Efficacy and safety of vortioxetine for the treatment of major depressive disorder: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and adverse events of vortioxetine for Chinese patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) over 10 weeks.Methods: A total of 120 patients with MDD were randomly assigned to two groups that received vortioxetine 20 mg or placebo for 10 weeks. The outcomes were the change from baseline in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement (CGI-I) scale, Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) at Week 10, and the presence of adverse events.Results: A total of 113 patients completed the study. Vortioxetine showed greater efficacy than the placebo in improving MADRS, HAM-A, CGI-I, and SDS scores at Week 10. However, no significant differences were found between the groups for any treatment-emergent adverse events. No suicide related to vortioxetine treatment was recorded.Conclusions: In summary, the results of this study showed that 10 weeks of vortioxetine treatment was efficacious and well-tolerated in patients with MDD.

Casimir switch: steering optical transparency with vacuum forces.

The Casimir force, originating from vacuum zero-point energy, is one of the most intriguing purely quantum effects. It has attracted renewed interests in current field of nanomechanics, due to the rapid size decrease of on-chip devices. Here we study the optomechanically-induced transparency (OMIT) with a tunable Casimir force. We find that the optical output rate can be significantly altered by the vacuum force, even terminated and then restored, indicating a highly-controlled optical switch. Our result addresses the possibility of designing exotic optical nano-devices by harnessing the power of vacuum.

Antinociceptive Effects of AGAP, a Recombinant Neurotoxic Polypeptide: Possible Involvement of the Tetrodotoxin-Resistant Sodium Channels in Small Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons.

Antitumor-analgesic peptide (AGAP) is a novel recombinant polypeptide. The primary study showed that AGAP 1.0 mg/kg exhibited strong analgesic and antitumor effects. The tail vein administration of AGAP potently reduced pain behaviors in mice induced by intraplantar injection of formalin or intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid, without affecting basal pain perception. To further assess the mechanisms of AGAP, the effects of AGAP on sodium channels were assessed using the whole-cell patch clamp recordings in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. The results showed that AGAP (3-1000 nM) inhibited the sodium currents in small-diameter DRG neurons in a dose-dependent manner. 1000 nM AGAP could inhibit the current density-voltage relationship curve of sodium channels in a voltage-dependent manner and negatively shift the activation curves. 1000 nM AGAP could reduce the tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) sodium currents by 42.8% in small-diameter DRG neurons. Further analysis revealed that AGAP potently inhibited NaV1.8 currents by 59.4%, and negatively shifted the activation and inactivation kinetics. 1000 nM AGAP also reduced the NaV1.9 currents by 33.7%, but had no significant effect on activation and inactivation kinetics. Thus, our results demonstrated that submicromolar concentrations of AGAP inhibited TTX-R sodium channel in rat small-diameter DRG neurons. It is concluded that these new results may better explain, at least in part, the analgesic properties of this polypeptide.

[Closed treatment for type III humeral supracondylar fractures and prevention of ischemic contracture of forearm in children].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the curative effects of manipulative reduction for children's type III humeral supracondylar fracture and the preventions of ischemic contracture of forearm in the early period. METHODS: From September 2008 to September 2011, 38 patients with humeral supracondylar fractures were treated with manipulative reduction and plaster stabilization, including 20 males and 18 females with an average age of 7.5 years (ranged, 2 to 13 years); the average time from injury to visit was 1.8 days(ranged,0.5 h to 6 d). There were 21 cases in straighten-ulnar deviation type and 17 cases in straighten-radial deviation type, 1 case in flexion type,all of them without vascular nerve injury. It was important to process swelling correctly in early stage of fracture. To decide fixed position according to the original displacement, and make a regular X-ray review, if found another displacement to correct it in 1-2 weeks after injury in time. Dismantle the plaster on the basis of bone healing and guide the functional exercise of elbow joint. According to Dodgt standard to evaluate clinical effects. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 3 months to 1 year with an average of 7 months. All fractures healed. According to Dodgt standard, 14 patients got an excellent results, 19 good, 4 fair and 1 poor. The excellent and good rate was 86.84%. CONCLUSION: It can obtain satisfactory clinical effects to treat humeral supracondylar fracture in children with closed manipulative reduction and plaster stabilization, while without vascular nerve injury. Early correct processing swelling and paying attention to gypsous angle can effectively prevent the ischemic contracture of forearm.