Deficits in odor discrimination versus odor identification in patients with schizophrenia and negative correlations with GABAergic and DNA methyltransferase mRNAs in lymphocytes.

Introduction: People with schizophrenia have been reported to show deficits in tests of olfactory function. DNA methylation and GABAergic input have been implicated in biochemical processes controlling odor in animal studies, but this has not been investigated in human studies.

Methods: In a study of measures of DNA methylation and GABAergic mRNAs in lymphocytes, we also measured odor identification and discrimination with the Sniffin' Sticks battery in 58 patients with chronic schizophrenia (CSZ) and 48 controls.

Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis Related Sinus Node Dysfunction and the Lock-Step Phenomenon.

Described in 2007, anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis (ANMDARE) is a rare autoimmune limbic encephalitis affecting young adults (predominantly women of reproductive age) and is a paraneoplastic manifestation of ovarian teratoma in about half of the cases. ANMDARE is characterized by psychiatric changes, neurological changes, autonomic instability and cardiac dysrhythmias. In this report, we present a 36-year-old woman who was 16 weeks pregnant and brought to the hospital with confusion and subsequently had a seizure with Electroencephalography (EEG) demonstrated an extreme delta brush pattern consistent with ANMDARE.

Early life stress delays hippocampal development and diminishes the adult stem cell pool in mice.

Early life stress predisposes to mental illness and behavioral dysfunction in adulthood, but the mechanisms underlying these persistent effects are poorly understood. Stress throughout life impairs the structure and function of the hippocampus, a brain system undergoing considerable development in early life. The long-term behavioral consequences of early life stress may therefore be due in part to interference with hippocampal development, in particular with assembly of the dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus.

Betahistine effects on weight-related measures in patients treated with antipsychotic medications: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Rationale: Weight gain during treatment with antipsychotics is a prominent side-effect, especially with some second-generation antipsychotics, such as olanzapine and clozapine, and pharmacological treatments which ameliorate this side-effect are important to investigate. Decreases in histaminergic transmission in the brain induced by antipsychotics may be one of the mechanisms contributing to weight gain. Since betahistine is a histaminergic agonist, it may potentially counteract the weight gain effects of antipsychotics.

RbAp48 Protein Is a Critical Component of GPR158/OCN Signaling and Ameliorates Age-Related Memory Loss.

Precisely deciphering the molecular mechanisms of age-related memory loss is crucial to create appropriate therapeutic interventions. We have previously shown that the histone-binding protein RbAp48/Rbbp4 is a molecular determinant of Age-Related Memory Loss. By exploring how this protein regulates the genomic landscape of the hippocampal circuit, we find that RbAp48 controls the expression of BDNF and GPR158 proteins, both critical components of osteocalcin (OCN) signaling in the mouse hippocampus.

Ablation of proliferating neural stem cells during early life is sufficient to reduce adult hippocampal neurogenesis.

Environmental exposures during early life, but not during adolescence or adulthood, lead to persistent reductions in neurogenesis in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). The mechanisms by which early life exposures lead to long-term deficits in neurogenesis remain unclear. Here, we investigated whether targeted ablation of dividing neural stem cells during early life is sufficient to produce long-term decreases in DG neurogenesis.

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cognition, symptoms, and smoking in schizophrenia: A randomized controlled study.

Schizophrenia is characterized by cognitive deficits which persist after acute symptoms have been treated or resolved. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been reported to improve cognition and reduce smoking craving in healthy subjects but has not been as carefully evaluated in a randomized controlled study for these effects in schizophrenia. We conducted a randomized double-blind, sham-controlled study of the effects of 5 sessions of tDCS (2 milliamps for 20minutes) on cognition, psychiatric symptoms, and smoking and cigarette craving in 37 outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were current smokers.

Differentiated mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate cardiovascular complications in diabetic rats.

Cardiovascular manifestations are one of the major complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and supersede the slow progression of DM in most cases as the leading cause of mortality. There have been many studies and trials in regenerating the functional β-cells of islets from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with varied success. The effect of MSCs ex vivo differentiated to mimic functional insulin-secreting β-cells of islets and their impact on restoration of diabetic complications and transplantation via systemic delivery have not been well studied.

Interaction of PACAP with Sonic hedgehog reveals complex regulation of the hedgehog pathway by PKA.

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling is essential for proliferation of cerebellar granule cell progenitors (cGCPs) and its aberrant activation causes a cerebellar cancer medulloblastoma. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) inhibits Shh-driven proliferation of cGCPs and acts as tumor suppressor in murine medulloblastoma. We show that PACAP blocks canonical Shh signaling by a mechanism that involves activation of protein kinase A (PKA) and inhibition of the translocation of the Shh-dependent transcription factor Gli2 into the primary cilium.

An LXR agonist promotes glioblastoma cell death through inhibition of an EGFR/AKT/SREBP-1/LDLR-dependent pathway.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor of adults and one of the most lethal of all cancers. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations (EGFRvIII) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) hyperactivation are common in GBM, promoting tumor growth and survival, including through sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1)-dependent lipogenesis. The role of cholesterol metabolism in GBM pathogenesis, its association with EGFR/PI3K signaling, and its potential therapeutic targetability are unknown.

Effect of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells on cardiovascular complications in diabetic rats.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on cardiovascular complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) in rats.

Material/methods: MSCs were derived from the bone marrow of male albino rats. The MSCs were characterized morphologically and by RT-PCR for CD29 expression.