Three-year longitudinal cognitive functioning in patients recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVE

The longitudinal course of neuropsychological functioning after the first manic episode in bipolar disorder is unknown. The present study evaluated cognitive change in bipolar disorder in the first 3 years after the initial manic episode.

METHODS

Ninety-one newly diagnosed patients with bipolar disorder and 61 demographically similar healthy participants received a neuropsychological evaluation assessing multiple cognitive domains at baseline, 1-year, and 3-year time points. Patients also received clinical assessments including mood ratings at all time points.

RESULTS

Patients showed deficits in all domains at baseline, but similar longitudinal trajectories across time relative to healthy participants in most cognitive domains. For processing speed, patients showed more gains than controls from baseline to 1 year, but these gains stabilized thereafter. Patients with alcohol/substance abuse showed an initial delay but subsequent recovery in executive functioning. Patients who discontinued antipsychotic treatment showed better cognitive outcomes in verbal memory.

CONCLUSION

Appropriately treated patients with bipolar disorder showed favorable cognitive outcome in the first 3 years after experiencing an initial manic episode, arguing against cognitive neuroprogression at this stage of the illness. Discontinuation of antipsychotic treatment may be associated with better cognitive outcomes, but clarification of the role of antipsychotics on cognitive functioning requires further investigation.

Comparative NMR studies on Ca3LiRuO6 and Ca3NaRuO6

We report a comparative study of two ruthanate compounds, Ca3LiRuO6 and Ca3NaRuO6 by magnetic measurements, heat capacity and NMR. Ca3LiRuO6 is a weak ferromagnet with a magnetic ordering temperature of 115 K. The (7)Li NMR linewidth of Ca3LiRuO6 displays a broad shoulder above the magnetic ordering temperature. Anomalous shoulder of this type is observed in the susceptibility data also. The origin of these phenomena is not clear but could possibly be attributed to low dimensional magnetism. A contrasting magnetic behavior is seen in Ca3NaRuO6, an antiferromagnet with a transition temperature at 87 K. The NMR study shows that the Knight shift is proportional to the magnetic susceptibility. Also, in Ca3NaRuO6, the Knight shift and the linewidth of the spectra change differently compared to Ca3LiRuO6. The heat capacity of both compounds show a λ-type anomaly at respective magnetic transition temperatures. However, in both the systems the entropy change ([Formula: see text]S) is much less than that of an ordered S  =  3/2 system.

Cluster spin glass behavior in geometrically frustrated Zn3V3O8

We report the bulk magnetic properties of a yet unexplored vanadium-based multi-valenced spinel system, Zn3V3O8. A Curie-Weiss fit of our dc magnetic susceptibility χ(T) data in the temperature region of 140-300 K yields a Curie constant C = 0.75 cm(3)K mole(-1) V(-1), θCW = -370 K. We have observed a splitting between the zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) susceptibility curves below a temperature Tirr of about 6.3 K. The value of the 'frustration parameter' (|θcw|/T(N) ~ 100) suggests that the system is strongly frustrated. From the ac susceptibility measurements we find a logarithmic variation of freezing temperature (Tf) with frequency ν attesting to the formation of a spin glass below Tf. However, the value of the characteristic frequency obtained from the Vogel-Fulcher fit suggests that the ground state is closer to a cluster glass rather than a conventional spin glass. We explored further consequences of the spin glass behavior and observed aging phenomena and memory effect (both in ZFC and FC). We found that a positive temperature cycle erases the memory, as predicted by the hierarchical model. From the heat capacity CP data, a hump-like anomaly was observed in CP/T at about 3.75 K. Below this temperature the magnetic heat capacity shows a nearly linear dependence with T which is consistent with the formation of a spin glass state below Tf in Zn(3)V(3)O(8).

Li2ZnV3O8: a vanadium-based geometrically frustrated spinel system

We report the synthesis and characterization of Li2ZnV3O8, which is a new Zn-doped LiV2O4 system containing only tetravalent vanadium. A Curie-Weiss susceptibility with a Curie-Weiss temperature of θCW ≈ -214 K suggests the presence of strong antiferromagnetic correlations in this system. We have observed a splitting between the zero-field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) susceptibility curves below 6 K. A peak is present in the ZFC curve around 3.5 K, suggestive of spin-freezing. Similarly, a broad hump is also seen in the inferred magnetic heat capacity around 9 K. The consequent entropy change is only about 8% of the value expected for an ordered S = 1/2 system. This reduction indicates the continued presence of large disorder in the system in spite of the large θCW, which might result from strong geometric frustration in the system. We did not find any temperature T dependence in our (7)Li nuclear magnetic resonance shift down to 6 K (an abrupt change in the shift does take place below 6 K), though considerable T-dependence has been found in the literature for LiV2O4--undoped or with other Zn/Ti contents. Consistent with the above observation, the (7)Li nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 is relatively small and nearly T-independent, except for a small increase close to the freezing temperature which, once again, is small compared to undoped or 10% Zn or 20% Ti-doped LiV2O4.

A comparison between the sulfhydryl reductants tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine and dithiothreitol for use in protein biochemistry

The newly introduced sulfhydryl reductant tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) is a potentially attractive alternative to commonly used dithiothreitol (DTT). We compare properties of DTT and TCEP important in protein biochemistry, using the motor enzyme myosin as an example protein. The reductants equally preserve myosin's enzymatic activity, which is sensitive to sulfhydryl oxidation. When labeling with extrinsic probes, DTT inhibits maleimide attachment to myosin and must be removed before labeling. In contrast, maleimide attachment to myosin was achieved in the presence of TCEP, although with less efficiency than no reductant. Surprisingly, iodoacetamide attachment to myosin was nearly unaffected by either reductant at low (0.1 mM) concentrations. In electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy utilizing nitroxide spin labels, TCEP is highly advantageous: spin labels are two to four times more stable in TCEP than DTT, thereby alleviating a long-standing problem in EPR. During protein purification, Ni(2+) concentrations contaminating proteins eluted from Ni(2+) affinity columns cause rapid oxidation of DTT without affecting TCEP. For long-term storage of proteins, TCEP is significantly more stable than DTT without metal chelates such as EGTA in the buffer, whereas DTT is more stable if metal chelates are present. Thus TCEP has advantages over DTT, although the choice of reductant is application specific.

Immunological and biochemical properties of metallothioneins of golden hamster, mouse and rat

Golden hamster, mouse and rat hepatic cadmium metallothioneins (MT) were purified by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration, DEAE-Sephadex A-25 chromatography and activated Thiol-Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography. Metallothioneins were separated by DEAE-Sephadex A-25 chromatography into two forms: MT-1 and MT-2. In mouse and golden hamster liver, MT-1 was the major form. The purified proteins were homogeneous as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. In non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, migration of mouse, rat and golden hamster hepatic metallothioneins were found to be different. Antibodies to mouse hepatic MT-1 was raised in rabbits. The antiserum cross reacted with mouse and hamster MT-1 and MT-2 giving a single precipitin band. Mouse, rat and hamster hepatic MTs are immunologically identical but electrophoretically different. The kidney and pancreatic MTs of rat and golden hamster were purified by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration. They were immunologically distinct. Pancreas MT formed a line of partial identity with hepatic MTs. Kidney MTs form two precipitin band one identical with the pancreatic form and another of complete identity with the hepatic MTs. This indicates the presence of tissue specific MTs.