Cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted therapy for severe depression: exploratory findings from a decision analytic model.

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence to support the use of the psychedelic drug psilocybin for difficult-to-treat depression. This paper compares the cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) with conventional medication, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and the combination of conventional medication and CBT. METHODS: A decision model simulated patient events (response, remission, and relapse) following treatment. Data on probabilities, costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were derived from previous studies or from best estimates. Expected healthcare and societal costs and QALYs over a 6-month time period were calculated. Sensitivity analyses were used to address uncertainty in parameter estimates. RESULTS: The expected healthcare cost of PAP varied from £6132 to £7652 depending on the price of psilocybin. This compares to £3528 for conventional medication alone, £4250 for CBT alone, and £4197 for their combination. QALYs were highest for psilocybin (0.310), followed by CBT alone (0.283), conventional medication alone (0.278), and their combination (0.287). Psilocybin was shown to be cost-effective compared to the other therapies when the cost of therapist support was reduced by 50% and the psilocybin price was reduced from its initial value to £400 to £800 per person. From a societal perspective, psilocybin had improved cost-effectiveness compared to a healthcare perspective. CONCLUSIONS: Psilocybin has the potential to be a cost-effective therapy for severe depression. This depends on the level of psychological support that is given to patients receiving psilocybin and the price of the drug itself. Further data on long-term outcomes are required to improve the evidence base.

Maternal Immune Activation Induces Adolescent Cognitive Deficits Preceded by Developmental Perturbations in Cortical Reelin Signalling.

Exposure to maternal immune activation (MIA) in utero significantly elevates the risk of developing schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. To understand the biological mechanisms underlying the link between MIA and increased risk, preclinical animal models have focussed on specific signalling pathways in the brain that mediate symptoms associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as cognitive dysfunction. Reelin signalling in multiple brain regions is involved in neuronal migration, synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation, and has been implicated in cognitive deficits. However, how regulation of Reelin expression is affected by MIA across cortical development and associated cognitive functions remains largely unclear. Using a MIA rat model, here we demonstrate cognitive deficits in adolescent object-location memory in MIA offspring and reductions in Reln expression prenatally and in the adult prefrontal cortex. Further, developmental disturbances in gene/protein expression and DNA methylation of downstream signalling components occurred subsequent to MIA-induced Reelin dysregulation and prior to cognitive deficits. We propose that MIA-induced dysregulation of Reelin signalling contributes to the emergence of prefrontal cortex-mediated cognitive deficits through altered NMDA receptor function, resulting in inefficient long-term potentiation. Our data suggest a developmental window during which attenuation of Reelin signalling may provide a possible therapeutic target.

Oscillatory Deficits in the Sub-Chronic PCP Rat Model for Schizophrenia Are Reversed by mGlu5 Receptor-Positive Allosteric Modulators VU0409551 and VU0360172.

The cognitive deficits of schizophrenia are linked to imbalanced excitatory and inhibitory signalling in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), disrupting gamma oscillations. We previously demonstrated that two mGlu5 receptor-positive allosteric modulators (PAMs), VU0409551 and VU0360172, restore cognitive deficits in the sub-chronic PCP (scPCP) rodent model for schizophrenia via distinct changes in PFC intracellular signalling molecules. Here, we have assessed ex vivo gamma oscillatory activity in PFC slices from scPCP rats and investigated the effects of VU0409551 and VU0360172 upon oscillatory power. mGlu5 receptor, protein kinase C (PKC), and phospholipase C (PLC) inhibition were also used to examine 'modulation bias' in PAM activity. The amplitude and area power of gamma oscillations were significantly diminished in the scPCP model. Slice incubation with either VU0409551 or VU0360172 rescued scPCP-induced oscillatory deficits in a concentration-dependent manner. MTEP blocked the PAM-induced restoration of oscillatory power, confirming the requirement of mGlu5 receptor modulation. Whilst PLC inhibition prevented the power increase mediated by both PAMs, PKC inhibition diminished the effects of VU0360172 but not VU0409551. This aligns with previous reports that VU0409551 exhibits preferential activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) signalling pathway over the PKC cascade. Restoration of the excitatory/inhibitory signalling balance and gamma oscillations may therefore underlie the mGluR5 PAM-mediated correction of scPCP-induced cognitive deficits.

Maternal behaviours and adult offspring behavioural deficits are predicted by maternal TNFα concentration in a rat model of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Exposure to inflammatory stressors during fetal development is a major risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in adult offspring. Maternal immune activation (MIA), induced by infection, causes an acute increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines which can increase the risk for NDDs directly by inducing placental and fetal brain inflammation, or indirectly through affecting maternal care behaviours thereby affecting postnatal brain development. Which of these two potential mechanisms dominates in increasing offspring risk for NDDs remains unclear. Here, we show that acute systemic maternal inflammation induced by the viral mimetic polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) on gestational day 15 of rat pregnancy affects offspring and maternal behaviour, offspring cognition, and expression of NDD-relevant genes in the offspring brain. Dams exposed to poly I:C elicited an acute increase in the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF; referred to here as TNFα), which predicted disruption of key maternal care behaviours. Offspring of poly I:C-treated dams showed early behavioural and adult cognitive deficits correlated to the maternal TNFα response, but, importantly, not with altered maternal care. We also found interacting effects of sex and treatment on GABAergic gene expression and DNA methylation in these offspring in a brain region-specific manner, including increased parvalbumin expression in the female adolescent frontal cortex. We conclude that the MIA-induced elevation of TNFα in the maternal compartment affects fetal neurodevelopment leading to altered offspring behaviour and cognition. Our results suggest that a focus on prenatal pathways affecting fetal neurodevelopment would provide greater insights into the mechanisms underpinning the TNFα-mediated genesis of altered offspring behaviour and cognition following maternal inflammation.

Novel antidepressant drugs: Beyond monoamine targets.

Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) including treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a major unmet need. Although there are several classes of dissimilar antidepressant drugs approved for MDD, the current drugs have either limited efficacy or are associated with undesirable side effects and withdrawal symptoms. The efficacy and side effects of antidepressant drugs are mainly attributed to their actions on different monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine). Development of new antidepressants with novel targets beyond the monoamine pathways may fill the unmet need in treatment of MDD and TRD. The recent approval of intranasal Esketamine (glutamatergic agent) in conjunction with an oral antidepressant for the treatment of adult TRD patients was the first step toward expanding beyond the monoamine targets. Several other glutamatergic (AXS-05, REL-1017, AV-101, SLS-002, AGN24175, and PCN-101) and GABAergic (brexanolone, zuranolone, and ganaxolone) drugs are currently in different stages of clinical development for MDD, TRD and other indications. The renaissance of psychedelic drugs and the emergence of preliminary positive clinical trial results with psilocybin, Ayahuasca, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) may pave the way towards establishing this class of drugs as effective therapies for MDD, TRD and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Going beyond the monoamine targets appears to be an effective strategy to develop novel antidepressant drugs with superior efficacy, safety, and tolerability for the improved treatment of MDD and TRD.

In memory of Professor Iain Wilkinson: cognitive and neuroimaging endophenotypes in a consanguineous schizophrenia multiplex family.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia endophenotypes may help elucidate functional effects of genetic risk variants in multiply affected consanguineous families that segregate recessive risk alleles of large effect size. We studied the association between a schizophrenia risk locus involving a 6.1Mb homozygous region on chromosome 13q22-31 in a consanguineous multiplex family and cognitive functioning, haemodynamic response and white matter integrity using neuroimaging. METHODS: We performed CANTAB neuropsychological testing on four affected family members (all homozygous for the risk locus), ten unaffected family members (seven homozygous and three heterozygous) and ten healthy volunteers, and tested neuronal responses on fMRI during an n-back working memory task, and white matter integrity on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on four affected and six unaffected family members (four homozygous and two heterozygous) and three healthy volunteers. For cognitive comparisons we used a linear mixed model (Kruskal-Wallis) test, followed by posthoc Dunn's pairwise tests with a Bonferroni adjustment. For fMRI analysis, we counted voxels exceeding the p < 0.05 corrected threshold. DTI analysis was observational. RESULTS: Family members with schizophrenia and unaffected family members homozygous for the risk haplotype showed attention (p < 0.01) and working memory deficits (p < 0.01) compared with healthy controls; a neural activation laterality bias towards the right prefrontal cortex (voxels reaching p < 0.05, corrected) and observed lower fractional anisotropy in the anterior cingulate cortex and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: In this family, homozygosity at the 13q risk locus was associated with impaired cognition, white matter integrity, and altered laterality of neural activation.

