Eye Movement Characteristics for Predicting a Transition to Psychosis: Longitudinal Changes and Implications.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Substantive inquiry into the predictive power of eye movement (EM) features for clinical high-risk (CHR) conversion and their longitudinal trajectories is currently sparse. This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of machine learning predictive models relying on EM indices and examine the longitudinal alterations of these indices across the temporal continuum. STUDY DESIGN: EM assessments (fixation stability, free-viewing, and smooth pursuit tasks) were performed on 140 CHR and 98 healthy control participants at baseline, followed by a 1-year longitudinal observational study. We adopted Cox regression analysis and constructed random forest prediction models. We also employed linear mixed-effects models (LMMs) to analyze longitudinal changes of indices while stratifying by group and time. STUDY RESULTS: Of the 123 CHR participants who underwent a 1-year clinical follow-up, 25 progressed to full-blown psychosis, while 98 remained non-converters. Compared with the non-converters, the converters exhibited prolonged fixation durations, decreased saccade amplitudes during the free-viewing task; larger saccades, and reduced velocity gain during the smooth pursuit task. Furthermore, based on 4 baseline EM measures, a random forest model classified converters and non-converters with an accuracy of 0.776 (95% CI: 0.633, 0.882). Finally, LMMs demonstrated no significant longitudinal alterations in the aforementioned indices among converters after 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: Aberrant EMs may precede psychosis onset and remain stable after 1 year, and applying eye-tracking technology combined with a modeling approach could potentially aid in predicting CHRs evolution into overt psychosis.

Direct and indirect effects of error monitoring on social functioning in a cohort with high-risk and first-episode psychosis.

Error monitoring plays a key role in people's adjustment to social life. This study aimed to examine the direct (DE) and indirect effects (IDE) of error monitoring, as indicated by error-related negativity (ERN), on social functioning in a clinical cohort from high-risk (APS) to first-episode psychosis (FEP). This study recruited 100 outpatients and 49 healthy controls (HC). ERN was recorded during a modified flanker task; social functioning was evaluated using the social scale of global functioning. The path analysis was executed using the "lavaan" package. When controlling for age and education, the clinical cohort had a smaller ERN than the HC group (F1, 145 = 19.58, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.04-0.22). ERN demonstrated no substantial direct impact on current social functioning; however, it manifested indirect influences on social functioning via the disorganization factor of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, both with (standardized IDE: -0.139, p = 0.009) and without (standardized IDE: -0.087, p = 0.018) accounting for the diagnosis, defined as a dummy variable (FEP = 1 and APS = 0) and included as a covariate. These findings suggest that error monitoring, as indicated by ERN, may serve as a potential prognostic indicator of social functioning in patients with psychosis.

Biological mechanisms and clinical efficacy of sulforaphane for mental disorders.

Current clinical management of major mental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder, depression and schizophrenia, is less than optimal. Recent scientific advances have indicated that deficits in oxidative and inflammation systems are extensively involved in the pathogenesis of these disorders. These findings have led to expanded considerations for treatment. Sulforaphane (SFN) is a dietary phytochemical extracted from cruciferous vegetables. It is an effective activator of the transcription factor nuclear erythroid-2 like factor-2, which can upregulate multiple antioxidants and protect neurons against various oxidative damages. On the other hand, it can also significantly reduce inflammatory response to pathological states and decrease the damage caused by the immune response via the nuclear factor-κB pathway and other pathways. In this review, we introduce the biological mechanisms of SFN and the pilot evidence from its clinical trials of major mental disorders, hoping to promote an increase in psychiatric clinical studies of SFN.

Associated Factors and Prognostic Implications of Non-convulsive Status Epilepticus in Ischemic Stroke Patients With Impaired Consciousness.

Background and Purpose: Non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) is common in patients with disorders of consciousness and can cause secondary brain injury. Our study aimed to explore the determinants and prognostic significance of NCSE in stroke patients with impaired consciousness. Method: Consecutive ischemic stroke patients with impaired consciousness who were admitted to a neuro intensive care unit were enrolled for this study. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with NCSE and their correlation with prognosis. Results: Among the 80 patients studied, 20 (25%) died during hospitalization, and 51 (63.75%) had unfavorable outcomes at the 3-month follow-up. A total of 31 patients (38.75%) developed NCSE during 24-h electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring. Logistic regression revealed that NCSE was significantly associated with an increased risk of death during hospital stay and adverse outcomes at the 3-month follow-up. Patients with stroke involving the cerebral cortex or those who had a severely depressed level of consciousness were more prone to epileptogenesis after stroke. Conclusion: Our results suggest that NCSE is a common complication of ischemic stroke, and is associated with both in-hospital mortality and dependency at the 3-month follow-up. Long-term video EEG monitoring of stroke patients is, therefore required, especially for those with severe consciousness disorders (stupor or coma) or cortical injury.

Supplementing Vitamin E to the Ration of Beef Cattle Increased the Utilization Efficiency of Dietary Nitrogen.

The objectives of the trial were to investigate the effects of supplementing vitamin E (VE) on nutrient digestion, nitrogen (N) retention and plasma parameters of beef cattle in feedlot. Four growing Simmental bulls, fed with a total mixed ration composed of corn silage and concentrate mixture as basal ration, were used as the experimental animals. Four levels of VE product, i.e. 0, 150, 300, 600 mg/head/d (equivalent to 0, 75, 150, 300 IU VE/head/d), were supplemented to the basal ration (VE content 38 IU/kg dry matter) in a 4×4 Latin square design as experimental treatments I, II, III and IV, respectively. Each experimental period lasted 15 days, of which the first 12 days were for pretreatment and the last 3 days for sampling. The results showed that supplementing VE did not affect the nutrient digestibility (p>0.05) whereas decreased the urinary N excretion (p<0.01), increased the N retention (p<0.05) and tended to increase the microbial N supply estimated based on the total urinary purine derivatives (p = 0.057). Supplementing VE increased the plasma concentrations of VE, glucose and triglycerol (TG) (p<0.05) and tended to increase the plasma concentration of total protein (p = 0.096) whereas did not affect the plasma antioxidant indices and other parameters (p>0.05). It was concluded that supplementing VE up to 300 IU/head/d did not affect the nutrient digestibility whereas supplementing VE at 150 or 300 IU/head/d increased the N retention and the plasma concentrations of VE and TG (p<0.05) of beef cattle.