Project description:BackgroundIt remains a challenge to predict the long-term response to antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia who do not respond at an early stage. This study aimed to investigate the optimal predictive cut-off value for early non-response that would better predict later non-response to antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia.MethodsThis multicenter, 8-week, open-label, randomized trial was conducted at 19 psychiatric centers throughout China. All enrolled participants were assigned to olanzapine, risperidone, amisulpride, or aripiprazole monotherapy for 8 weeks. The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) was evaluated at baseline, week 2, week 4, and week 8. The main outcome was the prediction of nonresponse. Nonresponse is defined as a < 20% reduction in the total scores of PANSS from baseline to endpoint. Severity ratings of mild, moderate, and severe illness corresponded to baseline PANSS total scores of 58, 75, and 95, respectively.ResultsAt week 2, a reduction of < 5% in the PANSS total score showed the highest total accuracy in the severe and mild schizophrenia patients (total accuracy, 75.0% and 80.8%, respectively), and patients who were treated with the risperidone and amisulpride groups (total accuracy, 82.4%, and 78.2%, respectively). A 10% decrease exhibited the best overall accuracy in the moderate schizophrenia patients (total accuracy, 84.0%), olanzapine (total accuracy, 79.2%), and aripiprazole group (total accuracy, 77.4%). At week 4, the best predictive cut-off value was < 20%, regardless of the antipsychotic or severity of illness (total accuracy ranging from 89.8 to 92.1%).ConclusionsSymptom reduction at week 2 has acceptable discrimination in predicting later non-response to antipsychotics in schizophrenia, and a more accurate predictive cut-off value should be determined according to the medication regimen and baseline illness severity. The response to treatment during the next 2 weeks after week 2 could be further assessed to determine whether there is a need to change antipsychotic medication during the first four weeks.Trial registrationThis study was registered on Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03451734).
Project description:Developmental stages characterized by greater neural plasticity might be critical periods during which the effects of cognitive training (CT) could theoretically be maximized. However, experiencing a first episode of schizophrenia during childhood or adolescence (ie, early-onset schizophrenia [EOS]) may reduce the brain's ability to benefit from CT. This study examined the effects of EOS versus onset at > 18 years of age (ie, adult-onset schizophrenia [AOS]) as a predictor of response to CT and the relationship between duration of illness and cognitive improvements. This study is a secondary analysis of data from 2 randomized trials that examined the cognitive effects of neuroscience-informed auditory training (AT) exercises in 84 outpatients with schizophrenia (26 EOS, 58 AOS, recruited between 2004 and 2014). There was a significant effect of time in all cognitive domains (F > 10.22, P < .002). The effect of EOS was significant only for verbal learning and memory (F = 5.79, P = .018). AOS increased the mean change score by 5.70 points in this domain, whereas EOS showed no change (t = -2.280, P = .025). However, the difference between AOS and EOS was no longer statistically significant after control for multiple comparisons. Shorter duration of illness was associated with greater improvement in problem solving in the AOS group (r = -0.27, P = .040). Auditory training is effective in improving cognition in both EOS and AOS. Treatment effects in all cognitive domains were similar, with the exception of verbal learning and memory. This result requires replication. Cognitive training provided earlier in the course of the illness results in greater improvements in executive functions. ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT00312962, NCT00694889.
