Folate and vitamin B12 supplementation in patients with schizophrenia and low serum folate level: A 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the effects of folate and vitamin B12 on psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia and low serum folate levels.

Methods: Fifty-five schizophrenia patients with serum folate levels lower than 6 mg/L were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to supplementation with 5 mg of folate and 500 μg of vitamin B12 per day (the folate group, n = 36) or placebo (the placebo group, n = 19) for 24 weeks. We evaluated patients' symptomatology with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) and cognitive functions with Cogstate.

Plasma leptin levels are lower in females, but not males, with ketamine use disorder.

Ketamine has emerged as a prominent substance of misuse. Leptin, an adipocyte-derived polypeptide hormone, has been implicated in the development of addiction. Sex-specific changes in leptin levels have been demonstrated following acute ketamine administration; the persistence of long-term ketamine use on leptin levels is uncertain.

The effects of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 in patients with major depressive disorder: an eight-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex mental disorder, potentially linked to the gut-microbiota-brain axis. Probiotics like Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 (PS128) may improve depressive symptoms by modulating the gut microbiota based on our previous open trial. We conducted an 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the impact of PS128 on depression severity, markers of inflammation and gut permeability, and the gut microbiota composition in 32 patients with MDD with stable antidepressant treatment but moderate symptom severity.

Determining cut-off values and predictors for the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale: comparison between clinical and school settings.

Background: Few previous studies have established Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) cut-off values using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and applied these values to compare predictors of anhedonia between clinical and nonclinical groups.

Aims: To determine the optimal cut-off values for the SHAPS and use them to identify predictors of anhedonia in clinical and nonclinical groups in Taiwan.

Method: This cross-sectional and correlational study used convenience sampling to recruit 160 patients from three hospitals and 412 students from two universities in northern Taiwan.

Higher orexin-A levels are associated with treatment response to clozapine in patients with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Clozapine is the primary antipsychotic (APD) for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). However, only 40% of patients with TRS respond to clozapine, constituting a subgroup of clozapine-resistant patients. Recently, the neuropeptide orexin-A was shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Exploring the human gut microbiota targets in relation to the use of contemporary antidepressants.

Background: Antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), are commonly prescribed for depression treatment. Animal studies have shown that antidepressants can influence gut microbiota composition and specific bacterial taxa. We aimed to investigate the association between antidepressant use and human gut microbiota composition and functional pathway.

Comorbidity of ketamine dependence with major depressive disorder increases the vulnerability to neuroaxonal pathology.

We recently demonstrated that patients with ketamine dependence (KD) have increased serum levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a novel marker of active neuroaxonal pathology, with NfL levels being significantly higher in those KD patients comorbid with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, considering that NfL elevation has been associated with both ketamine-related brain pathology and MDD, we could not determine whether the observed elevation of NfL levels was driven by an interaction of KD with MDD or by MDD itself. Therefore, we compared serum NfL levels between 35 patients with MDD without ketamine use (MDD group), 23 with KD without MDD (KD without MDD group), 30 KD with MDD (KD with MDD group), and 86 healthy controls (HC group).

Neutropenia after the coadministration of clozapine and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in a patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A case report with a literature review.

Background: Schizophrenia is considered one of the major risk factors for mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Early antiviral treatment is important to decrease the risk of mortality. Currently, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) has been widely used in SARS-CoV-2 patients with risk factors.

Delusions and Hallucinations Are Associated With Greater Severity of Delirium.

Background: The 3 core domains of delirium (cognitive, higher level thinking, circadian) do not include the less common noncore psychotic symptoms. However, psychosis might inform about perturbations of neural circuitry, outcomes, or suggest tailored clinical management.

Objective: We assessed relationships between psychosis and other characteristics of delirium in patients without dementia or antipsychotics treatment.

Exploration of the relationship between gut microbiota and fecal microRNAs in patients with major depressive disorder.

Microbiota-gut-brain axis signaling plays a pivotal role in mood disorders. The communication between the host and the gut microbiota may involve complex regulatory networks. Previous evidence showed that host-fecal microRNAs (miRNAs) interactions partly shaped gut microbiota composition.

Efficacy and safety of intermittent theta-burst stimulation in patients with schizophrenia: A meta-analysis of randomized sham-controlled trials.

Theta-burst stimulation is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that was introduced as a potential augmentation treatment for patients with schizophrenia. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of intermittent theta-burst stimulation in patients with schizophrenia. Following the PRISMA guidelines, the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, and CNKI databases were searched for relevant studies from database inception to 9 January 2022.

Developing a Sensitive Platform to Measure 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate in Subjects with MTHFR and PON1 Gene Polymorphisms.

Inadequate levels of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) and the T variant of MTHFR C677T have been suggested to be associated with an increased risk of developing mental illness, whereas the PON1 SNP variant provides a protective role. However, reports validating the methodology for plasma 5-MTHF levels in schizophrenia patients are limited. A sensitive LC−MS/MS system using an amide column and calibration curve was determined by dialyzed human plasma, and applied to schizophrenia patients and healthy controls in Taiwan, and the differences between the subgroups were discussed.

