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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 399-404 PubMed PMID: 18766164 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Decision Making:physiology, Economics, Humans, Mathematics, Models, Neurological, Physical Phenomena, Physics, Receptors, Neurotransmitter:metabolism, Risk, Risk-Taking,.   

: Decision under risk and uncertainty has been attracting attention in neuroeconomics and neuroendocrinology of decision-making. This paper demonstrated that the neurotransmitter receptor theory-based value (utility) function can account for human and animal risk-taking behavior. The theory predicts that (i) when dopaminergic neuronal response is efficiently coupled to the formation of ligand-receptor complex, subjects are risk-aversive (irrespective of their satisfaction level) and (ii) when the coupling is inefficient, subjects are risk-seeking at low satisfaction levels, consistent with risk-sensitive foraging theory in ecology. It is further suggested that some anomalies in decision under risk are due to inefficiency of the coupling between dopamine receptor activation and neuronal response. Future directions in the application of the model to studies in neuroeconomics of addiction and neuroendocrine modulation of risk-taking behavior are discussed....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 522-528 PubMed PMID: 18766163 Citation  Keywords:  Asphyxia Neonatorum:diagnosis, Brain:pathology, Electroencephalography, Humans, Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain:diagnosis, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Prognosis,.   

INTRODUCTION: This study was based on foreign studies which confirmed the importance of amplitude-integrated electroencefalographic monitoring (aEEG) in the early prediction of the future neurological development of newborn infants with hypoxic syndrome. Our aim was to confirm the correlation between the type of aEEG trace and the level of brain damage in newborn infants in the early hours after the hypoxic event and to introduce this method into routine practice.r />r /> MATERIAL AND METHODS: With 56 newborn infants having suffered a perinatal hypoxic event (the average umbilical arterial pH was 6.95, the average BE value -17.3) and in 2 newborn infants after early postnatal hypoxia, aEEG monitoring was performed continually. The aEEG records of brain activity obtained were analyzed using the Hellström-Westas classification. The level of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy was evaluated according to the Sarnat-Sarnat classification. Assessment of future neurological development is not included in this work.r />r /> RESULTS: 12 (21%) of the 56 newborn infants did not develop any hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, 8 (14%) newborn infants had hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) grade I, 19 (35%) had HIE grade II and 17 (30%) had HIE grade III. The newborn infants without hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy had normal or slightly abnormal aEEG trace. In the case of newborn infants who had HIE grade I, we recorded a normal or slightly abnormal aEEG trace. In the case of newborn infants who had HIE grade II, we recorded all types of aEEG trace--from normal to seriously pathological. Of the newborn infants who had HIE grade III, all had a pathological aEEG trace of "burst suppression patterns", low voltage pattern or flat trace pattern. The results show that if a newborn infant had a pathological type of aEEG trace in the early hours after a hypoxic event he or she later developed at least HIE grade II. 53% of the newborn infants with a flat aEEG trace later had HIE grade III.r />r /> CONCLUSION: Cerebral function monitoring is a non-invasive method used for the early assessment of the severity of a hypoxic event. As it could be used in the first few hours after birth, this method could be applied to select patients suitable for therapeutic hypothermia....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 558-570 PubMed PMID: 18766162 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Autistic Disorder:physiopathology, Child, Child, Preschool, Electroencephalography, Epilepsy:complications, Female, Humans, Intellectual Disability:etiology, Intelligence, Male, Retrospective Studies,.   