Project description:Glucocorticoids are the primary anti-inflammatory therapy for asthma, but their effects are characterized by some interindividual variability that might have a genetic basis.We aimed to determine the relationship between pulmonary function change and the variant of the glucocorticoid-induced transcript 1 (GLCCI1) gene in patients with asthma receiving long-term ICS treatment, the association of GLCCI1 genotypes and the level of GLCCI1 expression and cytokines production.A total of 418 patients with asthma, including 25 individuals from 11 families with a history of asthma, were enrolled. The effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GLCCI1 on changes in lung function in response to inhaled glucocorticoids were assessed. The expression levels of GLCCI1 mRNA and cytokines were also measured.The SNP rs37973 in GLCCI1 was independently associated with changes in forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1) and FEV1%pred. Individuals homozygous for the wild-type allele who had a percent FEV1 change greater than 5% were more common than individuals homozygous for the rare allele. When patients were stratified according to genotype, GLCCI1 expression was enhanced upon administration of low-dose dexamethasone among patients with the rs37973 A allele; however, GG homozygotes required high-dose dexamethasone to achieve enhanced GLCCI1 expression. Furthermore, the levels of some cytokines were significantly reduced after glucocorticoid treatment in individuals with the AA and AG genotypes.The genetic variant rs37973 in GLCCI1 is associated with poorer clinical therapeutic response to inhaled glucocorticoids in a Chinese asthma population.
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered intensive research and development of drugs and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 during the last two years. The major success was especially observed with development of vaccines based on viral vectors, nucleic acids and whole viral particles, which have received emergent authorization leading to global mass vaccinations. Although the vaccine programs have made a big impact on COVID-19 spread and severity, emerging novel variants have raised serious concerns about vaccine efficacy. Due to the urgent demand, drug development had originally to rely on repurposing of antiviral drugs developed against other infectious diseases. For both drug and vaccine development the focus has been mainly on SARS-CoV-2 surface proteins and host cell receptors involved in viral attachment and entry. In this review, we expand the spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 targets by investigating the COVID-19 signalome. In addition to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, the envelope, membrane, and nucleoprotein targets have been subjected to research. Moreover, viral proteases have presented the possibility to develop different strategies for the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication and spread. Several signaling pathways involving the renin-angiotensin system, angiotensin-converting enzymes, immune pathways, hypoxia, and calcium signaling have provided attractive alternative targets for more efficient drug development.
Project description:A convergence of evidence shows that use of Cannabis sativa is associated with increased risk of developing psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, and earlier age at which psychotic symptoms first manifest. Cannabis exposure during adolescence is most strongly associated with the onset of psychosis amongst those who are particularly vulnerable, such as those who have been exposed to child abuse and those with family histories of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia that develops after cannabis use may have a unique clinical phenotype, and several genetic polymorphisms may modulate the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis. The endocannabinoid system has been implicated in psychosis both related and unrelated to cannabis exposure, and studying this system holds potential to increase understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Anandamide signaling in the central nervous system may be particularly important. Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol in cannabis can cause symptoms of schizophrenia when acutely administered, and cannabidiol (CBD), another compound in cannabis, can counter many of these effects. CBD may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of psychosis following cannabis use, as well as schizophrenia, possibly with better tolerability than current antipsychotic treatments. CBD may also have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. Establishing the role of CBD and other CBD-based compounds in treating psychotic disorders will require further human research.
Project description:Early brain functional changes induced by pharmacotherapy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in relation to drugs per se or because of the impact of such drugs on the improvement of OCD remain unclear. Moreover, no neuroimaging biomarkers are available for diagnosis of OCD and prediction of early treatment response. We performed a longitudinal study involving 34 patients with OCD and 36 healthy controls (HCs). Patients with OCD received 5-week treatment with paroxetine (40 mg/d). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), regional homogeneity (ReHo), support vector machine (SVM), and support vector regression (SVR) were applied to acquire and analyze the imaging data. Compared with HCs, patients with OCD had higher ReHo values in the right superior temporal gyrus and bilateral hippocampus/parahippocampus/fusiform gyrus/cerebellum at baseline. ReHo values in the left hippocampus and parahippocampus decreased significantly after treatment. The reduction rate (RR) of ReHo values was positively correlated with the RRs of the scores of Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and obsession. Abnormal ReHo values at baseline could serve as potential neuroimaging biomarkers for OCD diagnosis and prediction of early therapeutic response. This study highlighted the important role of the hippocampal-cortical system in the neuropsychological mechanism underlying OCD, pharmacological mechanism underlying OCD treatment, and the possibility of building models for diagnosis and prediction of early treatment response based on spontaneous activity in the hippocampal-cortical system.
