[Structural and functional brain changes in schizophrenic disorders. Indications of early neuronal developmental disturbances?]

THE USE OF INTERMITTENT NORMOBARIC HYPOXIA IN CHILDREN'S NEUROLOGY (REVIEW)

The present review summarizes the data about the use of intermittent normobaric hypoxia (INH) in the treatment and prevention of both acute and chronic diseases of the nervous system in children. The INH method is used in pregnant women with fetoplacental insufficiency, anemia and for mental disorders correction. The INH efficiency in relation to such pathology as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, enuresis, sleep disturbances, autonomic dysfunction is proved. The age dependence of bioelectric activity of the brain in practically healthy persons (age from 8 to 21 years) on hypoxic factor and the most sensitive period of age from 13 to 16 years is shown. The results the own studies have shown that the children which are born and live in radioactive contaminated areas (RCA), the course of INH sessions led to the restoration of somatovegetative status: activation of higher vegetative centers, optimization of sympathetic and parasympathetic links; positive influence on the activity of the cardiovascular system; ventilatory capacity of lungs; blood parameters.

[Frontal brain volume reduction due to antipsychotic drugs?]

This article reviews the results of longitudinal studies on frontal brain volume reduction in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and focuses on the relationship with antipsychotic treatment. Based on a systematic literature search all studies were included in which results on changes of brain volumes over a longer period of time were correlated with antipsychotic treatment dose and disease severity. The findings indicate that there is evidence for grey and white matter volume changes of the frontal brain, which cannot be explained by the severity of the disease alone but are also very likely a manifestation of long-term effects of antipsychotics. Whether second generation antipsychotics have an advantage compared to first generation antipsychotics is currently unclear. Considering the contribution of antipsychotics to the changes in brain structure, which seem to depend on cumulative dosage and can exert adverse effects on neurocognition, negative and positive symptoms and psychosocial functioning, the guidelines for antipsychotic long-term drug treatment should be reconsidered. This is the reason why we and others recommend prescribing the lowest dose necessary to control symptoms. In non-schizophrenic psychiatric disorders, antipsychotics should be used only with great caution after a careful risk-benefit assessment. Moreover, treatment approaches which can help to minimize antipsychotic medication or even administer them only selectively are of increasing importance.

Common SNPs in myelin transcription factor 1-like (MYT1L): association with major depressive disorder in the Chinese Han population

BACKGROUND

Myelin transcription factor 1-like (MYT1L) is a member of the myelin transcription factor 1 (MYT1) gene family, and the neural specific, zinc-finger-containing, DNA-binding protein that it encodes plays a role in the development of the nervous system. On the basis of a recent copy number variation (CNV) study showing that this gene is disrupted in mental disorder patients, we investigated whether MYT1L also plays a role in MDD.

METHODS

In this study, 8 SNPs were analyzed in 1139 MDD patients and 1140 controls of Chinese Han origin.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences were noted between cases and controls for rs3748989 (allele: permutated p = 0.0079, corrected p = 0.0048, genotype: corrected p = 0.0204). A haplotype of rs1617213 and rs6759709 G-C was also significant (permutated p = 0.00007).

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that MYT1L may be a potential risk gene for MDD in the Chinese Han population.

Disrupted white matter integrity of corticopontine-cerebellar circuitry in schizophrenia

Evidence for white matter abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia is increasing. Decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in interhemispheric commissural fibers as well as long-ranging fronto-parietal association fibers belongs to the most frequent findings. The present study used tract-based spatial statistics to investigate white matter integrity in 35 patients with schizophrenia and 35 healthy volunteers. We found that patients exhibited significantly decreased FA relative to healthy subjects in the corpus callosum, the cerebral peduncle, the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, the anterior thalamic radiation, the right posterior corona radiata, the middle cerebellar peduncle, and the right superior longitudinal fasciculus. Increased FA was detectable in the inferior sections of the corticopontine-cerebellar circuit. Present data indicate extended cortical-subcortical alterations of white matter integrity in schizophrenia using advanced data analysis strategies. They corroborate preceding findings of white matter structural deficits in mainly long-ranging association fibers and provide first evidence for neuroplastic changes in terms of an increased directionality in more inferior fiber tracts.