Clustering of cognitive phenotypes identifies susceptible and resilient offspring in a rat model of maternal immune activation and early-life stress.

Schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders often have very heterogeneous symptoms, especially regarding cognition: while some individuals may exhibit deficient cognition, others are relatively unaffected. Studies using developmental animal models often ignore phenotypic heterogeneity in favour of traditional treatment/control comparisons. This may result in resilient or unaffected individuals masking the effects of susceptible individuals if grouped together. Here, we used maternal immune activation and limited bedding and nesting, respectively, as a two-hit neurodevelopmental model for schizophrenia. Both factors reduced cognitive function in a novel object recognition (NOR) task. While we found treatment group effects on cognitive phenotypes, behavioural clustering identified three subpopulations exposed to either insult: those exhibiting 'typical' cognitive performance on the NOR, an intermediate phenotype, or a marked deficit. These clusters included offspring from each treatment group, although both intermediate and marked deficit clusters were composed primarily of offspring from treated groups. Clustering allowed stratification within treatment groups into 'susceptible' and 'resilient' individuals, while also identifying conserved phenotypes across treatment groups. Using unbiased cluster analyses in preclinical models can better characterize phenotypes and enables a better understanding of both face and construct validity of phenotypic heterogeneity. The use of unbiased clustering techniques may help identify potential markers associated with individual susceptibility and resilience in neurodevelopmental disorder models.

Maternal immune activation in rats induces dysfunction of placental leucine transport and alters fetal brain growth.

Maternal infection during pregnancy increases the offspring risk of developing a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including schizophrenia. While the mechanisms remain unclear, dysregulation of placental function is implicated. We hypothesised that maternal infection, leading to maternal immune activation and stimulated cytokine production, alters placental and yolk sac amino acid transport, affecting fetal brain development and thus NDD risk. Using a rat model of maternal immune activation induced by the viral mimetic polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)), we investigated placental and yolk sac expression of system L amino acid transporter subtypes which transport several essential amino acids including branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), maternal and fetal BCAA concentration, placental 14C-leucine transport activity and associated impacts on fetal growth and development. Poly(I:C) treatment increased acutely maternal IL-6 and TNFα concentration, contrasting with IL-1ß. Transcriptional responses for these pro-inflammatory cytokines were found in placenta and yolk sac following poly(I:C) treatment. Placental and yolk sac weights were reduced by poly(I:C) treatment, yet fetal body weight was unaffected, while fetal brain weight was increased. Maternal plasma BCAA concentration was reduced 24 h post-poly(I:C) treatment, yet placental, but not yolk sac, BCAA concentration was increased. Placental and yolk sac gene expression of Slc7a5, Slc7a8 and Slc43a2 encoding LAT1, LAT2 and LAT4 transporter subtypes, respectively, was altered by poly(I:C) treatment. Placental 14C-leucine transport was significantly reduced 24 h post-treatment, contrasting with a significant increase 6 days following poly(I:C) treatment. Maternal immune activation induces dysregulated placental transport of amino acids affecting fetal brain development, and NDD risk potential in offspring.

Neural mechanisms underlying psilocybin's therapeutic potential - the need for preclinical in vivo electrophysiology.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound with profound perception-, emotion- and cognition-altering properties and great potential for treating brain disorders. However, the neural mechanisms mediating its effects require in-depth investigation as there is still much to learn about how psychedelic drugs produce their profound and long-lasting effects. In this review, we outline the current understanding of the neurophysiology of psilocybin's psychoactive properties, highlighting the need for additional preclinical studies to determine its effect on neural network dynamics. We first describe how psilocybin's effect on brain regions associated with the default-mode network (DMN), particularly the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, likely plays a key role in mediating its consciousness-altering properties. We then outline the specific receptor and cell types involved and discuss contradictory evidence from neuroimaging studies regarding psilocybin's net effect on activity within these regions. We go on to argue that in vivo electrophysiology is ideally suited to provide a more holistic, neural network analysis approach to understand psilocybin's mode of action. Thus, we integrate information about the neural bases for oscillatory activity generation with the accumulating evidence about psychedelic drug effects on neural synchrony within DMN-associated areas. This approach will help to generate important questions for future preclinical and clinical studies. Answers to these questions are vital for determining the neural mechanisms mediating psilocybin's psychotherapeutic potential, which promises to improve outcomes for patients with severe depression and other difficulty to treat conditions.

