Objective: Previous studies have shown differences in the regional brain structure and function between patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy subjects, but little is known about the structural connectivity between BD patients and healthy subjects. In this study, we evaluated the disease-related changes in regional structural connectivity derived from gray matter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Methods: The subjects were 73 patients with BD and 80 healthy volunteers who underwent 3-Tesla MRI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The ε4 allele of apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) is a well-known risk factor of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. However, little is known why this variant confers a risk for Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the APOE genotype on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropsychiatr Dis Treat
August 2019
Purpose: Orexins are hypothalamic neuropeptides involved in the regulation of sleep, appetite and arousal. An altered orexin system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to examine whether plasma orexin-A levels differ in patients with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder (MDD), or bipolar disorder (BD) compared to in healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) are new diffusional magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) techniques to clarify the characterization of neural tissues in the human brain. In this study, we evaluated the structural changes of the cerebrum in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) by these dMRI techniques.
Methods: Thirty-one Japanese patients with BD (male/female: 14/17; 29 out of 31 patients were right-handed; mean age: 39.
Although the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder remains elusive, growing evidence suggests the beneficial effects of and in the gut microbiota on stress response and depressive symptoms. In the present study, we examined and counts for association with bipolar disorder and serum cortisol levels. Bacterial counts in fecal samples were examined in 39 patients with bipolar disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) is a standardised battery for assessing memory functions. We aimed to investigate the relationship between all WMS scores, including subtests, and whole-brain structure in a relatively large sample.
Methods: Participants were 93 patients with schizophrenia and 117 healthy individuals, all right-handed and of Japanese ethnicity, and matched for age and sex.
Aim: We aimed to investigate the involvement of premorbid intelligence quotient in higher prevalence of smoking in patients with schizophrenia.
Methods: Participants included 190 patients with schizophrenia (mean ± standard deviation age: 37.7 ± 10.
Objective: Autistic spectrum traits are postulated to lie on a continuum that extends between individuals with autism and individuals with typical development. The present study was carried out to investigate functional and network abnormalities associated with autistic spectrum trait in healthy male subjects.
Methods: Subjects were 41 healthy male subjects who underwent the social responsiveness scale-adult (SRS-A) and magnetic resonance imaging.
Etiology of depression and its vulnerability remains elusive. Using a latent profile analysis on dimensional personality traits, we previously identified 3 different phenotypes in the general population, namely stress-resilient, -vulnerable, and -resistant groups. Here we performed microarray-based blood gene expression profiling of these 3 groups (n = 20 for each group) in order to identify genes involved in stress vulnerability as it relates to the risk of depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe relationship between muscle strength and cognition in schizophrenia has not been well studied. We investigated the potential relationship of handgrip strength (HGS) score and body mass index (BMI) with cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. Participants included 153 patients with schizophrenia (age: 36.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex is an operational measure of sensorimotor gating. The findings on PPI deficits in bipolar disorder (BD) are inconsistent among studies due to various confounding factors such as gender. This study aimed to assess sensorimotor gating deficits in patients with BD stratified by gender and state (depressed/euthymic), and to explore related clinical variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT) is a motor coordination task used to assess manual dexterity. Although several brain regions are thought to be involved in PPT performance, the relationship of the task with decreased insular volume has not been investigated. The PPT was administered to 83 subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia (mean ± standard deviation age: 38.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInflammation has been implicated in a variety of psychiatric disorders. We aimed to determine whether levels of complement C5 protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which may reflect activation of the complement system in the brain, are altered in patients with major psychiatric disorders. Additionally, we examined possible associations of CSF C5 levels with clinical variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhenylalanine is required for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline. The rate-limiting step for phenylalanine metabolism is catalyzed by phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) and its cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin. We aimed to detect altered phenylalanine metabolism in major psychiatric disorders using the l-[1-C]phenylalanine breath test (C-PBT) and serum biopterin levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) are new diffusional magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) techniques for the characterization of neural tissues in human brain. In this study, we used these dMRI techniques to evaluate the whole-brain microstructural changes in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Twenty-three patients with MDD and 26 healthy subjects underwent dMRI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: D-serine is an endogenous co-agonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and plays an important role in glutamate neurotransmission. Several studies suggested the possible involvement of D-serine related in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders including major depression disorders (MDD). We tried to examine whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or plasma D-serine concentrations are altered in MDD and whether D-serine concentrations correlated with disease severity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSome amino acids act as neurotransmitters themselves, or are precursors of neurotransmitters. Previous studies reported inconsistent results regarding their changes in blood in major depressive disorder (MDD), which prompted us to examine plasma levels of amino acids and related molecules in two independent case-control sample sets. In total, 511 subjects were recruited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Obesity has been implicated in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD), which prompted us to examine the possible association of obesity with cognitive function and brain structure in patients with MDD.
Methods: Three hundred and seven patients with MDD and 294 healthy participants, matched for age, sex, ethnicity (Japanese), and handedness (right) were recruited for the study. Cognitive function was assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS).
Aim: The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) is a concise tool designed to evaluate cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. We examined the possible association between BACS scores and whole-brain structure, as observed using magnetic resonance imaging with a relatively large sample.
Methods: The study sample comprised 116 patients with schizophrenia (mean age, 39.
Objective: Many studies have investigated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) monoamine metabolite levels in depressive disorders. However, their clinical significance is still unclear. We tried to determine whether CSF monoamine metabolite levels could be a state-dependent marker for major depressive disorder (MDD) based on analyses stratified by clinical variables in a relatively large sample.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFG72 is a modulator of D-amino acid oxidase, the enzyme that degrades D-serine, an amino acid that plays a critical role in glutamate neurotransmission, and has been implicated in psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to examine whether plasma or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) G72 protein levels were altered in either schizophrenia or major depressive disorder (MDD) and whether any correlation between G72 levels and disease severity existed. Initially, 27 schizophrenic patients, 26 MDD patients, and 27 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and ethnicity were enrolled.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Recent studies have detected similarities between autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. We investigated structural abnormalities associated with autistic-like traits in patients with schizophrenia by voxel-based morphometry.
Methods: Patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects were evaluated by the adult version of the social responsiveness scale (SRS-A), which is sensitive to autistic traits and symptoms even under subthreshold conditions, and magnetic resonance imaging.
Background: While major depressive disorder (MDD) is considered to be a heterogeneous disorder, the nature of the heterogeneity remains unclear. Studies have attempted to classify patients with MDD using latent variable techniques, yet the empirical approaches to symptom-based subtyping of MDD have not provided conclusive evidence. Here we aimed to identify homogeneous classes of MDD based on personality traits, using a latent profile analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF