Differences Between Patients that Made an Impulsive or Premeditated Suicide Attempt in a Mexican Population.

OBJECTIVE: We performed a study to identify differences between patients with impulsive suicide attempt and those with premeditated suicide attempt in a Mexican population. METHOD: We studied 144 patients who recently attempted suicide. Impulsive and premeditated suicide attempts were evaluated with the Suicide Intent Scale. These data were divided according to the type of attempt. Subsequently, the characteristics between the two groups were compared. RESULTS: The rate of patients that made an impulsive attempt was 61.8% and only 9.7% of the patients carried out a premeditated suicide attempt. More years of schooling/education and less severity of the attempt were observed in patients that carried out an impulsive suicide attempt (p < 0.001). Alcohol consumption (0.003) and use of cannabis (0.002) were present in patients who premeditated a suicide attempt. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that there are clinical differences among the individuals who carried out an impulsive suicide attempt from those who premeditated an attempt in a Mexican population. As a result, when planning interventions and prevention efforts it may be helpful to consider these clinical differences and demographic characteristics.

Coenzyme Q10 supplementation improves metabolic parameters, liver function and mitochondrial respiration in rats with high doses of atorvastatin and a cholesterol-rich diet.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the actions of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on rats with a cholesterol-rich diet (HD) and high doses of atorvastatin (ATV, 0.2, 0.56 or 1.42 mg/day). METHODS: Two experiments were done, the first one without coenzyme Q10 supplementation. On the second experiment all groups received coenzyme Q10 0.57 mg/day as supplement. After a 6-week treatment animals were sacrificed, blood and liver were analyzed and liver mitochondria were isolated and its oxygen consumption was evaluated in state 3 (phosphorylating state) and state 4 (resting state) in order to calculate the respiratory control (RC). RESULTS: HD increased serum and hepatic cholesterol levels in rats with or without CoQ10. ATV reduced these values but CoQ10 improved even more serum and liver cholesterol. Triacylglycerols (TAG) were also lower in blood and liver of rats with ATV + CoQ10. HDL-C decreased in HD rats. Treatment with ATV maintained HDL-C levels. However, these values were lower in HD + CoQ10 compared to control diet (CD) + CoQ10. RC was lessened in liver mitochondria of HD. The administration of ATV increased RC. All groups supplemented with CoQ10 showed an increment in RC. In conclusion, the combined administration of ATV and CoQ10 improved biochemical parameters, liver function and mitochondrial respiration in hypercholesterolemic rats. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a potential beneficial effect of CoQ10 supplementation in hypercholesterolemic rats that also receive atorvastatin. This beneficial effect of CoQ10 must be combined with statin treatment in patient with high levels of cholesterol.

Hypoglycemic effect of Carica papaya leaves in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

BACKGROUND: Traditional plant treatment for diabetes has shown a surging interest in the last few decades. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the hypoglycemic effect of the aqueous extract of C. papaya leaves in diabetic rats. Several studies have reported that some parts of the C. papaya plant exert hypoglycemic effects in both animals and humans. METHODS: Diabetes was induced in rats by intraperitoneal administration of 60 mg/kg of streptozotocin (STZ). The aqueous extract of C. papaya was administered in three different doses (0.75, 1.5 and 3 g/100 mL) as drinking water to both diabetic and non-diabetic animals during 4 weeks. RESULTS: The aqueous extract of Carica papaya (0.75 g and 1.5 g/100 mL) significantly decreased blood glucose levels (p<0.05) in diabetic rats. It also decreased cholesterol, triacylglycerol and amino-transferases blood levels. Low plasma insulin levels did not change after treatment in diabetic rats, but they significantly increased in non-diabetic animals. Pancreatic islet cells were normal in non-diabetic treated animals, whereas in diabetic treated rats, C. papaya could help islet regeneration manifested as preservation of cell size. In the liver of diabetic treated rats, C. papaya prevented hepatocyte disruption, as well as accumulation of glycogen and lipids. Finally, an antioxidant effect of C. papaya extract was also detected in diabetic rats. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the aqueous extract of C. papaya exerted a hypoglycemic and antioxidant effect; it also improved the lipid profile in diabetic rats. In addition, the leaf extract positively affected integrity and function of both liver and pancreas.

Prevalence of anxiety and depression among outpatients with type 2 diabetes in the Mexican population.

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are common in diabetic patients; however, in recent years the frequency of these symptoms has markedly increased worldwide. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the frequency and factors associated with depression and anxiety, since they can be responsible for premature morbidity, mortality, risk of developing comorbidities, complications, suffering of patients, as well as escalation of costs. We studied the frequency of depression and anxiety in Mexican outpatients with type 2 diabetes and identified the risk factors for depression and anxiety. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a study in 820 patients with type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of depression and anxiety was estimated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, respectively. We calculated the proportions for depression and anxiety and, after adjusting for confounding variables, we performed multivariate analysis using multiple logistic regressions to evaluate the combined effect of the various factors associated with anxiety and depression among persons with type 2 diabetes. The rates for depression and anxiety were 48.27% (95% CI: 44.48-52.06) and 55.10% (95% CI: 51.44-58.93), respectively. Occupation and complications in diabetes were the factors associated with anxiety, whereas glucose level and complications in diabetes were associated with depression. Complications in diabetes was a factor common to depression and anxiety (p<0.0001; OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.29-2.4). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that a large proportion of diabetic patients present depression and/or anxiety. We also identified a significant association between complications in diabetes with depression and anxiety. Interventions are necessary to hinder the appearance of complications in diabetes and in consequence prevent depression and anxiety.

No association between COMT val158met polymorphism and suicidal behavior: meta-analysis and new data.

BACKGROUND: The polymorphism COMTval158met has been associated with suicidal behavior in case-control and meta-analysis studies, but results and conclusions remain controversial. The objective of this study was to examine the association between COMT val158met with suicidal behavior in a case-control study and to assess the combined evidence -this case-control study and available data from other related studies- we carried out a meta-analysis. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study with 105 patients with suicide attempts and 236 controls. Subsequently, we performed a meta-analysis of published genetic association studies by searching through Medline, PubMed and Web of Science databases. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in the distribution of alleles (χ2 = 0.33, 1 df, p = 0.56) or genotypes (χ2 = 2.36, 2 df, p = 0.26). The meta-analysis comprising 12 association studies (including the present one) showed that the risk COMTmet allele of COMTval158/met is not associated with suicidal behavior (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.97-1.23), even in the absence of heterogeneity (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.97-1.23). CONCLUSION: Our results showed no association between COMTval158/met and suicidal behavior. However, more studies are necessary to determine conclusively an association between COMT and suicidal behavior.