Association Study of Genotype by Depressive Response during Tryptophan Depletion in Subjects Recovered from Major Depression.

Purpose: The brief and reversible mood response to acute tryptophan (TRP) depletion (ATD) is being studied as a trait marker in subjects considered at risk for major depression (MD).

Procedures: ATD was administered to 64 subjects (54 European-Americans, and10 from other races) with personal and family history of MD. They were in remission and had been medication-free for at least three months.

Pilot Study of a Computer-Based Parental Questionnaire and Visual Profile of Obesity Risk in Healthy Preschoolers.

Purpose: This group field-tested a computer-based, parental questionnaire entitled the Childhood Obesity Risk Questionnaire 2-5 (CORQ 2-5) designed to assess obesity risk in healthy preschoolers. COR 2-5 generates a profile of seven obesity risk factors.

Results: Field studies provided good internal reliability data and evidence of discriminant validity for the CORQ 2-5.

The development and effectiveness of a health information website designed to improve parents' self-efficacy in managing risk for obesity in preschoolers.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of web-based information on parental self-efficacy in managing obesity risk in preschoolers.

Design And Methods: The project included a literature review and the development and field testing of an information website that presented information on how to manage nine obesity risk factors for childhood obesity.

Results: Parents stated that they had no problems using the website, and 69% reported improved self-efficacy on at least two risk factors.

The implications of genomics on the nursing care of adults with neuropsychiatric conditions.

Purpose: Neuropsychiatric disorders contribute substantially to disease burden and quality of life across the lifespan and the globe. The purpose of this article is to review the state of the science regarding genomic contributions to selected common neuropsychiatric conditions and to examine the consequent immediate and future implications for nursing practice and research.

Organizing Construct: Our work is guided by an ecological model that recognizes that common diseases are complex or multifactorial, meaning that multiple genomic and environmental factors contribute to their etiology.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 overexpression in cardiomyocytes diminishes ex vivo heart functional recovery after acute ischemia.

Background: Acute insulin-like growth factor-1 administration has been shown to have beneficial effects in cardiac pathological conditions. The aim of the present study was to assess the structural and ex vivo functional impacts of long-term cardiomyocyte-specific insulin-like growth factor-1 overexpression in hearts of transgenic αMHC-IGF-1 Ea mice.

Methods: Performance of isolated transgenic αMHC-IGF-1 Ea and littermate wild-type control hearts was compared under baseline conditions and in response to 20-min ischemic insult.

Development and use of a tool to guide junior faculty in their progression toward promotion and tenure.

Junior faculty have multiple roles and need to participate in a variety of activities that increase their likelihood of achieving promotion and tenure. Yet, these faculty often struggle when deciding how and when to expend effort along their career trajectory. In response to the need for structured guidance when setting priorities and making decisions about time management, faculty from a school of nursing at a research university have developed and begun to use a faculty progression tool.

Incorporating evidence from pharmacologic and pharmacogenetic studies of atypical antipsychotic drugs into advanced psychiatric nursing practice.

Purpose: To present a conceptual framework for incorporating pharmacologic findings and pharmacogenetic evidence related to atypical antipsychotic drugs (AADs) into advanced psychiatric nursing practice.

Conclusions: Three evidence domains lend important information about differential AAD response. These include the pharmacology of AADs, the molecular genetics of metabolizing enzymes, and the molecular genetics of neurotransmitter receptor drug targets.

Functional SNPs in genes encoding the 5-HT2A receptor modify the affinity and potency of several atypical antipsychotic drugs.

Atypical antipsychotic drugs (AADs) are the standard treatment for both the acute and long-term management of schizophrenia and an augmentation to mood stabilizers for bipolar disorder (BD). Yet many individuals who take AADs do not fully respond to them, while others experience side effects that include weight gain and metabolic disorder. This in vitro pharmacogenetic study examined whether allelic variants in the 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT)(2A) receptor alter the in vitro pharmacology of six AADs (clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole).

A comparison of the life goals program and treatment as usual for individuals with bipolar disorder.

Objective: This randomized controlled study of 164 outpatients with bipolar disorder in a community mental health center who received standardized psychoeducation (Life Goals Program [LGP]) or treatment as usual sought to determine whether there were differences between the groups in medication adherence attitudes and behaviors.

Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (N=80) or treatment as usual plus LGP (N=84) and were assessed at baseline and at the three-, six-, and 12-month follow-up. Primary outcomes were change in score from baseline on the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI) and on self-reported treatment adherence behaviors (SRTAB).

Reduced muscle necrosis and long-term benefits in dystrophic mdx mice after cV1q (blockade of TNF) treatment.

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) is a potent inflammatory cytokine that appears to exacerbate damage of dystrophic muscle in vivo. The monoclonal murine specific antibody cV1q that specifically neutralises murine TNF demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects in dystrophic mdx mice. cV1q administration protected dystrophic skeletal myofibres against necrosis in both young and adult mdx mice and in adult mdx mice subjected to 48 h voluntary wheel exercise.

Reduced necrosis of dystrophic muscle by depletion of host neutrophils, or blocking TNFalpha function with Etanercept in mdx mice.

