RAB18, a protein associated with Warburg Micro syndrome, controls neuronal migration in the developing cerebral cortex.

Background: Loss of function mutations in RAB18, has been identified in patients with the human neurological and developmental disorder Warburg Micro syndrome. However, the function of RAB18 in brain remains unknown.

Results: In this study, we report that RAB18 is a critical regulator of neuronal migration and morphogenesis.

Is Emotional Lability Distinct From "Angry/Irritable Mood," "Negative Affect," or Other Subdimensions of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Children With ADHD?

Objective: Emotional lability (EL) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) frequently co-occur with ADHD. This study evaluates whether EL merely represents the negative "mood/affect" component of ODD or forms a distinct dimension.

Method: EL and ODD data from 1,317 ADHD participants were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for binary data.

Smoking reduction and quality of life in chronic patients with schizophrenia in a Chinese population--A pilot study.

Background And Objectives: Tobacco use is a significant public health issue on a global scale. Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking for men in China is much higher than in the United States. Although prevailing literature suggests a negative relationship between smoking and quality of life, this pilot study sought to evaluate whether smoking reduction/cessation impacted on the perception of quality of life in an in-patient population in China.

[Multi-dimensional exploration of the characteristics of emotional regulation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder].

Objective: To explore the characteristics of emotional regulation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: Two hundred and eighty-two children who were diagnosed as ADHD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) were recruited from the child psychiatric clinic of Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health from August 2012 to April 2014. And 260 normal children from the local primary schools were selected as the healthy control group.

[Influence of ODD diagnosis on the association between NET1 and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder].

Objective: To explore the association between the SNP rs3785143 of NET1 gene and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with and without oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).

Methods: Five hundreds and eighty-seven ADHD children with ODD, 1228 ADHD children without ODD and 554 healthy children were recruited from child psychiatric clinics of Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health and included for genotyping of rs3785143. Comparisons of allelic and genotypic distribution among these groups were conducted.

Frequency-dependent changes in amplitude of low-frequency oscillations in depression: A resting-state fMRI study.

Objective: We conducted this fMRI study to examine whether the alterations in amplitudes of low-frequency oscillation (LFO) of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients were frequency dependent.

Materials And Methods: The LFO amplitudes (as indexed by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation [ALFF] and fractional ALFF [fALFF]) within 4 narrowly-defined frequency bands (slow-5: 0.01-0.

Early postnatal stress suppresses the developmental trajectory of hippocampal pyramidal neurons: the role of CRHR1.

Adverse experiences early in life hamper the development and maturation of the hippocampus, but how early-life stress perturbs the developmental trajectory of the hippocampus across various life stages and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be investigated. In this study, we stressed male mice from postnatal day 2 (P2) to P9, and examined the potential role of CRHR1 in postnatal stress-induced structural remodeling of hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons directly after stress (P9), in mid-adolescence (P35) and in adulthood (P90). We found that early-life stress exposure significantly reduced apical dendritic arborization and spine density in CA3 neurons on P9 and P90.

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging study of schizophrenia in the context of abnormal neurodevelopment using multiple site data in a Chinese Han population.

Schizophrenia has increasingly been considered a neurodevelopmental disorder, and the advancement of neuroimaging techniques and associated computational methods has enabled quantitative re-examination of this important theory on the pathogenesis of the disease. Inspired by previous findings from neonatal brains, we proposed that an increase in diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) mean diffusivity (MD) should be observed in the cerebral cortex of schizophrenia patients compared with healthy controls, corresponding to lower tissue complexity and potentially a failure to reach cortical maturation. We tested this hypothesis using dMRI data from a Chinese Han population comprising patients from four different hospital sites.

Genetic variation in the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene moderates depressive symptom trajectories and remission over 8 weeks of escitalopram treatment.

The serotonin system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD) and genetic variations in serotonin-related genes affect the efficacy of antidepressants. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between genotypic variation in six candidate serotonergic genes (ADCY9, HTR1B, GNB3, HTR2A, TPH2, SLC6A4) and depressive and anxiety symptom severity trajectories as well as remission following escitalopram treatment. A total of 166 Chinese patients with MDD were treated with escitalopram (open-label) for 8 weeks.

