductus venosus were due to increased central venous pressure secondary to increased fetal heart strain during hypoxia or heart failure. There have been recent reports of changes in ductus venosus blood velocity without signs of increased fetal heart strain. The aim of this evaluation was to compare blood velocity in the right hepatic vein as a marker of increased central venous pressure in relationship to changes in ductus venosus blood velocity. Material and methods: Fifty pregnancies suspected of fetal growth resitriction were evaluated by Doppler ultrasound. Blood velocity was recorded in the right hepatic vein, ducus venosus and in the umbilical vein. Placental blood flow was also recorded in the uterine and umbilical arteries as well as the fetal middle cerebral artery. Results: Increased umbilical artery pulsatility index was recorded in 19 fetuses and 20 has signes of brain sparing according to recordings in the middle cerebral artery. Abnormal blood velocity in the ductus venosus was recorded in 5 fetuses, none of these fetuses had an abnormal pulsatility in the right hepatic vein. Conclusions: Opening of the ductus venosus is not only related to fetal cardiac strain. This might indicate that the ductus venosus does not primarily open due to increased central venous pressure in moderate fetal hypoxia.  Increased fetal cardiac strain might be a late event in the process of chronic fetal hypoxia

The Association Between Affective Temperament Traits and Dopamine Genes in Obese Population

Studies indicate the heritable nature of affective temperament, which shows personality traits predisposing to the development of mental disorders. Dopaminergic gene polymorphisms such as DRD4, COMTVal158Met, and DAT1 have been linked to affective disorders in obesity. Due to possible correlation between the aforementioned polymorphisms and the affective temperament, the aim of our research was to investigate this connection in an obese population. The study enrolled 245 obese patients (178 females; 67 males). The affective temperament was assessed using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A). Genetic polymorphisms of DAT1, COMTVal158Met and DRD4 were collected from peripheral blood sample and determined using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Only in COMT polymorphisms, the cyclothymic and irritable dimensions were significantly associated with Met/Val carriers (p = 0.04; p = 0.01). Another interesting finding was the correlation between the affective temperament and age in men and women. We assume that dopamine transmission in heterozygotes of COMT may determine the role of the affective temperament in obese persons. Dopaminergic transmission modulated by COMT may be responsible for a greater temperament expression in obese individuals. To our knowledge, this is the first study describing the role of affective temperament in the obese population, but more research is needed in this regard