Suggested Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder.

Currently, the diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) mainly relies on clinical examination and subjective evaluation of depressive symptoms. There is no non-invasive, quantitative test available today for the diagnosis of MDD. In MDD, exploration of biomarkers will be helpful in diagnosing the disorder as well as in choosing a treatment, and predicting the treatment response.

[Neurobiology of Alcohol Dependence and Implications on Treatment].

The process of alcohol dependence has been conceptualized as a progress from controlled alcohol intake to compulsive alcohol consumption or a shift from alcohol intake for pleasure to compulsory alcohol seeking behavior. Hereditary and physical factors and the interaction of individuals with their environment, as well as permanent changes in the neurotransmitter and neurohormonal systems in the brain due to alcohol use, play the most important role in the etiology of alcohol dependence. The effects of ethanol on the neurotransmitter, neuropeptide and neuroendocrine systems not only account for its acute physiological and euphoric/reinforcing effects but also seem to be responsible for the development of dependence.

Relationship between orexin A and childhood maltreatment in female patients with depression and anxiety.

Childhood maltreatment leads to neuroendocrine changes, which may be associated with an increased vulnerability for psychopathology, such as depression and anxiety in later life. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and orexin A levels in patients with depression and anxiety. The study consisted of 27 female outpatients who presented with depressive and/or anxiety symptoms, and 27 healthy female controls.

Hippocampal volumes and cognitive functions in adult alcoholic patients with adolescent-onset.

This study investigated hippocampal volumes and cognitive functions in adult alcoholic patients with adolescent- or late-onset alcohol use. Twenty-one male alcohol dependent inpatients and 13 healthy male controls were enrolled in this study. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging to measure hippocampal volumes and neuropsychological tests were performed in week 4 of abstinence in the patients and controls.

Manic episode associated with mega cisterna magna.

Mega cisterna magna is a part of "Dandy-Walker Complex" and it is characterized by the enlargement of the cisterna magna, morphologically intact vermis and cerebellar hemispheres. We report a case of manic attack in a 23-year-old man with mega cisterna magna. The patient was treated with quetiapine 1,000 mg/day and sodium valproate 1,500 mg/day and the symptoms were ameliorated within 2.

[Neurobiology of motherhood].

Motherhood is a physiological status in which certain behavioural patterns are exhibited. Maintenance of the life of the species in mammals is dependent upon the presentation of motherhood services in a certain period that the child is dependent on the mother. Absence of the mother causes some deficiencies in social, behavioural and cognitive abilities, an abnormal development of the stress response system, learning and memory disorders, and later, inadequate motherhood skills of the mature offspring during their own maternity period.

Ultrasonically determined thyroid volume and thyroid functions in lithium-naïve and lithium-treated patients with bipolar disorder: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Objective: This study investigated thyroid volume, hormone levels and antibodies in long-term lithium-treated and lithium-naïve bipolar patients, some of whom underwent prospective follow-up evaluations.

Methods: Fourteen lithium-naïve patients, 13 long-term lithium-treated patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and 12 healthy controls were included. Seven lithium-naïve patients were followed-up during their lithium receiving period (range 6-9 months).

The effects of galantamine hydrobromide treatment on dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and cortisol levels in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Objective: Mental fatigue, cognitive disorders, and sleep disturbances seen in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may be attributed to cholinergic deficit. A functional deficiency of cholinergic neurotransmission may cause the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hypoactivity seen in CFS. Therefore, we investigated the alterations in stress hormones such as cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) in CFS patients before and after 4-week administration of galantamine hydrobromide, a selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, and aimed to investigate whether there are any relationships between the probable hormonal changes and cholinergic treatment.

Serum oxytocin levels in patients with depression and the effects of gender and antidepressant treatment.

