DSM-III symptom disorders (Axis I) and personality disorders (Axis II) in an outpatient population

Type and prevalence of Axis I and Axis II disorders (DSM-III) were assessed in a sample of 298 consecutive psychiatric outpatients. The instruments used were SCID and SIDP. About half of the Axis I diagnoses consisted of different subgroups of depression. Most patients had more than one diagnosis, anxiety being the second most common disorder. Eighty one percent of the subjects met the criteria for a personality disorder diagnosis; half of them obtained more than one Axis II diagnosis. Personality disorder was more common among men than among women. Avoidant and dependent personality disorders constituted the most frequent diagnoses.     

Human rhinovirus mutants resistant to low pH.

Mutants of human rhinovirus serotype 14 (HRV14) with increased resistance to treatment at low pH were obtained by repeated cycles of exposure to pH 4.5 and propagation in HeLa cells. Whereas wild-type virus lost more than 5 logs of infectivity upon incubation at pH 4.3, the three isolates examined were essentially unaffected. Conformational change of the viral capsid upon exposure to low pH was assessed as an increase of hydrophobicity by partition between an aqueous phase and a Triton X-114 phase; the mutants required exposure to a much lower pH to accumulate in the Triton phase than wild-type HRV14. The sequence of the capsid region was determined for three isolates; two isolates were found to have the changes Thr17 to lie in VP2 and Asn 100 to lie in VP1. The third isolate also had the change Thr17 to Ile in VP2; however, in VP1, Asp101 was replaced by Glu. Separate introduction of the mutations into full length cDNA clones of the wild-type sequence of HRV14 showed that only the changes in VP1 were necessary for the increased stability at pH 4.5. The implications of the mutations for the three-dimensional structure of the viral capsid are discussed.     

A psychometric-genetic study of schizotypal disorder

This study aimed to clarify the structure and the etiological constituents of schizotypal disorder (SPD) by directly interviewing pairs of twins. A latent class analysis was applied to each individual's outcome for specified SPD items, such that each subject's phenotype could be redefined in terms of individual probabilities of class membership. Intraclass correlations were then calculated for each twin pair, and a standard univariate twin model applied. The best latent class analysis solution encompassed a model with four latent classes (three latent classes of SPD subjects, one of non-SPD). The intraclass correlations revealed a moderate to high heritability for two out of three SPD classes and for the modal class (a class composed of subjects that possessed a conditional probability of belonging to any of the SPD classes). Model fittings revealed considerable variation in the extent to which the different classes of SPD were influenced by additive genetic constituents or non-genetic factors. Although these data confirm the importance of genetic contributors in determining liability to SPD and the schizophrenia spectrum, they indicate that there is a relationship between psychometric multidimensionality and etiological heterogeneity in SPD.     

Hypophosphorylated TCR/CD3zeta signals through a Grb2-SOS1-Ras pathway in Lck knockdown cells

Despite the loss of proximal TCR-dependent signaling events, downstream T cell responses are paradoxically augmented in T cells with siRNA-mediated Lck knockdown (Methi et al., J. Immunol. 2005. 175: 7398-7406). This indicates that alternative Lck-independent pathways of T cell activation exist or that low levels of Lck elicit other signals than normal T cell activation. Here we report the recruitment of Grb2-SOS1 to CD3zeta of the TCR complex after prolonged anti-CD3 (OKT3) stimulation in T cells with Lck knockdown. Grb2 bound to incompletely phosphorylated ITAM1 with the pY-Y configuration in a solid-phase assay, but was excluded by ZAP-70 in the doubly phosphorylated pY-pY conformation. Ras and ERK1/2 activation was augmented after prolonged stimulation in T cells with Lck knockdown compared to control, leading to increased activation of the proximal IL-2 promoter (NFAT-AP-1). Finally, the phosphorylation of Ras-GAP was strongly suppressed in Lck knockdown cells, indicating that a Ras negative feedback mechanism is dependent on Lck.     

