Alcohol Triggers the Accumulation of Oxidatively Damaged Proteins in Neuronal Cells and Tissues.

Alcohol is toxic to neurons and can trigger alcohol-related brain damage, neuronal loss, and cognitive decline. Neuronal cells may be vulnerable to alcohol toxicity and damage from oxidative stress after differentiation. To consider this further, the toxicity of alcohol to undifferentiated SH-SY5Y cells was compared with that of cells that had been acutely differentiated.

Effect of antipsychotic drugs on group II metabotropic glutamate receptor expression and epigenetic control in postmortem brains of schizophrenia subjects.

Antipsychotic-induced low availability of group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (including mGluR and mGluR) in brains of schizophrenia patients may explain the limited efficacy of mGluR ligands in clinical trials. Studies evaluating mGluR levels in well-designed, large postmortem brain cohorts are needed to address this issue. Postmortem samples from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of 96 schizophrenia subjects and matched controls were collected.

Permissive epigenetic regulatory mechanisms at the histone level are enhanced in postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of individuals with schizophrenia.

Background: Susceptibility to schizophrenia is determined by interactions between genes and environment, possibly via epigenetic mechanisms. Schizophrenia has been associated with a restrictive epigenome, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have been postulated as coadjuvant agents to potentiate the efficacy of current antipsychotic drugs. We aimed to evaluate global histone posttranslational modifications (HPTMs) and HDAC expression and activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of individuals with schizophrenia.

Toxicology Screening in Sports-Related Sudden Cardiac Death: A Multinational Observational Study.

Background: Knowledge of toxicological findings among sports-related sudden cardiac death (SrSCD) is scarce.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe postmortem toxicology findings in a multinational cohort of young SrSCD.

Methods: Patients with sudden cardiac death (SCD) aged 12 to 49 years with a complete post mortem were included from Denmark, Spain, and Australia.

Sudden death related to sexual activity: A multicenter study based on forensic autopsies (2010-2021).

Introduction And Objectives: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics, clinic-pathological findings and recent use of substances of abuse and prescribed drugs in sexual activity-related sudden death (SArSD).

Methods: Multicenter population-based study on forensic autopsies conducted in 27 provinces of Spain over 12 years (2010-2021).

Results: Out of 18046 autopsied natural deaths, 64 cases (0.

Differential brain ADRA2A and ADRA2C gene expression and epigenetic regulation in schizophrenia. Effect of antipsychotic drug treatment.

Postsynaptic α-adrenoceptor density is enhanced in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of antipsychotic-treated schizophrenia subjects. This alteration might be due to transcriptional activation, and could be regulated by epigenetic mechanisms such as histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs). The aim of this study was to evaluate ADRA2A and ADRA2C gene expression (codifying for α-adrenoceptor subtypes), and permissive and repressive histone PTMs at gene promoter regions in the DLPFC of subjects with schizophrenia and matched controls (n = 24 pairs).

Sports-related sudden cardiac death in Spain. A multicenter, population-based, forensic study of 288 cases.

Introduction And Objectives: To determine the incidence of sports-related sudden cardiac death in Spain, and to identify the clinical-pathological characteristics, substance abuse, and sports activity associated with this entity.

Methods: Retrospective, population-based, multicenter study of forensic autopsies conducted in 25 provinces during an 8-year period (2010-2017).

Results: We investigated 288 cases (98.

Ribosomal Protein S6 Hypofunction in Postmortem Human Brain Links mTORC1-Dependent Signaling and Schizophrenia.

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (also known as mammalian target of rapamycin) (mTOR)-dependent signaling pathway plays an important role in protein synthesis, cell growth, and proliferation, and has been linked to the development of the central nervous system. Recent studies suggest that mTOR signaling pathway dysfunction could be involved in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the status of mTOR signaling pathway in postmortem prefrontal cortex (PFC) samples of subjects with schizophrenia.

Serotonin 5-HT receptor expression and functionality in postmortem frontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia: Selective biased agonism via G-proteins.

Serotonin 5-HT receptors (5-HTRs) have been implicated in schizophrenia. However, postmortem studies on 5-HTRs expression and functionality in schizophrenia are scarce. The 5-HTR mRNA and immunoreactive protein expression were evaluated in postmortem tissue from dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of antipsychotic-free (n = 18) and antipsychotic-treated (n = 9) subjects with schizophrenia, and matched controls (n = 27).

Sports-related sudden cardiac death due to myocardial diseases on a population from 1-35 years: a multicentre forensic study in Spain.

This is a multicentre forensic study that identifies all sports-related sudden deaths (SRSDs) in young people, due to myocardial diseases (MDs) that occurred in a large area of Spain. The aim of the study is to assess the epidemiology, causes of death, and sport activities associated with these fatalities. This is a retrospective study based on forensic autopsies performed in the provinces of Biscay, Seville, Valencia and in the jurisdiction covered by the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Madrid (Spain).

