Faculty Bibliography

This functional magnetic resonance imaging study shows that children and adults with bipolar disorder (BD), compared with healthy subjects, exhibit impaired memory for emotional faces and abnormal fusiform activation during encoding. Fusiform activation abnormalities in BD were correlated with mania severity and may therefore represent a trait and state BD biomarker.

The data reported in the Technical Comments by Fitz et al., Price et al., Tesseur et al., and Veeraraghavalu et al. replicate and validate our central conclusion that bexarotene stimulates the clearance of soluble beta-amyloid peptides and results in the reversal of behavioral deficits in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The basis of the inability to reproduce the drug-stimulated microglial-mediated reduction in plaque burden is unexplained. However, we concluded that plaque burden is functionally unrelated to improved cognition and memory elicited by bexarotene.

OBJECTIVES: Compare reported rates of mood-shifts from major depression to mania/hypomania/mixed-states during antidepressant (AD)-treatment and rates of diagnostic change from major depressive disorder (MDD) to bipolar disorder (BPD). METHODS: Searching computerized literature databases, followed by summary analyses. RESULTS: In 51 reports of patients diagnosed with MDD and treated with an AD, the overall risk of mood-switching was 8.18% (7837/95,786) within 2.39+/-2.99 years of treatment, or 3.42 (95% CI: 3.34-3.50) %/year. Risk was 2.6 (CI: 2.5-2.8) times greater with/without AD-treatment by meta-analysis of 10 controlled trials. Risk increased with time up to 24 months of treatment, with no secular change (1968-2012). Incidence rates were 4.5 (CI: 4.1-4.8)-times greater among juveniles than adults (5.62/1.26 %/year; p<0.0001). In 12 studies the overall rate of new BPD-diagnoses was 3.29% (1928/56,754) within 5.38 years (0.61 [0.58-0.64] %/year), or 5.6-times lower (3.42/0.61) than annualized rates of mood-switching. CONCLUSIONS: AD-treatment was associated with new mania-like responses in 8.18% of patients diagnosed with unipolar MDD. Contributions to mood-switching due to unrecognized BPD versus mood-elevating pharmacological effects, as well as quantitative associations between switching and later diagnosis of BPD not associated with AD-treatment remain uncertain. LIMITATIONS: Rates and definitions of mood-switching with ADs varied greatly, exposure-times rarely were precisely defined, and there was little information on predictive associations between mood-switches and BPD-diagnosis.

BACKGROUND:Women and men have diverse responses to many infectious diseases. These differences are amplified following menopause. However, despite extensive information regarding the effects of sex hormones on immune cells, our knowledge is limited regarding the effects of sex and gender on the function of the mucosal immune system. Sex differences also manifest in the prevalence of gut associated inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and Celiac disease. It is thus hypothesized that a baseline sex-associated difference in immune activation may predispose women to inflammation-associated disease. METHODS:Peripheral blood samples and small intestinal biopsies were obtained from 34 healthy men and women. Immunophenotypic analysis of isolated lymphocytes was performed by flow cytometry. Oligonucleotide analysis was used to study the transcriptional profile in the gut mucosal microenvironment while real-time PCR analysis was utilized to identify differential gene expression in isolated CD4+ T cells. Transcriptional analysis was confirmed by protein expression levels for genes of interest using fluorescent immunohistochemistry. Data was analyzed using the GraphPad software package. RESULTS:Women had higher levels of immune activation and inflammation-associated gene expression in gut mucosal samples. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells had a significantly higher level of immune activation-associated phenotype in peripheral blood as well as in gut associated lymphoid tissue along with higher levels of proliferating T cells. CD4+ T cells that showed upregulation of IL1β as well as the TH17 pathway-associated genes contributed a large part of the inflammatory profile. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:In this study, we demonstrated an upregulation in gene expression related to immune function in the gut microenvironment of women compared to men, in the absence of disease or pathology. Upon closer investigation, CD4+ T cell activation levels were higher in the LPLs in women than in men. Sex differences in the mucosal immune system may predispose women to inflammation-associated diseases that are exacerbated following menopause. Our study highlights the need for more detailed analysis of the effects of sex differences in immune responses at mucosal effector sites.

BACKGROUND: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often presents as an impairing lifelong condition in adults; yet it is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated in many European countries. This analysis examines the characteristics of adult patients with ADHD in a European (EUR) and non-European (NE) patient population. METHODS: Baseline data from the open-label treatment period of a randomized trial of atomoxetine in adult patients with ADHD (N=2017; EUR, n=1217; NE, n=800) were examined. All patients who were enrolled were included in the baseline analyses. RESULTS: The demographics for patients in the EUR and NE groups were comparable. Patients in the EUR group had a somewhat lower percentage of prior exposure to psychostimulants compared with the NE group (32.7% vs. 38.9%, p=.0049). Scores on the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Investigator Rated: Screening Version with adult ADHD prompts (18-item total, inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive subscales, and index) were comparable. The adult ADHD Quality of Life-Life Outlook and Life Productivity domain scores were significantly different between groups (p