Stigma associated with schizophrenia: Cultural comparison of social distance in Japan and China

Aims:  The aim of the present study was to investigate social attitudes toward schizophrenia in Japan and China in view of social distance and knowledge of psychiatry, as well as sociocultural aspects.
Methods:  Two self-rating scales were used to compare social distance and knowledge regarding schizophrenia in 352 Japanese subjects and 347 Chinese subjects. The Social Distance Scale–Japanese version was used to measure social distance from schizophrenia subjects in Japan. This scale consists of eight questions graded using a 4-point Likert scale (0–3 points), with higher scores representing increased social distance. A translation of the SDSJ into Chinese was used to assess social distance in China. The Knowledge of Illness and Drugs Inventory was used to determine participant knowledge of mental illness and its treatment (medication) through 20 questions (responses are graded as correct or incorrect, with higher scores indicating greater knowledge). A Chinese version of this questionnaire was also created.
Results:  Total scores of both scales were significantly higher in Japanese subjects than in Chinese subjects.
Conclusions:  Social distance associated with schizophrenia is large in both Beijing and Fukuoka, but the features of social distance differ between countries. It is important to determine the features of stigma associated with schizophrenia and develop anti-stigma programs based on trans-cultural considerations.     

Adolescent vulnerability to PTSD and effects of community‐based intervention: Longitudinal study among adolescent survivors of the Ehime Maru sea accident

The aim of the present study was to examine the psychological impact on adolescent survivors of a maritime disaster that resulted in the deaths of nine people, including four high school students, and the effects of psychiatric intervention for the survivors. Methods: Long‐term multidimensional intervention consisting of psychoeducation, hospital treatment, family support and day care, was provided for nine adolescent survivors. To evaluate these effects, the survivors were also assessed using self‐rating scales (Impact of Event Scale, General Health Questionnaire and Self‐rating Depression Scale) and psychiatric structured interviews (Clinician‐Administered Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] Scale) at 2, 8, 14, 26, and 38 months after the accident. Results: Prevalence of PTSD among adolescent survivors was much higher than in adult survivors at the 2‐month examination (78% vs 12%, respectively). Although the observed prevalence remained high until the 14‐month examination, remarkable improvement occurred thereafter and none was diagnosed with PTSD at the 38‐month examination. Conclusion: Adolescents may have a specific vulnerability to PTSD and community‐based intervention is effective for adolescents with serious symptoms of PTSD.     

Plasmalogens in human serum positively correlate with high- density lipoprotein and decrease with aging

AIM: The objective of the present study was to propose plasmalogens as a beneficial factor in human plasma by showing a highly positive correlation with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and a significant reduction with aging. METHODS: For 148 elderly subjects suspected of coronary artery disease (CAD), clinical characteristics such as coronary stenosis, hyperlipidemia, abnormal glucose tolerance, and hypertension were investigated, and serum biochemical markers including plasmalogens were determined. RESULTS: Serum plasmalogens levels tended to fall in significant coronary stenosis and abnormal glucose tolerance. Correlative analyses among serum biochemical markers revealed that plasmalogens positively correlate with HDL-related values, particularly apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I), and that the molar ratio of choline plasmalogen (ChoPlas) to ethanolamine plasmalogen (EtnPlas) correlates positively with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, and negatively with apo A-II and fasting triglyceride (TG) levels. Comparison of plasmalogens in elderly subjects with those of 119 healthy young subjects showed a marked decrease in serum plasmalogens levels by aging. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that serum plasmalogens, antioxidant phospholipids, function as a beneficial factor as well as HDL, and that the measurement of serum plasmalogens is useful in clinical diagnosis.     

Respiratory syncytial virus as a trigger of a pulmonary hypertensive crisis after operative correction of aortic coarctation

We discuss a 9-month-old male baby, submitted to surgery for correction of aortic coarctation, who showed severe bronchospasm, hypoxaemia, and cardio-respiratory arrest, and who died on the fifth postoperative day. The autopsy revealed histological signs of severe pulmonary vasoconstriction, possibly as a consequence of hypoxaemia secondary to bronchiolitis due to infection with the respiratory syncytial virus. This supposition was confirmed when viruses were detected in pulmonary tissue by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy.     

Release of GABA and activation of GABA(A) in the spinal cord mediates the effects of TENS in rats

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a commonly utilized non-pharmacological, non-invasive treatment for pain. GABA is a neurotransmitter in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord that mediates analgesia locally, and also through activation of supraspinal sites. TENS reduces hyperalgesia through activation of receptor-mediated pathways at the level of the spinal cord, and supraspinally. The current study tested the hypothesis that either high or low frequency TENS applied to the inflamed knee joint increases GABA in the spinal cord dorsal horn and activates GABA receptors spinally. We utilized microdialysis to sample the extracellular fluid before, during and after TENS and analyzed GABA in dialysates with high performance liquid chromatography. We analyzed the extracellular GABA concentrations in animals with and without knee joint inflammation induced by intra-articular injection of kaolin and carrageenan. We further tested if spinal blockade of GABA receptors prevents the antihyperalgesia produced by TENS in rats with joint inflammation. We show that high frequency TENS increases extracellular GABA concentrations in the spinal cord in animals with and without joint inflammation. The increases in GABA do not occur in response to low frequency TENS, and there are no increases in glycine in response to low or high frequency TENS. However, the reduction in primary hyperalgesia by both high and low frequency TENS is prevented by spinal blockade of GABA(A) receptors with bicuculline. Thus, high frequency TENS increases release of GABA in the deep dorsal horn of the spinal cord, and both high and low frequency TENS reduce primary hyperalgesia by activation of GABA(A) receptors spinally.     

Involvement of neurotrophin-4/5 in regeneration of the periodontal Ruffini endings at the early stage

Little is known about the role of neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5) in the regeneration of mechanoreceptors. Therefore, the present study examined the regeneration process of Ruffini endings in the periodontal ligament in nt-4/5-deficient and wildtype mice following transection of the inferior alveolar nerve by immunohistochemistry for protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), a general neuronal marker, and by computer-assisted quantitative image analysis. Furthermore, rescue experiments by a continuous administration of recombinant NT-4/5 were performed and analyzed quantitatively. At postoperative day 3 (PO 3d), almost all PGP 9.5-positive neural elements had disappeared; they began to appear in both types of animals at PO 7d. At PO 10d, almost all nerve fibers showed a beaded appearance, with fewer ramifications in both types of mice. Although the regeneration proceeded in the wildtype, a major population of the periodontal Ruffini endings continued to display smooth outlines at PO 28d in the nt-4/5 homozygous mice. The reduction ratio of neural density reached a maximum at PO 3d, decreased at PO 10d, and later showed a plateau. In a rescue experiment, an administration of NT-4/5 showed an acceleration of nerve regeneration in the homozygous mice. These findings indicate that the nt-4/5-depletion causes a delay in the regeneration of the periodontal Ruffini endings, but the delay is shortened by an exogenous administration of NT-4/5. Combined with our previous findings of bdnf-deficient mice (Harada et al. [2003] Arch Histol Cytol 66:183-194), these morphological and numerical data suggest that multiple neurotrophins such as NT-4/5 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) play roles in their regeneration in a stage-specific manner.