The Relationship Between Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Major Depression.

Introduction: Cardiovascular risk in depression has been investigated in small clinical samples and population-based studies revealing inconclusive results. However, cardiovascular risk in drug-naive depressed patients has not been tested extensively.

Methods: Body mass index-based Framingham Cardiovascular Risk Scores and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) levels were used to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease in drug-naive depressed patients and healthy volunteers.

Associations Between Blood Levels of NLRP3 Inflammasome Components and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Introduction: Even though the effect of inflammation on pathogenesis of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is known, information regarding the underlying mechanisms are yet to be revealed. The NLRP3 inflammasome complex is an important component of the innate immune system that initiates and mediates inflammatory response to a variety of stimuli. This study aims to inquire into a possible association between NLRP3 inflammasome complex and OCD.

Relationship of negative symptom severity with cognitive symptoms and functioning in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

Aim: Negative symptoms and cognition are related with functioning in schizophrenia. However, it is not clear whether they have a similar effect in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. In this study, we aimed to explore relationship of negative symptoms with cognition and functioning cross-sectionally in people with UHR for psychosis.

Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression.

Background: The prevalence of depression is higher in individuals with autoimmune diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the observed comorbidities are unknown. Shared genetic etiology is a plausible explanation for the overlap, and in this study we tested whether genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which is associated with risk for autoimmune diseases, is also associated with risk for depression.

Methods: We fine-mapped the classical MHC (chr6: 29.

No Interaction Between Childhood Maltreatment and Serotonin Transporter Gene in Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder: A Clinical Sample.

Introduction: There is inconsistent evidence of interaction between childhood adversities and a serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in depression. It is hypothesized that genetic sensitivity to stress could be more specific to recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the study is to replicate a recent study which provided preliminary evidence of interaction between severity of childhood maltreatment and the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in recurrent MDD.

Cortical thickness and surface area as an endophenotype in bipolar disorder type I patients and their first-degree relatives.

Objectives: So far, few studies have investigated cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA) measures in bipolar disorder type I (BDI) in comparison to a high genetic risk group such as first-degree relatives (FR). This study aimed to examine CT and SA differences between BDI, FR and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: 3D T1 magnetic resonance images were acquired from 27 euthymic BDI patients, 24 unaffected FR and 29 HC.

Bivariate genome-wide association analyses of the broad depression phenotype combined with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia reveal eight novel genetic loci for depression.

Although a genetic basis of depression has been well established in twin studies, identification of genome-wide significant loci has been difficult. We hypothesized that bivariate analyses of findings from a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (meta-GWASs) of the broad depression phenotype with those from meta-GWASs of self-reported and recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder and schizophrenia would enhance statistical power to identify novel genetic loci for depression. LD score regression analyses were first used to estimate the genetic correlations of broad depression with self-reported MDD, recurrent MDD, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia in microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II syndrome: supporting evidence for an association between the PCNT gene and schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a genetically complex disease that is related to neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Several genetic polymorphisms and genetic syndromes associated with neurodevelopmental processes have been linked to schizophrenia. In this case report, we present a case with an association between microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II and schizophrenia.

Prolonged Grief and Cognitive Decline: A Prospective Population-Based Study in Middle-Aged and Older Persons.

Objective: Bereavement can result in unresolved and prolonged grief, often termed prolonged grief disorder (PGD). The impact of PGD on cognitive functioning is poorly understood. The aim of the study was to compare the cognitive decline, assessed by repeated measures of different cognition domains, between persons with normal and PGD and a non-grieving reference population in a 7-year follow-up study.

The low single nucleotide polymorphism heritability of plasma and saliva cortisol levels.

Cortisol is an important stress hormone affected by a variety of biological and environmental factors, such as the circadian rhythm, exercise and psychological stress. Cortisol is mostly measured using blood or saliva samples. A number of genetic variants have been found to contribute to cortisol levels with these methods.

Sexual Activity and Physical Tenderness in Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Prevalence and Associated Characteristics.

Background: Despite a common misconception, older adults engage in sexual behavior. However, there is limited sexual behavior research in older adults, which is often restricted to small samples, to cohorts recruiting adults from 45 years old, and to questions regarding only sexual intercourse.

Aim: To assess the cross-sectional prevalence of and characteristics associated with sexual activity and physical tenderness in community-dwelling older adults.

Happiness, rather than depression, is associated with sexual behaviour in partnered older adults.

Background: The relation between positive psychological well-being (PPWB) and sexual behaviour is understudied in older adult groups.

Objective: To examine the relation between PPWB (positive affect and life satisfaction) and sexual behaviour (sexual activity and physical tenderness) in older adults, and whether it is independent from depressive symptoms and uniform across older age groups.

Design: Cross-sectional.

An Analysis of Two Genome-wide Association Meta-analyses Identifies a New Locus for Broad Depression Phenotype.

Background: The genetics of depression has been explored in genome-wide association studies that focused on either major depressive disorder or depressive symptoms with mostly negative findings. A broad depression phenotype including both phenotypes has not been tested previously using a genome-wide association approach. We aimed to identify genetic polymorphisms significantly associated with a broad phenotype from depressive symptoms to major depressive disorder.

The Impact of Complicated Grief on Diurnal Cortisol Levels Two Years After Loss: A Population-Based Study.

Objective: Few studies have focused on the effect of complicated grief-unresolved and prolonged grief-on the neuroendocrine systems. The present study examined the association of complicated grief and normal grief with the diurnal cortisol patterns in a large population-based study.

Methods: This study was set in the Rotterdam Study and comprised 2084 persons aged older than 55 years (mean [SD] age, 64.

The Very Low-Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test in the General Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Determinants of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning are increasingly explored in population-based studies. However, functional tests measuring the negative feedback of the HPA axis cannot easily be implemented into large observational studies. Furthermore, high doses of dexamethasone often completely suppress the HPA axis in healthy persons.

Markers of cerebral small vessel disease and severity of depression in the general population.

The vascular depression hypothesis postulates that cerebral small vessel disease can cause or exacerbate depression in elderly persons. Numerous studies explored the association of imaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease including white matter lesions (WMLs) and lacunar infarcts with depressive symptoms or disorders. However, cerebral microbleeds have not been tested in depression.