A Subgroup Analysis of Chinese Patients Switched to Paliperidone Palmitate One-Month Injectable by Prior Oral Antipsychotic Treatment.

Introduction: Safely tapering current antipsychotic medication, while balancing efficacy and tolerability, is an important consideration when switching patients from their antipsychotic therapy to a new treatment. The efficacy and tolerability of paliperidone palmitate one-month (PP1M) in Chinese patients switched from previous antipsychotic treatments were examined in order to develop effective switching and dosing strategies.

Methods: A 13-week open-label, single arm, prospective, interventional study was conducted in Chinese patients (n = 610) with acute schizophrenia to examine their response, by previous treatment group, when switched to PP1M (75-150 mg eq).

Diurnal neurobiological alterations after exposure to clozapine in first-episode schizophrenia patients.

Background: Irregular circadian rhythm and some of its most characteristic symptoms are frequently observed in patients with schizophrenia. However, changes in the expression of clock genes or neuropeptides that are related to the regulation of circadian rhythm may influence the susceptibility to recurrence after antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia, but this possibility has not been investigated.

Methods: Blood samples were collected from 15 healthy male controls and 13 male schizophrenia patients at 4h intervals for 24h before and after treatment with clozapine for 8 weeks.

Childhood predictors of persistent ADHD in early adulthood: Results from the first follow-up study in China.

It is known that childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists into adulthood. Previous studies have demonstrated that gender, ADHD symptoms, functional impairment severity, medication treatment, IQ, comorbid with oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder and follow-up periods were associated with ADHD persistence in longitudinal samples of western population. In this study, we attempted to widely investigate the predictors particularly in a Chinese Han ADHD cohort.

Effectiveness of a focused, brief psychoeducation program for parents of ADHD children: improvement of medication adherence and symptoms.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a psychoeducation program for parents of children with ADHD in enhancing adherence to pharmacological treatment and improving clinical symptoms.

Methods: We developed a psychoeducation program based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Eighty-nine children with ADHD were cluster randomly assigned for their families to receive 3 months of well-structured psychoeducation (intervention group, n=44) or only general clinical counseling (control group, n=45).

Risk Factors for Anxiety in Major Depressive Disorder Patients.

Objective: To analyze the sociodemographic and clinical factors related to anxiety in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: This study involved a secondary analysis of data obtained from the Diagnostic Assessment Service for People with Bipolar Disorders in China (DASP), which was initiated by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry (CSP) and conducted from September 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011. Based on the presence or absence of anxiety-related characteristics, 1,178 MDD patients were classified as suffering from anxious depression (n=915) or non-anxious depression (n=263), respectively.

The divergent impact of COMT Val158Met on executive function in children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) usually display deficits in executive function (EF), which are primarily mediated by prefrontal cortex (PFC). The functional polymorphism of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), Val158Met (rs4680), leads to observed polymorphic differences in the degradation of dopamine within PFC. This study aimed to explore the effect of rs4680 on EF using case-control design.

A pharmacogenomic study revealed an association between SLC6A4 and risperidone-induced weight gain in Chinese Han population.

Aim: We carried out a pharmacogenomic study in order to identify susceptible genes for antipsychotics induced weight gain within the Chinese Han population.

Materials & Methods: We enrolled 216 patients with schizophrenia in our study. All of them underwent risperidone monotherapy, and fulfilled 4-week follow-up.

Ezh2 is involved in radial neuronal migration through regulating Reelin expression in cerebral cortex.

Radial migration of pyramidal neurons is an important event during the development of cerebral cortex. Neurons experience series of morphological and directional transitions to get to their final laminar positions. Here we report that the histone methyltransferase enhancer of zest homolog 2 (Ezh2) is involved in the regulation of cortical radial migration.

Long-term effects of neonatal exposure to MK-801 on recognition memory and excitatory-inhibitory balance in rat hippocampus.

