'Effectiveness of a remote nutritional intervention to increase the adherence to the Mediterranean diet among recovered depression patients'.

BACKGROUND: There is substantial evidence supporting that remote interventions are useful to change dietary habits. However, the effect of a remote intervention based on Mediterranean diet (MD) in depressive patients has been less explored. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a remotely provided Mediterranean diet-based nutritional intervention in the context of a secondary prevention trial of depression. METHODS: The PREDIDEP study was a 2-year multicenter, randomized, single-blinded trial designed to assess the effect of the MD enriched with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on the prevention of depression recurrence. The intervention group received usual care for depressed patients and remote nutritional intervention every three months which included phone contacts and web-based interventions; and the control group, usual care. At baseline and at 1-year and 2-year follow-up, the 14-item MD Adherence Screener (MEDAS) questionnaire and a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were collected by a dietitian. Mixed effects linear models were used to assess changes in nutritional variables according to the group of intervention. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03081065. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the MD intervention group showed more adherence to MD (between-group difference: 2.76; 95% CI 2.13-3.39; p < 0.001); and a healthier diet pattern with a significant increase in the consumption of olive oil (p < 0.001), and a significant reduction in refined cereals (p = 0.031) after 2 years of intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The remote nutritional intervention increases adherence to the MD among recovered depression patients.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03081065.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of truncated α-tubulin-binding pironetin analogues lacking alkyl pendants in the side chain or the dihydropyrone ring.

The preparation of several new truncated analogues of the natural dihydropyrone pironetin is described. They differ from the natural product mainly in the suppression of some of the alkyl pendants in either the side chain or the dihydropyrone ring. Their cytotoxic activity and their interactions with tubulin have been investigated. It has been found that all analogues are cytotoxic towards two either sensitive or resistant tumoral cell lines with similar IC50 values in each case, thus strongly suggesting that, like natural pironetin, they also display a covalent mechanism of action. Their cytotoxicity is, however, lower than that of the parent compound. This indicates that all alkyl pendants are necessary for the full biological activity, with the ethyl group at C-4 seemingly being particularly relevant. Most likely, the alkyl groups cause a restriction in the conformational mobility of the molecule and reduce the number of available conformations. This makes it more probable that the molecule preferentially adopts a shape which fits better into the binding point in α-tubulin.

Design and synthesis of pironetin analogues with simplified structure and study of their interactions with microtubules.

The preparation of a series of pironetin analogues with simplified structure is described. Their cytotoxic activity and their interactions with tubulin have been investigated. It has been found that, while less active than the parent molecule, the pironetin analogues still share the mechanism of action of the latter and compete for the same binding site to α-tubulin. Variations in the configurations of their stereocenters do not translate into relevant differences between biological activities.

Functional neural networks of time perception: challenge and opportunity for schizophrenia research.

With the double objective of searching for a physiological brain circuit concerned with time estimation and establishing whether this circuit is dysfunctional in schizophrenia patients, we carried out an activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis of published functional neuroimaging studies. Our results reproduce the previous finding of a neurophysiological cortico-cerebellar-thalamic circuit related with time estimation in healthy individuals. In schizophrenia patients, the analysis indicates significantly lower activation of most right hemisphere regions of the circuit, suggesting that it may be subject to a pattern of disconnectivity. The ALE-meta-analysis approach is useful and further studies could elucidate how the timing circuit is connected with other cognitive tasks.

Validity of a self-reported diagnosis of depression among participants in a cohort study using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I).

BACKGROUND: Depression assessment in population studies is usually based on depressive symptoms scales. However, the use of scales could lead to the choice of an arbitrary cut-off point depending on the sample characteristics and on the patient diagnosis. Thus, the use of a medical diagnosis of depression could be a more appropriate approach. OBJECTIVE: To validate a self-reported physician diagnosis of depression using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I) as Gold Standard and to assess the factors associated to a valid self-reported diagnosis. METHODS: The SUN Project is a cohort study based on university graduates followed-up through postal questionnaires. The response to the question included in the questionnaire: Have you ever been diagnosed of depression by a physician? was compared to that obtained through the SCID-I applied by a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist. The percentages of confirmed depression and non-depression were assessed for the overall sample and according to several characteristics. Logistic regression models were fitted to ascertain the association between different factors and a correct classification regarding depression status. RESULTS: The percentage of confirmed depression was 74.2%; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 63.3-85.1. Out of 42 participants who did not report a depression diagnosis in the questionnaire, 34 were free of the disease (%confirmed non-depression = 81.1%; 95% CI = 69.1-92.9). The probability of being a true positive was higher among ex-smokers and non-smokers and among those overweight or obese but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The validity of a self-reported diagnosis of depression in the SUN cohort is adequate. Thus, this question about depression diagnosis could be used in further investigations regarding this disease in this graduate cohort study.