: We retrospectively evaluated a set of 205 children with autism and compared it to the partial sub-set of 71 (34.6%) children with a history of regression. From 71 children with regression, signs of epileptic processes were present in 43 (60.6%), 28 (65.12%) suffered clinical epileptic seizures, and 15 (34.9%) just had an epileptiform abnormality on the EEG. In our analysis, autistic regression is substantially more associated with epileptic process symptoms than in children with autism and no history of regression. More than 90% of children with a history of regression also show IQ < 70 and reduced functionality. Functionality and IQ further worsens with the occurrence of epileptic seizures (98% of children with regression and epilepsy have IQ < 70). We proved that low IQ and reduced functionality significantly correlate rather with epileptic seizures than just sub-clinical epileptiform abnormality on EEG. Clinical epileptic seizures associated with regression significantly influence the age of regression and its clinical type. The age of regression is higher compared to children with regression without epileptic seizures (in median: 35 months of age in patients with seizures while only 24 months in other patients). Patients with seizures revealed regression after 24th months of age in 68% of cases, while patients without seizures only in 27%. However, coincidence with epilepsy also increased the occurrence of regression before the 18th month of age (23% of patients), while only 4% of patients without epilepsy revealed regression before the 18th month. Epileptic seizures are significantly associated especially with behaviour regression rather than speech regression or regression in both behaviour and speech. Also epileptic seizures diagnosed before correct diagnosis of autism were significantly associated with delayed regression (both behavioural and speech regression)....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 485-492 PubMed PMID: 18766161 Citation  Keywords:  Antipsychotic Agents:therapeutic use, Female, Humans, Male, Schizophrenia:blood, Serine:blood, Statistics as Topic,.   

OBJECTIVES: The main objective was to test the hypothesis of the association between D-serine serum levels and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Secondary objective was to examine the assumption of D-serine serum levels difference between a population of mostly chronic patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.r />r /> METHODS: We recruited outpatients with schizophrenia and age and gender matched healthy controls for the study. D-serine and total serine serum levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) were used to assess schizophrenic symptoms. Non-parametric statistics was used to test the differences in D-serine and total serine serum levels and rank correlation was used to detect the associations with psychopathology.r />r /> RESULTS: We did not find any differences between patients (n=50) and controls (n=50) in D-serine serum levels. Patients had significantly lower total serine serum levels and higher D-serine/total serine ratio. D-serine serum levels were not associated with the PANSS or the SANS total and subscales scores. Total se-rine serum levels inversely correlated with the SANS total and the PANSS negative symptom subscale scores.r />r /> CONCLUSION: Decreased, not increased, serum levels of total serine negatively associated with intensity of negative symptoms were detected in patients with schizophrenia. We did not find any relationship between D-serine serum levels and negative symptoms among the patients. These findings do not agree with the previous reports of decreased D-serine and increased total serine serum levels in schizophrenia....

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Case Reports 2008; 29(4): 431-434 PubMed PMID: 18766160 Citation  Keywords:  Brain:pathology, Calcinosis:complications, Calcium:metabolism, Dementia:etiology, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Movement Disorders:etiology, Syndrome,.   

: Fahr's disease is characterized by idiopathic calcification of the basal ganglia and other brain regions. Clinically it may be accompanied by extrapyramidal and behavioural disorders. In Fahr's syndrome, the same pathology is due to another well-defined disease. Calcium/phosphate metabolic disorders, e.g. hypoparathyroidism or pseudohyperparathyroidism, may be involved. Here, we report a case of 62-year-old man presenting with severe dementia but only mild movement disorders and mild calcium metabolism abnormalities. Extensive brain calcifications together with unevenly distributed perfusion on single photon emission tomography are documented....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 577-580 PubMed PMID: 18766159 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Cochlea:metabolism, Ear, Inner:anatomy & histology, Homeostasis, Mice, RNA, Messenger:metabolism, Rats, Receptors, Atrial Natriuretic Factor:genetics, Stria Vascularis:metabolism, Vestibule, Labyrinth:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether the atrial natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-A) is present in the secretory regions of the membrane labyrinth of the adult mouse inner ear.r />r /> SETTING: Recent studies have implied that the homeostasis of endolymph fluid in the inner ear may be regulated by receptor-mediated mechanisms. Several studies have identified the presence of atrial natriuretic peptide receptors in the inner ear of guinea pig and rat. As a member of the natriuretic peptide receptor family, which also includes B-type natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-B) and C-type natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-C), NPR-A may be involved in the regulation of fluid homeostasis in the inner ear.r />r /> METHODS: In this study, samples of stria vascularis, nonstrial tissue of the cochlear lateral wall and vestibular organ tissue from the ears of 6 adult mice were obtained by immediate excision of bony labyrinth under operating microscope after decapitation. Total RNA was isolated and mRNA was amplified by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using consensus primers flanking a region of 127 bp at the target sequence. Mouse renal cortex known to contain NPR-A was used as a positive control.r />r /> RESULTS: We demonstrated that NPR-A was expressed in the mouse stria vascularis as well as in the nonstrial tissue of the cochlear lateral wall and vestibular organ.r />r /> CONCLUSION: These results suggest that natriuretic peptides may play an important role in maintaining the fluid homeostasis of inner ear endolymph via interaction with NPR-A....

