Neurochemical underpinnings in bipolar disorder and epilepsy.

In this article, we discuss and highlight some of the potential neurochemical underpinnings of bipolar disorder (BD) and epilepsy. Some similarities are found in both disorders, such as the episodic course of the illnesses, the possible mechanism of kindling, and the efficacy of some antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in treatment, all pointing to a common underlying pathophysiology. Common mechanisms at the level of ion channels might include the antikindling and the calcium-antagonistic and potassium outward current-modulating properties of AEDs.

Irradiation sensitivity of self-assembled monolayers with an introduced "weak link".

The irradiation sensitivity of n-alkanethiolate SAMs can be enhanced by the incorporation of an irradiation-sensitive functionality as a predetermined breaking point into the alkyl chain. Following this general strategy, several different sulfur-derived functional entities with a variable position in the alkyl chain were tested. In some cases, the incorporation of these entities resulted in a noticeable enhancement of the irradiation-induced desorption (by about 30%), even though the chains were not exclusively cut at the position of the incorporated group, but the scission events related to the "weak links" were just added to those in the alkyl matrix.

A new polymer concept for coating of vascular stents using PTFEP (poly(bis(trifluoroethoxy)phosphazene) to reduce thrombogenicity and late in-stent stenosis.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the new polymer PTFEP (poly(bis(trifluoroethoxy)phosphazene) for (1) its ability to reduce thrombogenicity and late in-stent stenosis and (2) its effect on endothelialization in a rabbit iliac artery model.

Materials And Methods: Nanocoated ( approximately 50 nm) and bare stainless-steel stents were implanted bilaterally in the iliac arteries of 30 New Zealand White rabbits (1, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks follow-up) and evaluated by angiography, light, and scanning electron microscopy.

Results: Bilateral stent placement was successful in 27 of 30 rabbits.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure study of water adsorption on pyridine-terminated thiolate self-assembled monolayers.

Adsorption of water on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4-(4-mercaptophenyl)pyridine on gold at low temperatures under ultrahigh vacuum conditions is studied by synchrotron radiation X-ray photoelectron and absorption spectroscopy. Water adsorption induces a strong modification of the chemical state of the pyridine N atoms at the SAM/ice interface, indicative for strong H bonding and partial proton transfer between water molecules and pyridine moieties. Additionally, the initial molecular orientation within the SAM is changed upon formation of an adsorbed water multilayer.

The impact of ectomycorrhiza formation on monosaccharide transporter gene expression in poplar roots.

•  By using degenerate primers, five putative poplar monosaccharide transporter genes were isolated from ectomycorrhizas by RT-PCR. The expression profiles of the three most strongly expressed ones are presented in detail. •  Two transporter genes (PttMST1.

The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for the biological treatment of bipolar disorders, part III: maintenance treatment.

As with the two preceding guidelines of this series, these practice guidelines for the pharmacological maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder were developed by an international task force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). Their purpose is to supply a systematic overview of all scientific evidence relating to maintenance treatment. The data used for these guidelines were extracted from a MEDLINE and EMBASE search, from recent proceedings from key conferences and various national and international treatment guidelines.

Depth distribution of irradiation-induced cross-linking in aromatic self-assembled monolayers.

Pristine and strongly irradiated self-assembled monolayers of [1,1':4',1' '-terphenyl]-4,4' '-dimethanethiol (TPDMT) on Au have been characterized by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy using partial electron yield acquisition mode. The TPDMT films were found to be extremely stable toward electron irradiation, which is explained by cross-linking between the aromatic backbones. In addition, we assume that a large delocalization and a strong relaxation of the initial electronic excitations in the densely packed film contributed to the film stability.

Local structure of amorphous ice as revealed by O K-edge EXAFS.

The oxygen K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectrum of an ice film prepared by deposition of water vapor on a substrate at 100 K was measured in the surface-sensitive Auger yield mode. Five distinct peaks are revealed in the Fourier transform spectrum of the EXAFS data. The peaks are attributed to O-H bonds (with overlapping contributions from intramolecular covalent and intermolecular hydrogen bonds) as well as to intermolecular O.

Paroxetine in major depression: correlating plasma concentrations and clinical response.

Background: In analogy to tricyclic antidepressants, serum concentrations of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are frequently measured in order to optimize treatment results. However, clinical evidence for this approach is sparse.

Methods: Forty patients with major depression were treated with paroxetine 20 mg/day for 14 days and with 40 mg/day for further 49 days.

Soft X-ray-induced decomposition of amino acids: an XPS, mass spectrometry, and NEXAFS study.

Decomposition of five amino acids, alanine, serine, cysteine, aspartic acid, and asparagine, under irradiation with soft X rays (magnesium Kalpha X-ray source) in ultra-high vacuum was studied by means of X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and mass spectrometry. A comparative analysis of changes in XPS line shapes, stoichiometry and residual gas composition indicates that the molecules decompose by several pathways. Dehydration, decarboxylation, decarbonylation, deamination and desulfurization of pristine molecules accompanied by desorption of H2, H2O, CO2, NH3 and H2S are observed with rates depending on the specific amino acid.

[Problem-based learning in medical education. Integrated "Nervous System and Behavior" course at the Munich Ludwig Maximilian University].

The new curriculum for medical licensure in Germany focuses on interdisciplinary and problem-based learning. In recent years, first experiences with this learning model were gathered in several German medical schools conducting courses supplementing the traditional curriculum. This article describes the course "Nervous system and behavior" at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.

