Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR-II) Antagonist Reduces Body Weight Gain in Mice.

Previous research has shown that mifepristone can prevent and reverse weight gain in animals and human subjects taking antipsychotic medications. This proof-of-concept study tested whether a more potent and selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist could block dietary-induced weight gain and increase insulin sensitivity in mice. Ten-week-old, male, C57BL/6J mice were fed a diet containing 60% fat calories and water supplemented with 11% sucrose for 4 weeks.

Does gender moderate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult depression?

Although considerable evidence demonstrates that adults who report childhood maltreatment are at increased risk of depression in adulthood, little is known about whether gender moderates risk. In a sample of 5,673 adult Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) patients, the authors employed the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) to assess major depressive disorder (MDD) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess five different types of childhood maltreatment: emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as emotional and physical neglect. Logistic regression models tested the main and interactive effects of gender and childhood maltreatment.

Efficacy and safety of mifepristone for the treatment of psychotic depression.

Open-label studies and randomized clinical trials have suggested that mifepristone may be effective for the treatment of major depression with psychotic features (psychotic depression). A recent study reported a correlation between mifepristone plasma concentration and clinical response. The current study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of mifepristone and, secondarily, to test whether response was significantly greater among patients with mifepristone plasma concentrations above an a priori hypothesized threshold.

Catastrophizing, depression and pain-related disability.

Objective: The objective of the study was to examine catastrophizing, depression and their interactive effects in predicting disability in patients with chronic pain.

Method: A battery of questionnaires was mailed to primary care patients in a large integrated health care delivery system. The Patient Health Questionnaire was used to assess major depression, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire assessed catastrophizing and the Graded Chronic Pain Scale was used to assess pain intensity and two measures of disability, including self-report of pain interference and days missed from usual activities.

Selective glucocorticoid receptor (type II) antagonists prevent weight gain caused by olanzapine in rats.

The use of antipsychotic medication has consistently been associated with serious side effects including weight gain and metabolic abnormalities. Strategies for mitigating these side effects have been tested, yet effective interventions have not been identified. The current study tested whether two recently identified selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonists would prevent weight gain induced by the antipsychotic olanzapine.

Preliminary evidence that plasma oxytocin levels are elevated in major depression.

It is well established that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is involved in regulating social behavior, anxiety, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis physiology in mammals. Because individuals with major depression often exhibit functional irregularities in these measures, we test in this pilot study whether depressed subjects (n=11) exhibit dysregulated OT biology compared to healthy control subjects (n=19). Subjects were hospitalized overnight and blood samples were collected hourly between 1800 and 0900h.

Mifepristone reduces weight gain and improves metabolic abnormalities associated with risperidone treatment in normal men.

Antipsychotic medications are associated with significant weight gain, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and increased cardiovascular risk. The objective of this study was to determine whether mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, could prevent risperidone-induced weight gain. Using a 2:2:1 randomization scheme, 76 lean, healthy men (BMI 18-23 kg/m(2)) age 18-40 years were randomized to risperidone (n = 30), risperidone plus mifepristone (n = 30) or mifepristone (n = 16) daily for 28 days in an institutional setting.

Mifepristone treatment of olanzapine-induced weight gain in healthy men.

Introduction: Antipsychotic medications are associated with significant weight gain, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and increased cardiovascular risk. Suggested mechanisms of weight gain from antipsychotic medication include antagonism of histamine and serotonin receptors, and effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The objective of this study was to determine if mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, could prevent olanzapine-induced weight gain.

Psychosocial predictors of resilience after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 inflicted distress beyond those directly exposed, thereby providing an opportunity to examine the contributions of a range of factors (cognitive, emotional, social support, coping) to psychological resilience for those indirectly exposed. In an Internet convenience sample of 1281, indices of resilience (higher well-being, lower distress) at baseline (2.5-12 weeks post-attack) were each associated with less emotional suppression, denial and self-blame, and fewer negative worldview changes.

A multisite trial of mifepristone for the treatment of psychotic depression: a site-by-treatment interaction.

Major Depression with Psychotic Features (psychotic depression) is a common, debilitating psychiatric disease. We hypothesized that mifepristone, a cortisol receptor (GRII) antagonist, would significantly reduce psychotic symptoms in psychotic depression. Two hundred fifty-eight patients with psychotic depression enrolled at 29 sites were randomized to mifepristone or placebo for 7 days.

Relationships among depression, chronic pain, chronic disabling pain, and medical costs.

Objective: Although evidence suggests that patients with depression use more medical services than those without depression, few studies have examined whether specific subgroups of patients with depression have higher utilization than others. The study compared costs for general medical care with and without psychiatric care for patients with major depression and disabling chronic pain (reference group) with costs for five other groups: those with depression and nondisabling chronic pain, those with major depressive disorder alone, those with no depression who had disabling chronic pain, those with depression who had chronic pain that was not disabling, and those who had neither pain nor depression. Costs for the group with major depressive disorder alone were compared to costs for the three groups without depression.

