Genetic Analysis of BDNF, GNB3, MTHFR, ACE and APOE Variants in Major and Recurrent Depressive Disorders in Russia.

This study was conducted to explore the possibility of association between the single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs6264 of BDNF, rs5443 of GNB3, and rs1801133 of MTHFR; the In/Del polymorphism of ACE; and the ε2 allele of APOE and major depressive disorder (MDD) and recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) in an East Slavic population. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) method was applied to detect gene-gene interactions. One hundred fifty patients with RDD (101 females and 49 males) and 208 patients with MDD (115 females and 93 males) were included in the study. The comparison group consisted of 200 unrelated individuals. There was no significant difference in genotype distributions or allele frequencies between the controls and any of the diagnostic groups. Nevertheless, the frequency of the G allele of rs1801133 of MTHFR was higher in the RDD group and the frequency of the C allele of rs6264 of BDNF was higher in the MDD group. The difference between the controls and specific disease groups almost reached statistical significance (P = 0.08). A GMDR did not reveal optimal two- and three-dimensional models with significant prediction accuracies (P ˃ 0.05) for the MDD or RDD groups.

[Outcomes of surgical treatment of patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy]. / Iskhody khirurgicheskogo lecheniya patsientov s farmakorezistentnymi formami epilepsii.

AIM: To evaluate the results of surgical treatment of patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Examination and surgical treatment of 61 patients with pharmacoresistant forms of symptomatic epilepsy were performed from 01.01.14 to 01.05.16. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The results confirmed the safety and efficacy of the surgical treatment of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. After 12 months, seizures were controlled in 69% of operated patients. The necessity of complex examination of all patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy to make a decision about possible surgery is shown.

[Depression and epilepsy: comorbidities, pathogenesis, principles of therapy]. / Depressiya i epilepsiya: komorbidnost', patogeneticheskoe skhodstvo, printsipy terapii.

Numerous trials of last years confirm the bilateral link between depression and epilepsy with mutual complication of both diseases. Depression increases the risk of the first unprovoked paroxysm, worsens the compliance of epileptic patients, leads to decrease of the response both to therapeutic and surgical treatment and to increase of side effects of antiepileptic drugs. Depression is associated with high risk of suicidal behavior and reduces the quality of life level. Depression in epileptic patients is characterized by atypical clinical course in most cases what makes its diagnostics difficult and becomes the reason of the absence of the necessary pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment. All of the above creates significant economical burden for the community because the epileptic patient with comorbid depression visits the physicians 2-4 times more often.

[Caspase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with depression and anxiety of different severity]. / Izmenenie aktivnosti kaspaz v limfotsitakh patsientov s depressiei i trevogoi raznoi stepeni tiazhesti.

Though borderline psychiatric disorders (BPD) are quite common diseases, their pathogenesis remains obscure. Data from several groups and our previous results suggest that the pathological changes are typical not only for brain cells, but also for cells of the immune system. One of the evident illustrations of immune and nervous systems relationship in pathogenesis of mental diseases is the death of PBMC occurring in patients with depression. We have shown previously that activities of the caspases increase in some types of BPD. In this study, we have investigated caspase activities in PBMC of patients with BPD of different severity. It has been found that in severe depressive disorder activities of caspases were reduced either as compared to healthy controls or to patients with depression lesser severity. In contrast, in patients with severe anxiety activities of caspases were higher than in both control and patients with less severe forms of anxiety disorders. Thus, the study of caspase activity in PBMC makes it possible to differentiate between severe and mild forms of BPD.

[Activation of caspases in lymphocytes of patients with depression and anxiety].

The processes in the nervous and immune systems are closely interrelated. In particular, increased apoptosis was reported in lymphocytes of patients with depression. The aim of this study was to assess activities of proteases associated with cell death in lymphocytes of patient with personality disorders accompanied by depression and anxiety. In patients with personality disorders associated with organic brain dysfunction caspase activities were reduced in patients with depression and increased in patients with anxiety. The results may be useful for elucidation of pathogenetic mechanisms of personality disorders and in search of new biomarkers of these diseases.

[Biological basis of suicidal behavior]. / Biologicheskie osnovy suitsidal'nogo povedeniia.

Based on current clinical and classification concepts of suicidality, the biological parameters characteristic of suicidal behavior, completed and uncompleted suicides reported in the last few decades are discussed. The results obtained in the studies of neurotransmitter and other brain systems, immune system, lipid and other types of metabolism as well as data of neuroimaging brain studies and post-mortem investigation of brain structures are presented.

[The effect of childhood stress on the development of mental disorders in adults].

There is evidence that not only severe stressful events, but also common low-threat events, in particular chronic ones, may cause or provoke some mental disorders. The literature data on the degree of pathogenicity of stress factors are insufficient. Authors attempted to summarize the established facts in the following aspects: current conceptions on the physiology and pathology of stress in the frames of the problem of psychosomatic disorders, deprivation in childhood, neurobiological consequences of childhood stress, psychiatric consequences of stress in childhood. Authors believe that this problem demands further investigation to find possible predictors of mental disorders in patients who had experienced stressful life events in childhood.