ERR and dPECR Suggest a Link Between Neuroprotection and the Regulation of Ethanol Consumption Preference.

Reconsumption of ethanol after withdrawal is a hallmark for relapse in recovering patients with alcohol use disorders. We show that the preference of to reconsume ethanol after abstinence shares mechanistic similarities to human behavior by feeding the antirelapse drug acamprosate to flies and reducing the ethanol consumption preference. The cellular stress mutant also reduced ethanol consumption preference.

Malignant catatonia: Severity, treatment and outcome - a systematic case series analysis.

Malignant catatonia (MC) is a rare, yet potentially life-threatening neuropsychiatric condition. Evidence on its therapy is weak, treatment recommendations are scarce and predominantly unprecise. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of different MC treatment approaches regarding outcome and severity of MC.

Body mass index and serum levels of soluble leptin receptor are sex-specifically related to alcohol binge drinking behavior.

Objective: Binge drinking is a highly prevalent behavior in adolescents and young adults and a risk factor to develop alcohol use disorder. Body mass index (BMI) and blood levels of leptin peptide and its soluble receptor have been implicated in alcohol use disorder; however, their role in binge drinking remains to be investigated.

Method: We studied associations of BMI, serum levels of soluble leptin receptor (ObRe) and leptin as well as the free leptin index with binge drinking in 93 male and 99 female young adults.

Evaluation of the German biographic screening interview for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (BSI-FASD).

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy may lead to permanent damage in the offspring, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), which have an estimated prevalence of 1-8% worldwide. In adulthood, diagnosing FASD is time-consuming and costly. This study aimed to evaluate the discriminatory power of a German screening instrument for FASD in adults-the biographic screening interview (BSI-FASD).

Progesterone serum levels correlate negatively with craving in female postmenopausal in-patients with alcohol use disorder: A sex- and menopausal status-separated study.

Objective: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) shows a high prevalence and often takes a severe and chronic course. However, the underlying mechanisms still need to be better understood. There is increasing evidence for a role of sex hormones in AUD and for the importance of sex-separated concepts in addiction research.

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and the Facial Phenotype in Adolescents: A Study Based on Meconium Ethyl Glucuronide.

Here, we explore the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) in adolescence. We investigated associations between meconium ethyl glucoronide (EtG) and facial malformation. For 129 children (66/63 male/female; M = 13.

Sex-Dependent Alcohol Instrumentalization Goals in Non-Addicted Alcohol Consumers versus Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder: Longitudinal Change and Outcome Prediction.

Background: Alcohol can be instrumentalized to achieve goals that without the drug would either not be achievable or would be so only with considerably more workload. While an understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol instrumentalization is emerging, little information is available concerning instrumentalization goals in controlled consumers and how these goals change during the development of an alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Methods: We surveyed instrumentalization goals in 103 male and 78 female inpatients with AUD (before / after onset of the disorder) and compared them with the goals of 124 male and 96 female age-matched non-addicted controls.

Ex vivo glucocorticoid receptor-mediated IL-10 response predicts the course of depression severity.

Directly measuring hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis function, an important player in affective disorders, is intensive and invasive. A crucial component of this system, the activity of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), can be assessed ex vivo instead. Here, we investigated GR sensitivity in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) to determine its predictive potential.

Voltage-independent GluN2A-type NMDA receptor Ca signaling promotes audiogenic seizures, attentional and cognitive deficits in mice.

The NMDA receptor-mediated Ca signaling during simultaneous pre- and postsynaptic activity is critically involved in synaptic plasticity and thus has a key role in the nervous system. In GRIN2-variant patients alterations of this coincidence detection provoked complex clinical phenotypes, ranging from reduced muscle strength to epileptic seizures and intellectual disability. By using our gene-targeted mouse line (Grin2a), we show that voltage-independent glutamate-gated signaling of GluN2A-containing NMDA receptors is associated with NMDAR-dependent audiogenic seizures due to hyperexcitable midbrain circuits.

Comparison of European Clinical Guidelines on the Management of Alcohol Use Disorders.

Background: Alcohol is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the European region, and tackling the harmful use of alcohol is a public health priority. Most countries in the region have national strategies for treating alcohol use disorders (AUD), but there is significant between-country variation.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare clinical guidelines for the management of AUD from countries of the European region and to determine whether countries' relative wealth or quality of their health systems had affected the guidelines.

Digit ratio (2D:4D) and transgender identity: new original data and a meta-analysis.

Previously reported associations between second-to-fourth digit length ratio (2D:4D), a proxy for prenatal androgen load, and transgender identity have been inconsistent. The objectives of the present study were to provide additional original data and an updated meta-analysis concerning this association. In a study of 464 participants, we compared the 2D:4D of transgender individuals with age- and sex-matched controls.

