Determination of Rhythmicity and Gestational Stage-Related Distribution of Blood Plasma Melatonin Concentrations in Donkey Mares.

The aim of this study is to obtain a more complete picture of blood plasma melatonin concentrations in the donkey mares. To this purpose, sampling and statistical processing were carried out in such a way that allowed the researchers to establish the annual and daily rhythms. Based on human observations, according to the hypothesis of the authors, the blood plasma melatonin concentration of pregnant individuals rises during the late gestational period, before parturition. To confirm this, the melatonin concentrations of pregnant and non-pregnant jennies were monitored and compared. In regard to the circannual rhythm, the significantly lowest midnight melatonin value (27.67 pg mL-1) was typical for the summer solstice. Under consideration of circadian changes, a significantly strongest melatonin production (45.16 pg mL-1) was observed on the night of the winter solstice (p < 0.001). Considering gestational age, the blood plasma melatonin concentration (around 38 pg mL-1) does not change as gestation progresses (p = 0.136). The results obtained in this studied population of the domestic ass usefully expand the little knowledge previously gathered about the development of the blood plasma melatonin concentrations of this species.

The Effect of Supplemental Lighting during the Late Gestation Period on Post-Partum Mechanical Properties of Mare and Foal Guard Hair.

This study investigates Thoroughbred mares exposed or not to supplemental blue light at the end of the gestation. Sixty mares and their 60 foals were selected for the investigation. Guard hair samples were collected from the shoulder just after (within 12 h) the parturition or birth. The foals of the light-treated mares developed significantly (p < 0.05) shorter hair than those of the control mares. A general effect of light treatment on basal hair diameter thinning could be demonstrated (p < 0.005). The maximum force of hair samples of light-treated mares and foals (0.098 and 0.085 N, respectively) was significantly lower than that of the control (0.272 and 0.178 N, respectively). The tensile strength (82.2 N/mm2) of the foal hair samples of the light-treated mares was significantly lower than that of the control foals (121.6 N/mm2). Although no significant difference was found in the elongation (ΔL), the hair of the control animals (mares and foals together) was more elastic than that of the treated animals (335 vs. 262 µm). In conclusion, the supplemental blue light treatment of the pregnant mares has a decreasing effect on both mares and their foals on the mechanical properties of the hair, making it shorter, thinner, and weaker.

Plasma melatonin concentration during the early post-partum period in Thoroughbred mares and their foals.

The authors aimed to determine the plasma melatonin concentration in mares and their new-born foals in the early post-partum period. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of 53 mare-foal pairs within twelve hours after parturition. Plasma melatonin levels were measured by ELISA. The melatonin concentration, adjusted for the moment of parturition using a generalised linear model, was 34.58 pg mL-1 in mares. It was significantly lower (27.63 pg mL-1) in the new-born foals. However, the melatonin concentration declined differently by the end of the twelve hours, it decreased less in the offspring than in the mothers. An artificial light supplementation at the end of gestation reduced the melatonin concentration both in mares and their foals by about 10 pg mL-1, compared to the controls. An elevated melatonin production may be related to preparation of mares for parturition and ensures the chances of survival of offspring, therefore the melatonin may reach its peak at the moment of foaling regardless of its actual time. The effect of low melatonin concentration in new-born foals might be associated with the foal's health and subsequent performance. The need to monitor the melatonin concentration in the offspring justifies further studies.

[The role of socialisation in psychosexual development].

INTRODUCTION: In the recent research and interpretation of the genetical-biological and environmental-social factors shaping psychosexual development, in addition to scientific arguments, more and more ideological and political aspect have received unfortunate emphasis. OBJECTIVE: Since the literature investigating the development of gender identity and gender orientation has not only increased, but also polarized, it is timely to look at the scientific exchange of ideas and debates among the differing positions. METHOD: Exploring the significance of genetic, biological and social factors involved in the development of gender identity and gender orientation based on international literature data. RESULTS: Based on the current state of science it can be concluded that, in addition to the indisputably marked genetic-biological factors, education and social patterns, as well as the extremely complex environmental and media-related influence with its variable intensity and diverse emotional content also play a significant role in the psychosexual development. This is supported, among other observations, by the data indicating that homoerotic behavior is more common in people raised by same-sex couples. CONCLUSION: As psychosexual development is determined jointly by both genetic-biological and social factors (like education, media etc), belonging to a sexual minority group is not a choice, not the result of a personal decision. Therefore, any kind of discrimination in this regard is unacceptable. Further scientific studies are necessary to answer a large number of questions that still remain open.