Endocannabinoid system imbalance in the postmortem prefrontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia.

Background: The endocannabinoid system - comprising cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoid ligands and their synthesis and inactivation enzymes - has been widely implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, little is known regarding the status of the different elements of the endocannabinoid system in the brain of schizophrenic patients. We have previously reported altered endocannabinoid levels in the postmortem brain of subjects with schizophrenia compared with matched controls.

Sudden cardiac death associated to substances of abuse and psychotropic drugs consumed by young people: A population study based on forensic autopsies.

Background: Toxic substances are one of the main risk factors for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people. However, there is limited information about this matter based on clinical research. The aim of this study was to analyze the use of substances of abuse (legal and illicit) and prescribed psychotropic drugs in young people who died by SCD.

Characterisation of spinophilin immunoreactivity in postmortem human brain homogenates.

Spinophilin is a multifunctional scaffold protein that regulates the formation and function of dendritic spines and plays a role in neuronal migration. The distinct roles of spinophilin depend on its localization and the direct interaction with other proteins, which may target spinophilin to specific locations within the cell. Several studies suggest a role of spinophilin in the pathophysiology of neurological or psychiatric diseases.

Incommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part IV: Psychological and psychiatric consequences of ill-treatment and torture: trauma and human worldviews.

Background: Most literature on psychological consequences of torture is related to prolonged detention. Psychological consequences of intensive physical and psychological torture in brief detention have not been investigated. The aim of this study is to analyse the psychological impact of torture in short-term incommunicado detention.

Incommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part III: 'Five days is enough': the concept of torturing environments.

Background: Torture is changing in western societies, evolving from pain-producing torture to more subtle mixed psychological methods that are harder to detect. Despite this, there is not an adequate understanding of the complexities of contemporary psychological techniques used in coercive interrogation and torture.

Methods: The interrogation and torture techniques used on 45 detainees held in short-term incommunicado detention in Spain during the period 1980-2012 were analyzed.

Incommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part II: Enhanced credibility assessment based on the Istanbul Protocol.

Background: The Istanbul Protocol (IP) is the key instrument in the documentation of allegations of torture. However, few scientific studies have evaluated its effectiveness as a tool to assess credibility of allegations of ill-treatment or torture.

Objective: Present data on the credibility of allegations of torture in a sample of 45 Basque people held in short-term incommunicado detention between 1980 and 2012, using a modified version of the Standard Evaluation Form for Credibility Assessment (SEC), a new tool to assess credibility based on the IP.

Detainees' perception of the doctors and the medical institution in Spanish police stations: An impediment in the fight against torture and ill-treatment.

Background: As part of a program by the Basque Government (Spain) and the University of the Basque Country, persons who have alleged exposure to torture and ill-treatment have been examined by psychologists and psychiatrists according to the Istanbul Protocol (IP). Medical examinations of detainees with the aim, inter alia, to document abuses is fundamental for torture prevention. The IP prescribes how this should be done to ensure data collection and prevent reprisals for having reported ill-treatment to the doctor.

Up-regulated 14-3-3β and 14-3-3ζ proteins in prefrontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia: effect of psychotropic treatment.

14-3-3 is a family of conserved regulatory proteins that bind to a multitude of functionally diverse signalling proteins. Various genetic studies and gene expression and proteomic analyses have involved 14-3-3 proteins in schizophrenia (SZ). On the other hand, studies about the status of these proteins in major depressive disorder (MD) are still missing.

Evaluation of 5-HT2A and mGlu2/3 receptors in postmortem prefrontal cortex of subjects with major depressive disorder: effect of antidepressant treatment.

Several studies have demonstrated alterations in serotonin 5-HT2A (5-HT2AR) and glutamate metabotropic mGlu2 (mGlu2R) receptors in depression, but never in the same sample population. Recently it has been shown that both receptors form a functional receptor heterocomplex that is altered in schizophrenia. The present study evaluates the gene expression and protein density of 5-HT2AR and mGlu2/3R in the postmortem prefrontal cortex of subjects with major depressive disorder (n = 14) compared with control subjects (n = 14) in a paired design.

Recent cocaine use is a significant risk factor for sudden cardiovascular death in 15-49-year-old subjects: a forensic case-control study.

Aims: The aims of the present study were to: (i) evaluate the prevalence of recent cocaine use in adolescents and young adults who had died by sudden cardiovascular death (SCVD); (ii) assess if recent cocaine use was associated with an increased risk of SCVD; and (iii) determine the demographic, clinical-pathological and toxicological characteristics of SCVD related to recent cocaine use.

Design: This was a case-control autopsy-based observational retrospective study.

Setting/cases: Cases were all SCVD in individuals aged between 15 and 49 years during the period ranging from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2009, with autopsies performed in Biscay, Spain.