Blockade of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) during the neonatal period has been reported to induce long-term behavioral and neurochemical alterations that are relevant to schizophrenia. In this study, we examined the effects of such treatment on recognition memory and hippocampal excitatory and inhibitory (E/I) balance in both adolescence and adulthood. After exposure to the NMDAR antagonist, MK-801, at postnatal days (PND) 5-14, male Sprague-Dawley rats were tested for object and object-in-context recognition memory during adolescence (PND 35) and adulthood (PND 63).

Acute Effects of Haloperidol, Amisulpride, and Quetiapine on Bone Turnover Markers in Patients With Schizophrenia.

Objective: This prospective study sought to compare the acute effects of haloperidol, amisulpride, and quetiapine on serum markers of bone formation and resorption in relatively young patients with minimal previous exposure to antipsychotic drugs.

Methods: Patients included in the study were randomly assigned to receive haloperidol, amisulpride, or quetiapine monotherapy in an open-label manner. Serum osteocalcin (OC, a marker of bone formation), C-terminal peptide of type I collagen (CTX, a marker of bone resorption), prolactin (PRL), estradiol, and testosterone were measured in 70 patients at baseline and after 4 weeks of antipsychotic treatment.

Remission Rate and Functional Outcomes During a 6-Month Treatment With Osmotic-Release Oral-System Methylphenidate in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Many definitions have been used to evaluate remission in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in different studies resulting with varied remission rates. This open-label, multicenter study investigated the remission rate in Chinese children (n = 239; aged 6-16 years) with a diagnosis of ADHD (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition), treated with osmotic-release oral-system methylphenidate at doses of 18, 36, and 54 mg, once daily. Two definitions of remission were used: (1) (primary end point): average scores of SNAP-IV (Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Fourth Edition) items of 1 or less (0-3 rating scale for each item) according to the subtype of ADHD (inattentive [1-9], hyperactive-impulsive [10-18], and combined type [1-18]), and (2) total score of SNAP-IV items 1 to 18 of 18 or less, at week 8.

Age and severity matched comparison of gender differences in the prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences of periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: This was a case-control study recruiting 364 patients with OSA (182 men, 182 women) matched for age and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). All participants underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG), followed by the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).

Antipsychotic Medications in Major Depression and the Association with Treatment Satisfaction and Quality of Life: Findings of Three National Surveys on Use of Psychotropics in China Between 2002 and 2012.

Background: Optimizing treatment outcomes for depression requires understanding of how evidence-based treatments are utilized in clinical practice. Antipsychotic medications concurrent with antidepressant treatment are frequently used in major depression, but few studies have investigated trends and patterns of their use over time. This study aimed to examine the prescription patterns of antipsychotic medications for major depression in China from 2002 to 2012 and their association with treatment satisfaction and quality of life (QOL).

Adjunctive aripiprazole in the treatment of risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response study.

Hyperprolactinemia is an unwanted adverse effect associated with several antipsychotics. The addition of partial dopamine receptor agonist aripiprazole may attenuate antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia effectively. However, the ideal dosing regimen for this purpose is unknown.

Reduced paralimbic system gray matter volume in schizophrenia: Correlations with clinical variables, symptomatology and cognitive function.

Background: Psychopathy is associated with dysfunction in regions that compose the paralimbic system, such as the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), insular cortex (IC), temporal pole (TP), parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) and cingulate cortex (CC). However, findings of structural alterations in these regions are inconsistent in schizophrenia, and correlations between paralimbic system measures and symptomatology and cognitive function have not been investigated.

Method: 93 patients with schizophrenia and 99 healthy controls received structural magnetic resonance imaging and clinical and cognitive assessment.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder beginning in childhood, and about half of patients have symptoms lasting into adulthood. Adult ADHD causes various impairments of emotional, self-esteem, and executive function and life quality aspects. Furthermore, adverse outcomes include academic and occupational failures, traffic accidents and substance abuse, which would be a family and social burden.