Neutral Sphingomyelinase is an Affective Valence-Dependent Regulator of Learning and Memory.

Sphingolipids and enzymes of the sphingolipid rheostat determine synaptic appearance and signaling in the brain, but sphingolipid contribution to normal behavioral plasticity is little understood. Here we asked how the sphingolipid rheostat contributes to learning and memory of various dimensions. We investigated the role of these lipids in the mechanisms of two different types of memory, such as appetitively and aversively motivated memory, which are considered to be mediated by different neural mechanisms.

Ambulatory Assessment for Physical Activity Research: State of the Science, Best Practices and Future Directions.

Technological and digital progress benefits physical activity (PA) research. Here we compiled expert knowledge on how Ambulatory Assessment (AA) is utilized to advance PA research, i.e.

Interactive tool to create adjustable anatomical atlases for mouse brain imaging.

Objective: Brain atlases are important research tools enabling researchers to focus their investigations on specific anatomically defined brain regions and are used in many MRI applications, e.g. in fMRI, morphometry, whole brain spectroscopy, et cetera.

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome-a systematic case series analysis focusing on therapy regimes and outcome.

Introduction: Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare, potentially life-threatening antipsychotic-associated disorder that requires an efficient and timely therapy. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of different NMS therapies and to analyze its outcome depending on NMS severity.

Method: Systematic search for NMS cases in biomedical databases.

Association of Testosterone Levels and Steroid 5-Alpha-Reductase 2 Polymorphisms with Opioid Craving.

Background/aims: Opioid dependence is a severe disease which is associated with a high risk of relapse, even in cases of successful withdrawal therapy. Studies have shown alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in opioid-dependent patients, such as decreased testosterone serum levels in affected males. Sex hormones and the steroid 5-alpha-reductase 2 (SRD5A2) V89L polymorphism are associated with craving during alcohol withdrawal, but little is known about their impact on symptomatology of opioid dependence.

ADHD Is Associated with a Higher Risk for Traumatic Events, Self-Reported PTSD, and a Higher Severity of PTSD Symptoms in Alcohol-Dependent Patients.

Introduction: Alcohol dependence (AD) is frequently associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Objective: Aim of this study was to investigate whether in patients with AD, ADHD is associated with an increased rate of exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and PTSD, with increased PTSD severity and higher impact on daily functioning.

Methods: Patients with AD were thoroughly assessed for ADHD during long-term residential treatment.

Physical Activity and Body Composition Are Associated With Severity and Risk of Depression, and Serum Lipids.

Background: Physical activity and a healthy body composition are said to reduce the risk of major depressive disorder. Nonetheless, deeper insight is needed into which specific forms of physical activity (and their relation to body composition) are effective in improving and preventing depressive symptoms.

Methods: We compared different self-reported physical activities of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and body composition measures between patients with a current major depressive episode (MDE; = 130) and healthy control subjects ( = 61).

Association of a CAMK2A genetic variant with logical memory performance and hippocampal volume in the elderly.

Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase alpha (αCaMKII) has been shown to play an essential role in synaptic plasticity and in learning and memory in animal models. However, there is little evidence for an involvement in specific memories in humans. Here we tested the potential involvement of the αCaMKII coding gene CAMK2A in verbal logical memory in two Caucasian populations from Germany, in a sample of 209 elderly people with cognitive impairments and a sample of 142 healthy adults.

Serum lipids, leptin, and soluble leptin receptor in alcohol dependence: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Objective: Alcohol dependence affects metabolic processes. Further research is needed to apply this knowledge clinically. In this study, possible differences in serum lipids and/or leptin activities between alcohol-dependent in-patients and healthy controls and possible associations with alcohol-related blood parameters and with prospective outcomes in alcohol dependence were assessed sex-specifically.

Treatment of the Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome in International Therapy Guidelines: A Comparative Analysis.

Introduction: The neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a potentially life-threatening condition associated to the use of antipsychotics. Since it requires rapid and efficient medical care, high-quality treatment guidelines should be available. In this article, we analyzed and compared different international therapy guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia, in which NMS treatment recommendations might be contained.

Developing neuroscience-based treatments for alcohol addiction: A matter of choice?

Excessive alcohol use is the cause of an ongoing public health crisis, and accounts for ~5% of global disease burden. A minority of people with recreational alcohol use develop alcohol addiction (hereafter equated with "alcohol dependence" or simply "alcoholism"), a condition characterized by a systematically biased choice preference for alcohol at the expense of healthy rewards, and continued use despite adverse consequences ("compulsivity"). Alcoholism is arguably the most pressing area of unmet medical needs in psychiatry, with only a small fraction of patients receiving effective, evidence-based treatments.