Schizotypy,depression, and anxiety in physical and social anhedonia

Social anhedonia is a more promising indicator of vulnerability to schizophrenia than physical anhedonia, both as assessed by Chapman scales. More broadly, the populations identified by these scales would have a propensity to different psychiatric disorders. This cross‐sectional study examined the respective profiles of schizotypy, anxiety, and depression in French students with physical and social anhedonia, using psychometric and interview‐based measures. Compared to controls (n=46), subjects with social anhedonia (n=19) reported higher schizotypal scores for interpersonal, paranoid, disorganization, and cognitive/perceptual dimensions, whereas subjects with physical anhedonia (n=35) had more extensive interpersonal deficits and paranoia. Both groups had more depressive and anxiety symptoms than controls, in particular subjects with social anhedonia. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 65:1 –14, 2009.     

高效液相色谱柱前衍生化方法分析血浆中3-O甲基葡萄糖（英文）

目的：本文首次建立了用1-苯基-3-甲基-5-吡唑啉酮（PMP）作为柱前衍生化试剂对3-O-甲基-葡萄糖（3-OMG）进行衍生化的方法,并应用此方法对大鼠血浆中的3-OMG进行分析。方法：70℃水浴时,3-OMG在0.4 mol/L的NaOH条件下和PMP进行反应。衍生物采用反相高效液相色谱法进行分析,紫外检测波长为245 nm。结果：线性系数在0.991以上,最低定量限0.0078 mg/mL。回收率在98%～105%之间,且日间与日内变异不高于12%。本方法成功应用于糖尿病大鼠血浆中3-OMG的分析。结论：本方法简便、高效,适合对正常和糖尿病大鼠的血浆3-OMG进行分析。     

Fusobacterium necrophorum middle ear infections in children and related complications: report of 25 cases and literature review

BACKGROUND: Fusobacterium necrophorum is associated with Lemierre syndrome (pharyngitis with septic thrombosis of the internal jugular veins) but it can also be involved in other head and neck infections, including sinusitis, parotitis, dental infections, and otitis media. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzes a series of 25 pediatric cases of acute otitis media caused by F. necrophorum and treated in our institution between 1995 and 2006. RESULTS: We observed 3 clinical presentations: (1) uncomplicated otitis media (44%; n = 11); (2) acute mastoiditis (40%; n = 10); and (3) otogenic variant of Lemierre syndrome (16%; n = 4) associating acute mastoiditis, suppurative thrombophlebitis of the lateral and/or cavernous sinuses, meningitis syndrome, and sometimes distant septic metastasis or extensive osteolysis of the temporal bone. Sixty percent of these cases were diagnosed during the last 4 years of the study. Children less than 1 year of age were at increased risk for Lemierre syndrome. Broad range 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction and sequencing were used to confirm the identification of F. necrophroum and to detect secondary sites of infection. All patients had favorable clinical outcome, but complicated cases (mastoiditis and otogenic variant of Lemierre syndrome) required prolonged hospital stays and duration of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Based on bacteriologic investigation, we recommend systematic culture for anaerobes and that antibiotic treatment of F. necrophorum middle ear infections and subsequent complications includes coverage for anaerobic bacteria.     

Demonstration of a high level of parasite population homology by quantification of Plasmodium falciparum alleles in matched peripheral, placental, and umbilical cord blood samples

Plasmodium falciparum msp-1 and msp-2 genes were quantified by fragment analysis in matched placental, peripheral, and cord blood samples. In the three compartments, the multiplicity of infection values were similar, and parasite populations only partially overlapped, as reported. However, identical alleles represented 80 to 95% of the overall parasite populations of each compartment, demonstrating much more homogenous parasite populations than previously thought.     

Do thymically and strictly extrathymically developing T cells generate similar immune responses?

If present in sufficient numbers, could extrathymic T cells substitute for thymus-derived T cells? To address this issue, we studied extrathymic T cells that develop in athymic mice under the influence of oncostatin M (OM). In this model, extensive T-cell development is probably due to amplification of a minor pathway of T-cell differentiation taking place only in the lymph nodes. Extrathymic CD4 T cells expanded poorly and were deficient in providing B-cell help after infection with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Compared with classic T cells, stimulated extrathymic CD8 T cells produced copious amounts of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), and their expansion was precocious but of limited amplitude because of a high apoptosis rate. Consequently, although extrathymic cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) responded to LCMV infection, as evidenced by the expansion of GP33-41 tetramer-positive CD8 T cells, they were unable to eradicate the virus. Our data indicate that the site of development impinges on T-cell quality and function and that extrathymic T cells functionally cannot substitute for classical thymic T cells.     

Dynamics of amygdala connectivity in bipolar disorders: a longitudinal study across mood states

Alterations in activity and connectivity of brain circuits implicated in emotion processing and emotion regulation have been observed during resting-state for different clinical phases of bipolar disorders (BD), but longitudinal investigations across different mood states in the same patients are still rare. Furthermore, measuring dynamics of functional connectivity patterns offers a powerful method to explore changes in the brain’s intrinsic functional organization across mood states. We used a novel co-activation pattern (CAP) analysis to explore the dynamics of amygdala connectivity at rest in a cohort of 20 BD patients prospectively followed-up and scanned across distinct mood states: euthymia (20 patients; 39 sessions), depression (12 patients; 18 sessions), or mania/hypomania (14 patients; 18 sessions). We compared them to 41 healthy controls scanned once or twice (55 sessions). We characterized temporal aspects of dynamic fluctuations in amygdala connectivity over the whole brain as a function of current mood. We identified six distinct networks describing amygdala connectivity, among which an interoceptive-sensorimotor CAP exhibited more frequent occurrences during hypomania compared to other mood states, and predicted more severe symptoms of irritability and motor agitation. In contrast, a default-mode CAP exhibited more frequent occurrences during depression compared to other mood states and compared to controls, with a positive association with depression severity. Our results reveal distinctive interactions between amygdala and distributed brain networks in different mood states, and foster research on interoception and default-mode systems especially during the manic and depressive phase, respectively. Our study also demonstrates the benefits of assessing brain dynamics in BD.Subject terms: Bipolar disorder, Diagnostic markers