Effect of memantine combination therapy on symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe depressive disorder: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Current treatments for depressive disorders are far from optimum. This study was planned to evaluate possible antidepressant effects and safety of memantine, a selective N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist, in humans. METHODS: Sixty-six outpatients with the diagnosis of moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder, based on DSM-V diagnostic criteria, were recruited to participate in a parallel, randomized, controlled trial. Sixty-two participants completed 6 weeks of treatment with either memantine (20 mg/day) plus sertraline (200 mg/day) or placebo plus sertraline (200 mg/day). Patients were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at baseline and at weeks 2, 4 and 6. Comparison of treatment efficacy in improving depressive symptoms between the two groups was the principal outcome measure. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A repeated-measures analysis demonstrated significant time × treatment interaction on HDRS score [F (2·09, 125·67) = 5·09, P = 0·007]. Significantly greater improvement was seen at all three follow-up sessions as well as significantly greater response rates at weeks 4 and 6 (P = 0·018 and P < 0·001, respectively) in the memantine group. Significantly more early improvers and more rapid response to treatment were observed in the memantine group (P = 0·001 and P < 0·001, respectively). A significant reduction was observed in HDRS score from baseline to the study endpoint in both memantine (P < 0·001, Cohen's d = 12·71) and placebo groups (P < 0·001, Cohen's d = 5·13). No serious adverse event occurred. No significantly greater remission rate was seen in the adjunctive memantine therapy. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: A 6-week course of treatment with memantine as adjunct to sertraline showed a favourable safety and efficacy profile in patients with major depressive disorder. Nonetheless, larger controlled studies of longer duration are necessary to assess long-term safety, efficacy and optimal dosing.

Duloxetine Add-On to Risperidone for Treatment of Negative Symptoms in Patients with Stable Schizophrenia: Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study.

INTRODUCTION: Although the pathogenesis of symptoms of schizophrenia is largely unknown, a variety of neurotransmitters are implicated, including serotonin and norepinephrine. Here we investigate the effectiveness of duloxetine as a serotonin-norepinephrine inhibitor in the treatment of negative symptoms. METHODS: We performed a double-blind clinical trial on 64 patients with stable schizophrenia and no prominent symptoms of depression. Patients received risperidone (up to 6 mg/day) plus either duloxetine (60 mg/day) or placebo. Psychotic symptoms were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at the onset of the trial, and at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of therapy. RESULTS: Compared to the placebo group, the duloxetine group showed significantly higher improvement in negative symptoms (p<0.001), PANSS total (p<0.001), and the general psychopathology subscale scores (p=0.001), but no significant difference in positive symptoms (p=0.13). The side effect profiles of the 2 treatment regimens were not significantly different. DISCUSSION: Duloxetine adjuvant to risperidone seems to be a tolerable and efficacious treatment for primary negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Celecoxib as an Adjuvant to Fluvoxamine in Moderate to Severe Obsessive-compulsive Disorder: A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Randomized Trial.

INTRODUCTION: A growing body of evidence implicates inflammatory cascades in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), making this pathway a target for development of novel treatments. METHODS: 50 outpatients with moderate to severe OCD participated in the trial, and underwent 10 weeks of treatment with either celecoxib (200 mg twice daily) or placebo as an adjuvant to fluvoxamine. Participants were investigated using Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). The main outcome measure was to assess the efficacy of celecoxib in improving the OCD symptoms. RESULTS: General linear model repeated measures demonstrated significant effect for time × treatment interaction on the Y-BOCS total scores [F (1.38, 66.34)=6.91, p=0.005]. Kaplan-Meier estimation with log-rank test demonstrated significantly more rapid response in the celecoxib group than the placebo group (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in adverse event frequencies between the groups. DISCUSSION: The results of the current study suggest that celecoxib could be a tolerable and effective adjunctive treatment for more rapid and more satisfying improvements in OCD symptoms.

Primary Antibody Deficiency in a Tertiary Referral Hospital: A 30-Year Experiment.

BACKGROUND: Primary antibody deficiency (PAD) is the most common group of primary immunodeficiency disorders (PID), with a broad spectrum of clinical features ranging from severe and recurrent infections to asymptomatic disease. OBJECTIVES: The current study was performed to evaluate and compare demographic and clinical data in the most common types of PAD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of all PAD patients with a confirmed diagnosis of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), hyper IgM syndrome (HIgM), selective IgA deficiency (SIgAD), and X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) who were diagnosed during the last 30 years at the Children's Medical Center, Tehran, Iran. RESULTS: A total number of 280 cases of PAD (125 CVID, 32 HIgM, 63 SIgAD, and 60 XLA) were enrolled in the study. The median (range) age at the onset of disease in CVID, HIgM, SIgAD, and XLA was 2 (0-46), 0.91 (0-9), 1 (0-26), and 1 (0-10) years, respectively. Gastrointestinal infections were more prevalent in CVID patients, as were central nervous system infections in XLA patients. Autoimmune complications were more prevalent in HIgM patients, malignancies in CVID patients, and allergies in SIgAD patients. The mortality rate for CVID, HIgM, and XLA was 27.2%, 28.1%, and 25%, respectively. No deaths were reported in SIgAD patients. CONCLUSIONS: SIgAD patients had the best prognosis. While all PAD patients should be monitored for infectious complications, special attention should be paid to the finding of malignancy and autoimmune disorders in CVID and HIgM patients, respectively.

