OBJECTIVE: To determine the brain function and structure in patinets with first-episode panic disorder (PD). METHODS: All subjects (24 PD patients and 24 healthy subjects) received MRI scan and emotional counting Stroop task during the functional magnetic resonance imaging. Blood oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging and voxel-based morphometric technology were used to detect the gray matter volume. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy controls, left thalamus, left medial frontal gyrus, left anterior cingulate gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left insula (panic-related words vs. neutral words) lacked activation in PD patients, but the over-activation were found in right brain stem, right occipital lobe/lingual gyrus in PD patients. Compared with the healthy controls, the gray matter volume in the PD patients significantly decreased in the left superior temporal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, left medial occipital gyrus, dorsomedial nucleus of left thalamus and right anterior cingulate gyrus. There was no significantly increased gray matter volume in any brain area in PD patients. CONCLUSION PD patients have selective attentional bias in processing threatening information due to the depression and weakening of the frontal cingulated gyrus.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Frontal Lobe ; physiopathology ; Gyrus Cinguli ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Panic Disorder ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

In this study, we aimed to construct a non-replication mRNA platform and explore the side effects of electroporation-mediated delivery of mRNA on the mice as well as the expression features of the mRNA. With luciferase gene as a marker, in vitro transcription with T7 RNA polymerase was carried out for the synthesis of luciferase-expressed mRNA, followed by enzymatic capping and tailing. The mRNA was delivered in vivo by electroporation via an in vivo gene delivery system, and the expression intensity and duration of luciferase in mice were observed via an in vivo imaging system. The results demonstrated that the mRNA transcripts were successfully expressed both in vitro and in vivo. The electroporation-mediated delivery of mRNA had no obvious side effects on the mice. Luciferase was expressed successfully in all the mRNA-transduced mice, while the expression intensity and duration varied among individuals. Overall, the expression level peaked on the first day after electroporation and rapidly declined on the fourth day. This study is of great importance for the construction of non-replication mRNAs and their application in vaccine or antitumor drug development.
Animals ; Electroporation/methods* ; Gene Transfer Techniques ; Luciferases/metabolism* ; Mice ; RNA, Messenger/genetics*