Thirteen-year follow-up of long-term treated psychotic disorder: personality aspects.

Objective: Personality is an aspect that can affect the symptoms and social function in individuals with psychotic disorders. Several studies have investigated personality in schizophrenia and other long-term psychotic disorders. No study has examined the stability of personality traits exceeding five years in patients with schizophrenia and related disorders.

Swedish Universities Scales of Personality: Relation to Other Personality Instruments.

Objective: To investigate associations between Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP) and scales of the following personality instruments: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R axis II screening questionnaire (SCID-II screen), revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R), revised Chapman scales (Chapman) and the psychotic traits questionnaire (STQ).

Methods: Healthy individuals (n=406) completed self-report personality questionnaires including SSP and at least one more personality inventory. Correlations were calculated between the 13 different SSP subscales as well as SSP's three factors and factors and scales/subscales in SCID-II screen, NEO-PI-R, Chapman and STQ.

Correction to: Stability of personality traits over a five-year period in Swedish patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and nonpsychotic individuals: a study using the Swedish universities scales of personality.

After publication of the original article [1], it was brought to our attention that some of the numbers in Table 3were incorrect.

Neuroimaging hippocampal subfields in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The hippocampus is a complex structure consisting of subregions with specialized cytoarchitecture and functions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in psychotic disorders show hippocampal subfield abnormalities, but affected regions differ between studies. We here present an overview of hippocampal anatomy and function relevant to psychosis, and the first systematic review and meta-analysis of MRI studies of hippocampal subfield morphology in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Stability of personality traits over a five-year period in Swedish patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and non-psychotic individuals: a study using the Swedish universities scales of personality.

Background: Personality is considered as an important aspect in persons with psychotic disorders. Several studies have investigated personality in schizophrenia. However, no study has investigated stability of personality traits exceeding three years in patients with schizophrenia.

No major influence of regular tobacco smoking on cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolite concentrations in patients with psychotic disorder and healthy individuals.

Metabolism of the monoamines dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, is altered in the central nervous system of people with schizophrenia, and their major metabolites homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), respectively, have been intensively studied as indirect measures of these neurotransmitters in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Regular tobacco smoking has been shown to alter neurotransmitter metabolism in the brain and studies have found CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations to be substantially lower in smokers. However, few studies investigating these monoamines in CSF have controlled for regular tobacco smoking.

Genetic and Functional Study of L-Type Amino Acid Transporter 1 in Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia involves neural catecholaminergic dysregulation. Tyrosine is the precursor of catecholamines, and its major transporter, according to studies on fibroblasts, in the brain is the L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1). The present study assessed haplotype tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the SLC7A5/LAT1 gene in 315 patients with psychosis within the schizophrenia spectrum and 233 healthy controls to investigate genetic vulnerability to the disorder as well as genetic relationships to homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), the major catecholamine metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Contribution of copy number variants to schizophrenia from a genome-wide study of 41,321 subjects.

Copy number variants (CNVs) have been strongly implicated in the genetic etiology of schizophrenia (SCZ). However, genome-wide investigation of the contribution of CNV to risk has been hampered by limited sample sizes. We sought to address this obstacle by applying a centralized analysis pipeline to a SCZ cohort of 21,094 cases and 20,227 controls.

Personality traits in established schizophrenia: aspects of usability and differences between patients and controls using the Swedish universities Scales of Personality.

Background: Personality is considered as an important aspect that can affect symptoms and social function in persons with schizophrenia. The personality questionnaire Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP) has not previously been used in psychotic disorder.

Aims: To investigate if SSP has a similar internal consistency and factor structure in a psychosis population as among healthy controls and if patients with psychotic disorders differ from non-psychotic individuals in their responses to the SSP.

Associations between a locus downstream DRD1 gene and cerebrospinal fluid dopamine metabolite concentrations in psychosis.

Dopamine activity, mediated by the catecholaminergic neurotransmitter dopamine, is prominent in the human brain and has been implicated in schizophrenia. Dopamine targets five different receptors and is then degraded to its major metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA). We hypothesized that genes encoding dopamine receptors may be associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) HVA concentrations in patients with psychotic disorder.

Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolite concentrations as intermediate phenotypes between glutamate-related genes and psychosis.

Glutamate-related genes have been associated with schizophrenia, but the results have been ambiguous and difficult to replicate. Homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) are the major degradation products of the monoamines dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, respectively, and their concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), mainly HVA, have been associated with schizophrenia. In the present study, we hypothesized that CSF HVA, 5-HIAA and MHPG concentrations represent intermediate phenotypes in the association between glutamate-related genes and psychosis.

Polymorphisms in genes implicated in dopamine, serotonin and noradrenalin metabolism suggest association with cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolite concentrations in psychosis.

Background: Homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) are the major monoamine metabolites in the central nervous system (CNS). Their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations, reflecting the monoamine turnover rates in CNS, are partially under genetic influence and have been associated with schizophrenia. We have hypothesized that CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations represent intermediate steps between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes implicated in monoaminergic pathways and psychosis.