[The pathogenic role of uterine erythropoietin in a case of myomatous erythrocytosis syndrome]. / Egy myomás erythrocytosis esetrol és a méh eredetu erythropoetin fiziopatológiájáról.

We report the case of a 50-year-old woman with severe erythrocytosis and uterine leiomyoma. The suspicion of myomatous erythrocytosis syndrome was supported by erythropoietin level higher than expected. After the supravaginal hysterectomy, the patient's red cell parameters normalized and the erythropoietin level markedly decreased. The authors are discussing the physiology of uterine erythropoietin, the evaluation and differential diagnostic value of erythropoietin investigations. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(52): 2088-2092.

Revealing a Phenotypical Appearance of Ibrutinib Resistance in Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia by Flow Cytometry.

Background: Ibrutinib is widely known as an effective and well-tolerated therapeutical choice of the chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). However, acquired resistance may occur during the treatment, causing relapse. Early detection of ibrutinib resistance is an important issue, therefore we aimed to find phenotypic markers on CLL cells the expression of which may correlate with the appearance of ibrutinib resistance. Methods: We examined 28 patients' peripheral blood (PB) samples (treatment naïve, ibrutinib sensitive, clinically ibrutinib resistant). The surface markers' expression (CD27, CD69, CD86, CD184, CD185) were measured by flow cytometry. Furthermore, the BTKC481S resistance mutation was assessed by digital droplet PCR. Moreover, the CLL cells' phenotype of a patient with acquired ibrutinib resistance was observed during the ibrutinib treatment. Results: The expression of CD27 (p = 0.030) and CD86 (p = 0.031) became higher in the clinically resistant cohort than in the ibrutinib sensitive cohort. Besides, we found that high CD86 and CD27 expressions were accompanied by BTKC481S mutation. Our prospective study showed that the increase of the expression of CD27, CD69 and CD86 was noticed ahead of the clinical resistance with 3 months. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the changes of the expression of these markers could indicate ibrutinib resistance and the examination of these phenotypic changes may become a part of the patients' follow-up in the future.

High prevalence of suicide-related internet use among patients with depressive disorders - a cross-sectional study with psychiatric in-patients.

The association between Internet use and suicidal behavior is a subject of intense research. Internet use patterns of patients with depressive disorders were assessed to determine the prevalence and aim of browsing for suicide-related contents and its impact on help-seeking. Self-administered questionnaire among psychiatric in-patients treated for depression was used to assess suicidal behavior, characteristics of Internet use and help-seeking preferences. 113 psychiatric in-patients with depressive disorders participated in the study. One-third had a history of life-time suicide attempt and the majority had already encountered suicide-related contents while browsing the Internet. 27.4% reported intentional and specific search for suicidal contents. This suicide-related Internet user (SRIU) group was characterized by younger age, single status, more frequent suicidal ideations, and they more likely considered that they would attempt suicide in the future. Among patients with depressive disorders, a sub-group was identified with a potential higher suicide risk. The frequent use of the Internet and online help-seeking preference may provide an opportunity to prevent suicidal behavior in this high-risk sub-group. Further research is needed into the possibilities of using the Internet more effectively for suicide prevention.

Two myeloproliferative diseases in one patient - co-occurence of clones / Két myeloproliferativ betegség egy betegben - klónok együttélése és vetélkedése