Inflammation and Brain Structure in Schizophrenia and Other Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Importance: Previous in vitro and postmortem research suggests that inflammation may lead to structural brain changes via activation of microglia and/or astrocytic dysfunction in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Objective: To investigate the relationship between inflammation and changes in brain structures in vivo and to explore a transcriptome-driven functional basis with relevance to mental illness. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study used multistage linked analyses, including mendelian randomization (MR), gene expression correlation, and connectivity analyses. A total of 20 688 participants in the UK Biobank, which includes clinical, genomic, and neuroimaging data, and 6 postmortem brains from neurotypical individuals in the Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA), including RNA microarray data. Data were extracted in February 2021 and analyzed between March and October 2021. Exposures: Genetic variants regulating levels and activity of circulating interleukin 1 (IL-1), IL-2, IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were used as exposures in MR analyses. Main Outcomes and Measures: Brain imaging measures, including gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT), were used as outcomes. Associations were considered significant at a multiple testing-corrected threshold of P < 1.1 × 10-4. Differential gene expression in AHBA data was modeled in brain regions mapped to areas significant in MR analyses; genes were tested for biological and disease overrepresentation in annotation databases and for connectivity in protein-protein interaction networks. Results: Of 20 688 participants in the UK Biobank sample, 10 828 (52.3%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 55.5 (7.5) years. In the UK Biobank sample, genetically predicted levels of IL-6 were associated with GMV in the middle temporal cortex (z score, 5.76; P = 8.39 × 10-9), inferior temporal (z score, 3.38; P = 7.20 × 10-5), fusiform (z score, 4.70; P = 2.60 × 10-7), and frontal (z score, -3.59; P = 3.30 × 10-5) cortex together with CT in the superior frontal region (z score, -5.11; P = 3.22 × 10-7). No significant associations were found for IL-1, IL-2, CRP, or BDNF after correction for multiple comparison. In the AHBA sample, 5 of 6 participants (83%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 42.5 (13.4) years. Brain-wide coexpression analysis showed a highly interconnected network of genes preferentially expressed in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), which further formed a highly connected protein-protein interaction network with IL-6 (enrichment test of expected vs observed network given the prevalence and degree of interactions in the STRING database: 43 nodes/30 edges observed vs 8 edges expected; mean node degree, 1.4; genome-wide significance, P = 4.54 × 10-9). MTG differentially expressed genes that were functionally enriched for biological processes in schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and epilepsy. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, genetically determined IL-6 was associated with brain structure and potentially affects areas implicated in developmental neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism.

The comparative effects of mGlu5 receptor positive allosteric modulators VU0409551 and VU0360172 on cognitive deficits and signalling in the sub-chronic PCP rat model for schizophrenia.

In schizophrenia, mGlu5 receptor hypofunction has been linked with neuropathology and cognitive deficits, making it an attractive therapeutic target. The cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia remains an unmet clinical need, with existing antipsychotics primarily targeting positive symptoms, with weaker and more variable effects on cognitive deficits. Using the sub-chronic phencyclidine rat model, widely shown to mimic the cognitive impairment and neuropathology of schizophrenia, we have investigated two mGlu5 receptor positive allosteric modulators (PAMs), VU0409551 and VU0360172. We compared the efficacy of these compounds in restoring cognitive deficits and, since these two PAMs have reportedly distinct signalling mechanisms, changes in mGlu5 receptor signalling molecules AKT and MAPK in the PFC. Although not effective at 0.05 and 1 mg/kg, cognitive deficits were significantly alleviated by both PAMs at 10 and 20 mg/kg. The compounds appeared to have differential effects on the scPCP-induced increases in AKT and MAPK phosphorylation: VU0409551 induced a significant decrease in expression of p-AKT, whereas VU0360172 had this effect on p-MAPK levels. Thus, the beneficial effects of PAMs on scPCP-induced cognitive impairment are accompanied by at least partial reversal of scPCP-induced elevated levels of p-MAPK and p-AKT, whose dysfunction is strongly implicated in schizophrenia pathology. These promising data imply an important role for mGlu5 receptor signalling pathways in improving cognition in the scPCP model and provide support for mGlu5 receptor PAMs as a possible therapeutic intervention for schizophrenia.

