Long-term benefits of mindfulness on white matter tracts underlying the cortical midline structures in panic disorder: A 2-year longitudinal study.

Aims: We aimed to examine the long-term benefits of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on white matter plasticity in the cortical midline structures (CMS) for a period of 2 years in patients with panic disorder and the relationships between white matter changes in the CMS and severity of state and trait symptoms.

Methods: Seventy-one participants were enrolled and underwent diffusion tensor imaging at baseline and after 2 years (26 who received MBCT as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy [MBCT+PT], 20 treated with pharmacotherapy alone [PT-alone], and 25 healthy controls [HCs]). The severity of symptoms and fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter regions underlying the CMS were assessed at baseline and 2-year follow-up.

White Matter Alterations Associated with Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Objective: Regarding the neuroinflammatory theory of major depressive disorder (MDD), little is known about the effect of pro-inflammatory cytokines on white matter (WM) changes in MDD. We aimed to investigate the relationship between pro-inflammatory cytokines and WM alterations in patients with MDD.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with MDD and 22 healthy controls (HC) were evaluated for brain imaging and pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α.

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation using miniaturized devices vs sertraline for depression in Korea: A 6 week, multicenter, randomized, double blind, active-controlled study.

We compared the efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) vs. Sertraline in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in South Korean participants. This was a multi-center, double blind, active controlled study with non-inferiority testing.

Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells alleviate schizophrenia-relevant behaviors in amphetamine-sensitized mice by inhibiting neuroinflammation.

At present, therapeutic options available for treating schizophrenia are limited to monoamine-based antipsychotic drugs. Recent genome wide association study (GWAS) indicated a close relationship between immune system and schizophrenia. To leverage the GWAS finding for therapeutic strategy, we conducted a mechanism and effect study on application of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSC) with potent immune-modulatory effect in an animal model useful for the study of schizophrenia.

White matter connectivity differences between treatment responders and non-responders in patients with panic disorder.

Background: Panic disorder (PD) is a prevalent and highly disabling mental condition. However, less is known about relationships between biomarkers that may together predict a better response to pharmacological treatment. The objective of the present study was to compare the brain white matter (WM) connectivity between treatment-responsive patients with panic disorder (RPD) and non-responsive patients with panic disorder (NRPD) after 12 weeks of pharmacotherapy.

Effects of Uric Acid on the Alterations of White Matter Connectivity in Patients with Major Depression.

Objective: Uric acid is a non-enzymatic antioxidant associated with depression. Despite its known protective role in other brain disorders, little is known about its influence on the structural characteristics of brains of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study explored the association between uric acid and characteristics of white matter (WM) in patients with MDD.

Chronic high dose of captopril induces depressive-like behaviors in mice: possible mechanism of regulatory T cell in depression.

Major depression has various types of symptoms and disease courses with inconsistent response to monoamine-related antidepressants. Thus, monoamine theory may not be the only pathophysiologic pathway relevant to depression. Recently, it has been suggested that regulatory T cell (Treg) is associated with depression.

White matter correlates of anxiety sensitivity in panic disorder.

Background: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to a fear of anxiety-related sensations and is a dispositional variable especially elevated in patients with panic disorder (PD). Although several functional imaging studies of AS in patients with PD have suggested the presence of altered neural activity in paralimbic areas such as the insula, no study has investigated white matter (WM) alterations in patients with PD in relation to AS. The objective of this study was to investigate the WM correlates of AS in patients with PD.

Serotonin Transporter and COMT Polymorphisms as Independent Predictors of Health-related Quality of Life in Patients with Panic Disorder.

There is growing evidence of poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with panic disorder (PD). However, little is known about the factors affecting HRQOL in patients with PD. The authors examined whether 5-HTTLPR tri-allelic approach and Cathechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val(158)Met polymorphism can predict HRQOL in patients with PD controlling for sociodemographic factors and disorder-related symptom levels.

White matter microstructural changes are associated with alcohol use in patients with panic disorder.

