The goal of the present report
from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project was to identify the psychiatric disorders associated with increased false positive rates on the MDQ. Four hundred eighty psychiatric outpatients were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and completed the MDQ. After excluding the 52 patients diagnosed Wnt inhibitor with a lifetime history of bipolar disorder we compared diagnostic frequencies in patients who did and did not screen positive on the MDQ. Based on the Hirschfeld et al. scoring guidelines of the MDQ 15.2% (n = 65) of the 428 nonbipolar patients screened positive on MDQ Compared to patients who screened Selleckchem Bindarit negative, the patients who screened positive were significantly more likely have
a current and lifetime diagnosis of specific phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug use disorders, any eating disorder, any impulse control disorder, and attention deficit disorder. Results were similar using a less restrictive threshold to identify MDQ cases. That is, MDQ caseness was associated with significantly elevated rates of anxiety, impulse control, substance use, and attention deficit disorders. Studies using the MDQ as a stand-alone proxy for the diagnosis of bipolar disorder should consider whether the presence of these other forms of psychopathology could be responsible for differences between individuals who screen positive and negative on the scale. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“The contraction of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) has a critical role in the regulation of intrahepatic vascular resistance and portal hypertension. Previous studies have confirmed that salvianolic acid B (Sal B) is
effective against liver fibrosis. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of Sal B on portal hypertension and on HSCs contractility. Liver cirrhosis was induced in rats by peritoneal injection of dimethylnitrosamine and the portal pressure was measured. HSCs contraction was evaluated by collagen gel contraction Fazadinium bromide assay. Glycerol-urea gel electrophoresis was performed to determine the phosphorylation of myosin light chain 2 (MLC2). F-actin stress fiber polymerization was detected by fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled phalloidin. Intracellular Ca2+ and RhoA signaling activation were also measured. Sal B effectively reduced the portal pressure in DMN-induced cirrhotic rats. It decreased the contraction by endothelin-1 (ET-1)-activated HSCs by similar to 66.5% and caused the disassembly of actin stress fibers and MLC2 dephosphorylation. Although Sal B reduced ET-1-induced intracellular Ca2+ increase, blocking Ca2+ increase completely by BAPTA-AM, a Ca2+ chelator, barely affected the magnitude of contraction.