Effectiveness of Genotype-Specific Tricyclic Antidepressant Dosing in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence of the clinical benefit of pharmacogenetics-informed treatment (PIT) with antidepressants is still limited. Especially for tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), pharmacogenetics may be of interest because therapeutic plasma concentrations are well defined, identification of optimal dosing can be time consuming, and treatment is frequently accompanied by adverse effects.

Objective: To determine whether PIT results in faster attainment of therapeutic TCA plasma concentrations compared with usual treatment in patients with unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).

[Psychiatric symptoms and COVID-19: results of a national case register].

Background: Psychiatric disorders are associated with a more severe course of COVID-19. COVID-19 can also lead to psychiatric symptoms.

Aim: To gain insight into vulnerabilities and protective factors for the course of COVID-19 in a Dutch (neuro)psychiatric population.

Urinary tract infections in children: clinical and antimicrobial resistance data from Bucharest area, Romania.

Introduction: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial diseases of childhood with an increased frequency in infants and young children.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of children diagnosed with UTI in the Alessandrescu-Rusescu National Institute for Mother and Child Health, Bucharest, Romania between January 2017 and December 2019. We evaluated the patients' clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters and the resistance profile of the identified uropathogens.

Tricyclic antidepressants for major depressive disorder: a comprehensive evaluation of current practice in the Netherlands.

Background: Traditionally tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) have an important place in treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Today, often other antidepressant medications are considered as first step in the pharmacological treatment of MDD, mainly because they are associated with less adverse effects, whereby the position of TCAs appears unclear. In this study we aimed to examine the current practice of TCAs in treatment of unipolar MDD.

Arterial stiffness in hematologic malignancies.

Malignant and cardiovascular disorders are the top causes of mortality worldwide. This article reviews the main literature data and mechanisms linking hematologic malignancies and arterial stiffness, focusing on recent experimental and clinical results. Several links were found in hematologic malignancies between complete blood count and arterial stiffness.

Mild cognitive impairment and risk of depression and anxiety: A population-based study.

Introduction: Many people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) suffer from concomitant depression or anxiety. Whether MCI increases the risk of future depression or anxiety is unknown.

Methods: In the Rotterdam Study, cross-sectional (n = 4168) and longitudinal associations (n = 2967) of MCI with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-depressive and anxiety disorders-were assessed (2002-2005 to 2009-2011).

Influence of exercise training and eating behavior on arterial stiffness in young healthy students.

Aim: Increased arterial stiffness is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to compare arterial function and other anthropometric parameters in trained vs sedentary, healthy young students. Furthermore, the study explores the relationship between arterial stiffness and eating behavior in these students.

Estimating the predictive ability of genetic risk models in simulated data based on published results from genome-wide association studies.

Background: There is increasing interest in investigating genetic risk models in empirical studies, but such studies are premature when the expected predictive ability of the risk model is low. We assessed how accurately the predictive ability of genetic risk models can be estimated in simulated data that are created based on the odds ratios (ORs) and frequencies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWASs).

Methods: We aimed to replicate published prediction studies that reported the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) as a measure of predictive ability.

Scientific reporting is suboptimal for aspects that characterize genetic risk prediction studies: a review of published articles based on the Genetic RIsk Prediction Studies statement.

Objectives: Our main objective was to raise awareness of the areas that need improvements in the reporting of genetic risk prediction articles for future publications, based on the Genetic RIsk Prediction Studies (GRIPS) statement.

Study Design And Setting: We evaluated studies that developed or validated a prediction model based on multiple DNA variants, using empirical data, and were published in 2010. A data extraction form based on the 25 items of the GRIPS statement was created and piloted.

Accuracy guarantees for phylogeny reconstruction algorithms based on balanced minimum evolution.

Distance-based phylogenetic methods attempt to reconstruct an accurate phylogenetic tree from an estimated matrix of pairwise distances between taxa. This paper examines two distance-based algorithms (GreedyBME and FastME) that are based on the principle of minimizing the balanced minimum evolution score of the output tree in relation to the given estimated distance matrix. This is also the principle that underlies the neighbor-joining (NJ) algorithm.

Incremental value of rare genetic variants for the prediction of multifactorial diseases.

Background: It is often assumed that rare genetic variants will improve available risk prediction scores. We aimed to estimate the added predictive ability of rare variants for risk prediction of common diseases in hypothetical scenarios.

Methods: In simulated data, we constructed risk models with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) ranging between 0.

Variations in predicted risks in personal genome testing for common complex diseases.

