Ildr1 gene deletion protects against diet-induced obesity and hyperglycemia.

OBJECTIVE: Immunoglobulin-like Domain-Containing Receptor 1 (ILDR1) is expressed on nutrient sensing cholecystokinin-positive enteroendocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract and it has the unique ability to induce fat-mediated CCK secretion. However, the role of ILDR1 in CCK-mediated regulation of satiety is unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of ILDR1 on food intake and metabolic activity using mice with genetically-deleted Ildr1. METHODS: The expression of ILDR1 in murine tissues and the measurement of adipocyte cell size were evaluated by light and fluorescence confocal microscopy. The effects of Ildr1 deletion on mouse metabolism were quantitated using CLAMS chambers and by targeted metabolomics assays of multiple tissues. Hormone levels were measured by ELISA. The effects of Ildr1 gene deletion on glucose and insulin levels were determined using in vivo oral glucose tolerance, meal tolerance, and insulin tolerance tests, as well as ex vivo islet perifusion. RESULTS: ILDR1 is expressed in a wide range of tissues. Analysis of metabolic data revealed that although Ildr1-/- mice consumed more food than wild-type littermates, they gained less weight on a high fat diet and exhibited increased metabolic activity. Adipocytes in Ildr1-/- mice were significantly smaller than in wild-type mice fed either low or high fat diets. ILDR1 was expressed in both alpha and beta cells of pancreatic islets. Based on oral glucose and mixed meal tolerance tests, Ildr1-/- mice were more effective at lowering post-prandial glucose levels, had improved insulin sensitivity, and glucose-regulated insulin secretion was enhanced in mice lacking ILDR1. CONCLUSION: Ildr1 loss significantly modified metabolic activity in these mutant mice. While Ildr1 gene deletion increased high fat food intake, it reduced weight gain and improved glucose tolerance. These findings indicate that ILDR1 modulates metabolic responses to feeding in mice.

Association of childhood psychological trauma with eating disorders in undergraduate medical students.

AIM: The aim of the study was to study the association of childhood psychological trauma with eating disorders (EDs) and to assess and compare the relationship with food, concerns about weight gain, and restrictive or compensatory practices in male and female undergraduate medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional, analytical study was performed in a Tertiary Care Medical College and Research Hospital in a suburban area of India. After obtaining ethical clearance, 100 final-year undergraduate students were included in the study with their informed consent. Self-made questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Stirling ED Scale with Disordered Eating Attitude Scale were used. Spearman's correlation coefficient (Rho) was calculated. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation of history of childhood psychological trauma in the form of emotional abuse, emotional neglect or physical abuse and physical neglect with higher prevalence of disordered eating behaviors and relationship with food, concern about weight gain, and compensatory practices. No significant relationship was found in a history of sexual abuse. CONCLUSION: The importance of a healthy psychosocial upbringing and nurturing by parents to prevent development of psychiatric comorbidities is an important finding in this study.

Knowledge and practices related to menstruation among tribal adolescent girls.

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that every girl has to deal with menstrual hygiene, there is a lack of awareness about the process of menstruation and proper menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls, especially from tribal backgrounds. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge and practices related to menstruation among tribal (Munda) adolescent girls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a community-based cross-sectional study. The sample for the study consisted of 150 girls belonging to Munda tribe in the age group of 13-18 years, recruited by purposive sampling from various schools of Khunti district of Jharkhand state. Interview guide was predeveloped, validated, and used to study the knowledge and practices related to menstruation among adolescent girls. The data were collected by a personal interview of the study subjects. RESULTS: The mean age of menarche of the study subjects was 14.1 years. It was evident that only 48.67% of the participants were aware about menstruation before menarche and the most important source of the information about menstruation for them was their friends (53.33%) followed by mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge about menstruation is poor among tribal adolescent girls and practices included various myths and misconceptions.

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: A case series.

