Autistic trait severity in early schizophrenia: Role in subjective quality of life and social functioning.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a cardinal feature in patients with schizophrenia and leads to poor social functioning. Recently, the treatment of schizophrenia has evolved to include the goal of improving quality of life (QoL). However, most of the factors influencing subjective QoL are unknown.

Correlation between myelin basic protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid and motor speed in patients with schizophrenia.

Alterations in the white matter have been implicated in schizophrenia. Myelin basic protein (MBP), a component of the myelin sheath, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been suggested as a biomarker for white matter damage in demyelinating diseases. This prompted us to examine the CSF-MBP levels in patients with schizophrenia.

Multimodal imaging analyses in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder with or without visual disturbance.

Background And Purpose: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder is a demyelinating and inflammatory affliction that often leads to visual disturbance. Various imaging techniques, including free-water imaging, have been used to determine neuroinflammation and degeneration. Therefore, this study aimed at determining multimodal imaging differences between patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, especially those with visual disturbance, and healthy controls.

Assessment of Gray Matter Microstructural Alterations in Alzheimer's Disease by Free Water Imaging.

Background: Cortical neurodegenerative processes may precede the emergence of disease symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by many years. No study has evaluated the free water of patients with AD using gray matter-based spatial statistics.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore cortical microstructural changes within the gray matter in AD by using free water imaging with gray matter-based spatial statistics.

Augmentation therapy with serotonin receptor partial agonists on neurocognitive function in schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: In a previous meta-analysis, the use of serotonin(5-HT) receptor partial agonists of the azapirone class as an add-on therapy was associated with beneficial effects on positive symptoms and attention/processing speed in schizophrenia patients. This meta-analysis builds on that study by examining the effects of adjunctive treatment with 5-HT partial agonists in improving other domains of neurocognitive function in schizophrenia patients.

Methods: A literature search was performed from 1987 to May 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials.

Free-water-corrected diffusion and adrenergic/muscarinic antibodies in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background And Purpose: Free-water-corrected diffusion tensor imaging (FW-DTI), a new analysis method for diffusion MRI, can indicate neuroinflammation and degeneration. There is increasing evidence of autoimmune etiology in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We used FW-DTI and conventional DTI to investigate microstructural brain changes related to autoantibody titers in patients with ME/CFS.

Discrepancy between Clinician-rated and Self-reported Depression Severity is Associated with Adverse Childhood Experience, Autistic-like Traits, and Coping Styles in Mood Disorders.

Objective: This study aimed to determine if the discrepancy between depression severity rated by clinicians and that reported by patients depends on key behavioral/psychological features in patients with mood disorders.

Methods: Participants included 100 patients with mood disorders. First, we examined correlations and regressions between scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Effect of 5-HT1A Receptor Partial Agonists of the Azapirone Class as an Add-On Therapy on Psychopathology and Cognition in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: There are ongoing efforts to examine the effect of 5-HT1A receptor partial agonists as an add-on therapy for several symptoms of schizophrenia. By conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated whether augmentation with 5-hydroxtrypatamine (5-HT)1A partial agonists of the azapirone class improves psychotic symptoms and attention/processing speed, a key domain of cognition, in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: A literature search was performed from 1987 to February 25, 2022, to identify randomized controlled trials.

Free water derived by multi-shell diffusion MRI reflects tau/neuroinflammatory pathology in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Free-water (FW) imaging, a new analysis method for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can indicate neuroinflammation and degeneration. We evaluated FW in Alzheimer's disease (AD) using tau/inflammatory and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods: Seventy-one participants underwent multi-shell diffusion MRI, F-THK5351 PET, C-Pittsburgh compound B PET, and neuropsychological assessments.

Voxel-based analysis of age and gender effects on striatal [I] FP-CIT binding in healthy Japanese adults.

Objective: Although previous studies have investigated age and gender effects on striatal subregional dopamine transporter (DaT) binding, these studies were mostly based on a conventional regions of interest-based analysis. Here, we investigated age and gender effects on striatal DaT binding at the voxel level, using a multicenter database of [()I] N-omega-fluoropropyl-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-{4-iodophenyl}nortropane ([()I] FP-CIT)-single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans in 256 healthy Japanese adults.

Methods: We used the Southampton method to calculate the specific binding ratios (SBRs) of each subject's striatum and then converted the [I] FP-CIT SPECT images to quantitative SBRs images.

The Onset of Interictal Spike-Related Ripples Facilitates Detection of the Epileptogenic Zone.

Accurate estimation of the epileptogenic zone (EZ) is essential for favorable outcomes in epilepsy surgery. Conventional ictal electrocorticography (ECoG) onset is generally used to detect the EZ but is insufficient in achieving seizure-free outcomes. By contrast, high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) could be useful markers of the EZ.

Perilla Oil and for Alleviating Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer Survivors: Study Protocol for a Three-Arm Phase II Randomized Controlled Study (POB Study).

The fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is the most common and most severe unmet need among cancer survivors. Safe treatments for the FCR that are easily disseminated are greatly needed. Our primary aim is a preliminary evaluation of the efficacy and effect size of perilla oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and , a probiotic, on FCR in breast cancer survivors after the completion of chemotherapy.

Serum levels of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor as a biomarker for mood disorders and lithium response.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. We examined serum GDNF levels in bipolar disorder (BD) patients and major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and their association with response to lithium therapy. We used a multicenter (six sites), exploratory, cross-sectional case-control design and recruited 448 subjects: 143 BD patients, 116 MDD patients, and 158 healthy controls (HCs).

Platelet-derived growth factor BB: A potential diagnostic blood biomarker for differentiating bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is frequently misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder (MDD) due to overlapping depressive symptoms. This study investigated whether serum platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) is a differential diagnostic biomarker for BD and MDD. An initial SOMAscan proteomics assay of 1311 proteins in small samples from patients with BD and MDD and healthy controls (HCs) suggested that serum levels of PDGF-BB differed between BD and MDD.

Single arm prospective multicenter case series on the use of burst stimulation to improve pain and motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease.

Background: In this study we analyze new clinical data in the use of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for the treatment of pain and motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD), as both a singular bioelectric therapy and as a salvage therapy after deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Methods: Fifteen patients were recruited and had percutaneous electrodes implanted at the level of the thoracic or cervical spine. Participants were set to one of three stimulation modes: continuous tonic stimulation, continuous Burst stimulation (40 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 μs), or cycle mode (on time of 10-15 s, off time of 15-30 s) with Burst (40 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 μs).

Current situation and challenges for mental health focused on treatment and care in Japan and the Philippines - highlights of the training program by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine.

Background And Purpose: Mental health has emerged as an important public health concern in recent years. With a high proportion of children and adolescents affected by mental disorders, it is important to ensure that they are provided with proper care and treatment. With the goal of sharing the activities and good practices on child and adolescent mental health promotion, care, and treatment in Japan and the Philippines, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine conducted a training program on the promotion of mental health focused on treatment and care in Japan and the Philippines in September and November 2019.

Wearable Epileptic Seizure Prediction System with Machine-Learning-Based Anomaly Detection of Heart Rate Variability.

A warning prior to seizure onset can help improve the quality of life for epilepsy patients. The feasibility of a wearable system for predicting epileptic seizures using anomaly detection based on machine learning is evaluated. An original telemeter is developed for continuous measurement of R-R intervals derived from an electrocardiogram.

Bipolar disorder in megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts: a case report.

Background: Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC), or Van der Knaap disease, is a rare spongiform leukodystrophy that is characterized by macrocephaly, progressive motor dysfunction, and mild mental retardation. It is very rare for mental illness such as psychotic disorders, affective disorders and anxiety disorders to occur in MLC.

Case Presentation: A 17-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital after he developed symptoms of depressive state with catatonia after being diagnosed as having MLC with confirmed MLC1 mutation.

Reactive bite-related tongue lesions in cognitively impaired epilepsy patients: A report of two cases.

Aim: Tongue bites frequently occur during seizures in epilepsy patients. We report two cases of cognitively impaired Lennox-Gastaut syndrome patients with reactive lesions on the tongues.

Case Presentations: Case 1 was a 30-year-old man whose chief complaint was mouth pain.

A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of duloxetine for pain in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Duloxetine proved effective for treating pain in people with Parkinson's disease in a single-arm, open-label study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of duloxetine in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: We randomly assigned 46 patients with Parkinson's disease with pain to either the duloxetine 40 mg/day arm or the placebo arm.

Surgical Management of Deep Brain Stimulator Infection without Electrode Removal: Report of Two Cases.

 Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus by implanted electrodes (deep brain stimulation [DBS]) is performed to suppress symptoms of Parkinson's disease. However, postoperative wound dehiscence and infection can require removal of the implanted electrode leads. This report describes treatment of intractable unilateral wound infection in two patients without removing the DBS device.

Visualization of AMPA receptors in living human brain with positron emission tomography.

Although aberrations in the number and function of glutamate AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptors are thought to underlie neuropsychiatric disorders, no methods are currently available for visualizing AMPA receptors in the living human brain. Here we developed a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for AMPA receptors. A derivative of 4-[2-(phenylsulfonylamino)ethylthio]-2,6-difluoro-phenoxyacetamide radiolabeled with C ([C]K-2) showed specific binding to AMPA receptors.

Higd1a improves respiratory function in the models of mitochondrial disorder.

The respiratory chain (RC) transports electrons to form a proton motive force that is required for ATP synthesis in the mitochondria. RC disorders cause mitochondrial diseases that have few effective treatments; therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are critically needed. We previously identified Higd1a as a positive regulator of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) in the RC.