A 5-year follow-up study of brain cortical and subcortical abnormalities in a schizophrenia cohort.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging studies have demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia have thinner cortex in prefrontal and temporal brain regions, and enlarged lateral ventricles, compared to healthy subjects. Longitudinal studies have shown progressive brain tissue loss and ventricular dilatation among patients, predominantly in the early phase of the illness. Evidence for progression in more chronic phases of schizophrenia is less established.

Neurocognitive function in long-term treated schizophrenia: a five-year follow-up study.

Neurocognitive deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia. Deficits covering a wide range of functions have been well documented. However there is still a lack of longitudinal studies regarding the development of neurocognitive impairment.

ATHB12, an ABA-inducible homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) protein of Arabidopsis, negatively regulates the growth of the inflorescence stem by decreasing the expression of a gibberellin 20-oxidase gene.

Arabidopsis thaliana homeobox 12 (ATHB12) is rapidly induced by ABA and water stress. A T-DNA insertion mutant of ATHB12 with a reduced level of ATHB12 expression in stems had longer inflorescence stems and reduced sensitivity to ABA during germination. A high level of transcripts of gibberellin 20-oxidase 1 (GA20ox1), a key enzyme in the synthesis of gibberellins, was detected in athb12 stems, while transgenic lines overexpressing ATHB12 (A12OX) had a reduced level of GA20ox1 in stems.

No effect of obstetric complications on basal ganglia volumes in schizophrenia.

Background: Heterogeneous findings have been reported in studies of basal ganglia volumes in schizophrenia patients as compared to healthy controls. The basal ganglia contain dopamine receptors that are known to be involved in schizophrenia pathology and to be vulnerable to pre- and perinatal hypoxic insults. Altered volumes of other brain structures (e.

Neonatal hip instability: a prospective comparison of clinical examination and anterior dynamic ultrasound.

Background: Ultrasound is increasingly being used to complement the clinical examination in assessing neonatal hip instability. The clinical examination, although highly sensitive in detecting hip instability, can lead to considerable overtreatment.

Purpose: To compare anterior dynamic ultrasound and clinical examination in the assessment of neonatal hip instability and regarding treatment rates.

Anterior dynamic ultrasound and Graf's examination in neonatal hip instability.

Background: Discrepancy between neonatal hip morphology and stability has been reported in the literature. Comparative ultrasound studies on this issue are limited.

Purpose: To compare neonatal hip instability, as assessed by dynamic ultrasound and clinical examination, with acetabular morphology, as assessed by Graf's method.

Impact of depressive mood on lifestyle changes in patients with coronary artery disease.

Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the time-course of depressive mood in patients with coronary artery disease during a secondary prevention rehabilitation program, and to analyse how different pre-treatment levels of depressive mood during a treatment phase were related to the degree of lifestyle change at 36 months follow-up.

Subjects: The study group comprised 109 of the original 183 consecutive coronary artery disease patients (91 male and 18 female) of whom 48 recently had experienced an acute myocardial infarction, 36 had been treated with coronary bypass surgery, 13 with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and 12 had angina pectoris that had not been invasively treated. The subjects were divided into 3 subgroups based on their pre-treatment level of depressive mood.

Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis as a tool for early diagnosis of Turner syndrome.

Purpose: To analyze the metacarpophalangeal pattern profile (MCPP) in a cohort of individuals with Turner syndrome (TS), and to assess its value as a tool for early diagnosis of TS.

Material And Methods: Medical records and radiological material were collected of 71 patients with TS aged between 3 and 21 years. Forty-six patients received growth hormone therapy (33-66 microg kg(-1) day(-1)) and 14 of these were also treated with the anabolic steroid oxandrolone (1.

Homeodomain leucine zipper class I genes in Arabidopsis. Expression patterns and phylogenetic relationships.

Members of the homeodomain leucine zipper (HDZip) family of transcription factors are present in a wide range of plants, from mosses to higher plants, but not in other eukaryotes. The HDZip genes act in developmental processes, including vascular tissue and trichome development, and several of them have been suggested to be involved in the mediation of external signals to regulate plant growth. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome contains 47 HDZip genes, which, based on sequence criteria, have been grouped into four different classes: HDZip I to IV.

Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis in Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis.

Purpose: To analyze the metacarpophalangeal profile (MCPP) in individuals with Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) and to assess its value as a possible contributor to early diagnosis.

Material And Methods: Hand profiles of 39 individuals with a diagnosis of LWD were calculated and analyzed. Discriminant analysis was applied to differentiate between LWD and normal individuals.

The homeobox genes ATHB12 and ATHB7 encode potential regulators of growth in response to water deficit in Arabidopsis.

The Arabidopsis thaliana homeodomain leucine-zipper gene ATHB7 , which is active specifically under water deficit conditions, is proposed to act as a negative regulator of growth (Soderman et al ., 1996, Plant J. 10: 375 381; Hjellstrom et al .

Impact of radiologic imaging on the surgical decision-making process in suspected appendicitis in children.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate how the surgeons' decision-making process in appendicitis in children is affected by radiologic imaging.

Materials And Methods: Prospective study including 593 children with suspected appendicitis was conducted. The surgeon's initial clinical disposition was recorded, designating the patient for operation, observation, or discharge.