Classical myeloproliferative diseases can be divided into Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm. The driver mutations of the latter occur in the Janus kinase 2 or calreticulin genes. The coincidence of Philadelphia chromosome-negative and -positive myeloproliferative neoplasms in the same patient is exceptionally rare in the literature. During the long-term follow-up of our 120 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, we investigated the clinical data of patients in whom Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative disease was also confirmed. Philadelphia chromosome was detected by classical cytogenetic methods and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization. The amount of BCR-ABLI fusion RNA was monitored by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Mutations in the Janus kinase 2 and calreticulin genes were detected by quantitative allele-specific polymerase chain reaction and fragment analysis. The dynamics of disease development were inferred from the change in the amount of mutant clones over time and from the clinical data. We identified four cases carrying both Philadelphia chromosome and Janus kinase 2/calreticulin gene mutation. In some cases, competition between the clones, in other cases their co-occurrence in a common clone was observed. Isolated thrombocytosis at the time of diagnosis or persisting thrombocytosis during targeted therapy with good molecular response may call attention to the possibility of the co-occurrence of the two diseases. Co-occurrence of Philadelphia chromosome-positive and -negative myeloproliferative neoplasms is more frequent than the literature suggests. If the disease has an unusual appearance, the association of the two myeloproliferative dieseases may be suspected.

Suicide risk management in clinical practice. Current challenges and future perspectives / Az öngyilkossági rizikó becslése a klinikai gyakorlatban. A jelen kihívásai és a jövo perspektívái

There is still little reliable information about the psychological processes underlying suicidal behaviour, and suicide risk assessment scales also have only limited predictive value. However, the recently described suicide-specific syndromes such as acute suicidal affective disorder (ASAD) and suicide crisis syndrome (SCS) open up new possibilities for a complex interpretation and prediction of suicidal behaviour. We briefly summarize modern theoretical approaches explaining the development of suicidal behaviour, the possibilities of predicting suicide risk, and contemporary methods of assessing pre-suicidal psychopathological symptoms, highlighting the suicide-specific syndromes and their screening tools. The results of the systematic review of the suicide-specific syndrome literature indicate that both the ASAD construct and the SCS may be helpful in predicting suicidal behaviour and they correlate with other similar questionnaires. Suicide-specific syndromes and the measurement tools are proven to be effective in theoretical research as well as in the field of clinical applicability in the prediction of suicidal behaviour, so their adaptation and application in Hungary may be recommended.

[Text and behavior - analysis of farewell notes - pilot study].

Studying suicide notes, - last personal documents before a suicide act - as well as investigation of media and internet texts on self-destruction (including contents, "messages") can have a great significance. Individual and cultural valuations appear in the way farewell notes, media letters and other personal documents present self-destruction. These "messages", ideas about life, death and suicide are deeply embedded within the public context of culture too. In the present content analysis formal, syntactic and grammatical characteristic features, as well as speech patterns and verbal expressions of selected notes, samples have been investigated. Suicidal - fatal (n=49) and nonfatal group (n=31) of farewell letters were compared with the sample of a control group (n=33). Results have been discussed, interpreted and concluded. These appear to be useful and important not only in understanding of suicidal phenomenon and its psychodynamic background in clinical work or in suicide hotlines, but also in prevention, social-, and clinical intervention of self-destruction. The investigation of these new data may provide a much broader perspective in understanding suicidal process.

Robust disease module mining via enumeration of diverse prize-collecting Steiner trees.

MOTIVATION: Disease module mining methods (DMMMs) extract subgraphs that constitute candidate disease mechanisms from molecular interaction networks such as protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Irrespective of the employed models, DMMMs typically include non-robust steps in their workflows, i.e. the computed subnetworks vary when running the DMMMs multiple times on equivalent input. This lack of robustness has a negative effect on the trustworthiness of the obtained subnetworks and is hence detrimental for the widespread adoption of DMMMs in the biomedical sciences. RESULTS: To overcome this problem, we present a new DMMM called ROBUST (robust disease module mining via enumeration of diverse prize-collecting Steiner trees). In a large-scale empirical evaluation, we show that ROBUST outperforms competing methods in terms of robustness, scalability and, in most settings, functional relevance of the produced modules, measured via KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) gene set enrichment scores and overlap with DisGeNET disease genes. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: A Python 3 implementation and scripts to reproduce the results reported in this article are available on GitHub: https://github.com/bionetslab/robust, https://github.com/bionetslab/robust-eval. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Screening and monitoring of the BTKC481S mutation in a real-world cohort of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia during ibrutinib therapy.

The Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib has revolutionised the therapeutic landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Acquired mutations emerging at position C481 in the BTK tyrosine kinase domain are the predominant genetic alterations associated with secondary ibrutinib resistance. To assess the correlation between disease progression, and the emergence and temporal dynamics of the most common resistance mutation BTKC481S , sensitive (10-4 ) time-resolved screening was performed in 83 relapsed/refractory CLL patients during single-agent ibrutinib treatment. With a median follow-up time of 40 months, BTKC481S was detected in 48·2% (40/83) of the patients, with 80·0% (32/40) of them showing disease progression during the examined period. In these 32 cases, representing 72·7% (32/44) of all patients experiencing relapse, emergence of the BTKC481S mutation preceded the symptoms of clinical relapse with a median of nine months. Subsequent Bcl-2 inhibition therapy applied in 28/32 patients harbouring BTKC481S and progressing on ibrutinib conferred clinical and molecular remission across the patients. Our study demonstrates the clinical value of sensitive BTKC481S monitoring with the largest longitudinally analysed real-world patient cohort reported to date and validates the feasibility of an early prediction of relapse in the majority of ibrutinib-treated relapsed/refractory CLL patients experiencing disease progression.

A Real-World Rheumatology Registry and Research Consortium: The German RheumaDatenRhePort (RHADAR) Registry.

Real-world data are crucial to continuously improve the management of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). The German RheumaDatenRhePort (RHADAR) registry encompasses a network of rheumatologists and researchers in Germany providing pseudonymized real-world patient data and allowing timely and continuous improvement in the care of RMD patients. The RHADAR modules allow automated anamnesis and adaptive coordination of appointments regarding individual urgency levels. Further modules focus on the collection and integration of electronic patient-reported outcomes in between consultations. The digital RHADAR modules ultimately allow a patient-centered adaptive approach to integrated medical care starting as early as possible in the disease course. Such a closed-loop system consisting of various modules along the whole patient pathway enables comprehensive and timely patient management in an unprecedented manner.

Crisis Concept Re-loaded?-The Recently Described Suicide-Specific Syndromes May Help to Better Understand Suicidal Behavior and Assess Imminent Suicide Risk More Effectively.

Background: Despite of the decreasing suicide rates in many countries, suicide is still a major public health concern worldwide. Traditional suicide risk factors have limited clinical predictive value, as they provide little reliable information on the acute psychological processes leading to suicide. Aims: The aim of this analysis is to describe and compare the recently introduced two suicide-specific syndromes [Acute Suicidal Affective Disturbance (ASAD) and Suicidal Crisis Syndrome (SCS)] with the classic psychological features of pre-suicidal crisis and also to assess the clinical utility of the new suicide prediction scales in contrast to classical risk factors. Method: Conceptual analysis. Results: Suicide-specific syndromes are not novel in terms of symptomatology or dynamics of symptom onset, but in their use of well-defined diagnostic criteria. In addition to symptomatic classification, they also provide an opportunity to objectively measure the current pre-suicidal emotional and mental state by validated tools. Limitations: Future studies need to be completed to prove the reliability and predictive validity of suicide-specific diagnostic categories and the related suicide risk assessment tools. Conclusion: Clinical use of suicide-specific syndromes is suggested. This transdiagnostic approach not only enables a more accurate and objective assessment of imminent suicide risk, but also facilitates research in neuroscience, which represent a major step forward in managing and complex understanding of suicidal behavior.

[Werther- and Papageno-effects in suicidology notes].

No abstract avalilable.

Untreated depressive symptoms significantly worsen quality of life in old age and may lead to the misdiagnosis of dementia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies demonstrated the role of depressive mood and cognitive impairment in the background of elevated mortality and decreased Quality of Life (QoL) in old age. Our aim was to assess depressive and cognitive symptoms among older people in order to determine if those are recognized and treated or not, to elucidate the association between them and to investigate their impact on QoL. METHODS: In the framework of the ICT4Life project self-administered questionnaires and clinical screening tools were used to assess QoL, depressive symptoms and cognitive functions of 60 older persons over the age of 65. RESULTS: Males found to be depressed (53.8 vs. 40.4%) and cognitively declined (53.8 vs. 48.9%) more frequently; and had higher scores on the depression (6.85 vs. 5.32) and lower on the QoL (47.38 vs. 50.19) scales. Depressed older persons had lower cognitive levels (24.39 vs. 21.52) and their QoL was significantly poorer (53.97 vs. 43.85) than that of the non-depressed subjects. Depressive symptoms were detected in almost half of the older adults (43.9%), and the majority (80.77%) did not receive antidepressant medication. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive and cognitive symptoms found to be common among older people, but were not recognized and treated in most cases. Close correlation between depression and cognitive impairment was also confirmed, as well as the key role of depression in the background of pseudo-dementia and QoL decline. Early recognition of depressive symptoms is important not only to treat the underlying mood disorder, but also to improve QoL of older persons.

