A case of Darier''s disease successfully treated with topical tacrolimus

Tacrolimus is a macrolide that inhibits T-cell activation. The most extensive experience with topical tacrolimus has been in treating atopic dermatitis but it has been used in various skin diseases, including Hailey-Hailey disease, with encouraging results. We report a case of extensive Darier's disease successfully treated with topical tacrolimus, after suspension of oral isotretrinoin due to major depression.     

脑卒中后抑郁症相关心理社会因素的对照研究

目的 探讨脑卒中后抑郁症相关的心理社会因素,以指导心理干预,提高生活质量。方法 30例卒中后抑郁患者为研究组,42例卒中后无抑郁患者为对照组。以医学应对问卷、社会支持评定量表(SSRS)和Barthel指数(BI)为评定工具,对两组患者分别进行评定。结果研究组面对量表分显著低于对照组(P<0.05),而屈服量表分显著高于对照组(P<0.01)。研究组SSRS评分显著低于对照组(P<0.01)。两组BI评分差异无显著性(P>0.05)。结论 有针对性的心理教育性干预并加强社会支持可能对防治卒中后抑郁起重要作用。     

西酞普兰与文拉法辛治疗抑郁症对照研究

目的:比较西酞普兰与文拉法辛治疗抑郁症的疗效及安全性。方法:将65例抑郁症患者随机分为两组,分别给予西酞普兰与文拉法辛治疗,疗程6周。用汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HAMD)及汉密尔顿焦虑量表(HAMA)在治疗前及治疗1、2、4、6周评定疗效;用副反应量表(TESS)评定不良反应。结果:两组总体疗效相当,西酞普兰起效稍快。两组不良反应均较轻,安全性好。结论:西酞普兰与文拉法辛均是安全有效的抗抑郁药。     

Peri-sleep-onset cortisol levels in children and adolescents with affective disorders.

BACKGROUND: Changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as evidenced by patterns of cortisol secretion, have been of interest in understanding depression and anxiety disorders across the life span. Previous studies of pediatric depression have pointed to the period around sleep onset as a key time point for observing alterations in cortisol secretion associated with affective disorders. Evidence also indicates that pubertal development may influence the expression of HPA dysregulation. We hypothesized that adolescents with depression and youth with anxiety disorders exhibit elevated peri-sleep-onset cortisol. METHODS: Plasma cortisol was sampled every 20 min around sleep onset from children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (n = 116), anxiety disorders (n = 32), or no history of psychiatric disorder (control; n = 76). Sleep onset was determined by polysomnography. Classification of participants as children or adolescents was based on Tanner staging of pubertal maturation. RESULTS: Children with anxiety disorders had higher peri-sleep-onset cortisol than children with depression or control children. Adolescents with depression had marginally higher peri-sleep-onset cortisol than control adolescents and significantly higher peri-sleep-onset cortisol than children with depression. CONCLUSIONS: Depression and anxiety are associated with altered cortisol secretion around sleep onset, and these changes appear to be influenced by pubertal maturation.     

双相情感障碍抑郁相与单相抑郁发作临床分析

目的:对双相情感障碍抑郁相和单相抑郁发作进行临床分析。方法:对双相情感障碍抑郁相和单相抑郁发作患者各30例进行临床分析。结果:双相情感障碍抑郁相有如下特点:①发病年龄早;②女性多见;③具有“精力过盛”性人格;④一级亲属中有双相障碍的家族史;⑤症状多为非典型抑郁发作或伴有精神病性症状。结论:如首次抑郁发作的症状符合以上特点,则可能以后发展为双相情感障碍,应使用足量心境稳定剂,谨慎使用抗抑郁剂,以免转为躁狂发作。     

