Differentiating moderate and severe depression using the Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS)

BACKGROUND: MADRS cut-off scores for moderate and severe depression were estimated in relation to the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD(17)) and the Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI). METHOD: HAMD(17), MADRS, and CGI ratings from patients with major depression (DSM-IV) were analyzed (N=85). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were applied. RESULTS: Mean age was 51.4+/-14.5 years, 69% were female. Mean MADRS scores were 23.4+/-13.2, HAMD(17), MADRS, and CGI scores were highly correlated (r>0.85; P<0.0001). Best separation between moderate and severe depression according to CGI criteria was achieved with a MADRS score of 31 (sensitivity 93.5%, specificity 83.3%). LIMITATIONS: Studies to validate severity gradations including DSM-IV or ICD-10 diagnostic severity categories are recommended. CONCLUSIONS: Empirically based MADRS cut-off scores to separate moderate from severe depression on the basis of HAMD(17) and CGI severity ratings in patients with major depression were yielded.     

Dermatoglyphic peculiarities in patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome

The dermatoglyphic patterns of fingertips and palms of 115 patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) were analysed and compared with the data from 199 control individuals from Germany. The following combination of dermatoglyphic patterns appears to be characteristic to WBS: an excess of whorls on all fingertips; high termination values of the main lines D, B, and A; frequent absence of C triradius (C°); high frequencies of ulnar loops on the hypothenar and distal loops on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th inter digital areas, of distal axial triradii t", and of abnormal palmar creases such as simian crease and Sydney lines. The combination of fingertip and palmar patterns expressed by a “Log.Score-Index,” provides a high degree of discrimination between the WBS patients (92%) and the control group (88%). A “phantom picture” for WBS was constructed, which can be used for its diagnosis. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Association analysis between the human interleukin 1beta (-511) gene polymorphism and susceptibility to febrile convulsions

This study was designed to examine whether anxious personality, i.e. trait anxiety, influences the autonomic nervous functions in humans without manipulation of experimental stressors. The degrees of state and trait anxiety, blood pressure, heart rate, pupillary light reflex (PLR), and body temperature were measured at the same hour on four different days in 14 healthy college students. A multiple regression analysis showed that trait anxiety predominantly influenced state anxiety and the PLR parameters. A single regression analysis showed that trait anxiety positively correlated to the initial pupillary diameter and the constricted diameter of PLR and negatively to the amplitude of PLR. It was concluded that trait anxiety predicts state anxiety and a smaller amplitude of PLR in humans at rest.     

Postpartum U.S. Women's Oral Health Knowledge,Attitudes, and Practices During Pregnancy

Maternal and Child Health Journal - The purpose of this study was to assess oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices of women who had given birth in the United States within the past 2...     

Postmortem Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasopharyngeal Mucosa

Analyses of infection chains have demonstrated that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is highly transmissive. However, data on postmortem stability and infectivity are lacking. Our finding of nasopharyngeal viral RNA stability in 79 corpses showed no time-dependent decrease. Maintained infectivity is supported by virus isolation up to 35 hours postmortem.     

Impact of antiangiogenic treatment on the erectile function in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma

We longitudinally assessed erectile function as well as the willingness to use pro-erectile treatment in a cohort on AAT for advanced RCC. Thirty-seven patients with advanced RCC completed the five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) and other interview items before (T0) and 12 weeks into therapy (T12) with AAT. Patients were further asked if they were willing to use and pay out-of-pocket for on-demand treatment with phosphodiesterase-5-inhibitors (PDE-5i). Statistical analysis was performed using nonparametric hypothesis testing. The IIEF-5 score at T12 was significantly decreased compared with T0 (p < .001). Subjective patient satisfaction regarding their sexual lives was associated with higher IIEF-5 scores at both time points (p = .006 and p = .03, respectively). At T12, subjective sexual contentment showed a nonsignificant trend towards decline (p = .074). Patients who opted for medical treatment of ED showed significantly better IIEF-5 scores at both time points compared with the rest of the cohort (p < .001 and p = .005, respectively). In summary, AAT seems to have a negative effect on erectile function in RCC patients, however, the role of psychosocial issues warrants further elucidation. Affected patients may benefit from a proactive approach promoting medical treatment of erectile dysfunction during AAT.     

Pattern electroretinogram and visual evoked potential amplitudes are influenced by different stimulus field sizes and scotomata

The pattern electroretinogram and the visual evoked potential were recorded simultaneously with various stimulus fields and artificial scotomata of increasing sizes. In contrast to an earlier study, a smaller check size (20) and two stimulus field sizes (20° × 20° and 10° × 10°) for the scotomata were used. With a concentric decreasing stimulus field, a reduction of both the pattern electroretinogram and visual evoked potential was found. Both showed a simultaneous reduction of amplitudes, but, compared with the amplitude in the full field, the reduction was more extensive for the pattern electroretinogram at each test field size. This implies a greater contribution to the pattern electroretinogram from more eccentric retinal parts. An artificial central scotoma of increasing size in the 20° × 20° field had less influence on the pattern electroretinogram than on the visual evoked potential. The percentage amplitude loss of the visual evoked potential was more pronounced. The visual evoked potential was eventually abolished by a scotoma size from 10° × 10° upward, while the pattern electroretinogram was still registrable. When scotomata of similar size were introduced in a smaller (10° × 10°) field, percentage pattern electroretinogram and visual evoked potential amplitude losses were less separated than in a larger (20° × 20°) test field.     

Cationic-amphiphilic arpromidine-derived guanidines and a histamine trifluoromethyl-toluidide derivative may activate pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins by a receptor-independent mechanism

Formyl peptides activate superoxide anion (O₂ ^–) formation in human neutrophils and in HL-60 cells via pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins), and histamine (HA) mediates inhibition of O₂ ^– formation via H₂-receptors. We have studied the effects of lipophilic arpromidine-derived guanidines, which are potent, full H₂-receptor agonists in the guinea pig atrium, on O₂ ^– formation and on activation of G-proteins in HL-60 membranes and on purified G-proteins. We have also studied the effects of a HA trifluoromethyl-toluidide derivative (HTMT), a cationic-amphiphilic HA derivative which activates O₂ ^– formation in HL-60 cells through a mechanism which is independent of known HA receptor subtypes, on G-protein activation. Guanidines, at concentrations, up to 30 mol/l inhibited and, at concentrations above 30 mol/l, enhanced formyl peptide-induce O₂ ^– formation in neutrophils. In HL-60 cells, guanidines per se activated O₂ ^– formation. The stimulatory effects of guanidines on O₂ ^– formation were not inhibited by H₁- or H₂-receptor antagonists. In HL-60 membranes, guanidines and HTMT, activated high-affinity GTPase in a PTX-sensitive manner. These substances also increased GTP hydrolysis effected by transducin and G_i/G_o-proteins. Our data suggest that lipophilic guanidines and HTMT may act as receptor-independent activators of PTX-sensitive G-proteins, resulting in stimulation of O ₂ ^– formation.