Cortisol, platelet serotonin content, and platelet activity in patients with major depression and type 2 diabetes: an exploratory investigation.

Objective: Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system dysfunction, serotonergic system alterations, and enhanced platelet activity may contribute to the increased cardiac risk in depression. This exploratory study examined associations between cortisol parameters, platelet serotonin (5-HT) content, and platelet activity markers in patients with newly diagnosed major depression (MD) and/or Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) compared with healthy controls.

Methods: We compared cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal decrease in salivary cortisol concentrations (slope), platelet 5-HT, and platelet markers (CD40, CD40 ligand [CD40L], soluble CD40L, CD62P, β-thromboglobulin, and platelet factor-4) in 22 T2DM patients, 20 MD patients, 18 T2DM patients with MD, and 24 healthy controls.

Influence of levothyroxine in augmentation therapy for bipolar depression on central serotonergic function.

Introduction: Adjunctive treatment with supraphysiological doses of levothyroxine (L-T4) in bipolar depression shows promise, but the neurobiological mechanisms underlying clinical improvement are unknown. It has been postulated from animal studies that exogenous thyroid hormones may exert their modulatory effects in patients with affective disorders via an increase in serotonergic neurotransmission. Therefore, we investigated the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) as a measure of central serotonergic activity and response to L-T4.

The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) as an indicator of serotonergic dysfunction in patients with predominant schizophrenic negative symptoms.

Besides the influence of dopaminergic neurotransmission on negative symptoms in schizophrenia, there is evidence that alterations of serotonin (5-HT) system functioning also play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of these disabling symptoms. From post mortem and genetic studies on patients with negative symptoms a 5-HT dysfunction is documented. In addition atypical neuroleptics and some antidepressants improve negative symptoms via serotonergic action.

Newly diagnosed depression is associated with increased beta-thromboglobulin levels and increased expression of platelet activation markers and platelet derived CD40-CD40L.

Background: Inflammation plays a key role in atherosclerotic disease. Up until now only limited evidence exists on the mechanism of cardiovascular complications in patients with depression. In addition depression was also linked to an increase in cardiovascular mortality.

The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials and effects of psychopathology and psychopharmacotherapy in psychiatric inpatients.

Objective: Many studies have provided evidence for the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) as a marker for central serotonergic activity but remained inconclusive for its suitability in clinical use.

Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 162 psychiatric inpatients (major depression N = 86, bipolar disorder N = 12, schizophrenia N = 50, and schizoaffective disorder N = 14) and 40 healthy subjects was retrospectively examined for LDAEP and effects of psychopathology and psychopharmacology.

Results: The LDAEP was weaker in patients with affective disorders than in healthy subjects but did not differentiate between the total patient sample and healthy controls.

New pathways of increased cardiovascular risk in depression: a pilot study on the association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with pro-atherosclerotic markers in patients with depression.

Background: An elevation of inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) can be found in patients with depressive disorders. Inflammatory processes are known to influence atherosclerosis and might also mediate the link between depression and diabetes. The present study aimed at comparing hs-CRP and its relationship with atherogenic platelet markers in patients with type 2 diabetes (TD2) and/or newly diagnosed major depression (MD).

Association between wind-up ratio and central serotonergic function in healthy subjects and depressed patients.

Temporal summation of C-fiber evoked responses generates an increase in action potential discharge in second-order neurons and in perceived pain intensity (wind-up). This may be related to the central serotonergic system which modulates and partly inhibits sensory input. Aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between wind-up and serotonergic activity using loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP).

1 H-MR spectroscopy in ultra-high risk and first episode stages of schizophrenia.

Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy biochemical characteristics in early stages of schizophrenia were examined. N-acetylaspartate, choline and creatine were measured in hippocampus, anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of 24 first episode and 30 ultra-high risk patients. Careful LCModel analyses revealed no differences between the patient groups and 31 healthy controls, casting doubt upon the idea of metabolic changes in early stages of psychosis.

Serotonergic neurotransmission in early Parkinson's disease: a pilot study to assess implications for depression in this disorder.

Objectives: Depression, a disease usually accompanied by a serotonergic deficit, has been observed in about 40% of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD). Thus, a serotonergic dysfunction in PD can be assumed. We aimed to investigate the interaction between serotonergic (5-HT) and dopaminergic activity in early PD.

Auditory mismatch negativity deficits in long-term heavy cannabis users.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an auditory event-related potential indicating auditory sensory memory and information processing. The present study tested the hypothesis that chronic cannabis use is associated with deficient MMN generation. MMN was investigated in age- and gender-matched chronic cannabis users (n = 30) and nonuser controls (n = 30).

No association between chronic cannabis use and loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials as indicator of central serotonergic neurotransmission.