Manifestation of abnormal excessive synchronous cortical activity, which is what defines epileptic seizures, is typically absent in seizures with psychological etiology, a heterogeneous set of factors that have been identified. Distinguishing psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) from epileptic seizures may be difficult at the bedside. We report a case series of PNES which presented with diagnostic dilemma. Diagnostic delay of years with PNES is common. The exact choice of treatment is often difficult and should be based on individual differences in the underlying factors. Outcome can be measured in terms of seizure occurrence (frequency, severity), but other measures might be of greater importance for the patient. Prognosis is varied but studies consistently report that 1/3rd to 1/4th of these cases become chronic.

Suicidal behavior in schizophrenia: A case series.

Suicide/parasuicide is seen at a greater rate in schizophrenia than in the general population, yet the psychological basis of this risk is poorly understood. It is estimated that 10% of patients suffering from schizophrenia attempt suicide. The major risk factors implicated are male gender, chronic illness with multiple relapses, family history of suicide, past suicidal and impulsive behavior, negative attitude toward treatment, and concurrent substance use. Treatment must target the identified risk factors for prevention of suicide in these patients. Here, we discuss three cases with self-inflicted cuts over the anterior aspect of the neck and wrists. They were diagnosed to have paranoid schizophrenia and were treated with antipsychotics, on which they showed improvement.

Blasphemous thoughts in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case series.

Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs) are one of the top 10 contributors of debilitating medical illnesses and are the fourth most common psychiatric disorder. Blasphemous thoughts, also known as scrupulosity, as an obsessional theme has piqued curiosities long before it was considered a neurosis. Such obsessions may or may not have an accompanying compulsion and comprise 5% of the patients of OCD. The case series is of three patients suffering from repetitive, intrusive, ego-dystonic, and distressing blasphemous thoughts, which are extremely distressing to them, rendering them unable to perform any other activity. The symptoms also indicate the presence of comorbid depressive and anxiety disorders, developing secondary to the blasphemous thoughts. Inadequate knowledge in this subtype of OCD mandates the need for more studying and research, especially with new texts suggesting the implementation of faith-assisted psychotherapy in addition to the conventional psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.

Induced delusional disorder: A case series.

Phenomenon of induced delusional disorder has a relatively long, controversial history of conceptualization. It is a rare entity and goes undiagnosed mostly as only the primary partner is brought to clinical attention. We present a case series of induced delusional disorder with different presentations. For effective management, understanding the dynamics of relationship shared by the partners and addressing the biopsychosocial factors are crucial. Failure to adhere to treatment poses additional challenge in these cases.

Stigma associated with COVID-19.

A number of incurable, deadly, and disfiguring diseases are associated with stigma which worsens the quality of life of the sufferer. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease was associated with severe stigma and extreme prejudice. Stigma of COVID-19 and its adverse effects are briefly discussed and solutions suggested.

Quarantine: Psychological aspects.

Quarantine is an age old methods of preventing the spread of infection by restricting the movement of persons or goods. It has again come to global attention due to its widespread implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the public health utility of quarantine is well established, it is associated with few psychological effects which are neither well known nor recognized. In this communication, the psychological side-effects of quarantine and their prevention are briefly discussed.

COVID-19 lockdown - Blessing or disaster?

Despite the dubious results of the nationwide lockdown in India state after state continue to clamp lockdowns indiscriminately and claim that it is a panacea for all their ills. Unverified claims abound and myths are perpetuated without any basis. It is time to take a close look at the hard data and come to logical conclusions regarding the utility of prolonged open-ended lockdowns. Unfortunately, the evidence does not support the use of prolonged lockdowns as a useful strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Catatonia: A rare presentation of Wilson's disease.

Wilson's disease (WD) or hepatolenticular degeneration is a rare inherited disorder of copper metabolism affecting both the liver and the central nervous system. Psychiatric manifestations may precede neurological signs in the early stages of WD, but catatonia is a rare presentation. Here, we report a case of an 18-year-old girl who presented to the psychiatry outpatient department with catatonia. She was subsequently diagnosed to have WD. Her symptoms improved on treatment with trientine, trihexyphenidyl, zinc acetate, and benzodiazepine.