Maternal immune activation in rodent models: A systematic review of neurodevelopmental changes in gene expression and epigenetic modulation in the offspring brain.

Maternal immune activation (mIA) during pregnancy is hypothesised to disrupt offspring neurodevelopment and predispose offspring to neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia. Rodent models of mIA have explored possible mechanisms underlying this paradigm and provide a vital tool for preclinical research. However, a comprehensive analysis of the molecular changes that occur in mIA-models is lacking, hindering identification of robust clinical targets. This systematic review assesses mIA-driven transcriptomic and epigenomic alterations in specific offspring brain regions. Across 118 studies, we focus on 88 candidate genes and show replicated changes in expression in critical functional areas, including elevated inflammatory markers, and reduced myelin and GABAergic signalling proteins. Further, disturbed epigenetic markers at nine of these genes support mIA-driven epigenetic modulation of transcription. Overall, our results demonstrate that current outcome measures have direct relevance for the hypothesised pathology of schizophrenia and emphasise the importance of mIA-models in contributing to the understanding of biological pathways impacted by mIA and the discovery of new drug targets.

Standard versus reduced dose of antipsychotics for relapse prevention in multi-episode schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Dose reduction of antipsychotic maintenance treatment in individuals with schizophrenia could be desirable to minimise adverse effects, but evidence for this strategy is unclear. We aimed to compare risks and benefits of reduced versus standard doses of antipsychotics. METHODS: We searched Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library from database inception until June 17, 2020, for randomised trials in adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder lasting at least 24 weeks, including individuals clinically stable at baseline, and comparing at least two doses of the same antipsychotic, excluding trials in first-episode psychosis or treatment-resistant schizophrenia. We compared low-dose (within 50-99% of the lower limit of the standard dose) and very-low dose (less than 50% of the lower limit) with standard dose, defined as doses higher than the lower limit of the treatment dose recommended by the International Consensus Study. Data from published reports on number of participants, treatment, sex, age, number of events, and changes in psychopathology scores were extracted independently by at least two authors. Investigators or sponsors were contacted by email to obtain missing information regarding outcomes. Co-primary outcomes were relapse and all-cause discontinuation. Study-level data were meta-analysed using random-effects models, calculating risk ratios (RRs) for dichotomous data, and Hedges' g for continuous data. The protocol was registered with OSF registries. FINDINGS: 7853 references were identified in the database search and one additional reference from a manual review of relevant studies. 5744 abstracts were assessed for eligibility, and 101 references were assessed for full-text review. Of these, 79 were excluded for a variety of reasons, resulting in 22 studies being included in the meta-analysis, reporting on 24 trials and 3282 individuals. Study participants had a median age of 38 years (IQR 36-40) with 2166 (65·9%) males and 1116 (34·0%) females. Compared with standard dose, low dose increased the risk of relapse by 44% (16 trials, 1920 participants; RR 1·44, 95% CI 1·10-1·87; p=0·0076; I2=46%) and the risk of all-cause discontinuation by 12% (16 trials, 1932 participants; RR 1·12, 1·03-1·22; p=0·0085; I2=0%). Very low dose increased the risk of relapse by 72% (13 trials, 2058 participants; RR 1·72, 95% CI 1·29-2·29; p=0·0002; I2=70%) and all-cause discontinuation by 31% (11 trials, 1866 participants; RR 1·31, 1·11-1·54; p=0·0011; I2=63%). Compared with low dose, very low dose did not significantly increase the risk of relapse (five trials, 686 participants; RR 1·31, 95% CI 0·96-1·79; p=0·092; I2=51%) or all-cause discontinuation (five trials 686 participants; RR 1·11, 95% CI 0·95-1·30; p=0·18; I2=43%). Subgroup analyses comparing double-blind versus open-label studies, first-generation versus second-generation antipsychotics, and oral versus long-acting injectable antipsychotics were consistent with the overall results. Most studies were classified as having some concerns in the risk of bias assessment, which was mainly caused by absence of publicly available study registrations. INTERPRETATION: During maintenance treatment in multi-episode schizophrenia, antipsychotic doses should probably not be reduced below the standard dose range recommended for acute stabilisation, because reducing the dose further is associated with an increased risk of both relapse and all-cause discontinuation. FUNDING: None.

Towards Novel Treatments for Schizophrenia: Molecular and Behavioural Signatures of the Psychotropic Agent SEP-363856.