Purpose: The promise of personalized genomics for common complex diseases depends, in part, on the ability to predict genetic risks on the basis of single nucleotide polymorphisms. We examined and compared the methods of three companies (23andMe, deCODEme, and Navigenics) that have offered direct-to-consumer personal genome testing.

Methods: We simulated genotype data for 100,000 individuals on the basis of published genotype frequencies and predicted disease risks using the methods of the companies.

A methodological perspective on genetic risk prediction studies in type 2 diabetes: recommendations for future research.

Fueled by the successes of genome-wide association studies, numerous studies have investigated the predictive ability of genetic risk models in type 2 diabetes. In this paper, we review these studies from a methodological perspective, focusing on the variables included in the risk models as well as the study designs and populations investigated. We argue and show that differences in study design and characteristics of the study population have an impact on the observed predictive ability of risk models.

Predictive genetic testing for the identification of high-risk groups: a simulation study on the impact of predictive ability.

Background: Genetic risk models could potentially be useful in identifying high-risk groups for the prevention of complex diseases. We investigated the performance of this risk stratification strategy by examining epidemiological parameters that impact the predictive ability of risk models.

Methods: We assessed sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value for all possible risk thresholds that can define high-risk groups and investigated how these measures depend on the frequency of disease in the population, the frequency of the high-risk group, and the discriminative accuracy of the risk model, as assessed by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC).

Genetic risk profiling for prediction of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common disease caused by a complex interplay between many genetic and environmental factors. Candidate gene studies and recent collaborative genome-wide association efforts revealed at least 38 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with increased risk of T2D. Genetic testing of multiple SNPs is considered a potentially useful tool for early detection of individuals at high diabetes risk leading to improved targeting of preventive interventions.

Improvement of risk prediction by genomic profiling: reclassification measures versus the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.

Reclassification is observed even when there is no or minimal improvement in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and it is unclear whether it indicates improved clinical utility. The authors investigated total reclassification, net reclassification improvement, and integrated discrimination improvement for different DeltaAUC using empirical and simulated data. Empirical analyses compared prediction of type 2 diabetes risk based on age, sex, and body mass index with prediction updated with 18 established genetic risk factors.

Translational research in genomics of Alzheimer's disease: a review of current practice and future perspectives.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia and the number of cases is expected to increase exponentially worldwide. Three highly penetrant genes (AbetaPP, PSEN1, and PSEN2) explain only a small number of AD cases with a Mendelian transmission pattern. Many genes have been analyzed for association with non-Mendelian AD, but the only consistently replicated finding is APOE.

Evaluation of risk prediction updates from commercial genome-wide scans.

Purpose: Commercial internet-based companies offer genome-wide scans to predict the risk of common diseases and personalize nutrition and lifestyle recommendations. These risk estimates are updated with every new gene discovery.

Methods: To assess the benefits of updating risk information in commercial genome-wide scans, we compared type 2 diabetes risk predictions based on TCF7L2 alone, 18 polymorphisms alone, and 18 polymorphisms plus age, sex, and body mass index.

Combinatorics of least-squares trees.

A recurring theme in the least-squares approach to phylogenetics has been the discovery of elegant combinatorial formulas for the least-squares estimates of edge lengths. These formulas have proved useful for the development of efficient algorithms, and have also been important for understanding connections among popular phylogeny algorithms. For example, the selection criterion of the neighbor-joining algorithm is now understood in terms of the combinatorial formulas of Pauplin for estimating tree length.

Bcl-2 expression in Hodgkin's lymphoma progression.

Introduction: Hodgkin's lymphoma study by immunohistochemical expression of Bcl-2 in Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells can precise these cases evolutive way.

Material And Methods: Sixty-three cases of classical Hodgkin's disease, hospitalized into the Hematology Department of the County Hospital No. 1 Timisoara, were studied.

CD30 expression utilization for the accuracy of classical Hodgkin's lymphoma staging.

Introduction: The presence of Reed-Sternberg malignant cells is absolutely necessary for Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnostic, but it is not always sufficient because can be observed Reed-Sternberg-like cells in other malignant and benign diseases, too. The CD30 expression at Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg level can give us supplementary information in differential diagnostic and can be used as progressive disease factor.

Material And Methods: Our study was composed from 63 cases histopathological diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and hospitalized in Hematology Department of County Hospital Timişoara.

[Smoking habits: a study of Iaşi school staff].

Aim: To asses the frequency of smoking habits among the school staff from Iasi.

Methods: An anonymous questionnaire with 21 items was administrated to 675 subjects (165 were male and 510 were female) who had performed periodic chest X-ray control during September 2001. The mean age of the group was 42.