Kaida Jiang

Decreased serum fibroblast growth factor - 2 levels in pre- and post-treatment patients with major depressive disorder.

Increasing evidence indicates that neurotrophic factor dysfunction might be involved in the pathophysiology and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2, one of the major neurotrophins, plays an important role in the central nervous system (CNS). The aim of this study was to explore whether the FGF-2 in serum was associated with MDD and to evaluate the effects of antidepressant treatment on serum FGF-2 levels. Serum FGF-2 levels were determined in 28 pre- and post-treatment MDD patients and 30 healthy controls using ELISA. The results of the current study revealed that serum FGF-2 levels in MDD patients were significantly lower than those in healthy controls (p=0.005), and the serum FGF-2 levels decreased significantly but marginally following treatment for 8 weeks (p=0.005). These findings demonstrate that the lower serum FGF-2 levels contribute to the pathophysiology of MDD and that FGF-2 may be used as a peripheral biological marker for MDD.

Nerve growth factor variations in patients with mood disorders: no changes in eight weeks of clinical treatment

Background Nerve growth factor (NGF) has received much attention for its role in mood disorders. The primary objective of the present study was to examine serum NGF levels in Chinese inpatients with depressive or manic episodes in the acute phase and to explore the changes in NGF levels after effective clinical treatments. Methods One hundred and seven consecutive inpatients and outpatients with mood disorders (30 with unipolar depression, 23 with bipolar depression, and 54 with bipolar mania), and 50 healthy controls were recruited. The serum NGF levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Patients with bipolar mania presented higher serum NGF levels compared to those of healthy controls. After 8 weeks of medical treatment, there were significant improvements in symptoms in patients, but no significant changes in NGF levels. Conclusion The present findings may help to strengthen and expand the understanding of the role of NGF in the acute stages of mood disorders.

Resting-state functional connectivity changes within the default mode network and the salience network after antipsychotic treatment in early-phase schizophrenia

Objective Abnormal resting-state functional connectivity (FC), particularly in the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN), has been reported in schizophrenia, but little is known about the effects of antipsychotics on these networks. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of atypical antipsychotics on DMN and SN and the relationship between these effects and symptom improvement in patients with schizophrenia. Methods This was a prospective study of 33 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and treated with antipsychotics at Shanghai Mental Health Center. Thirty-three healthy controls matched for age and gender were recruited. All subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Healthy controls were scanned only once; patients were scanned before and after 6–8 weeks of treatment. Results In the DMN, the patients exhibited increased FC after treatment in the right superior temporal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, and left superior frontal gyrus and decreased FC in the right posterior cingulate/precuneus (P<0.005). In the SN, the patients exhibited decreased FC in the right cerebellum anterior lobe and left insula (P<0.005). The FC in the right posterior cingulate/precuneus in the DMN negatively correlated with the difference between the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) score pre/post-treatment (r=−0.564, P=0.023) and negative trends with the difference in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score pre/post-treatment (r=−0.475, P=0.063) and the difference in PANSS-positive symptom scores (r=−0.481, P=0.060). Conclusion These findings suggest that atypical antipsychotics could regulate the FC of certain key brain regions within the DMN in early-phase schizophrenia, which might be related to symptom improvement. However, the effects of atypical antipsychotics on SN are less clear.

Correlation of social cognition and neurocognition on psychotic outcome: a naturalistic follow-up study of subjects with attenuated psychosis syndrome

Neurocognitive decline has been observed in patients with psychosis as well as attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS). We tested the hypothesis that APS increases dependence on neurocognition during the interpretation of others’ mental states and that a combination index of Theory of Mind (ToM) and neurocognition improves the predictive accuracy of psychosis conversion. A sample of 83 APS individuals and 90 healthy controls (HC) were assessed by comprehensive cognitive tests. The cohort also completed a one-year follow-up. In the APS group, ToM was associated with an apparent increase in neurocognition, but this trend was not evident in the HC group. Using the new index of combined neurocognition and ToM scores, the sensitivity for predicting psychosis-proneness was 75% and the specificity was 69%. Our data suggest that the correlations between ToM function and neurocognition in APS subjects were stronger than those in healthy controls. A composite index of neurocognition and ToM could improve the predictive validity of a future conversion to psychosis.

