Генетические маркеры метаболических осложнений при приёме антипсихотиков второго поколения

Using DNA analysis, the researchers found that 8% of all study participants had the MTHFR C677T gene variant. Those with the variant who also used SGAs were significantly more likely to have metabolic syndrome than the children receiving SGAs but without the variant (OR, 5.75; P < .05).
The children with the gene variant also had higher diastolic blood pressure (P = .005) and higher fasting plasma glucose (P < .05).
"This is the first report of an underlying biological factor predisposing children to complications associated with SGA medication use. However, we need to do more research before this can be translated into clinical practice," said Dr. Panagiotopoulos.
She noted that because it is known that the MTHFR gene is involved in metabolizing the B-vitamin folate, the investigators are currently taking a more detailed dietary history from these children and conducting a study to answer "what's going on?" with the population's nutritional intake.

New Predictors May Determine Metabolic Risk in Kids on Atypicals

Исследование вторичной негативной симптоматики при приёме антипсихотиков

OBJECTIVE: Despite the clinical observation that antipsychotics can produce negative symptoms, no previous controlled study, to our knowledge, has evaluated this action in healthy subjects. The present study assessed observer-rated and self-rated negative symptoms produced by conventional and second-generation antipsychotics in healthy volunteers. METHOD: The authors used a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of single doses of haloperidol (5 mg) and risperidone (2.5 mg) in normal subjects. Thirty-two subjects were administered haloperidol, risperidone, and placebo in a random order. Motor variables and observer-rated negative symptoms were assessed after 3–4 hours and subjective negative symptoms and drowsiness after 24 hours. RESULTS: Neither of the active drugs caused significant motor extrapyramidal symptoms after administration. Haloperidol caused significantly more negative signs and symptoms than placebo on the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and two self-rated negative symptom scales: the Subjective Deficit Syndrome Scale total score and an analog scale that evaluates subjective negative symptoms. Risperidone caused significantly more negative signs and symptoms than placebo on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the SANS, the Subjective Deficit Syndrome Scale total score, and the analog scale for subjective negative symptoms. After control for drowsiness, risperidone but not haloperidol produced more negative symptoms than placebo on the BPRS and the SANS. Significance was lost for the subjective negative symptoms with both drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Single doses of both haloperidol and risperidone produce negative symptoms in normal individuals. Drowsiness may be an important confounding factor in the assessment of negative symptoms in antipsychotic trials.

Negative Signs and Symptoms Secondary to Antipsychotics: A Double-Blind, Randomized Trial of a Single Dose of Placebo, Haloperidol, and Risperidone in Healthy Volunteers

Психостимуляторы для пожилых больных

Psychostimulants are recognized for their role in managing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), but also have found a treatment niche in conditions such as apathy, fatigue, and depression.

Psychostimulants for older adult

Исследование ГАМКергической теории депрессии

This study of 85 people is the largest such research effort on GABA and major depressive disorder to date.
It compared four groups: 25 individuals with treatment-resistant depression, 16 with major depression who were unmedicated, 19 individuals with major depression who were successfully treated with medication and had normal mood, and a control group of 25 healthy individuals.
In all groups, a thumb twitch response to transcranial magnetic (brain) stimulation (TMS) was used to measure how GABA acts physiologically in the brain. GABA receptors were found to be dysfunctional in the three groups with major depressive disorder when compared to healthy subjects.
In people who were the least responsive (treatment-resistant) to medications, the physiological effect of GABA in the brain was at its lowest.

New Drug Strategy for Depression?

Литий как препарат выбора для долгосрочной терапии БАР

Lithium is linked to thyroid and parathyroid abnormalities, weight gain, and an increased risk for reduced urinary concentrating ability, but the jury is still out on whether it causes birth defects, new research suggests.
The systematic review and meta-analysis of 385 randomized, controlled trials and observational studies also found scant evidence that lithium produced a clinically significant reduction in renal function in most patients and that the risk of end-stage renal failure among users of the drug is low.
"Lithium is the most effective long-term therapy for bipolar disorder, protecting against both depression and mania and reducing the risk of suicide and short-term mortality," Professor John R. Geddes, MD, University of Oxford and Warneford Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom, and colleagues write.
"Because lithium has always been an unpatented, cheap drug, it is not commercially promoted and the potential for adverse effects has been a substantial deterrent to use," they write.
There have been concerns about lithium’s effect on renal function and its purported teratogenicity. Despite these concerns, there has not been an "adequate synthesis of the evidence for adverse effects," the authors note.

Lithium's Safety Examined