Project description:Cuproptosis is a recently reported novel way of cell death. A comprehensive study regarding expression, function and mechanism of cuproptosis-related genes in breast cancer is still absent. In this work, a series of in silico analyses were employed and SLC31A1 was selected as the most potential cuproptosis-related gene in breast cancer, which was statistically upregulated and possessed significant abilities to predict diagnosis, prognosis and drug response. Moreover, SLC31A1 was significantly positively correlated with different immune cell infiltration levels, immune cell biomarkers or immune checkpoints in breast cancer. Upstream G2E3-AS1/let-7a-5p and CDKN2B-AS1/let-7b-5p pathways were found to be responsible for SLC31A1 upregulation in breast cancer based on competing endogenous RNA mechanism. Furthermore, we found that SLC31A1 overexpression might be also induced by its high copy number level in breast cancer. Collectively, our current data elucidated that cuproptosis-related SLC31A1 might be a promising diagnostic/prognostic biomarker and drug responsive predictor in breast cancer.
Project description:Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury is a common problem with potentially devastating impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes. While therapeutic hypothermia, the first available treatment for this disease, reduces the risk of death or major neurodevelopmental disability, the risk of major neurologic morbidity following HI remains significant. Basic research has identified cellular mechanisms that mediate neuronal death. This article reviews the cellular processes induced that lead to brain injury following HI, and identify treatments currently under investigation for potential translation to clinical trials.
Project description:Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are a core symptom of schizophrenia, and resistant to antipsychotic medication in a substantial proportion of patients. This study aimed to investigate the neural correlates of AVHs in schizophrenia patients and its response to a modified continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) by transcranial magnetic stimulation. In a cross-sectional experiment, resting-state functional magnetic resonance images were collected from 31 AVH schizophrenia patients, 26 non-AVH schizophrenia patients, and 33 sex-/age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Functional connectivity strength (FCS) maps were compared among groups by 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). In a longitudinal experiment, 16 and 11 AVH patients received real and sham cTBS treatment for 15 days, respectively. Notably, this was not a randomized control trail. Changes in AVH and FCS were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA and 2-sample t-test, respectively. In the cross-sectional experiment, comparison of FCS maps identified 8 clusters among groups, but only one cluster (in left cerebellum) differed significantly in AVH patients compared to both HCs and non-AVH patients. In the longitudinal experiment, the real cTBS group showed a greater improvement in symptoms and a larger FCS decrease in left cerebellum than the sham group. Pearson's correlation analysis indicated that baseline FCS of the overlapping cerebellum cluster (between the cross-sectional and longitudinal findings) was negatively correlated with symptom improvement in the real treatment group. These findings emphasize the role of the left cerebellum in both the pathophysiology and clinical treatment of AVHs in schizophrenia patients.
Project description:Although historic documents posit schizophrenia to the beginnings of mankind, its diagnosis remains poorly defined, currently relying on unspecific clinical symptoms; and controversies still maintain its origin under intense debate. This review aimed at quantitatively assessing the preferential forefronts of clinical trials towards the treatment of schizophrenia from inception till present, according to clinicaltrials.gov database registry. Towards that end study status and study phase classifications were used as criteria for progress in the field. Study groups by sex and age together with countries and organisms involved in the studies were used as indicators of the populations studied and as evidence of main promoter institutions, in both, pharmacological and drug-free protocols. The findings clearly show a decline of active clinical research with small synthetic compounds and limited numbers of novel initiatives, mostly based on drug-free alternatives with expected reduced secondary effects. A paucity of sex- and age-oriented designs is detected, and it is proposed that future clinical trials should set their basis on data obtained from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, brain organoid systems and human brain circuitry platforms. Only individual precision medical approaches may turn effective for the treatment of this complex and highly incapacitating disease.