Crosstalk between Schizophrenia and Metabolic Syndrome: The Role of Oxytocinergic Dysfunction.

The high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in persons with schizophrenia has spurred investigational efforts to study the mechanism beneath its pathophysiology. Early psychosis dysfunction is present across multiple organ systems. On this account, schizophrenia may be a multisystem disorder in which one organ system is predominantly affected and where other organ systems are also concurrently involved.

The relationship of antipsychotic treatment with reduced brown adipose tissue activity in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Antipsychotic drug (APD) treatment has been associated with metabolic abnormalities. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is the main site of adaptive thermogenesis and secretes various metabolism-improving factors known as batokines. We explored the association of BAT activity with APD treatment and metabolic abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia by measuring the blood levels of bone morphogenetic protein 8b (BMP8b), a batokine secreted by mature BAT.

Stress Susceptibility Moderates the Relationship Between Eveningness Preference and Poor Sleep Quality in Non-Acute Mood Disorder Patients and Healthy Controls.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between eveningness preference and poor sleep quality and eventually examine the moderation effect of stress susceptibility.

Methods: Individuals with non-acute major depressive disorder or bipolar affective disorder and healthy participants were recruited. The Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to evaluate chronotype and sleep quality, respectively.

Orexin-a elevation in antipsychotic-treated compared to drug-free patients with schizophrenia: A medication effect independent of metabolic syndrome.

Background/purpose: Orexin-A levels are reportedly increased in antipsychotic (APD)-treated patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and have been associated with metabolic abnormalities. It is not clear whether the orexin-A elevation is related specifically to the drug (APDs) effect, which should be clarified by including a drug-free group for comparison, or related to drug-induced metabolic abnormalities.

Methods: Blood orexin-A levels and metabolic profiles were compared between 37 drug-free, 45 aripiprazole-treated, and 156 clozapine-treated patients with schizophrenia.

Subgrouping time-dependent prescribing patterns of first-onset major depressive episodes by psychotropics dissection.

Background: Subgrouping patients with major depressive disorder is a promising solution for the issue of heterogeneity. However, the link between available subtypes and distinct pathological mechanisms is weak and yields disappointing results in clinical application.

Aim: To develop a novel approach for classification of patients with time-dependent prescription patterns at first onset in real-world settings.

Psychophysiological Effects of PS128 in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: A Preliminary 8-Week Open Trial.

Recent studies have suggested that gut-brain axis may be one of the mechanisms of major depression disorder (MDD). The current study aimed to investigate the effects of (PS128) on psychophysiology in patients with MDD. We recruited 11 patients with MDD and gave them PS128 for 8 weeks.

Associations of Genetic Variants of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase and Serum Folate Levels with Metabolic Parameters in Patients with Schizophrenia.

The one-carbon metabolism pathway is a suitable candidate for studying the genetic and epigenetic factors contributing to metabolic abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia. We recruited 232 patients with schizophrenia and analyzed their serum folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels and metabolic parameters to investigate the associations of genetic variants of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase () and folate levels with metabolic parameters. C677T and A1298C were genotyped.

The Genetic Architecture of Depression in Individuals of East Asian Ancestry: A Genome-Wide Association Study.

Importance: Most previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of depression have used data from individuals of European descent. This limits the understanding of the underlying biology of depression and raises questions about the transferability of findings between populations.

Objective: To investigate the genetics of depression among individuals of East Asian and European descent living in different geographic locations, and with different outcome definitions for depression.

The Relationships Between Hyperprolactinemia, Metabolic Disturbance, and Sexual Dysfunction in Patients With Schizophrenia Under Olanzapine Treatment.

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between prolactin levels and sexual dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia who use olanzapine medication. The potential risk factors of hyperprolactinemia and sexual dysfunction were also investigated. Patients with schizophrenia undergoing olanzapine monotherapy were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study.

Visualizing Patterns of Medication Switching Among Major Depressive Patients with Various Stability and Difficulty to Treatments.

Introduction: Efforts have been made in assessing efficacy and tolerability to various antidepressants, but understanding personalized chances of stability to medication switching sequence is still inconclusive. This study aimed to identify naturalistic switching patterns of medication in stratifying MDD patients.

Methods: MDD patients were stratified based on treatment difficulty evaluated with the "Treatment Resistance to Antidepressants Evaluation Scale for Unipolar Depression" (TRADES).

Differential Co-Occurring Patterns Between Depressive Symptomatology and Sleep-Wake-Related Disturbances in Mood Disorders.

Purpose: This study aimed to elucidate the various co-occurring patterns of depressive symptomatology and sleep-wake-related disturbances (SWRDs) in patients with mood disorders.

Patients And Methods: Individuals in non-acute states of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder were recruited. The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) was utilized to evaluate depressive symptoms.