文拉法辛和氯米帕明治疗老年抑郁症对照研究

目的:比较文拉法辛和氯米帕明对老年抑郁症的疗效和不良反应。方法:70例老年抑郁症患者随机分为两组,分别用文拉法辛和氯米帕明治疗,疗程6周。采用汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HAMD)、临床疗效总评量表(CGI)和副反应量表(TESS)评定疗效和不良反应。结果:文拉法辛和氯米帕明治疗老年抑郁症疗效相似,但文拉法辛比氯米帕明见效快,不良反应轻,疗效指数好于氯米帕明(P<0.05)。结论:文拉法辛是一种安全有效、见效快、不良反应轻的治疗老年抑郁症的药物。     

综合性医院抑郁症的特点及疗效分析

目的:了解综合性医院神经内科门诊抑郁症的临床特点及抗抑郁治疗的临床疗效.方法:对46例抑郁症患者的临床特点进行研究分析,同时对其中24例患者给予帕罗西汀治疗,对汉密尔顿抑郁评定表(HAMD)的平均总分数、汉密尔顿4因子及临床总体印象量表(CGI)评分在治疗前后进行比较.结果:46例抑郁症患者均以不同程度的躯体症状为主诉,临床表现多种多样,可涉及全身各系统;其中24例抑郁症患者给予帕罗西汀治疗后,汉密尔顿抑郁评定表的平均总分数、汉密尔顿4因子及临床总体印象量表评分分数在治疗后较治疗前显著减少(P＜0.01).结论:了解抑郁症患者躯体症状的临床特点,对于抑郁症的诊断和治疗至关重要.帕罗西汀对抑郁症患者具有明显的抗焦虑作用及早期改善睡眠的作用且整体抗抑郁疗效好.     

Brain serotonin transporter binding in non-depressed patients with Parkinson's disease

Early post-mortem data suggest that damage to brain serotonin neurones might play a role in some features (e.g., depression) of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, it is not known whether such damage is a typical characteristic of living patients with PD or whether the changes are regionally widespread. To address this question we measured, by positron emission tomography imaging, levels of the brain serotonin transporter (SERT), a marker for serotonin neurones, as inferred from binding of [¹¹C]-3-amino-4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenylsulfanyl)-benzonitrile (DASB), a second generation SERT radioligand, in subcortical and cerebral cortical brain areas of clinically advanced non-depressed (confirmed by structured psychiatric interview) patients with PD. SERT binding levels in PD were lower than those in controls in all examined brain areas, with the changes statistically significant in orbitofrontal cortex (−22%), caudate (−30%), putamen (−26%), and midbrain (−29%). However, only a slight non-significant reduction (−7%) was observed in dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex, an area implicated in major depression. Our imaging data suggests that a modest, regionally widespread loss of brain serotonergic innervation might be a common feature of advanced PD. Further investigation will be required to establish whether SERT binding is more or less decreased in those patients with PD who also have major depressive disorder.     

Quantitative immunoblotting assay of blood coagulation factor XII

The immunoblotting technique was applied to the study of Factor XII (F.XII) in plasma. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of whole plasma followed by electroblotting of the electropherograms to nitrocellulose (NC) membranes and immunologic detection by a double antibody technique was used. ¹²⁵-F.XII was transferred to the NC membrane in amounts proportional to the amount applied to the gel provided that a constant amount of carrier protein was present. Based on this, a quantitative assay was developed using either normal plasma or F.XII dilutions in F.XII-deficient plasma as standards. The measurement of F.XII antigen by immunoblotting was reproducible and gave values similar to those obtained by radial immunodiffusion. Two normal plasma pools contained 26 and 29 μ/ml of F.XII according to the immunoblotting assay. Compared to other immunoassays, immunoblotting has the advantage of directly estimating the apparent molecular weight (MW) of the protein of interest. Thus, we could confirm the normal apparent MW (80,000) of a F.XII-like molecule previously isolated from a cross reacting material (CRM)-positive F.XII-deficient plasma. None of eight CRM-negative F.XII-deficient plasmas showed an 80,000 MW immunoreactive molecule. However, five of these eight plasmas had a faint autoradiographic band at 115,000 MW that was similarly seen in only three out of 43 individual normal plasmas. The nature of this 115,000 MW band remains to be defined.