Dysregulation of Synaptic Plasticity Precedes Appearance of Morphological Defects in a Pten Conditional Knockout Mouse Model of Autism.

Dysregulation of synaptic plasticity precedes appearance of morphological defects in a Pten conditional knockout mouse model of autism.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Mar 4;
Takeuchi K, Gertner MJ, Zhou J, Parada LF, Bennett MV, Zukin RS

The phosphoinositide signaling system is a crucial regulator of neural development, cell survival, and plasticity. Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) negatively regulates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling and downstream targets. Nse-Cre Pten conditional knockout mice, in which Pten is ablated in granule cells of the dentate gyrus and pyramidal neurons of the hippocampal CA3, but not CA1, recapitulate many of the symptoms of humans with inactivating PTEN mutations, including progressive hypertrophy of the dentate gyrus and deficits in hippocampus-based social and cognitive behaviors. However, the impact of Pten loss on activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in this clinically relevant mouse model of Pten inactivation remains unclear. Here, we show that two phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase- and protein synthesis-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity, theta burst-induced long-term potentiation and metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-dependent long-term depression, are dysregulated at medial perforant path-to-dentate gyrus synapses of young Nse-Cre Pten conditional knockout mice before the onset of visible morphological abnormalities. In contrast, long-term potentiation and mGluR-dependent long-term depression are normal at CA3-CA1 pyramidal cell synapses at this age. Our results reveal that deletion of Pten in dentate granule cells dysregulates synaptic plasticity, a defect that may underlie abnormal social and cognitive behaviors observed in humans with Pten inactivating mutations and potentially other autism spectrum disorders. HubMed – depression

Mental health symptoms as prognostic risk markers of all-cause and psychiatric sickness absence in office workers.

Eur J Public Health. 2013 Mar 13;
Roelen CA, Hoedeman R, van Rhenen W, Groothoff JW, van der Klink JJ, Bültmann U

BACKGROUND: To investigate mental health symptoms as prognostic risk markers of all-cause and psychiatric sickness absence (SA). METHODS: Mental health symptoms were measured in 1137 office workers with the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ), including scales for distress, depression, anxiety and somatization. The total number of SA days was accumulated prospectively on the individual level and high SA was defined as ?30 SA days during 1-year follow-up. Psychiatric SA was also tallied on the individual level during 1-year follow-up. Baseline 4DSQ scores were associated with high all-cause SA and psychiatric SA by logistic regression analysis. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration slope were used to assess the accuracy of predictions by 4DSQ scores. The ability of 4DSQ scores to discriminate high-risk from low-risk employees was estimated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: Six hundred thirty-three office workers (56%) participated in the study. All 4DSQ scales were prospectively associated with high all-cause SA and with psychiatric SA. Distress and somatization scores showed acceptable calibration, but failed to discriminate between office workers with and without high all-cause SA. The distress scale did show adequate calibration (calibration slope = 0.95) and discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.71) for psychiatric SA. CONCLUSION: Distress was a valid prognostic risk marker for identifying office workers at work, but at risk of future psychiatric SA. Further research is necessary to investigate the prognostic performance of distress as risk marker of psychiatric SA in other working populations and to determine cut-off points for distress. HubMed – depression

Is it really a matter of simple dualism? Corticotropin-releasing factor receptors in body and mental health.

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2013; 4: 28
Janssen D, Kozicz T

Physiological responses to stress coordinated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis are concerned with maintaining homeostasis in the presence of real or perceived challenges. Regulators of this axis are corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) and CRF related neuropeptides, including urocortins 1, 2, and 3. They mediate their actions by binding to CRF receptors (CRFR) 1 and 2, which are located in several stress-related brain regions. The prevailing theory has been that the initiation of and the recovery from an elicited stress response is coordinated by two elements, viz. the (mainly) opposing, but well balanced actions of CRFR1 and CRFR2. Such a dualistic view suggests that CRF/CRFR1 controls the initiation of, and urocortins/CRFR2 mediate the recovery from stress to maintain body and mental health. Consequently, failed adaptation to stress can lead to neuropathology, including anxiety and depression. Recent literature, however, challenges such dualistic and complementary actions of CRFR1 and CRFR2, and suggests that stress recruits CRF system components in a brain area and neuron specific manner to promote adaptation as conditions dictate. HubMed – depression

[Assessing Complex Health Problems of Patients with IBD – First Step to Patient Activation].

Z Gastroenterol. 2013 Mar; 51(3): 257-70
Hüppe A, Langbrandtner J, Raspe H

Background: Health care for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), to be comprehensive, takes a broad range of patients’ somatic and psychosocial problems into account. Patients should be actively involved in health-care planning and organisation. Methods: 431 adult patients with Crohn’s disease (50 %) or ulcerative colitis participated in a postal questionnaire survey; 6 months apart it twice assessed the patients’ individual problem profiles. The results of the assessment were back-reported to each patient combined with targeted (though standardised) recommendations for future care. This publication is the first of a series. It presents the basic study design, describes the prevalence of 16 psychosocial problem domains and analyses their association with socio-demographic and disease variables. Results: Participants had a mean age of 46 years; 61 % were female; 57 % in remission (GIBDI ? 3). The most prevalent problems reported addressed sexual impairments (27 %), high stress (26 %) and depression (21 %). 27 % of the respondents did not report any psychosocial problem. One in five (21 %) described highly complex problem profiles (? 5 “active” problems) combined with a mean of 28 disability days within the past 3 months. Complex psychosocial profiles were associated with active disease, Crohn’s disease and low educational level.Conclusions: IBD patients show a highly variable spectrum of psychosocial problems. Their number is closely associated with disease activity and a social status variable (school education). The gradient could complicate efforts to increase patient participation in care and to enhance self-management. HubMed – depression

Iboga House Review – Ben came to the Iboga House in October 2012 for adderall dependence and depression. He filmed this video months after treatment in mid-January 2013. The shamanic iboga providers gave Ben his treatment. This is an independant video done by Ben reviewing the Iboga House. Ben explains what iboga has done for him and how good he feels months later after his life changing shift.