Relationship between Polygenic Risk Score and the Hypnotics in Bipolar I Disorder.

Objective: Bipolar disorder (BD) is marked by significant change in mood and energy levels with sleep disturbance a common feature, resulting in diminished quality of life and impaired daily functioning. This study assessed the association between BD-polygenic risk scores (PRS) and hypnotics in bipolar I disorder (BD-I) patients.

Methods: Large-sample data were collected from the genome-wide association study of a multicenter Bipolar Genomic Study, and 1,394 BD-I patients with available medication information were divided into two groups depending on whether they used hypnotics or not.

Association of prescription data with clinical manifestations and polygenic risk scores in patients with bipolar I disorder: An exploratory study.

Background: We assessed the association of prescription data with clinical manifestations and polygenic risk scores (PRS) in patients with bipolar I disorder.

Methods: We enrolled 1471 individuals with BID and divided them into several groups according to treatment options and clinical manifestations. BD-PRS of each patient was calculated using the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium data.

Plasma level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in patients with postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression occurs in 10-15% of mothers. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a nerve growth factor that plays a role in neuroplasticity. We hypothesized that the concentration of BDNF is related to reproduction and childbirth, and that women with postpartum depression show alteration in BDNF level.

Serum Levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Loudness Dependence of Auditory Evoked Potentials at Pretreatment and Posttreatment in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Background: Proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), are associated with the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Several studies have reported that increased TNF-α might be associated with tryptophan depletion, which eventually could result in MDD. However, other studies revealed that TNF-α increased serotonin firing in raphe.

Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma: Psychiatric Evaluation of Offspring of Former "Comfort Women," Survivors of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery during World War II.

"Comfort women" are survivors of sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, who endured extensive trauma including massive rape and physical torture. While previous studies have been focused on the trauma of the survivors themselves, the effects of the trauma on the offspring has never been evaluated before. In this article, we reviewed the first study on the offspring of former "comfort women" and aimed to detect the evidence of transgenerational transmission of trauma.

Alterations in Serum BDNF and GDNF Levels after 12 Weeks of Antidepressant Treatment in Female Outpatients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Objective: Some clinical studies have found alterations in the levels of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) after applying antidepressant treatment in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). We evaluated the serum BDNF and GDNF levels before and after 12 weeks of antidepressant treatment in MDD outpatients.

Methods: Serum BDNF and GDNF levels were measured in 23 female MDD outpatients at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment.

Psychiatric Sequelae of Former "Comfort Women," Survivors of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery during World War II.

"Comfort women" refers to young women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese military during World War II. They were abducted from their homes in countries under Imperial Japanese rule, mostly from Korea, and the rest from China, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Netherlands, etc. "Comfort women" endured extreme trauma involving rape, sexual torture, physical abuse, starvation, threats of death, and witnessed many others being tortured and killed.

Psychiatric Findings in Suspected and Confirmed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Patients Quarantined in Hospital: A Retrospective Chart Analysis.

Objective: Little is known about the psychiatric complications or risk factors for depression in suspected or confirmed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) patients quarantined in hospital.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of all the patients admitted to the acute MERS inpatient unit at the NMC during the 2015 outbreak.

Results: 30 (75%) were confirmed to be MERS-CoV positive among 40 admitted cases.

Treatment response in relation to subthreshold bipolarity in patients with major depressive disorder receiving antidepressant monotherapy: a post hoc data analysis (KOMDD study).

Background: The aim of this observational study was to determine whether subthreshold bipolarity affects treatment response and remission in patients with major depressive disorder receiving antidepressant (AD) monotherapy over a 6-month follow-up period.

Methods: Seventy-eight patients with major depressive disorder were stratified into two subgroups according to the presence of subthreshold bipolarity, identified using the Korean version of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (K-MDQ), which classifies patients as positive for a screening of bipolarity based on the cutoff for the total K-MDQ score (ie, 7 points). They received AD monotherapy such as escitalopram, sertraline, paroxetine, or tianeptine for 6 months.

Prolactin and macroprolactin levels in psychiatric patients receiving atypical antipsychotics: A preliminary study.

The aims of this study were to clarify whether atypical antipsychotics can elevate serum levels of both macroprolactin and prolactin, and whether the macroprolactin levels differ according to the type of atypical antipsychotic being taken. In total, 245 subjects were enrolled consecutively in 6 hospitals. Serum prolactin and macroprolactin levels were measured at a single time point during maintenance antipsychotic monotherapy.

Plasma glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in patients with major depressive disorder: a preliminary study.

Background: Some clinical studies have reported reduced peripheral glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) level in elderly patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). We verified whether a reduction in plasma GDNF level was associated with MDD.

Method: Plasma GDNF level was measured in 23 healthy control subjects and 23 MDD patients before and after 6 weeks of treatment.

Alterations in plasma vascular endothelial growth factor levels in patients with schizophrenia before and after treatment.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent angiogenetic factor, is a known neurotrophic factor. In this study, we examined plasma levels of VEGF in 50 patients with schizophrenia (SPR) and 50 healthy control subjects. We also explored any changes in plasma VEGF levels after 6-week treatment with antipsychotic agents in patients with schizophrenia.

Prediction of long-term treatment response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) using scalp and source loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) analysis in patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: Animal and clinical studies have demonstrated that the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) is inversely related to central serotonergic activity, with a high LDAEP reflecting weak serotonergic neurotransmission and vice versa, though the findings in humans have been less consistent. In addition, a high pretreatment LDAEP appears to predict a favorable response to antidepressant treatments that augment the actions of serotonin. The aim of this study was to test whether the baseline LDAEP is correlated with response to long-term maintenance treatment in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Lower serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels are associated with failure to achieve remission in patients with major depression after escitalopram treatment.

Background: Remission, the primary goal of treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), is the absence of significant signs or symptoms and the return to a state of normal functioning. A recent study found that the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) increased after antidepressant treatment in remitted patients. This study evaluated serum BDNF levels in MDD patients with chronic maintenance treatment, and compared these between remission and nonremission groups.

DRD3 gene rs6280 polymorphism may be associated with alcohol dependence overall and with Lesch type I alcohol dependence in Koreans.

Background: Several polymorphisms of the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) gene are reported to be involved in the susceptibility to alcoholism. Although the DRD3 rs6280 (Ser9Gly) polymorphism plays an important role in various psychiatric disorders, findings regarding the association between this single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and alcohol dependence (AD) have been inconsistent. Therefore, the present study investigated the association between the DRD3 gene rs6280 polymorphism with AD and Lesch type I AD in Korean subjects.

There is no association between the serotonin receptor gene and bipolar I disorder in the Korean population.

Objective: Despite the close relationship between the functional polymorphism C(-1019)G (rs6295) of the serotonergic 1A receptor (5-HT1A) and mood, few studies have investigated the relationship between rs6295 and bipolar disorder.

Aims: In this study, we aimed to investigate whether rs6295 is associated with clinical prognosis and treatment response in patients with bipolar I disorder acute manic episodes.

Methods: One hundred twenty-eight patients with bipolar I disorder and one hundred sixty-eight healthy controls were recruited.

High insulin-like growth factor-1 in patients with bipolar I disorder: a trait marker?

Objectives: Neurotrophic factors exert substantial effects on the central nervous system. The present study investigates the roles of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), β-nerve growth factor (β-NGF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in bipolar disorder.

Methods: Baseline levels of culture-stimulated IGF-1, β-NGF, and BDNF were compared in 116 patients with bipolar I disorder and 123 healthy controls.