Background: A close relationship between panic disorder (PD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been suggested. We aimed to investigate alterations in white matter (WM) volume or integrity in patients with PD comorbid with AUD.

Methods: Forty-nine patients with PD, free of comorbid AUD (PD-AUD), and 20 patients with PD comorbid with AUD (PD+AUD) were investigated.

Impact of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Intolerance of Uncertainty in Patients with Panic Disorder.

Objective: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a transdiagnostic construct in various anxiety and depressive disorders. However, the relationship between IU and panic symptom severity is not yet fully understood. We examined the relationship between IU, panic, and depressive symptoms during mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in patients with panic disorder.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells as a Novel Tool in Psychiatric Research.

Reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provides a valuable opportunity to study neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative psychiatric diseases by offering an unlimited source for patient-specific neuronal and glial cells. The present review focuses on the recent advancements in modeling psychiatric disorders such as Phelan-McDermid syndrome, Timothy syndrome, Rett syndrome, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and dementia. The treatment effects identified in studies on iPSCs using known therapeutic compounds are also summarized in this review.

White-matter connectivity related to paliperidone treatment response in patients with schizophrenia.

The objective of this study was to examine whether white-matter (WM) connectivity of patients with schizophrenia at early stage of treatment is related to treatment response after paliperidone extended-release (ER) treatment. Forty-one patients with schizophrenia and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were included in this study. Brain magnetic resonance scans at 3 Tesla were conducted at early stage of treatment.

Association of human microRNAs miR-22 and miR-491 polymorphisms with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in a Korean population.

Background: The possible involvement of microRNAs (miRNA) in psychiatric disorders has been recently recognized. Several miRNA polymorphisms have been found to be associated with panic disorder (PD) in European populations. However, the association of miRNA polymorphisms on PD has not been reported in Asian populations.

Panic disorder and health-related quality of life: the predictive roles of anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety.

Panic disorder (PD) is a very common anxiety disorder and is often a chronic disabling condition. However, little is known about the factors that predict health-related quality of life (HRQOL) other than sociodemographic factors and illness-related symptomatology that explain HRQOL in only small to modest degrees. This study explored whether anxiety-related individual traits including anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety can predict independently HRQOL in panic patients.

Effects of VRK2 (rs2312147) on white matter connectivity in patients with schizophrenia.

Recent genome-wide association studies of schizophrenia reported a novel risk variant, rs2312147 at vaccinia-related kinase 2 gene (VRK2), in multiple Asian and European samples. However, its effect on the brain structure in schizophrenia is little known. We analyzed the brain structure of 36 schizophrenia patients and 18 healthy subjects with regard to rs2312147 genotype groups.

Frontal white matter alterations in short-term medicated panic disorder patients without comorbid conditions: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

The frontal cortex might play an important role in the fear network, and white matter (WM) integrity could be related to the pathophysiology of panic disorder (PD). A few studies have investigated alterations of WM integrity in PD. The aim of this study was to determine frontal WM integrity differences between patients with PD without comorbid conditions and healthy control (HC) subjects by using diffusion tensor imaging.

The Effects of 5-HTR1A Polymorphism on Cingulum Connectivity in Patients with Panic Disorder.

Objective: Serotonin-1A receptors (5-HTR1A) is suggested to be involved in the etiology of several psychiatric disorders including panic disorder (PD). A few imaging studies have suggested the alterations of the cingulum bundle in PD. The objective of this study is to examine the structural changes of cingulum related to the 5-HTR1A polymorphism rs6295 in the patients with PD.

Factors associated with treatment outcomes in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for panic disorder.

Purpose: Although the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for panic disorder (PD) has been studied previously, data on the predictors of treatment outcomes in MBCT for PD are scarce.

Materials And Methods: Eighty patients with PD were screened to analyze treatment outcomes such as MBCT completion, treatment response, and remission after undergoing MBCT for PD. Sociodemographic characteristics, comorbid personality disorders, and baseline medication doses were examined.