A comparison of 'not just right experiences' in obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and depressive disorders and non-clinical controls in China.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of 'not just right experiences' (NJREs) in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders (ADs) or major depressive disorder (MDD), compared with those of healthy controls (HCs). METHOD: One hundred adults with OCD, 86 adults with ADs, 57 adults with MDD and 60 HCs were enrolled in the study. The Not Just Right Experiences Questionnaire Revised (NJRE-QR), Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used to evaluate clinical symptoms in patients with OCD, ADs or MDD. The Obsessive Belief Questionnaire-44 (OBQ-44) was used to evaluate OC beliefs in the OCD patients. The HCs only received assessment using the NJRE-QR. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA) were performed to compare the NJREs scores across the groups, while Pearson correlation and partial correlation analyses were used to examine the association between NJREs and other clinical features. The contribution of NJREs to predict OC symptoms was determined by multiple stratified linear regression. RESULTS: Individuals with OCD had significantly higher scores for the number of NJREs than ADs, but not MDD. The severity of NJREs was also significantly higher in patients with OCD than those with MDD or ADs (F = 5.23 and F = 19.79, respectively, P < 0.01). All the clinical scores in the NJRE-QR were significantly higher than those in the HC group. The number and severity of NJREs correlated significantly with the Y-BOCS total score (r = 0.29 and r = 0.39, respectively, P < 0.01). NJREs showed an independent contribution to OC symptoms, which alone explained 8% of the variation (F = 16.49, ΔR2 = 0.08; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: NJREs are related closely to OC symptoms, with their severity discriminating between OCD patients and those with ADs or MDD. NJREs were more specific for OCD in the Chinese population and are therefore worthy of further study in the future.

Lipoprotein (a) and its immune complexes in dyslipidemic subjects.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate plasma levels of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-circulating immune complexes (IC) in subjects with various dyslipidemias. METHODS: Plasma Lp(a), Lp(a)-IC, and LDL-IC levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) in 198 subjects with various dyslipidemias and 34 control subjects. RESULTS: Hypertriglyceridemic subjects exhibited the lowest plasma Lp(a) levels, while hypercholesterolemic subjects exhibited the highest levels. Subjects with mixed hyperlipidemia had intermediate plasma Lp(a) concentrations, which were significantly lower than those of subjects with normal lipid levels. Interestingly, we also found that hypertriglyceridemic subjects had the lowest plasma Lp(a)-IC and LDL-IC levels, while hypercholesterolemic subjects exhibited the highest levels. Triglyceride (TG) levels were negatively correlated with Lp(a) (r = -0.15, P < 0.05), Lp(a)-IC (r = -0.20, P < 0.01), and LDL-IC (r = -0.214, P < 0.01) concentrations. Furthermore, significantly positive relationships were found between Lp(a)-IC and Lp(a) levels (r = 0.65, P < 0.001) and between LDL-IC and LDL-C levels (r = 0.43, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results argue for a regulatory role of TG on plasma Lp(a) and its circulating immune complexes in subjects with various dyslipidemias. The circulating levels of these immune complexes levels are likely to change with different concentrations of Lp(a) and LDL.

CETP gene mutation (D442G) increases low-density lipoprotein particle size in patients with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in subjects with the atherogenic pattern B has been established as a risk factor of atherosclerosis. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) plays an important role in the transfer and exchange of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides between the lipoprotein classes of human plasma. It has been shown that CETP can also change the particle size of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and LDL subfractions in vitro. Previous clinical studies about CETP gene mutations mainly focused on abnormalities in HDL, few involved those in LDL. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of the D442G mutation in the CETP gene on major peak size of LDL particles in patients with coronary heart diseases (CHD). METHODS: D442G mutation in the CETP gene was detected using the PCR-RFLP. LDL particles sizes were analyzed by 2-16% nondenaturing polyacrylamide gradient gels in CHD patients with D442G mutation in the CETP gene. RESULTS: Six heterozygotes and one homozygote were found to have the D442G mutation among 200 CHD patients. The frequency of this mutation was 3.5%. The major peak size of LDL in patients with gene mutation (n=7) was significantly larger than that in patients without the mutation (n=40) (26.92 +/- 0.79 nm vs. 25.71 +/- 0.66 nm, respectively; P<0.01). All the patients with the gene mutation expressed pattern A, whereas only about half of the patients without the mutation expressed this pattern. The patients with gene mutation had decreased plasma CETP concentration, while increased concentration of HDL-C and apolipoprotein A-I compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: CETP gene mutation (D442G) increases LDL particle size. This suggests that CETP play an antiatherogenic role.