Identification of the N-acylsphingosine amidohydrolase 1 gene (ASAH1) for susceptibility to schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population

Abstract Objectives. To study the involvement of the N-acylsphingosine amidohydrolase 1 gene (ASAH1) in the susceptibility to schizophrenia in the Han Chinese population. Methods. We performed cDNA microarray analysis to exam the gene expression profile in six schizophrenic patients and six healthy controls. We evaluated the ASAH1 expression levels in 30 subjects with chronic schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls by using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 254 unrelated probands with schizophrenia and their biological parents were also genotyped at three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: rs3753118, rs3753116, and rs7830490) of the ASAH1 gene for association analysis. Results. In the microarray analysis, the ASAH1 gene was down-regulated in all schizophrenic patients compared with healthy controls. In real-time PCR, the ASAH1 expression levels for schizophrenic patients with positive family history were significantly decreased (P = 0.020). In the association analyses, two SNPs (rs7830490 and rs3753118) and one haplotype (rs7830490 (A)-rs3753116 (G)) of ASAH1 showed significant evidence of nominal associations with schizophrenia (P = 0.026; P = 0.046; P = 0.007, respectively). The haplotype remained statistically significant (empirical P = 0.045) after correction for multiple testing. Conclusions. This study supports that the ASAH1 gene may be a potential candidate gene for schizophrenia in Han Chinese subjects.

Theory of Mind impairments in youth at Clinical High-Risk of Psychosis

Objective: The normal maturational processes of theory of mind (ToM) capacity are ongoing during adolescence and even early adulthood. However, research has shown that ToM ability also declines among adults suffering from prodromal psychotic experiences. The goal of this study was to investigate the characteristics of ToM performance in youth with clinical high risk (CHR) of psychosis. Methods: The Reading Mind in Eyes Task (RMET), including own-race and other-race eyes, was administered to 40 CHR youth; 42 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs); and 62 adult patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Nine-month follow-up data were collected from 31 CHR subjects, of whom 7 (22.6%) had made the transition to psychosis. Results: CHR youth showed significant impairment in RMET performance compared to HC youth but performed better than did SZ patients. Moreover, they were significantly slower than were HC youth in responding to the RMET, with a response time similar to that of SZ patients. In particular, they had significantly poorer accuracy in interpreting positive and neutral eye expressions compared to the HC group, but not in interpreting negative eye expressions. Preliminary follow-up data showed a trend toward significance (p = 0.079) for RMET performance between those who transitioned to psychosis and those who did not. Conclusions: Our findings illustrate that deficits in ToM capacity, specifically the ability to interpret people’s mental state from eye expressions, occur early on in prodromal psychosis in youth. Early interventions for CHR youth focusing on ToM enhancement may halt progress toward psychosis.

Chronic mild restraint stress rats decreased CMKLR1 expression in distinct brain region.

Inflammation contributes to the pathophysiology of depression. Chemokine-like receptor-1 (CMKLR1) plays an important role both in the development of inflammation and in the mechanism of antidepressant effect of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Omega-3 PUFAs), ecosapeatanolicacid (EPA). The present study was to investigate the modification of CMKLR1 in chronic restraint stress (CRS) rats. CMKLR1 was examined in different brain region from CRS rats by using western blot and quantitative real-time PCR. The CMKLR1 expression in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and cerebellum was determined on 3, 7, 10 and 21 days of repeated restraint stress and was compared to controls. The results showed that the protein and mRNA level of CMKLR1 in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were significantly increased on day 3 and then decreased on day 7, 10 and 21 in the CRS rats. The protein and mRNA level of CMKLR1 in cerebellum was similar to that of control group throughout the whole experiment. Changed expression of brain CMKLR1 is suggested to be involved in the mechanism of depression.

A compromise solution between overlapping and overlooking DSM personality disorders in Chinese psychiatric practice

ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the overlaps between the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 (DSM-5) Personality Disorders (PDs) in a high-risk clinical population and to explore a transitional model for implementing DSM-5 PDs.MethodA sample population of 982 outpatients with at least one diagnosed PD was selected from 3,075 outpatients of the Shanghai Mental Health Center. The diagnostic process comprised of a personality diagnostic questionnaire and a structured clinical interview.Results685 (22.3%) patients were diagnosed with at least one of six PDs (antisocial, avoidant, borderline, narcissistic, obsessive–compulsive, and schizotypal) under the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders proposed in Section III of the DSM-5. Nearly 20.3% of the subjects with PD met criteria for at least two PDs (of the 685 PD patients/6 PD model). Cluster and principal component analyses suggest a transitional model for the 7 specific PD categories (among the 722 PD patients, the overlapping rate was 24.1%) will be more appropriate for PD diagnosis in China.ConclusionsUsing the simplified PD categories in the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders will reduce the overlaps in PD diagnoses in Chinese psychiatric practice, and should be preferred over the DSM-5 PD diagnostic system.