Dietary Glutamic Acid, Obesity, and Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Schizophrenia

A Three-Way Interaction of Sex, PER2 rs56013859 Polymorphism, and Family Maltreatment in Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

The prevalence of depressive symptoms in adolescents is 12-18% and is twice as frequent in females. Sleep problems and thoughts of death are depressive symptoms or co-occurrent phenomena. Family maltreatment is a risk factor for later depressive symptoms and the period circadian regulator (PER) has been studied in relation to neurotransmitters, adaptation to stress, and winter depression. The purpose of this work was to study the relation of the three-way interactions of sex, PER2 rs56013859, and family maltreatment in relation to core depressive symptoms, sleep complaints, and thoughts of death and suicide in self-reports from a cohort of Swedish adolescents in 2012, 2015, and 2018. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses with linear and logistic regressions were used to study the relationships to the three outcomes. The three-way interaction was related to core depressive symptoms at both baseline and six years later. In contrast, the model did not show any relation to the other dependent variables. At 13-15 years, a sex-related differential expression was observed: females with the minor allele C:C/C:T exposed to family maltreatment showed higher levels of core depressive symptoms. Six years later, the trend was inverted among carriers of minor alleles.

High Dietary Organic Iron Supplementation Decreases Growth Performance and Induces Oxidative Stress in Broilers

Although Iron (Fe) is an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in respiratory processes, excessive Fe in the diet can affect the health of broilers. We investigated the effects of diet supplemented with high levels of iron chelates with lysine and glutamic acid (Fe−LG) on the growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant status, and duodenal mRNA expression of Fe transporters in broilers. A total of 800 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were assigned to 5 groups, with 8 replicates each. Broilers were fed a corn−soybean meal basal diet or basal diets supplemented with 40, 80, 400, or 800 mg Fe/kg as Fe−LG for 6 weeks. The body weight (BW) was increased in the 80 mg Fe/kg treatment group, but decreased in the 800 mg Fe/kg treatment group on day 21. During days 1−21, compared with the control group, the supplementation of the 80 mg Fe/kg increased the average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI); however, the supplementation of the 800 mg Fe/kg group decreased the ADG and increased the FCR in broilers (p < 0.05). The heart, liver, spleen, and kidney indices were reduced in the 800 mg Fe/kg treatment group (p < 0.05). The supplementation of the 800 mg Fe/kg group increased the serum aspartate aminotransferase activity and the levels of creatinine and urea nitrogen on day 42 (p < 0.05). The broilers had considerably low liver total superoxide dismutase activity and total antioxidant capacity in the 800 mg Fe/kg treatment group (p < 0.05). Serum and liver Fe concentrations were elevated in the 400 and 800 mg Fe/kg treatment groups, but were not affected in the 40 and 80 mg Fe/kg treatment groups. The duodenal Fe transporters divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and ferroportin 1 (FPN1) were downregulated in the Fe−LG treatment groups (p < 0.05). We conclude that a high dietary supplement of 800 mg Fe/kg in broilers leads to detrimental health effects, causing kidney function injury and liver oxidative stress.

Influencing factors of obesity in community patients with deficit schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study

Background

Obesity is very common in patients with schizophrenia. We aimed to evaluate the influencing factors of obesity in community patients with deficit schizophrenia, to provide implication for schizophrenia management in community.

Methods

We selected patients with deficit schizophrenia who lived in 10 communities in our city from March 1 to June 30, 2021. The characteristics of included schizophrenia patients were evaluated and analyzed. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the obesity and related characteristics. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the risk factors of obesity in patients with schizophrenia.

Results

A total of 284 patients with schizophrenia were included, the incidence of obesity in patients with schizophrenia was 56.70%. gender (r = 0.619), waist circumference (r = 0.644), BMI (r = 0.891), diabetes (r = 0.698), FG (r = 0.582), triglyceride (r = 0.618), HDL-C (r = −0.644), LDL-C (r = 0.583), apolipoprotein B (r = 0.595), and PANSS score (r = 0.813) were all correlated with the obesity in patients with schizophrenia (all p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis indicated that female (OR 2.129, 95% CI 1.615–3.022), waist circumference ≥ 90 cm (OR 3.814, 95% CI 2.778 ~ 4.312), diabetes (OR 2.856, 95% CI 1.905 ~ 3.448), FG ≥ 88 mg/dL (OR 1.551, 95% CI 1.284 ~ 2.183), triglyceride ≥ 160 mg/dL (OR 1.804, 95% CI 1.236–2.845), HDL-C ≤ 0.8 mmol/L (OR 2.032, 95% CI 1.614–3.079), LDL-C ≥ 2.0 mmol/L (OR 1.926, 95% CI 1.442–2.041) and apolipoprotein B ≥ 0.70 g/L (OR 2.119, 95% CI 1.658–2.873) were the risk factors of obesity in patients with schizophrenia (all p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The obesity rate of patients with deficit schizophrenia in the community is high, and there are many associated risk factors. Early intervention targeted on those risk factors are warranted to reduce the obesity in schizophrenia patients.

