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Objective To study the characteristic of cognitive function impaired and its relationship with the psychiatric symptoms in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.Methods 43 first-episode male schizophrenia patients diagnosed with DSM-Ⅳ were recruited in the study and received the atypical antipsychotics treatment 8weeks.The total score and sub-scores of Chinese Cognitive Ability Scale (CCAS)were obtained for all the patients pre-and post-treatments,and the patients were also assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).Results The differences of the intelligence quotient(IQ) and its cognitive function factors between pre-and post-treatment of the patients were significant(P＜ 0.01).The total IQ score (85.7 ± 11.5),learning ability (17.9± 2.3),reasoning ability (16.1 ± 3.4),processing speed (16.9 ± 2.1),working memory (13.8 ± 2.6),space/calculate (17.5 ± 2.9),verbal IQ (86.8 ± 11.7),performance IQ (83.9 ± 12.4) before treatment and cognitive score (97.6 ± 14.3) as well as cognitive function factor (learning ability (20.1 ± 2.9),reasoning ability (18.9± 3.1),processing speed (19.7 ± 1.8),working memory (15.7 ± 2.5),space/calculate (20.8 ± 2.5),verbal IQ (98.3 ± 13.7),performance IQ (95.8 ± 14.6) after treatment,there were significant differences pre-and posttreatment (P ＜ 0.01).The difference of IQ pre-and post-treatment was significantly correlated with that of total score and positive score of PANSS(r =0.596 or 0.783).Conclusions (1) This finding supports that the cognitive function impairment exists in the early stage of schizophrenia.(2)The typical antipsychotic drugs can improve the cognitive function impairment and psychiatric symptoms of schizophrenia.(3) The cognitive function impairment of schizophrenia has significant relation to the positive symptoms,but no relation to the negative symptoms.

Sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT) is one of the most methods in the transgenic animal research and the efficiency of spermatozoa binding and internalization exogenous DNA after sperm/DNA co-culture is important to a successful SMGT.In this study,the influencing factors of exogenous DNA uptake by spermatozoa were detected using DIG labeled EGFP as exogenous gene.The results demonstrated that porcine spermatozoa could spontaneously take up exogenous DNA which mainly binding occurs on the sub-acrosomal and nuclei region of the sperm head.The rate of spermatozoa binding exogenous DNA increased with the extending action of time.At 37℃ and 39℃,the rate of spermatozoa uptake exogenous DNA would not increase after 60 min incubation,and the similar result was observed on 90 min at 17℃.Binding rates and internalization rates of washed ejaculated sperm cells from the 15 boars varied between 6.57%-35.81% and 2.990%-24.66%,respectively.The binding rate and intemalization rate were mostly inhibited by seminal plasma.The binding rates were significantly increased by liposome and DMSO,respectively.Dead-spermatozoa could bind exogenous DNA,the intermalization process could not be completed.Furthermore,the highest binding rate was found in membrane broken spermatozoa as a result of freeze-thawing and this was independent of the sperm donors.

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of a new low-dose oral contraceptive pill (YAZ) containing drospirenone 3 mg and ethinylestradiol 20 μg with placebo in reducing symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Methods This multicenter, double-blind, randomized clinical trial consisted of 2 run-in and 3 treatment cycles (84 days) with daily symptom charting; 187 women with symptoms of PMDD were randomized to either placebo group (n=94) or YAZ group (n=93), and assessed with daily record of severity of problems scale (DRSP) and clinical global impressions scale (CGI) before, during and after the treatments. Hormones were administered for 24 days, followed by 4 days of inactive pills. Results Compared with baseline level of DRSP, both groups got improvement after treatment; the YAZ group (median-28.7, range:-82.5 to 2.3) had greater improvement than that in the placebo group (median-23.7, range:-86.0 to 11.8), while there was not significant difference (P>0.05). The main adverse effects of YAZ included intermenstrual bleeding [13% (12/93) versus 3% (3/94)], menorrhagia [9% (8/93) versus 1%(1/94)], nausea [5%(5/93) versus 4%(4/94)] and skin rash [4%(4/93) versus 2%(2/94)]. Conclusions YAZ could improve symptoms of PMDD better than placebo, while without statistic significance in this study. The most common adverse effects are intermenstrual bleeding, menorrhagia, nausea and rash.