Abnormalities in the neurohypophyseal system have been reported in depression. This study aimed to investigate serum oxytocin levels in patients with depression and the effects of gender and antidepressant treatment on these levels. Serum oxytocin levels were measured before and after treatment with antidepressant drugs or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in 40 inpatients (30 women, 10 men) who met the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (n=29) or bipolar affective disorder depressive episode (n=11), and in 32 healthy controls (20 women, 12 men).

[Acute and chronic effects of electroconvulsive therapy on neuroactive steroids in patients with major depressive disorder].

Objective: Baseline serum levels of neuroactive steroids such as dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), testosterone, and cortisol were measured, and the acute and long-term effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on these hormones and the effect of gender on alterations in steroid hormones were investigated in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: The study included 25 inpatients (11 male, 14 female) diagnosed with MDD that responded to ECT, and 37 healthy controls (17 male, 20 female). Serum levels of cortisol, DHEAS, 17-OHP, and testosterone were measured 2 days before and 10 min after the first ECT, and 3 days after the last ECT in the patients.

The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on GABAergic function in major depressive patients.

Objectives: It has been proposed that major depression is associated with a dysfunction of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system. This study was planned to investigate whether there are any alterations in GABAergic activities in major depressive patients and, if there are, whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has any effect on these changes.

Methods: Twenty-five depressed inpatients who responded to a course of ECT and 23 healthy subjects were included in the study.

Growth hormone response to the GABA-B agonist baclofen in 3-week abstinent alcoholics.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) dysfunction is a known feature of alcoholism. We investigated GABA-B receptor activity in 3-week abstinent alcoholics using the growth hormone (GH) response to baclofen, a GABA-B receptor agonist. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between GABA-B receptor activity and alcohol withdrawal.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and their relationships with aggression in early and late alcohol withdrawal.

The study aims at investigating the relationship between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis alterations and aggression level in alcoholic patients during early and late alcohol withdrawal. Serum levels of basal cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) were measured three times, and cortisol and DHEAS response to dexamethasone twice during the early and late withdrawal periods in alcohol dependent males (n=30) and once in healthy control males (n=20). Abnormal cortisol non-suppression response to dexamethasone in dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was observed in some proportion of the patients in early withdrawal, which normalized in late withdrawal.

Thyroid function in early and late alcohol withdrawal: relationship with aggression, family history, and onset age of alcoholism.

Aims: Thyroid dysfunction is a known finding in alcoholism. Most studies have reported the reduction in peripheral thyroid hormones in acute withdrawal and long-term abstinence periods of alcohol dependence. The aim of the present study was to investigate the alterations of free thyroid hormones in early and late withdrawal and their association with aggression, age of onset, and family history of alcoholism.

Cerebellar syndrome in a patient with pneumonia under lithium treatment: A case report.

We report the case of a 31-year-old man with bipolar disorder who was on a combination therapy of lithium, lamotrigine and escitalopram. Serum lithium level was within therapeutic range. Cerebellar symptoms such as dysarthria, ataxia, and dyskinesia developed in the patient following the pneumonia.

[Neurobiology of alcohol withdrawal inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters].

Alcohol withdrawal is a syndrome that is the result of adaptive changes in the brain secondary to chronic alcohol use and is associated with changes in many neurotransmitter, neuropeptide, and hormonal systems. Long-term exposure to ethanol leads to an imbalance in different excitatory (especially glutamate, a major excitatory amino acid), and inhibitory neurotransmitter (especially GABA, a major inhibitory amino acid) systems. When alcohol consumption is reduced or completely ceases, these imbalances are behaviorally expressed in the form of alcohol withdrawal.

[Is there any alteration in bone mineral density in patients with depression?].

Objective: Depression is associated with some alterations in behavior and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function that may be risk factors for decreased bone mineral density (BMD). There is considerable inconsistency as to whether depressed patients really have decreased BMD or not. Decreased BMD has been reported in patients suffering from major depression in some studies, but not in some others.

Effects of antidepressant treatment and of gender on serum leptin levels in patients with major depression.