EEG abnormalities associated with antipsychotics: a comparison of quetiapine, olanzapine, haloperidol and healthy subjects.

In this study the effects of the atypical antipsychotics quetiapine and olanzapine, and the typical antipsychotic haloperidol on EEG patterns were retrospectively investigated in 81 patients under stable monotherapy with either drug (quetiapine: n=22, olanzapine: n=37, haloperidol: n=22). These three subgroups were compared with a control group of healthy subjects (n=30) which were matched regarding sex and age. Diagnoses of patients were schizophrenia (DSM-IV 295.

Levetiracetam in the treatment of acute mania: an open add-on study with an on-off-on design.

Background: Levetiracetam is a novel antiepileptic drug with a broad spectrum of efficacy in epilepsy. We have tested the antimanic properties of the drug as an add-on to haloperidol in an open trial.

Method: After giving informed written consent, 10 bipolar I acutely manic (DSM-IV) inpatients were investigated in an on-off-on study design.

Lithium in the acute treatment of bipolar disorders-a stocktaking.

Before the rise of atypical antipsychotics, lithium used to be the most frequently investigated substance in the acute treatment of bipolar disorders, although studies are not always of the highest methodological standard. Due to the doubt about a sufficient efficacy of lithium expressed in recent years from various sides, and the simultaneous availability of newer treatment alternatives, this paper attempts to make a critical stocktaking of our knowledge about lithium in the acute treatment of bipolar disorders. Aspects concerning the changed disorder concept through the broadening of the bipolar spectrum, together with the available results from controlled and open studies with lithium, are presented and appraised.

Factors that determine the protein resistance of oligoether self-assembled monolayers --internal hydrophilicity, terminal hydrophilicity, and lateral packing density.

Protein resistance of oligoether self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold and silver surfaces has been investigated systematically to elucidate structural factors that determine whether a SAM will be able to resist protein adsorption. Oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG)-, oligo(propylene glycol)-, and oligo(trimethylene glycol)-terminated alkanethiols with different chain lengths and alkyl termination were synthesized as monolayer constituents. The packing density and chemical composition of the SAMs were examined by XPS spectroscopy; the terminal hydrophilicity was characterized by contact angle measurements.

New perspectives in the acute treatment of bipolar depression.

In contrast to mania, bipolar depression is usually characterised by longer-lasting episodes and a higher incidence of treatment refractoriness. Additionally, the risks of antidepressive standard treatment regimens are increasingly recognised, especially the risk of a switch into mania or induction of a rapid cycling course. Mood stabilisers, e.

Relevance of new and newly rediscovered anticonvulsants for atypical forms of bipolar disorder.

The so-called atypical forms of bipolar disorder are not a rarity, but instead are rather the rule. Particularly in specialized settings such as the bipolar disorder clinic, the majority of patients are characterized by atypical manifestations (). Mixed states, psychotic mania and a rapid cycling course of bipolar disorder are a challenge both to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment.

The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for the Biological Treatment of Bipolar Disorders, Part II: Treatment of Mania.

Identical to the preceding guidelines of this series, these practice guidelines for the biological, mainly pharmacological treatment of acute bipolar mania were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). Their purpose is to supply a systematic overview of all scientific evidence pertaining to the treatment of acute mania. The data used for these guidelines have been extracted from a MEDLINE and EMBASE search, from recent proceedings of key conferences, and from various national and international treatment guidelines.

Nefazodone in psychotic unipolar and bipolar depression: a retrospective chart analysis and open prospective study on its efficacy and safety versus combined treatment with amitriptyline and haloperidol.

Although atypical antipsychotics are on the rise, traditional treatment of psychotic (or delusional) depression mostly includes the addition of classical antipsychotics to antidepressants. As there are only few data supporting this approach compared with antidepressant monotherapy, and almost no data comparing it with antidepressants of the latest generation, we conducted a retrospective chart analysis and a prospective, randomized open study on the efficacy and tolerability of nefazodone monotherapy versus combined treatment with amitriptyline and haloperidol in psychotic depression. The results suggest that the addition of classical antipsychotics should be reserved for those with very severe psychotic symptoms, but may not be needed in milder forms.

The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network: results of the naturalistic follow-up study after 2.5 years of follow-up in the German centres.

The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network (SFBN) is an international, multisite network investigating the characteristics and course of bipolar disorder. Methods (history, ratings and longitudinal follow-up) are standardized and equally applied in all 7 centres. This article describes demographics and illness characteristics of the first 152 German patients enrolled in the SFBN as well as the results of 2.

Adherence and mental side effects during hepatitis C treatment with interferon alfa and ribavirin in psychiatric risk groups.

Psychiatric disorders or drug addiction are often regarded as contraindications against the use of interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Our aim was to obtain prospective data on adherence to as well as efficacy and mental side effects of treatment with IFN-alpha in different psychiatric risk groups compared with controls. In a prospective trial, 81 patients with chronic hepatitis C (positive hepatitis C virus[HCV] RNA and elevated alanine aminotransferase[ALT] level) and psychiatric disorders (n = 16), methadone substitution (n = 21), former drug addiction (n = 21), or controls without a psychiatric history or drug addiction (n = 23) were treated with a combination of IFN-alpha-2a 3 MU 3 times weekly and ribavirin (1,000-1,200 mg/d).