Necrosis of skeletal muscle fibres in the lethal childhood myopathy Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy results from deficiency of the cell membrane associated protein, dystrophin. We test the hypothesis in dystrophin-deficient mice, that the initial sarcolemmal breakdown resulting from dystrophin deficiency is exacerbated by inflammatory cells, specifically neutrophils, and that cytokines, specifically Tumour Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFalpha), contribute to myofibre necrosis. Antibody depletion of host neutrophils resulted in a delayed and significantly reduced amount of skeletal muscle breakdown in young dystrophic mdx mice.

Attitudes regarding the collaborative practice model and treatment adherence among individuals with bipolar disorder.

An emerging literature suggests that a collaborative care model, in which patients are active managers of their illness within a supportive social environment, is a beneficial approach for individuals with bipolar disorder. One aspect of treatment that is often suboptimal among individuals with bipolar disorder is treatment adherence. Establishing an ideal collaborative model may offer an opportunity to enhance treatment adherence among individuals with bipolar disorder.

Silencing TNFalpha activity by using Remicade or Enbrel blocks inflammation in whole muscle grafts: an in vivo bioassay to assess the efficacy of anti-cytokine drugs in mice.

Dramatic clinical success in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases has resulted from the use of anti-cytokine therapies including specific blocking antibodies, soluble receptors and traps to silence the actions of inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin-1 (IL-1). Two agents used clinically to block the functional activity of TNFalpha protein are Remicade (an antibody) and Enbrel (a soluble TNF receptor). These tools are now being extended to many other clinical disorders.

Insulin-like growth factor I slows the rate of denervation induced skeletal muscle atrophy.

Loss of the nerve supply to skeletal muscle results in a relentless loss of muscle mass (atrophy) over time. The ability of insulin-like growth factor-1 to reduce atrophy resulting from denervation was examined after transection of the sciatic nerve in transgenic MLC/mIGF-1 mice that over-express mIGF-1 specifically in differentiated myofibres. The cross sectional area (CSA) of all types of myofibres and specifically type IIB myofibres was measured in tibialis anterior muscles from transgenic and wild-type mice at 28 days after denervation.

Aripiprazole: a novel atypical antipsychotic drug with a uniquely robust pharmacology.

Aripiprazole (Abilify) is an atypical antipsychotic drug that has been recently introduced for clinical use in the treatment of schizophrenia. Aripiprazole has a unique pharmacologic profile that includes partial agonism at several G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) [especially dopamine (D2) and 5-HT1A] and antagonistic action at others (especially 5-HT2A). Clinical trials indicate that aripiprazole is effective in treating the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Early regeneration of whole skeletal muscle grafts is unaffected by overexpression of IGF-1 in MLC/mIGF-1 transgenic mice.

Early myogenic events in regenerating whole muscle grafts were compared between transgenic MLC/mIGF-1 mice with skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of the Exon-1 Ea isoform of insulin-like growth factor-1 (mIGF-1) and control FVB mice, from day 3 to day 21 after transplantation. Immunocytochemistry with antibodies against desmin showed that skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of IGF-1 did not affect the pattern of myoblast activation or proliferation or the onset and number of myotubes formed in regenerating whole muscle grafts. Hypertrophied myotubes were observed in MLC/mIGF grafts at day 7 after transplantation, although such hypertrophy was transient, and the transgenic and control grafts had a similar appearance at later time points (days 10, 14, and 21).

Impact of bipolar disorder on a U.S. community sample.

Background: Bipolar disorder is a chronic psychiatric illness characterized by depression and at least 1 manic or hypomanic episode during the lifetime of the illness. Bipolar symptoms have been associated with significant functional impairment. We conducted a study to determine the psychosocial impact of bipolar disorder in a U.

Screening for bipolar disorder in the community.

Background: Our goal was to estimate the rate of positive screens for bipolar I and bipolar II disorders in the general population of the United States.

Method: The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), a validated screening instrument for bipolar I and II disorders, was sent to a sample of 127,800 people selected to represent the U.S.

Validity of the mood disorder questionnaire: a general population study.

Objective: This study tested the validity in the adult general population of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, a screening instrument for bipolar I and II disorders. The Mood Disorder Questionnaire has been validated in a psychiatric outpatient study group.

Method: A total of 711 subjects (stratified by Mood Disorder Questionnaire score) were randomly selected from a group of 85,358 adult respondents in a nationwide epidemiological general population sample that was balanced for key demographic variables.

An evaluation of leukaemia inhibitory factor as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of muscle disease.

The exogenous delivery of growth factors and cytokines is a potential therapeutic strategy to alleviate the degenerative effects of primary inherited myopathies such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The mdx mouse diaphragm is a model for examining the progressive degeneration of dystrophic muscle. We have delivered leukaemia inhibitory factor to the mdx diaphragm using slow release alginate gels.

The role of p53 in vivo during skeletal muscle post-natal development and regeneration: studies in p53 knockout mice.

The tumour suppressor gene p53 is recognised as a central regulator of the cell cycle and apoptosis. Post-natally, p53 mutations are associated with many cancers and mice lacking p53 are prone to spontaneous tumour formation. The present study examines skeletal muscle formation in post-natal mice lacking p53 using two different models of skeletal muscle regeneration.