[Plasmatic glutathione levels and their relationships with clinical and therapeutic features in patients with schizophrenia]. / Concentrations plasmatiques des glutathions et leurs corrélations avec les caractéristiques cliniques et thérapeutiques des patients atteints de schizophrénie.

INTRODUCTION: Altered glutathione systems (GSH) are suggested to participate in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to determine the plasmatic glutathione levels of patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and to examine their relationships with clinical and therapeutic features. METHODS: It was a case-control study carried out on 100 patients with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV-TR criteria and 95 healthy controls. All patients were assessed by Clinical Global Impressions-severity (CGI-severity) and Global Assessment of Functioning (EGF). Most of the patients (55%) were under first-generation antipsychotics. Plasmatic glutathione levels (total glutathione GSHt, reduced glutathione GSHr, oxidized glutathione GSSG) were determined by spectrophotometry. RESULTS: The levels of GSHt and GSHr were significantly decreased in schizophrenic patients in comparison with the healthy controls. These reductions were noted to be more pronounced in the untreated patients. No correlation was observed between the GSH levels and the clinical subtypes of schizophrenia and EGF scores. Depending on the therapeutic status, there were no significant differences in the GSH levels. In addition, there was no correlation between the GSH levels and the daily dosage of the antipsychotic treatment. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the observed changes are related to the physiopathology of schizophrenia rather than to the presence of neuroleptic treatment. These results provide support for further studies of the possible role of antioxidants as neuroprotective therapeutic strategies.

[Measurement of pupillary diameter in diabetic and non-diabetic patients: a case-control study]. / Mesure du diamètre pupillaire chez les patients diabétiques et non diabétiques : étude cas-témoins.

PURPOSE: To study the effect of type 2 diabetes on pupil diameter. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We carried out a case-control study at the Douala Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatric Hospital over a 5-month period. The cases were type 2 diabetic patients, and the controls were non-diabetic patients paired for age and gender. We studied the correlation between the duration of diabetes, fasting blood sugar and the horizontal pupil diameter. RESULTS: We included 35 patients in each group. The mean age was 56.6±10.01 years. Both groups included 17 males and 18 females. The mean duration of diabetes was 2.72±4.31 years, and the mean fasting blood sugar was 2.02±0.69g/L. The mean pupil diameter was similar in the two groups. On the right side, it was 4.75±0.73mm for controls and 4.52±0.69mm for cases (P=0.179). On the left side, it was 4.70±0.68mm and 4.42±0.73mm respectively for each group (P=0.101). The duration of diabetes was correlated to pupil diameter in the right eye (r=-0.43; P=0.01) and left eye (r=-0.45; P<0.01). No additional risk was found to be associated with diabetes for right pupil diameters (OR=0.79; P=0.33), or for left ones (OR=0.76; P=0.24). CONCLUSION: Pupil diameter is similar in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. However, the duration of diabetes appears to affect pupil diameter.

Choroidal thickness in healthy eyes using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography and comparison with cases of retinitis pigmentosa.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study was to measure by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) with EDI the choroidal thickness in healthy subjects and to compare these parameters with those of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). METHODS: Data were obtained from 60 healthy patients without history or family history of retinal or choroidal disease or glaucoma. A case-control study was also conducted on 40 eyes of 20 patients with RP and 40 eyes of 20 healthy refraction- and age-matched controls, selected from among the 60 healthy patients. OCT was used with the EDI protocol. The primary outcome measure was choroidal thickness. RESULTS: Among healthy patients, the overall choroidal thickness was 287.7µm. Mean choroidal thickness was lower on the nasal side (236.6µm at 2000µm from the fovea) compared with the temporal side (262.3µm at 2000µm, P=0.002). It also varied according to age, being highest among 20-29-year-old patients and decreasing thereafter with increasing age. Choroidal thickness was significantly higher in healthy patients than in RP patients, regardless of the location (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: This observational study confirms that choroidal thickness varies with age and location. It decreases in subjects with RP and is related to worsening of retinal damage, independently of age-related thinning. Further studies are needed to understand whether choroidal vascular alteration is a cause or a consequence of the degenerative pathology.

Risk factors associated with a thrombotic or bleeding event in patients treated with vitamin K antagonists.

AIM: To identify, in a case-control study, the risk factors associated with a thrombotic or bleeding event in patients treated with vitamin K antagonists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a single-centre observational study during a three-month period where we consecutively included patients admitted to the emergency department of a secondary-level hospital and treated with vitamin K antagonists, regardless the reason for admission. Patients admitted for a thrombotic or bleeding event were included as cases and the other patients served as controls. Main thrombotic or bleeding risk factors during vitamin K antagonist therapy were a priori identified in literature and tested in conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Two hundred and forty subjects were identified, 40 of which (17%) were admitted for a bleeding event, 19 (8%) for a thrombotic event and 181 (75%) for another reason. Over 85% of patients were treated with fluindione. No risk factor was significantly associated with bleeding or thrombotic event in patients treated with vitamin K antagonist. Patients presenting a thrombotic event were however more likely to have a chronic respiratory disease. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, no risk factor significantly associated with a bleeding or thrombotic event in patients treated with vitamin K antagonist were identified. The occurrence of these events supposes other risk factors, including potential genetic polymorphisms that should be considered in future studies.