Phoenixin influences the excitability of nucleus of the solitary tract neurones,effects which are modified by environmental and glucocorticoid stress

Phoenixin (PNX) is a neuropeptide shown to play roles in the control of reproduction. The nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), a critical autonomic integrating centre in the hindbrain, is one of many areas with dense expression of PNX. Using coronal NTS slices obtained from male Sprague‐Dawley rats, the present study characterised the effects of PNX on both spike frequency and membrane potential of NTS neurones. Extracellular recordings demonstrated that bath‐applied 10 nmol L^‐1 PNX increased the firing frequency in 32% of NTS neurones, effects which were confirmed with patch‐clamp recordings showing that 50% of NTS neurones tested depolarised in response to application of the peptide. Surprisingly, the responsiveness to PNX in NTS neurones then declined suddenly to 9% (P < 0.001). This effect was subsequently attributed to stress associated with construction in our animal care facility because PNX responsiveness was again observed in slices from rats delivered and maintained in a construction‐free facility. We then examined whether this loss of PNX responsiveness could be replicated in rats placed on a chronic stress regimen involving ongoing corticosterone (CORT) treatment in the construction‐free facility. Slices from animals treated in this way showed a similar lack of neuronal responsiveness to PNX (9.1 ± 3.9%) within 2 weeks of CORT treatment. These effects were specific to PNX responsiveness because CORT treatment had no effect on the responsiveness of NTS neurones to angiotensin II. These results are the first to implicate PNX with respect to directly controlling the excitability of NTS neurones and also provide intriguing data showing the plasticity of these effects associated with environmental and glucocorticoid stress levels of the animal.     

Antipsychotic Trials in Schizophrenia from India: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Ethnic and regional variations have been found in the pharmacological treatment response. Though many efficacy studies have been conducted in India for antipsychotic treatment modalities of schizophrenia, there is a lack meta-analytic data of the existing literature from India. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the antipsychotic treatment trials of schizophrenia in the Indian context. All controlled trials from India evaluating the clinical efficacy of antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia were evaluated and 28 trials were included in the metanalysis. Effect sizes were computed using Cohen''s ‘d’ and risk of bias was evaluated. Meta analysis revealed superiority of first generation antipsychotics over placebo (mean effect size of 1.387, confidence interval of 1.127 to 1.648). Second generation antipsychotics were marginally better than first generation antipsychotics (effect size 0.106, confidence intervals 0.009 to 0.204). There was improvement in the methodology of the trials over time (Kendall tau=0.289, P=0.049), though no statistically significant increase in trial duration and sample size was noted. There is lack of data on long term efficacy of antipsychotic in schizophrenia from India. First generation antipsychotics have demonstrated benefits over placebo in patients with schizophrenia in the Indian context, though marginally lesser than second generation ones.     

Recurrent Diffuse Neurofibroma of Nose Associated with Neurofibromatosis Type 1: A Rare Case Report with Review of Literature

Diffuse neurofibroma is an unusual variant of neurofibroma with the head and neck being the common sites of involvement. It is benign in nature and spreads superficially and has many ectatic blood vessels. Histologically it is similar to conventional neurofibromas except for a few peculiar distinguishing features. We report a case of a 14-year-old boy who presented with a diffuse recurrent painless swelling over the dorsum of the nose with the clinical stigmata of neurofibromatosis. Microscopy revealed a diagnosis of diffuse neurofibroma with a few foci showing differentiation towards Meissner''s type of tactile corpuscles. It is important to recognize this entity as it has a tendency to recur, yet hardly ever become malignant and is almost always associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.     

Seroprevalence of West Nile and dengue virus in the human population of the Bolivian Chaco

To determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against dengue virus (DENV) and West Nile virus (WNV) in the human population of the Bolivian Chaco, we tested 256 inhabitants of two rural communities. The seroprevalence, confirmed by plaque reduction neutralization test, was 7.8% and 2.7% for DENV and WNV, respectively.