Glutamate and depression: Reflecting a deepening knowledge of the gut and brain effects of a ubiquitous molecule

The versatility of glutamate as the brain’s foremost excitatory neurotransmitter and modulator of neurotransmission and function is considered common knowledge. Years of research have continued to uncover glutamate’s effects and roles in several neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression. It had been considered that a deeper understanding of the roles of glutamate in depression might open a new door to understanding the pathological basis of the disorder, improve the approach to patient management, and lead to the development of newer drugs that may benefit more patients. This review examines our current understanding of the roles of endogenous and exogenous sources of glutamate and the glutamatergic system in the aetiology, progression and management of depression. It also examines the relationships that link the gut-brain axis, glutamate and depression; as it emphasizes how the gut-brain axis could impact depression pathogenesis and management via changes in glutamate homeostasis. Finally, we consider what the likely future of glutamate-based therapies and glutamate-based therapeutic manipulations in depression are, and if with them, we are now on the final chapter of understanding the neurochemical milieu of depressive disorders.

Development of a Derivatization Reagent with a 2-Nitrophenylsulfonyl Moiety for UHPLC-HRMS/MS and Its Application to Detect Amino Acids Including Taurine

Taurine (Tau) has some important ameliorating effects on human health and is present in bivalve. For the selective analysis of Tau with other amino acids, we designed a derivatization reagent, 2,5-dioxopyrrolidin-1-yl(4-(((2-nitrophenyl)sulfonyl)oxy)-6-(3-oxomorpholino)quinoline-2-carbonyl)pyrrolidine-3-carboxylate (Ns-MOK-β-Pro-OSu). After derivatization with Ns-MOK-β-Pro-OSu, amino acids with Tau in Japanese littleneck clams were determined through ultra-high-performance-liquid chromatography with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) using an octadecyl silica column. We could detect 18 amino acids within 10 min. Tau, valine, glutamine, glutamic acid, and arginine in the clams were determined in the negative ion mode using the characteristic fragment ion, C₆H₄N₁O₅S, which corresponded to the 2-nitrobenzenesulfonylate moiety. The fragment ion, C₆H₄N₁O₅S, was recognized as a common feature regardless of the amino acid to be derivatized, and it was convenient for detecting amino acid derivatives with high selectivity and sensitivity. Therefore, highly selective quantification using UHPLC-HRMS/MS was possible using Ns-MOK-β-Pro-OSu.

Prevalence, Influencing Factors, and Cognitive Characteristics of Depressive Symptoms in Elderly Patients with Schizophrenia

PURPOSE

To investigate the prevalence, influencing factors, and cognitive characteristics of depressive symptoms in elderly patients with chronic schizophrenia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 241 elderly patients with chronic schizophrenia and 156 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to assess depressive symptoms; the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was used to assess psychotic symptoms; and both the Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment were used to assess overall cognitive function, while the Activity of Daily Living Scale was used to assess daily living ability.

RESULTS

The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 48.5% (117/241) in elderly patients with chronic schizophrenia, which was substantially higher than that of normal controls (17.3%, 27/156). Using a stepwise binary logistic regression analysis, we found that high education (p=0.006, odds ratio [OR]=1.122, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.034-1.218) and hypertension (p=0.019, OR=0.519, 95% CI: 0.300-0.898) were influencing factors for the comorbidity of depressive symptoms. Compared with individuals without depressive symptoms, individuals with depressive symptoms usually display worse overall cognitive function and more severe impairment of activities of daily living, but fewer psychotic symptoms. Interestingly, the GDS score was negatively correlated with the course of the disease (r=-0.157, p=0.016), suggesting that patients who had recently been admitted to the hospital were more likely to develop depression.

CONCLUSION

Elderly patients with chronic schizophrenia are often associated with higher levels of depression. Therefore, their overall cognitive function is worse, and their activities of daily living are more seriously impaired. Therefore, these patients should be provided with appropriate psychological comfort, especially those who have recently been admitted to the hospital.