Mortality and morbidity in patients with X-linked agammaglobulinaemia.

BACKGROUND: X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA) is a genetic disorder characterised by a defect in the generation of mature B cells, lack of antibodies production, and susceptibility to recurrent bacterial infections. Understanding of the risk factors responsible for morbidity and mortality in these patients can help in a better management of this disorder. However, there is a lack of specific studies in the literature regarding the morbidity and mortality of XLA patients. This study is designed to evaluate morbidities and mortality and survival rates in Iranian patients with XLA diagnosis during the past 20 years. METHODS: We have registered the clinical data of the XLA patients and followed them up until 2010. At the time of diagnosis, a four-page questionnaire including complete medical information was filled out for all patients. Follow-up information was gathered either by reviewing the patients' hospital records or regularly visiting the patients. RESULTS: Among 41 patients, 26.8% died during the follow up period. All of the complications before the initiation of treatment such as pneumonia, otitis media and diarrhoea were reduced after immunoglobulin replacement, except sinusitis and conjunctivitis. There were significant associations between some immunological and clinical characteristics such as lymphocyte subsets, consanguinity marriage and mortality. CONCLUSION: Despite recent advances in the treatment of XLA, these patients still suffer from severe complications. Associations between poor prognosis and clinical and some immunological characteristics of the patients may help physicians to select poor prognoses patients at higher risk of mortality to develop prevention strategies for them.

Investigation of underlying primary immunodeficiencies in patients with severe atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND: Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) are a group of heterogeneous inherited disorders, characterised by recurrent infections, autoimmunity and malignancy. Some PIDs such as hyper IgE syndrome (HIES) and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) may be initially presented as atopic dermatitis (AD), especially in its severe form, resulting in diagnostic delay and poor prognosis of patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of PIDs among patients with severe AD and to determine factors that can help to raise suspicion towards these disorders. METHODS: Seventy-five patients with a well-established diagnosis of severe AD were enrolled in this study. Initial immunological evaluations, including humoral and cellular investigation, were performed in all individuals. Patients underwent further investigations in a case of suspicion of a probable PID. RESULTS: Among all patients with severe AD, five (6.6%) were diagnosed with HIES and one (1.3%) with WAS. Family history of PIDs, family history of death in early infancy, positive history of recurrent infections such as skin and respiratory infections, otitis media and sinusitis were observed significantly higher in patients with a diagnosis of PID. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of an underlying PID could explain the poor prognosis and refraction to the treatment of some patients with severe AD. Several clinical and laboratory findings can help the physicians to focus towards PIDs which are more serious. Delay in diagnosis of PID cases with skin manifestation of AD without proper management may result in lower quality of life and higher morbidity and mortality rates.

Autoimmune phenotype in patients with common variable immunodeficiency.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Autoimmune disorders occur with a higher incidence in common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) patients than in the general population. To describe the clinical features of the autoimmune phenotype in patients with CVID. METHODS: The hospital records of all diagnosed CVID patients referred to the Children's Medical Center Hospital in Tehran, Iran between 2000 and 2010 were reviewed. Patients were also classified according to the presence or absence of autoimmune disease. RESULTS: Of 52 patients studied, 26.9% (n=14) had shown at least 1 autoimmune manifestation during the study period. Autoimmune cytopenias and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis were the most common form of autoimmunity in our series. Autoimmunity was significantly associated with polyclonal lymphocytic infiltrative disorders (P = .017), increased serum Immunoglobulin (Ig) M levels (P < .001), decreased IgE values (P = .04) and diminished switched memory B-cell count (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Because autoimmunity is one of the first manifestations in CVID, humoral immune system tests should be considered in autoimmune patients with a history of recurrent infection. The presence of polyclonal lymphocytic infiltrative disorders and decreased switched memory B-cells may predispose CVID patients to autoimmunity.

Pediatric patients with common variable immunodeficiency: long-term follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common form of symptomatic primary immunodeficiency disease. It is characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia, increased predisposition to infections, autoimmunity, and cancer. OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to evaluate the clinical and immunological features of a group of pediatric patients with CVID. METHODS: The study population comprised 69 individuals with CVID diagnosed during childhood. RESULTS: The patients were followed up for a mean (SD) period of 5.2 (4.3) years. The mean diagnostic delay was 4.4 (3.6) years, which was significantly lower in patients who were diagnosed recently. Children were classified according to 5 clinical phenotypes: infections only (n=39), polyclonal lymphocytic infiltration (n=17), autoimmunity (n=12), malignancy (n=7), and enteropathy (n=3). Postdiagnosis survival (10-year) was 71%. CONCLUSIONS: The high percentages of pediatric patients with CVID in Iran may be due to the considerable prevalence of parental consanguinity in the region and an underlying genetic background.