Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis of corticotropin-releasing factor-binding protein gene in recurrent major depressive disorder.

Corticotropin-releasing factor-binding protein (CRF-BP) regulates the availability of free CRF and is a functional candidate gene for affective disorders. Previous research showed an association between polymorphisms in the CRF-BP gene and recurrent major depression (MDD) in a Swedish sample. The purpose of the current study was to re-evaluate the previous findings in an extended Swedish sample and in an independent Belgian sample of patients with recurrent MDD and in control samples.

A biopsychosocial model as a guide for psychoeducation and treatment of depression.

Effective treatment of severe or chronic unipolar depression requires the combination of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions, and demands a theoretical paradigm integrating biological and psychosocial aspects of depression. Supported by recent research, we propose in our article a biopsychosocial diathesis-stress model of depression. Its basic aim is psychoeducational: to provide therapists, patients, and their environment a constructive conceptual framework to understand depressive complaints, vulnerability, and stress.

Combined dexamethasone/CRF test in remitted outpatients with recurrent major depressive disorder.

Background: Hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a prominent neurobiological finding during a major depressive episode, reflecting a state dependent factor. An issue under investigation is whether the dysfunction of the HPA axis has also a role to play as a state-independent or trait factor for major depressive disorder (MDD). In relation to this, it is important to examine HPA axis function in patients who are clinically remitted from depression.

The use of atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of catatonia.

Purpose: Evidence indicates that classical antipsychotics may aggravate non-malignant and malignant catatonia (MC). Atypical antipsychotics are less likely to cause movement disorders than classical antipsychotics and they are being frequently prescribed in disorders that can be associated with catatonia. Therefore, the important question that arises is whether atypical antipsychotics have a role to play in the treatment of catatonia.

Neutral reagents in solutions with low content of supporting electrolyte: how to determine the steady-state conditions.

Cyclic voltammograms obtained at ultramicroelectrodes in the electrochemical systems where an uncharged reactant is significantly more concentrated than the supporting electrolyte show an unusual feature. The forward and the backward waves cross over, forming a hysteresis loop. The width of the hysteresis increases with the relative concentration of the reactant, with the electrode size, and with the scan rate.

Numerical investigation of transient current density distributions for multi-ion electrolytes at a rotating disk electrode.

A versatile model for the simulation of transient multiion transport and reaction processes is applied to investigate current density distributions over a rotating disk electrode for linear voltammetric sweep experiments. The model accounts for ion transport by convection, diffusion, and migration, in combination with Butler-Volmer type electrode reactions. For several process conditions (reversible and irreversible reactions, excess or lack of supporting electrolyte), the current density distribution over the disk surface is examined and the transient current response is compared to results from the more commonly used one-dimensional axial approach.

Numerical solution of a multi-ion one-potential model for electroosmotic flow in two-dimensional rectangular microchannels.

A new more general numerical model for the simulation of electrokinetic flow in rectangular microchannels is presented. The model is based on the dilute solution model and the Navier-Stokes equations and has been implemented in a finite-element-based C++ code. The model includes the ion distribution in the Helmholtz double layer and considers only one single electrical' potential field variable throughout the domain.