Heritability of functioning in families with schizophrenia in relation to neurocognition

The role of daily functioning is an integral part of the schizophrenia (SZ) phenotype and deficits in this trait appear to be present in both affected persons and some unaffected relatives; hence we have examined its heritability in our cohort of African American schizophrenia families. There is now ample evidence that deficits in cognitive function can impact family members who are not themselves diagnosed with SZ; there is some, but less evidence that role function behaves likewise. We evaluate whether role function tends to "run in families" who were ascertained because they contain an African American proband diagnosed with SZ.

METHODS

We analyzed heritability for selected traits related to daily function, employment, living situation, marital status, and Global Assessment Scale (GAS) score; modeling age, gender, along with neurocognition and diagnosis as covariates in a family based African-American sample (N=2488 individuals including 979 probands).

RESULTS

Measures of role function were heritable in models including neurocognitive domains and factor analytically derived neurocognitive summary scores and demographics as covariates; the most heritable estimate was obtained from the current GAS scores (h2=0.72). Neurocognition was not a significant contributor to heritability of role function.

CONCLUSIONS

Commonly assessed demographic and clinical indicators of functioning are heritable with a global rating of functioning being the most heritable. Measures of neurocognition had little impact on heritability of functioning overall. The family covariance for functioning, reflected in its heritability, supports the concept that interventions at the family level, such as evidenced-based family psychoeducation may be beneficial in schizophrenia.

Effect of bupropion-SR on orgasmic dysfunction in nondepressed subjects: a pilot study

The objective of this study was to determine whether the aminoketone antidepressant bupropion has beneficial effects in orgasmic dysfunction.

DESIGN

Single-blind, sequential treatment order of three weeks each: placebo, bupropion-SR 150 mg/day, bupropion-SR 300 mg/day.

SUBJECTS

Nondepressed women (n = 20) and men (n = 10) having nonphysiologic orgasmic delay or inhibition.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Reported difficulty or delay in achieving orgasm, satisfaction with orgasm and erectile function, and subjective impressions of drug effect.

RESULTS

In the women, there were significant improvements relative to baseline (p < .01) on both doses of bupropion-SR in all measured aspects of sexual function, and significant improvements relative to placebo (p < .05) in overall sexual satisfaction on both doses and satisfaction with intensity of orgasm on 150 mg/day (300 mg/day, p = .10). In the men, significant improvements over baseline (p < .01) were observed with both doses in overall sexual satisfaction, ability to achieve an erection, and delay in reaching orgasm/ejaculation; significant improvements relative to placebo (p < .05) were observed in overall sexual satisfaction on both doses, ability to achieve erection on 150 mg/day, and delay in orgasm/ejaculation on 150 mg/day. Seventy percent of subjects reported improvement in libido, arousal, or orgasmic function during bupropion administration.

CONCLUSIONS

Bupropion-SR may be a useful agent for treating orgasmic delay and inhibition, and possibly disorders of sexual arousal. The results argue against bupropion's apparent prosexual effect in depressed patients being simply a result of its antidepressant activity.

Platelet activation in depression and effects of sertraline treatment: An open-label study

OBJECTIVE

The authors' goal was to determine whether sertraline attenuates the increased platelet activation seen among depressed patients.

METHOD

They tested 21 otherwise healthy patients with untreated major depressive episode who were 25-52 years old and 21 age- and sex-matched comparison subjects. Patients received 6 weeks of sertraline treatment, and 17 returned for retesting.

RESULTS

At baseline, the depressed patients had greater platelet secretion than the comparison subjects in response to collagen. Depressed patients with a family history of coronary disease had nonsignificantly greater wound-induced fibrinogen receptor binding than the other subjects. Platelet secretion in response to collagen was significantly reduced after treatment with sertraline.

CONCLUSIONS

Sertraline diminished the increased platelet secretion found among depressed patients, although the findings are limited by a lack of a placebo control group.

N-formimidoyl thienamycin (MK0787): in vitro study

N-Formimidoyl thienamycin (MK0787) was compared in vitro with three other beta-lactam and two aminoglycoside antibiotics. It was second in activity only to cefotaxime against members of the Enterobacteriaceae and to amikacin against Pseudomonas species. It was the most active antibiotic against Staphylococcus aureus. Resistance (minimal inhibitory concentration, greater than 128 microgram/ml) to N-formimidoyl thienamycin was not observed.

A spectral unfolding method to determine source depth distribution

The depth distribution in tissue of a gamma-emitting isotope can be estimated by observing the energy spectrum of photons emerging from the body. Monte Carlo methods were used to compute surface energy spectra for 99Tcm point sources at various depths. From these noise-free results a discrete response matrix was constructed to relate the input source depth to the corresponding output spectrum. Observed spectra with noise were then simulated independently by Monte Carlo calculations assuming various measurement times and source strengths. The source distribution was determined by solving the discrete inverse unfolding problem by the Method of Regularisation. The effective depth resolution is seen to depend strongly upon measurement time. The results show that limited depth resolution can be obtained from a single view of the object region.

Gamma-ray imaging with stochastic apertures

The spatial distribution of a radioactive fluid can be measured indirectly by observing the emerging gamma rays. A method is proposed and analyzed for gamma-ray imaging by stochastic time modulation and cross-correlation. Theoretical comparison is made to collimation and coded aperture techniques in gamma-ray image formation. Computed results are presented that illustrate the mean response and statistical error characteristics of this technique. Monte Carlo simulations are performed as a further verification. Because it relies upon a point-by-point reconstruction, rather than upon the integral properties of any particular aperture, the time modulation approach is seen to provide a theoretical basis for obtaining a smooth three-dimensional point response.