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Clinical Trial 2008; 29(4): 500-506 PubMed PMID: 18766158 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Antidepressive Agents:therapeutic use, Cognition:drug effects, Depressive Disorder, Major:drug therapy, Estradiol:blood, Female, Follicle Stimulating Hormone:blood, Humans, Korea, Luteinizing Hormone:blood, Menopause:psychology, Middle Aged, Postme.   

OBJECTIVES: A hypo-estrogenic status, as that occurring with menopause, has been proposed to negatively affect cognitive function in post-menopause women. Nevertheless, little is known about the improvement of cognitive functions during antidepressant treatment in post-menopausal women with major depressive disorder (MDD) and its relation with hormonal changes. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the role of menopausal status including the level of sex hormones on cognitive function during antidepressant treatment.r />r /> DESIGN AND SETTINGS: Thirty-nine female patients (n=17 in pre-menopause; n=22 in post-menopause) with MDD based on DSM-IV criteria and who were not on hormonal replacement therapies participated in a prospective, 6-week, open-label naturalistic study. All patients were recruited in a university-based hospital. The Hamilton rating scale for Depression (HAMD), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ) were administered at baseline, week 1, week 3, and week 6. Levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) were collected at baseline visit.r />r /> RESULTS: Cognitive functioning improved during antidepressant treatment in the overall sample (P=0.00001). In post-menopausal women, E2 levels were strongly correlated with CFQ scores at each measurement. After controlling for depression severity, E2 levels maintained a significant association with the baseline CFQ scores (regression analysis: beta= -0.55 P=0.010; correlation: R= -0.54). In addition, the reduction of CFQ scores during antidepressant treatment was significantly associated with E2 levels (P=0.021), independently from the improvement of depressive symptoms, which however had a strong effect (P=0.0003). Nevertheless, we failed to find any association of CFQ score with sex hormones in pre-menopausal women.r />r /> MAIN FINDINGS: In post-menopausal women, the CFQ scores were correlated with E2 levels and the reduction of CFQ score during antidepressant treatment was also dependent on E2 levels, even controlling for depressive symptoms severity.r />r /> CONCLUSION: The present study further supports a crucial role of E2 on the cognitive function in post-menopause women. Moreover, our results suggest that E2 may influence the improvement of cognitive function in post-menopause women with MDD, during treatment with antidepressants....

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Journal Article 2008; 29(4): 405-409 PubMed PMID: 18766157 Citation  Keywords:  Autistic Disorder:physiopathology, Electroencephalography, Epilepsy:physiopathology, Humans,.   

: Autism is associated with a high frequency of epileptiform EEG abnormalities (prevalence range 10.3-72.4%) and epilepsy (prevalence range 0-44.5%). A significant subgroup of autistic children (20-49%) experience autistic regression. The relationship among EEG abnormalities, epilepsy, and regression in autistic patients is not yet well understood. In this review, the current knowledge of the relationship is summarized. The evidence from clinical studies does not support the view that EEG abnormalities play a role in autistic regression. The majority of studies also failed to find any significant relationship between epilepsy and autistic regression. However, some results indicated that the higher the prevalence of epilepsy in the sample, the greater the probability of there being a significant association between epilepsy and autistic regression. Further research on the topic is needed....

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