Patients with schizophrenia show increased aversion to angry faces in an associative learning task.

BACKGROUND: We were interested in examining the relationship between socially relevant stimuli and decision processes in patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: We tested patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls on a stochastically rewarded associative learning task. Participants had to determine, through trial and error, which of two faces was associated with a higher chance of reward: one face was angry, the other happy. RESULTS: Both patients and healthy controls were able to perform the task at above-chance accuracy, and there was no significant difference in overall accuracy between the groups. Both groups also reliably preferred the happy face, such that they selected it more often than the angry face on the basis of the same amount of positive versus negative feedback. However, patients were significantly more averse to the angry face, such that they chose it less often than control participants when the reward feedback strongly supported the angry face as the best choice. CONCLUSIONS: Patients show an increased aversion to angry faces, in a task in which they must learn to associate rewards with expressions.

Mitochondrial abnormalities in ageing macular photoreceptors.

PURPOSE: To evaluate somatic mitochondrial (mt)DNA mutations in the macula during ageing. METHODS: Ten 30-microm cryostat sections from the macula (foveal and perifoveal regions) and peripheral retina of 14 donors (aged 14-94 years) were cut for cytochrome c oxidase cytochemistry. The photoreceptor layer was microdissected and DNA extracted for 4977-bp mtDNA (mtDNA(4977)) quantification using PCR. Dual cytochemistry for cytochrome c oxidase and succinate dehydrogenase allowed the detection of cytochrome c oxidase-deficient cones. RESULTS: Findings showed a progressive accumulation of mtDNA(4977) from ages 14 to 94 years. From ages 14 to 60 years there was an increase from 0.006% to 0.25%, and from ages 60 to 94 years there was a steeper increase from 0.25% to 5.39%. Counts of cones in the dual-reacted preparations showed more cytochrome c oxidase-deficient cones in the foveal region than elsewhere. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that mitochondrial DNA deletions and cytochrome c oxidase-deficient cones accumulate in the ageing retina, particularly in the foveal region. These defects may contribute to the changes in macular function observed in ageing and age-related maculopathy.

Ocular findings in patients with solid tumours treated with the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib ('Iressa', ZD1839) in Phase I and II clinical trials.

PURPOSE: To describe the strategy used for large-scale ophthalmological monitoring in the clinical development of the novel anticancer agent gefitinib ('Iressa', ZD1839), an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which had demonstrated ocular effects in preclinical animal models. METHODS: In this extensive clinical trial programme, patients in Phase I and II trials underwent frequent and intensive ophthalmological monitoring at baseline and during the trials. Data were reviewed by an external independent Ophthalmology Advisory Board. RESULTS: Ophthalmological data for 221 patients in Phase I trials of gefitinib and 425 patients in Phase II trials revealed no evidence of any consistent or drug-related ophthalmological toxicity. Interestingly, the baseline data revealed that, in an asymptomatic population, transient ophthalmological events are identified during monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports the methodology and normative data in an ophthalmological screening programme that should prove useful for future studies.