Schizophrenia is a complex psychopathology whose treatment is still challenging. Given the limitations of existing antipsychotics, there is urgent need for novel drugs with fewer side effects. SEP-363856 (SEP-856) is a novel psychotropic agent currently under phase III clinical investigation for schizophrenia treatment. In this study, we investigated the ability of an acute oral SEP-856 administration to modulate the functional activity of specific brain regions at basal levels and under glutamatergic or dopaminergic-perturbed conditions in adult rats. We found that immediate-early genes (IEGs) expression was strongly upregulated in the prefrontal cortex and, to a less extent, in the ventral hippocampus, suggesting an activation of these regions. Furthermore, SEP-856 was effective in preventing the hyperactivity induced by an acute injection of phencyclidine (PCP), but not of d-amphetamine (AMPH). The compound effectively normalized the PCP-induced increase in IEGs expression in the PFC at all doses tested, whereas only the highest dose determined the major modulations on AMPH-induced changes. Lastly, SEP-856 acute administration corrected the cognitive deficits produced by subchronic PCP administration. Taken together, our data provide further insights on SEP-856, suggesting that modulation of the PFC may represent an important mechanism for the functional and behavioural activity of this novel compound.

A Recessively Inherited Risk Locus on Chromosome 13q22-31 Conferring Susceptibility to Schizophrenia.

We report a consanguineous family in which schizophrenia segregates in a manner consistent with recessive inheritance of a rare, partial-penetrance susceptibility allele. From 4 marriages between 2 sets of siblings who are half first cousins, 6 offspring have diagnoses of psychotic disorder. Homozygosity mapping revealed a 6.1-Mb homozygous region on chromosome 13q22.2-31.1 shared by all affected individuals, containing 13 protein-coding genes. Microsatellite analysis confirmed homozygosity for the affected haplotype in 12 further apparently unaffected members of the family. Psychiatric reports suggested an endophenotype of milder psychiatric illness in 4 of these individuals. Exome and genome sequencing revealed no potentially pathogenic coding or structural variants within the risk haplotype. Filtering for noncoding variants with a minor allele frequency of <0.05 identified 17 variants predicted to have significant effects, the 2 most significant being within or adjacent to the SCEL gene. RNA sequencing of blood from an affected homozygote showed the upregulation of transcription from NDFIP2 and SCEL. NDFIP2 is highly expressed in brain, unlike SCEL, and is involved in determining T helper (Th) cell type 1 and Th2 phenotypes, which have previously been implicated with schizophrenia.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and asymptomatic viral carriage in healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rates of asymptomatic viral carriage and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in healthcare workers. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of asymptomatic healthcare workers undertaken on 24/25 April 2020. SETTING: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT), UK. PARTICIPANTS: 545 asymptomatic healthcare workers were recruited while at work. Participants were invited to participate via the UHBFT social media. Exclusion criteria included current symptoms consistent with COVID-19. No potential participants were excluded. INTERVENTION: Participants volunteered a nasopharyngeal swab and a venous blood sample that were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein antibodies, respectively. Results were interpreted in the context of prior illnesses and the hospital departments in which participants worked. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Proportion of participants demonstrating infection and positive SARS-CoV-2 serology. RESULTS: The point prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 viral carriage was 2.4% (n=13/545). The overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 24.4% (n=126/516). Participants who reported prior symptomatic illness had higher seroprevalence (37.5% vs 17.1%, χ2=21.1034, p<0.0001) and quantitatively greater antibody responses than those who had remained asymptomatic. Seroprevalence was greatest among those working in housekeeping (34.5%), acute medicine (33.3%) and general internal medicine (30.3%), with lower rates observed in participants working in intensive care (14.8%). BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) ethnicity was associated with a significantly increased risk of seropositivity (OR: 1.92, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.23, p=0.01). Working on the intensive care unit was associated with a significantly lower risk of seropositivity compared with working in other areas of the hospital (OR: 0.28, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.78, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: We identify differences in the occupational risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 between hospital departments and confirm asymptomatic seroconversion occurs in healthcare workers. Further investigation of these observations is required to inform future infection control and occupational health practices.