Intracranial space-occupying lesion masked by alcohol dependence syndrome.

A lot of comorbidities exist in patients with dependence on alcohol, psychoactive, or other substances. Many times, their comorbidities go undiagnosed or neglected due to the stigma prevalent with dependence. A 22-year-old person with alcohol dependence who was detected to have a parietal lobe space-occupying lesion which proved to be a tuberculoma is reported.

Lowering the overall charge on TMPyP4 improves its selectivity for G-quadruplex DNA.

Ligands that stabilize non-canonical DNA structures called G-quadruplexes (GQs) might have applications in medicine as anti-cancer agents, due to the involvement of GQ DNA in a variety of cancer-related biological processes. Five derivatives of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin (TMPyP4), where a N-methylpyridyl group was replaced with phenyl (4P3), 4-aminophenyl (PN3M), 4-phenylamidoproline (PL3M), or 4-carboxyphenyl (PC3M and P2C2M) were investigated for their interactions with human telomeric DNA (Tel22) using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay, and UV-visible and circular dichroism spectroscopies in K+ buffer. The molecules are cationic or zwitterionic with an overall charge of 3+ (4P3, PN3M, and PL3M), 2+ (PC3M) or neutral (P2C2M). All porphyrins except P2C2M stabilize human telomeric DNA in FRET assays by ∼20 °C at 5 eq CD melting experiments suggest that 4P3 is the most stabilizing ligand with a stabilization temperature of 16.8 °C at 4 eq. Importantly, 4P3, PC3M and PL3M demonstrate excellent selectivity for quadruplexes, far superior to that of TMPyP4. Binding constants, determined using UV-vis titrations, correlate with charge: triply cationic 4P3, PN3M and PL3M display Ka of 5-9 µM-1, doubly cationic PC3M displays Ka of 1 µM-1, and neutral P2C2M displays weak-to-no binding. UV-vis data suggest that binding interactions are driven by electrostatic attractions and that the binding mode may be base-stacking (or end-stacking) judging by the high values of red shift (15-20 nm) and hypochromicity (40-50%). We conclude that lowering the charge on TMPyP4 to 3+ can achieve the desired balance between stabilizing ability, affinity, and high selectivity required for an excellent quadruplex ligand.

Interaction of a Cationic Porphyrin and Its Metal Derivatives with G-Quadruplex DNA.

G-quadruplex (GQ) structures formed from guanine-rich sequences are found throughout the genome and are overrepresented in the promoter regions of some oncogenes, at the telomeric ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, and at the 5'-untranslated regions of mRNA. Interaction of small molecule ligands with GQ DNA is an area of great research interest to develop novel anticancer therapeutics and GQ sensors. In this paper we examine the interactions of TMPyP4, its isomer TMPyP2 (containing N-methyl-2-pyridyl substituents, N-Me-2Py) as well as two metal derivatives ZnTMPyP4 and CuTMPyP4 with GQs formed by dT4G4 and dT4G4T in 100 mM K+ or Na+ conditions. The DNA sequences were chosen to elucidate the effect of the 3'-T on the stabilization effect of porphyrins, binding modes, affinities, and stoichiometries determined via circular dichroism melting studies, UV-vis titrations, continuous variation analysis, and fluorescence studies. Our findings demonstrate that the stabilizing abilities of porphyrins are stronger toward (dT4G4)4 as compared to (dT4G4T)4 (ΔTm is 4.4 vs -6.4 for TMPyP4; 12.7 vs 5.7 for TMPyP2; 16.4 vs 12.1 for ZnTMPyP4; and 1.9 vs -8.4 °C for CuTMPyP4) suggesting that the 3'G-tetrad presents at least one of the binding sites. The binding affinity was determined to be moderate (Ka ∼ 106-107 µM-1) with a typical binding stoichiometry of 1:1 or 2:1 porphyrin-to-GQ. In all studies, ZnTMPyP4 emerged as a ligand superior to TMPyP4. Overall, our work contributes to clearer understanding of interactions between porphyrins and GQ DNA.