Purpose: Cerebral ischemia is related to insufficient blood supply and is characterized by abnormal reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell apoptosis. Previous studies have revealed a key role for basic helix-loop-helix family member e40 (Bhlhe40) in oxidative stress and cell apoptosis. This study aimed to investigate the roles of miR-494-3p in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Materials and Methods: A mouse middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO/R) model was established to mimic cerebral ischemia in vivo. Brain infarct area was assessed using triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining. Oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) operation was adopted to mimic neuronal injury in vitro. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. The relationship between miR-494-3p and Bhlhe40 was validated by luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays. Results: Bhlhe40 expression was downregulated both in MCAO/R animal models and OGD/R-induced SH-SY5Y cells. Bhlhe40 overexpression inhibited cell apoptosis and reduced ROS production in SH-SY5Y cells after OGD/R treatment. MiR-494-3p was verified to bind to Bhlhe40 and negatively regulate Bhlhe40 expression. Additionally, cell apoptosis and ROS production in OGD/ R-treated SH-SY5Y cells were accelerated by miR-494-3p overexpression. Rescue experiments suggested that Bhlhe40 could reverse the effects of miR-494-3p overexpression on ROS production and cell apoptosis. Conclusion MiR-494-3p exacerbates brain injury and neuronal injury by regulating Bhlhe40 after I/R.

OBJECTIVES: Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with anhedonia tend to have a poor prognosis. The underlying imaging basis for anhedonia in MDD remains largely unknown. The relationship between nodal properties and anhedonia in MDD patients need to be further investigated. Herein, this study aims to explore differences of cerebral functional node characteristics in MDD patients with severe anhedonia (MDD-SA) and MDD patients with mild anhedonia (MDD-MA) before and after the antidepressant treatment. METHODS: Ninety participants with current MDD were recruited in this study. 24-Item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24) and Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) were used to assess the severity of depression and anhedonia at baseline and the end of 6-months treatment. The MDD patients who scored above the 25th percentile on the SHAPS were assigned to an MDD-SA group (n=19), while those who scored below the 25th percentile were assigned to an MDD-MA group (n=18). All patients in the 2 groups received antidepressant treatment. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) images of all the patients were collected at baseline and the end of 6-months treatment. Graph theory was applied to analyze the patients' cerebral functional nodal characteristics, which were measured by efficiency (e_i) and degree (k_i). RESULTS: Repeated measures 2-factor ANCOVA showed significant main effects on group on the e_i and k_i values of left superior frontal gyrus (LSFG) (P=0.003 and P=0.008, respectively), and on the e_i and k_i values of left medial orbital-frontal gyrus (LMOFG) (P=0.004 and P=0.008, respectively). Compared with the MDD-MA group, the significantly higher e_i and k_i values of the LSFG (P=0.015 and P=0.021, respectively), and the significantly higher e_i and k_i values of the LMOFG (P=0.015 and P=0.037, respectively) were observed in the MDD-SA group at baseline. Meanwhile, higher SHAPS scores could result in higher e_i and k_i values of LSFG (P=0.019 and P=0.026, respectively), and higher e_i value of LMOFG (P=0.040) at baseline; higher SHAPS scores could result in higher e_i values of LSFG (P=0.049) at the end of 6-months treatment. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that sex were negatively correlated with the e_i and k_i values of LSFG (r= -0.014, P=0.004; r=-1.153, P=0.001, respectively). The onset age of MDD was negatively correlated with the k_i value of LSFG (r=-0.420, P=0.034) at the end of 6-months treatment. We also found that SHAPS scores at baseline were positively correlated with the HAMD-24 scores (r=0.387, P=0.022) at the end of 6-months treatment. CONCLUSIONS There are obvious differences in nodal properties between the MDD-SA and the MDD-MA patients, such as the high e_i of LSFG in the MDD-SA patients, which may be associated with the severity of anhedonia. These nodal properties could be potential biomarkers for the prognosis of MDD. The increased e_i and k_i values in the LSFG of MDD-SA patients may underlie a compensatory mechanism or protective mechanism. The mechanism may be an important component of the pathological mechanism of MDD-SA. The poor prognosis in the MDD-SA patients suggests that anhedonia may predict a worse prognosis in MDD patients. Sex and onset age of MDD may affect the nodal properties of LSFG at baseline and the end of 6-months treatment.
Anhedonia ; Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use* ; Depressive Disorder, Major/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Prefrontal Cortex