Genetically encoded photocrosslinkers locate the high-affinity binding site of antidepressant drugs in the human serotonin transporter.

Despite the well-established role of the human serotonin transporter (hSERT) in the treatment of depression, the molecular details of antidepressant drug binding are still not fully understood. Here we utilize amber codon suppression in a membrane-bound transporter protein to encode photocrosslinking unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into 75 different positions in hSERT. UAAs are incorporated with high specificity, and functionally active transporters have similar transport properties and pharmacological profiles compared with wild-type transporters.

Characterization of intracellular regions in the human serotonin transporter for phosphorylation sites.

In the central nervous system, synaptic levels of the monoamine neurotransmitter serotonin are mainly controlled by the serotonin transporter (SERT), and drugs used in the treatment of various psychiatric diseases have SERT as primary target. SERT is a phosphoprotein that undergoes phosphorylation/dephosphorylation during transporter regulation by multiple pathways. In particular, activation and/or inhibition of kinases including PKC, PKG, p38MAPK, and CaMKII modulate SERT function and trafficking.

Interaction of antidepressants with the serotonin and norepinephrine transporters: mutational studies of the S1 substrate binding pocket.

The serotonin transporter (SERT) and the norepinephrine transporter (NET) are sodium-dependent neurotransmitter transporters responsible for reuptake of released serotonin and norepinephrine, respectively, into nerve terminals in the brain. A wide range of inhibitors of SERT and NET are used as treatment of depression and anxiety disorders or as psychostimulant drugs of abuse. Despite their clinical importance, the molecular mechanisms by which various types of antidepressant drugs bind and inhibit SERT and NET are still elusive for the majority of the inhibitors, including the molecular basis for SERT/NET selectivity.

SLC6 neurotransmitter transporters: structure, function, and regulation.

The neurotransmitter transporters (NTTs) belonging to the solute carrier 6 (SLC6) gene family (also referred to as the neurotransmitter-sodium-symporter family or Na(+)/Cl(-)-dependent transporters) comprise a group of nine sodium- and chloride-dependent plasma membrane transporters for the monoamine neurotransmitters serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), dopamine, and norepinephrine, and the amino acid neurotransmitters GABA and glycine. The SLC6 NTTs are widely expressed in the mammalian brain and play an essential role in regulating neurotransmitter signaling and homeostasis by mediating uptake of released neurotransmitters from the extracellular space into neurons and glial cells. The transporters are targets for a wide range of therapeutic drugs used in treatment of psychiatric diseases, including major depression, anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and epilepsy.

Improving the stability of α-conotoxin AuIB through N-to-C cyclization: the effect of linker length on stability and activity at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Modification of α-conotoxin frameworks through cyclization via an oligopeptide linker has previously been shown as an effective strategy for improving in vivo stability. We have extended this strategy by investigating cyclic analogs of α-conotoxin AuIB, a selective α(3)β(4) nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonist, to examine a range of oligopeptide linker lengths on the oxidative formation of disulfide bonds, activity at nAChRs, and stability to degradation by chymotrypsin. Upon nondirected random oxidation, the ribbon isomer formed preferentially with the globular isomer occurring as a minor by-product.

Personal health notes: lessons learned.

The health care system is characterized by fragmentation and specialization which challenge the possibility for patients to be well-informed about and involved in their health care. The present study contributes to an in-depth understanding of how we can use patients' own personal health notes to learn about the health care information system and patients' experience of multiple encounters. The personal health note shows different aspects of the health care labyrinths considering the inconsistency as well as discontinuity of the information.

Latina breast cancer survivors informational needs: information partners.

The ability to access and understand health information is becoming more critical to managing one's own health and illness. Informatics tools are increasingly the central resources for responding to these needs. But just as information is culturally bound, so are the tools used to access it; both are bounded by the contexts in which they are situated.

Severity of illness - implications for information management by patients.

As more and more people are living with chronic diseases, there is a greater need for patients to have access to accurate and reliable information about health in general and their own health care in particular. In this study we explored how patients suffering from chronic heart insufficiency who needed post-hospital home nursing care assessed their need for health information and their use of the health information they received. Fourteen patients were interviewed in their homes one week after their discharge.

Patient portals: survey of nursing informaticists.

As the US moves toward a more patient centered health care system, an integrated Electronic Health Record with a Patient Portal is one way that providers and patients can more actively collaborate in the health care process. A patient portal is an Internet-based interactive website for patients to communicate with their healthcare provider and with varied functions that gives them access to portions of their medical record and other services [1,2,3,4]. Many hospitals and health centers in the USA have developed patient portals while others are still in the planning stage.

Management of information between two nursing contexts.

This paper presents the results of a study in which hospital and home care nurses were asked to respond to a questionnaire about the structures and content of their information exchange when patients need post-hospital nursing care. The hospital nurses' satisfaction with using an electronic patient record is also reported. The results shows that the organizational context in which nurses work has implications for how the two nursing group assess their information management.

Nurses' information management at patients' discharge from hospital to home care.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare hospital and home care nurses' assessment of their information management at patients' discharge from hospital to home care before and after the hospital implemented an electronic nursing discharge note.

Theory: This paper draws on the concept of inter-organizational continuity of care, and specifically addresses the contribution of the implementation of an electronic patient record (EPR).

Methods: The study has a prospective descriptive design.

Nurses' information management across complex health care organizations.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to describe the information management used by hospital and home care nurses for patients in need of continuing care after an episode of hospitalization.

Method: A prospective descriptive design was used. In total 287 hospital nurses and 220 home care nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire before and after the hospital implemented nursing documentation integrated in the electronic patient record (EPR).

Preparing the next generation of advanced practice nurses.

The Institute of Medicine's vision for health professions education highlights the importance of informatics competencies for all graduates. This paper describes an innovative course, required for all graduate students at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center School of Nursing. The design, implementation, and evaluation of NURS6013, Human Technology Interface provides evidence to support it as one model for consideration in meeting the Institute of Medicine's vision for health professions education: The course provides learning opportunities which examine the impact of technology on society and health care, informatics and human factors, as well as the legal, ethical, and policy issues related to the use of technology.

Challenging the information gap--the patients transfer from hospital to home health care.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this paper is to identify the information that nurses in hospitals exchange with nurses in home health care (HHC), and what nurses perceive to be the most significant information to exchange.

Method: Nurses have an obligation to support and ensure continuity of patient care and to prevent an information gap when patients are transferred from one organizational of health care delivery to another organizational level, for example, from hospital to home health care. In an ongoing prospective study, nurses' pre-electronic nursing discharge note and their assessment of the information it was necessary to exchange at the same time was audited and analyzed.