Meditation with yoga, group therapy with hypnosis, and psychoeducation for long-term depressed mood: a randomized pilot trial.

This randomized pilot study investigated the effects of meditation with yoga (and psychoeducation) versus group therapy with hypnosis (and psychoeducation) versus psychoeducation alone on diagnostic status and symptom levels among 46 individuals with long-term depressive disorders. Results indicate that significantly more meditation group participants experienced a remission than did controls at 9-month follow-up. Eight hypnosis group participants also experienced a remission, but the difference from controls was not statistically significant.

Comorbid depression, chronic pain, and disability in primary care.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to provide estimates of the prevalence and strength of association between major depression and chronic pain in a primary care population and to examine the clinical burden associated with the two conditions, singly and together.

Methods: A random sample of Kaiser Permanente patients who visited a primary care clinic was mailed a questionnaire assessing major depressive disorder (MDD), chronic pain, pain-related disability, somatic symptom severity, panic disorder, other anxiety, probable alcohol abuse, and health-related quality of life (HRQL). Instruments included the Patient Health Questionnaire, SF-8, and Graded Chronic Pain Questionnaire.

From research to practice: teacher and pediatrician awareness of phenotypic traits in neurogenetic syndromes.

Pediatricians' and teachers' knowledge of physical, cognitive, and behavioral features associated with three genetic syndromes were assessed and the effectiveness of information sources about these syndromes evaluated. The surveyed sample included 53 pediatricians and 69 teachers from Northern and Central California. Respondents demonstrated limited knowledge regarding the physical phenotype of fragile X syndrome and significantly less knowledge of velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS).

Acupuncture: a promising treatment for depression during pregnancy.

Background: Few medically acceptable treatments for depression during pregnancy are available. The aim of this randomized controlled pilot study was to determine whether acupuncture holds promise as a treatment for depression during pregnancy.

Methods: Sixty-one pregnant women with major depressive disorder and a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD17) score >or=14 were randomly assigned to one of three treatments, delivered over 8 weeks: an active acupuncture (SPEC, N=20), an active control acupuncture (NSPEC, N=21), and massage (MSSG, N=20).

Centring in regression analyses: a strategy to prevent errors in statistical inference.

Regression analyses are perhaps the most widely used statistical tools in medical research. Centring in regression analyses seldom appears to be covered in training and is not commonly reported in research papers. Centring is the process of selecting a reference value for each predictor and coding the data based on that reference value so that each regression coefficient that is estimated and tested is relevant to the research question.

Temperament characteristics of child and adolescent bipolar offspring.

Background: We wished to characterize temperament of children at high risk for bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: We collected data from the Dimensions of Temperament-Revised (DOTS-R) from 53 biological offspring of at least one parent with BD.

Results: Overall, our cohort differed from population means for the DOTS-R, having decreased Activity Level-General scores, and increased Approach, and Rhythmicity-Sleep scores.

Effects of X-monosomy and X-linked imprinting on superior temporal gyrus morphology in Turner syndrome.

Background: Turner syndrome (TS) results from complete or partial monosomy X. The cognitive phenotype of TS involves preservation of verbal skills with visuospatial functioning deficits. The superior temporal gyrus (STG), which is involved in language capacities, has not been investigated in TS.

Premorbid intellectual functioning, education, and brain size in traumatic brain injury: an investigation of the cognitive reserve hypothesis.

Cognitive reserve theories have been postulated in an attempt to explain individual differences in functional outcome following cerebral insult or disease. These theories suggest that higher education and psychometric intelligence may preserve functional capacity regardless of injury or disease severity. This study investigated cognitive reserve in 25 participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analyses.

Characterization of children of bipolar parents by parent report CBCL.

In past research the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) has differentiated among various diagnostic categories for children and adolescents. However, research has not been conducted on whether the CBCL differentiates among diagnostic categories for children at high risk for development of psychopathology. This study compares four diagnostic groups [bipolar disorder (BD), attention/deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Depressed/Anxious and No Diagnosis] within a cohort of 58 children of bipolar parents to determine whether their CBCL scores will replicate the scores of children not at high risk for bipolar disorder.

A developmental fMRI study of the Stroop color-word task.

We used fMRI to investigate developmental changes in brain activation during a Stroop color-word interference task. A positive correlation was observed between age and Stroop-related activation (n = 30) in the left lateral prefrontal cortex, the left anterior cingulate, and the left parietal and parieto-occipital cortices. No regions showed a negative correlation between activation and age.