C-Reactive Protein/Albumin and Neutrophil/Albumin Ratios as Novel Inflammatory Markers in Patients with Schizophrenia

Objective Peripheral biomarker studies in schizophrenia are insufficient to correspond to whether inflammatory markers are trait- or state-related. The main objective of this study was to compare novel biomarkers C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), neutrophil/albtunin ratio (NAR), and complete blood count-derived inflammatory markers; neutrophilnymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR), red-cell distribution width (RDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV) between patients with acutely exacerbated and remitted schizophrenia and healthy controls

Bipolar disorder with Marfan syndrome: a case illustration based on possible involvement of TGF-β1 in the common etiopathogenesis

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is mainly characterized by the pathological connective tissue. The mutant fibrillin protein in MFS misleads the constitutive pathways of various tissues through inappropriate transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signalling. Bipolar disorder (BPD) is believed to arise as a result of impaired synaptic modulation and neural plasticity in crucial pathways that mediate cognition and affection. TGF-β was linked with neurogenesis and developmental neural remodelling. Altered TGF-β functions with pleiotropic effects to the brain could increase susceptibility to psychiatric disorders such as BPD. Disrupted circuits of molecular signalling chains cause improper synapse formation, synaptic transmission, and synaptic plasticity that ultimately may end up with BPD. Here, we report a 26-year-old male who was diagnosed with MFS and BPD. This case report aimed to argue probable impaired neuroprotective mechanisms which may lead to such comorbidity. We may inspire later studies on possible shared etiopathogenesis via defective microfibrillar proteins of both disorders

Polysubstance use disorder as a probable self-medication in Isaacs’ syndrome

Isaacs’ syndrome (IS) is an autoimmunological hyperexcitability syndrome of the peripheral motor nerves, manifesting with progressive muscle stiffness, involuntary continuous muscle twitching, muscle pain and cramping, sweating, and decreased reflexes. We report a 31-year-old man who was suffering from muscle twitches and stiffness in lower extremities and previously diagnosed with IS in his age of 16 through electrophysiological studies and the shown presence of autoantibodies against voltage-gated potassium channels. Without any adherence to the prescribed treatment, he had been using synthetic cannabinoids and opioids for 10 years. He admitted lessened complaints by using them. Current literature offered cannabinoid receptor agonists not only for symptomatic relief in IS, but also potential modulator effects on both potassium channels and autoimmunity. Opioids were also recognized with their analgesic and antispastic effects in the management of IS. This report aimed to discuss possible medicinal effects and therapeutic mechanisms of aforementioned psychoactive molecules on the symptomatology of IS