[Suicide risk assessment and suicide-specific syndromes].

Although more and more data is now available on the background of suicidal behaviour, classical suicidal risk factors have only limited clinical predictive value because they provide little reliable information on the acute psychological processes leading to suicidal behaviour. As the lack of recognition of acute suicidal risk limits the ability to provide adequate care, intense research has begun to develop validated methods for risk analysis and risk assessment that provide more accurate predictions of suicidal behaviour. In recent years, two specific syndromes have been described that may assist in the more accurate assessment of presuicidal psychopathology and thus in the prediction of suicidal behaviour. Researchers from the United States suggest the introduction and the clinical use of two suicide-specific syndromes, the Acute Suicidal Affective Disorder (ASAD) and Suicidal Crisis Syndrome (SCS). In this paper, we present the most important features of these newly described suicide-specific syndromes, the experience with their clinical application, and the major research findings about them. Then these syndromes are compared with the classical psychological features of pre-suicidal crisis to find out whether these are really new transdiagnostic interpretations of the symptoms of suicidal behaviour or those are merely the well-known classical symptoms with new terminology.

The impact of depressive mood and cognitive impairment on quality of life of the elderly.

BACKGROUND: The quality of life (QOL) of the elderly can be influenced by numerous factors. We assessed QOL, cognitive functions, depression and clinical data in elderly aged 65 and over with the aim of analysing factors affecting their QOL. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with elderly over the age of 65, and their QOL, cognitive functions and depressive symptoms were assessed by validated clinical tests and screening tools. RESULTS: The correlation between QOL scales and cognitive tests was not significant. In contrast, the results of depression scales showed significant negative correlation with the scores of the QOL scales. A better QOL was determined by lower age, lack of depressive symptoms, and higher scores in the QOL-AD (Alzheimer's disease) scale. Depressive mood has much more negative impact on the QOL of the elderly than cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated a close correlation between QOL and depressive mood in the elderly. The early detection and effective management of affective and cognitive symptoms in the elderly can not only restore mental health but may also improve their QOL.

[The role of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of mental disorders, especially in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder]. / A repetitív transcranialis mágneses stimuláció szerepe a mentális zavarok, elsosorban a terápiarezisztens major depresszív zavar kezelésében.

The rapidly evolving field of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as a neuromodulational technique may mean a safe, alternative approach to the management of several mental disorders, especially treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Our aim is to describe the current role of transcranial magnetic stimulation in research and routine clinical practice, based on the literature and clinical protocols. Since the discovery, that an outer magnetic source can depolarize neurons, both neurology and psychiatry seek the method's possible clinical utility. To date, in the field of psychiatry, the method is only approved in the treatment of major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but research continues to find application in other mental disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder), too. The next step in the evolution of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is based on magnetic resonance guided, real-time navigation with the help of positioning algorithms. The so-called neuronavigational systems make precise aiming of neuronal circuits responsible for the development of depression, thus increasing the excitability of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and decreasing it on the right hemisphere. The method has few contraindications, and the occurrence of side effects can be minimized by carefully selected patient population. For today, transcranial magnetic stimulation became an evidence-based, effective treatment for some mental disorders, especially treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. It is to be assumed that in the future neuronavigational neuromodulation techniques, including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, will be widely used in the field of psychiatry and neurology. Magnetic stimulation is currently available in a number of centres in Hungary, but the financial approval and the implementation of this neuromodulation method for treating mental disorders in the everyday clinical practice are still in progress. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(1): 3-10.

[Aging - integration - wisdom Tringer 80].

No abstract available.