Differential effects of coping in mental disorders: A prospective study in psychiatric outpatients

The present follow-up study investigated the differential effects of dispositional coping styles on change in nine clinical syndromes of the Axis I spectrum of the DSM-III-R. Subjects were 155 psychiatric outpatients who were examined 6 and 7 years after their enrollment in the study. Coping accounted for up to 9% of the variance of symptom change over 1 year. As hypothesized, the effects of different coping styles varied considerably across the clinical syndromes. Active goal-oriented coping improved symptoms of the anxiety and the dependency spectrum; seeking social support had beneficial effects on symptoms of the depressive spectrum. The effects of the coping styles distraction, use of alcohol and other drugs, and focusing on and venting of emotions were detrimental, but again in a specific way. The results suggest that the differentiation of outcome criteria for coping is important. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Maternal eating disorders influence sex ratio at birth

We explored sex ratio at birth, defined as the proportion of male live births, in women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and eating disorders not otherwise specified-purging type (EDNOS-P) relative to a referent group in a large population-based sample of 38,340 pregnant women in Norway. Poisson regressions were adjusted for mother's age, pre-pregnancy BMI, lifetime smoking status, maternal education, income, marital status, gestational age, and parity. Lower proportions of male live births were observed in the anorexia and bulimia groups, while binge eating disorder and EDNOS-P were associated with a higher proportion of male births. These data suggest that maternal eating disorders may influence offspring sex and that the direction of effect may vary by eating disorder subtype. If confirmed, this finding could provide evidence in formulating hypotheses regarding the consequences of eating disorders and determinants of sex ratio at birth.     

Profiles and levels of fatty acid esters of okadaic acid group toxins and pectenotoxins during toxin depuration, Part I: Brown crab (Cancer pagurus)

In 2002, two outbreaks of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) occurred in Norway, which was later confirmed to be caused by the consumption of brown crab (Cancer pagurus) contaminated predominantly by esters of okadaic acid (OA) after feeding on toxic blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). In addition to OA-group toxins, pectenotoxins (PTXs) are commonly detected in the toxin-producing algae (i.e. Dinophysis). In this paper, an experiment was set up to study the fatty acid ester profiles and depuration rates of OA-group toxins and PTXs from C. pagurus after feeding on M. edulis containing these toxin groups. OA, DTX1, DTX2 and PTX2 SA were all detected primarily in the form of fatty acid esters in the crab hepatopancreas (HP). Crabs preferentially assimilated toxins of the OA group after feeding on the mussels for 1 week. Detailed analysis of the fatty acid ester profile in crabs and mussels showed that the ester profiles in the crabs differed slightly from profiles of the fatty acid esters in M. edulis, but neither ester profile nor ester to free toxin ratio appeared to change in the crabs during the first 2 weeks of depuration. Calculations of depuration rates of the free forms of toxins resulted in similar reduction rates for OA and DTX2, whereas the depuration rate of DTX1, PTX2 and PTX2 SA was considerably faster. From the industrial perspective, the PTX-compounds are of minor importance compared to the OA group toxins in crabs, considering (1) the uncertainty regarding the oral toxicity of the PTXs, (2) the preferential ingestion of OA-group toxins compared to PTXs and (3) the faster depuration of PTXs.     

Protective effects of a DNA vaccine expressing the infectious salmon anemia virus hemagglutinin-esterase in Atlantic salmon

Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) is a disease, caused by an orthomyxovirus, which has considerable economic impact on farming of Atlantic salmon. Here we describe the results of immunization against ISA using plasmids expressing the ISA virus hemagglutinin-esterase (HE). Immunized Atlantic salmon demonstrated moderate protection after challenge with ISA virus, with relative percent survival of 39.5 and 60.5 in two parallel groups. No protection was seen after immunization using a plasmid expressing the ISA virus nucleoprotein. Fish in the HE-immunized group had earlier onset of clearance of the virus than control fish. There was no detectable ISA virus specific humoral response after immunization. After challenge a specific humoral response could be demonstrated in the fish in all groups, but no correlation between this response and protection was found.