Aerobic exercise improves memory and prevents cognitive deficits of relevance to schizophrenia in an animal model.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS) greatly reduces patients' functionality, and remains an unmet clinical need. The sub-chronic phencyclidine (scPCP) rat model is commonly employed in studying CIAS. We have previously shown that voluntary exercise reverses impairments in novel object recognition (NOR) induced by scPCP. However, there has not been a longitudinal study investigating the potential protective effects of exercise in a model of CIAS. This study aimed to investigate the pro-cognitive and protective effects of exercise on CIAS using the translational NOR and attentional set-shifting tasks (ASST). METHODS: Female Lister Hooded rats were either exercised (wheel running for one hour per day, five days per week, for six weeks; n=20) or not (n=20) and then tested in a natural-forgetting NOR test. Rats in each group were then administered either PCP (2 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.)) or saline solution (1 mL/kg i.p.) for seven days, followed by seven days washout. Three NOR tests were conducted immediately and two and nine weeks after washout, and a natural-forgetting NOR test was carried out again eight weeks post washout. Rats were trained and tested in ASST from week 6 to week 10 post washout. RESULTS: Non-exercised rats displayed a deficit in both of the natural-forgetting NOR tests, whereas exercised rats did not. The scPCP exercise group did not show the expected deficit in NOR at any time point, and had a significantly ameliorated deficit in the ASST compared to the scPCP control group. CONCLUSION: Voluntary exercise has long-lasting pro-cognitive and protective effects in two cognitive domains. Exercise improves cognition and could provide protection against CIAS.

Synaptic biomarker reduction and impaired cognition in the sub-chronic PCP mouse model for schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Sub-chronic phencyclidine treatment (scPCP) provides a translational rat model for cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). CIAS genetic risk factors may be more easily studied in mice; however, CIAS associated biomarker changes are relatively unstudied in the scPCP mouse. AIM: To characterize deficits in object recognition memory and synaptic markers in frontal cortex and hippocampus of the scPCP mouse. METHODS: Female c57/bl6 mice received 10 daily injections of PCP (scPCP; 10 mg/kg, s.c.) or vehicle (n = 8/group). Mice were tested for novel object recognition memory after either remaining in the arena ('no distraction') or being removed to a holding cage ('distraction') during the inter-trial interval. Expression changes for parvalbumin (PV), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67), synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) and postsynaptic density 95 (PDS95) were measured in frontal cortex, dorsal and ventral hippocampus. RESULTS: scPCP mice showed object memory deficits when distracted by removal from the arena, where they treated previously experienced objects as novel at test. scPCP significantly reduced PV expression in all regions and lower PSD95 levels in frontal cortex and ventral hippocampus. Levels of GAD67 and SNAP-25 were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: We show for the first time that scPCP mice: (a) can encode and retain object information, but that this memory is susceptible to distraction; (b) display amnesia after distraction; and (c) express reduced PV and PSD95 in frontal cortex and hippocampus. These data further support reductions in PV-dependent synaptic inhibition and NMDAR-dependent glutamatergic plasticity in CIAS and highlight the translational significance of the scPCP mouse.

Mapping the impact of exposure to maternal immune activation on juvenile Wistar rat brain macro- and microstructure during early post-natal development.

Maternal immune activation is consistently associated with elevated risk for multiple psychiatric disorders in the affected offspring. Related to this, an important goal of our work is to explore the impact of maternal immune activation effects across the lifespan. In this context, we recently reported the effects of polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid-induced maternal immune activation at gestational day 15, immediately prior to birth, at gestational day 21 and again at post-natal day 21, providing a systematic assessment of plasma interleukin 6, body temperature and weight alterations in pregnant rats and preliminary evidence for gross morphological changes and microglial neuropathology in both male and female offsprings at these time points. Here, we sought to complement and extend these data by characterising in more detail the mesoscale impact of gestational polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid exposure at gestational day 15 on the neuroanatomy of the juvenile (post-natal day 21) rat brain using high-resolution, ex vivo anatomical magnetic resonance imaging in combination with atlas-based segmentation. Our preliminary data suggest subtle neuroanatomical effects of gestational polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid exposure (n = 10) relative to saline controls (n = 10) at this time-point. Specifically, we found an increase in the relative volume of the diagonal domain in polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid offspring (p < 0.01 uncorrected), which just failed to pass stringent multiple comparisons correction (actual q = 0.07). No statistically significant microstructural alterations were detectable using diffusion tensor imaging. Further studies are required to map the proximal effects of maternal immune activation on the developing rodent brain from foetal to early post-natal life and confirm our findings herein.