Leptin is a product of the obese gene and plays an important role in the regulation of body weight and food intake. Weight and appetite are frequently altered in depression. So far, inconsistent results have been reported in terms of leptin levels in depression.

Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on the thyrotropin-releasing hormone test in patients with depression.

We investigated the acute and lasting effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) in patients with depression. The TRH stimulation test was conducted (1) under basal conditions, after a first ECT, and at the end of a therapeutic course of 7 ECTs in 20 inpatients with depression; (2) before the initiation of antidepressant therapy and after the therapeutic response in 16 other inpatients with depression who responded to antidepressant drug treatment; and (3) in 20 healthy control subjects. Baseline TSH levels were lower in patients with depression, especially in those with more severe depression who were considered appropriate for ECT.

Effects of antidepressant treatment on thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation, growth hormone response to L-DOPA, and dexamethasone suppression tests in major depressive patients.

Dexamethasone suppression (DST), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and prolactin (PRL) responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and growth hormone (GH) response to L-DOPA tests were evaluated in 19 depressed inpatients before the commencement of the antidepressant treatment and after the clinical response to examine: (i) the functional relationships among the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis and dopaminergic system in depression, (ii) any alterations in these hormonal functions with the antidepressant treatment. TSH responses to TRH showed a tendency to increase from pre- to posttreatment period, while TRH-induced PRL and L-DOPA-induced GH responses did not change with treatment in depressed patients who responded to the treatment. Females showed significantly higher TSH and PRL responses to TRH compared to males.

A Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT study of regional cerebral blood flow in drug-free schizophrenic patients with deficit and non-deficit syndrome.

Twenty-nine patients with DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia were categorized into deficit syndrome (n=14) and non-deficit syndrome (n=15) subgroups on the basis of the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome. The patients, who had all been free of antipsychotic medication for at least 3 weeks, and 17 sex- and age-matched normal controls were studied with single-photon emission computed tomography with Tc-99m HMPAO. Age at onset, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) total scores, BPRS positive symptom subscores and duration of illness were similar between the two schizophrenic subgroups.

[Biological trait markers of alcohol dependence].

The early detection of individuals at high risk for the future development of alcohol dependence and the identification of trait markers for alcoholism may be useful for taking necessary measures to protect the individuals from alcoholism, for enlightening the aetiology of the illness, and even for the development of the new treatment methods. This paper reviews in detail the results of studies of trait markers in alcoholism, which have intensified particularly in recent years. Some data of the investigations indicate that a trait marker for alcoholism or a subgroup of alcohol-dependent patients may be developed: with abnormal adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity, reduced monoamine oxidase (MAO) levels, hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis abnormalities, b-endorphin abnormalities, reduced amplitude of P300 event-related potential, D2 receptor down-regulation, and decreased sensitivity to alcohol challenge as risk factors; and abnormal aldehyde dehydrogenase isoenzyme patterns as a protective factor.

Tc-99 HMPAO SPECT study of regional cerebral blood flow in olanzapine-treated schizophrenic patients.

Dopamine D(2) blocking typical antipsychotic drugs are known to change the cerebral perfusion patterns of schizophrenic patients, especially in the frontal cortex and basal ganglia. In recent years atypical antipsychotics such as olanzapine, which have high serotonin 5-HT(2A)/dopamine D(2) occupation ratios, have been shown to be more effective in the treatment of schizophrenia symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of the schizophrenic patients treated with olanzapine in a within-subject design.

P300 changes in major depressive disorders with and without psychotic features.

Background: Although there are many P300 studies in depressive patients, only a few studies have focused on the effects of psychotic features in depression and of response to antidepressant treatment on P300. This study was designed to investigate possible differences in the P300 component of event-related potentials in depressed patients with and without psychotic features and if any, to see whether these changes altered with treatment of depression.

Methods: Thirty-six patients with major depressive disorder diagnosed according to DSM-IV, and 20 healthy control subjects were involved in the study.