Chronic cannabis use has been found to be associated with major depression. It is suggested that cannabis use induces changes in neurotransmitter systems involved in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders, particularly in the serotonergic system. The analysis of the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) is a valid non-invasive indicator of central serotonergic activity in animals and humans.

Serotonergic dysfunction in the prodromal, first-episode and chronic course of schizophrenia as assessed by the loudness dependence of auditory evoked activity.

Recent studies revealing evidence of increased serotonergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia has generated substantial interest in the role of serotonin in its pathophysiology. None of these studies, however, have queried whether dysfunctional serotonergic activity might already have been present in subjects of at-risk mental state for schizophrenia before the onset of psychotic symptoms, and whether serotonergic activity further increases during the development of schizophrenia and the chronic course. Although no valid indicator for measuring the activity level of serotonergic neurotransmission has yet been found, a series of evidence from human and animal studies suggests that a weak loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) indicates high serotonergic activity and vice versa.

Psychosurgery and deep brain stimulation as ultima ratio treatment for refractory depression.

For decades, the most severe, protracted and therapy-resistant forms of major depression have compelled clinicians and researchers to look for last resort treatment. Early psychosurgical procedures were hazardous and often associated with severe and persistent side effects including avolition, apathy and change of personality. With the introduction of psychopharmacological treatments in the 1950s, the frequency of ablative procedures declined rapidly.

Reduction of auditory event-related P300 amplitude in subjects with at-risk mental state for schizophrenia.

Neurophysiological methods allow the examination of cognitive-cortical functioning in patients with schizophrenia in its prodromal states. As revealed by previous studies, event-related potential components such as auditory evoked P300 associated with cognitive processes, such as attention and orientation, are known to be reduced in amplitude in acute and chronic as well as in medicated and unmedicated patients. It is, however, unclear whether a P300 amplitude reduction occurs before the schizophrenic psychosis is fully manifested.

Validation of the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) Scale in a German sample of acutely ill patients with schizophrenia.

In trying to more broadly define outcome in the efficient long-term treatment of patients with schizophrenia it is necessary to consider not only a reduction in psychopathological symptoms but also a successful psychosocial reintegration. Thus, a more exact assessment of psychosocial functioning is needed. Since the GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning) scale and the SOFAS (Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale) are less operationalized and confuse psychosocial facts with psychopathological symptoms, the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale was developed [Morosini, P.

Loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials as indicator of central serotonergic neurotransmission: simultaneous electrophysiological recordings and in vivo microdialysis in the rat primary auditory cortex.

Serotonin released in synapsis is one of the key neurotransmitters in psychiatry and psychopharmacology. The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) has been proposed as a marker for central serotonergic neurotransmission. Several findings in animals and humans support this hypothesis.

Loudness dependence of the auditory evoked N1/P2 component as an indicator of serotonergic dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia--a replication study.

Serotonergic dysfunction appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) has been suggested to be a valid indicator of the brain serotonin system's activity in humans. Patients with schizophrenia showed weaker LDAEP, indicating high serotonergic activity, in comparison to healthy controls.

Association of 5-HT1B receptor polymorphisms with the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials in a community-based sample of healthy volunteers.

The terminal autoreceptor 5-HT1B is centrally involved in the regulation of the brain serotonergic system and in several psychiatric disorders including depression, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked N1/P2-component (LDAEP; primary auditory cortex) is currently considered as one of best-validated indicators of serotonergic neurotransmission, especially for synaptically released serotonin. Since the 5-HT1B receptor is involved in the release of serotonin at terminal endings of cortical neurons, this study addressed the question whether single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene coding for this receptor (HTR1B) are related to LDAEP of the primary auditory cortex (tangential dipole) investigating a community-based sample of 127 healthy subjects randomly selected from the general population.

Is the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials modulated by the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram in healthy subjects?

The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) has been discussed as a non-invasive in vivo marker of central serotonergic function. Evidence for this has been found in animal studies, but studies in humans provide less consistent results. In this study, the relationship between LDAEP and directly modulated central serotonergic activity in healthy subjects was investigated.

Corticosteroid withdrawal in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation: a 3-year report.

Unlabelled: Corticosteroids are an important element of immunosuppressive protocols, but their long-term use has detrimental effects on patient health, requiring eventual discontinuation. Herein, we present an evaluation of the safety and feasibility of corticosteroid withdrawal based on the findings of the Euro-SPK001 study.

Patients And Methods: In this prospective, multicenter study, 205 simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant recipients were randomized to immunosuppressive treatment with either tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) (n = 103) or cyclosporine microemulsion (CsA-ME) and MMF (n = 102).