Clinical practice recommendations for depression.

OBJECTIVE: To provide clinically relevant evidence-based recommendations for the management of depression in adults that are informative, easy to assimilate and facilitate clinical decision making. METHOD: A comprehensive literature review of over 500 articles was undertaken using electronic database search engines (e.g. MEDLINE, PsychINFO and Cochrane reviews). In addition articles, book chapters and other literature known to the authors were reviewed. The findings were then formulated into a set of recommendations that were developed by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians who routinely deal with mood disorders. The recommendations then underwent consultative review by a broader advisory panel that included experts in the field, clinical staff and patient representatives. RESULTS: The clinical practice recommendations for depression (Depression CPR) summarize evidence-based treatments and provide a synopsis of recommendations relating to each phase of the illness. They are designed for clinical use and have therefore been presented succinctly in an innovative and engaging manner that is clear and informative. CONCLUSION: These up-to-date recommendations provide an evidence-based framework that incorporates clinical wisdom and consideration of individual factors in the management of depression. Further, the novel style and practical approach should promote uptake and implementation.

Clinical practice recommendations for bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To provide clinically relevant evidence-based recommendations for the management of bipolar disorder in adults that are informative, easy to assimilate and facilitate clinical decision-making. METHOD: A comprehensive literature review of over 500 articles was undertaken using electronic database search engines (e.g. MEDLINE, PsychINFO and Cochrane reviews). In addition articles, book chapters and other literature known to the authors were reviewed. The findings were then formulated into a set of recommendations that were developed by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians who routinely deal with mood disorders. These preliminary recommendations underwent extensive consultative review by a broader advisory panel that included experts in the field, clinical staff and patient representatives. RESULTS: The clinical practice recommendations for bipolar disorder (bipolar CPR) summarise evidence-based treatments and provide a synopsis of recommendations relating to each phase of the illness. They are designed for clinical use and have therefore been presented succinctly in an innovative and engaging manner that is clear and informative. CONCLUSION: These up-to-date recommendations provide an evidence-based framework that incorporates clinical wisdom and consideration of individual factors in the management of bipolar disorder. Further, the novel style and practical approach should promote their uptake and implementation.

Virus infection in remnant native bunchgrasses from invaded California grasslands.

This study examined the effects of infection with barley and cereal yellow dwarf viruses (BYDVs) on wild grass species in California, a region in which native perennial bunchgrasses have been largely replaced by exotic annual grasses. We sought to determine whether these widespread viruses compromise the fitness of wild hosts and thus have the potential to influence grassland dynamics. Plant viruses have been long overlooked in ecological studies, and their influence on wild hosts has often been assumed to be minimal. We examined the short-term and long-term consequences of infection on field-grown individuals from 18 different populations of wild California grasses (from seven native and one exotic species). Barley yellow dwarf virus infection was aggressive in most hosts and markedly impaired host fitness by reducing growth, survivorship, and fecundity. Previous work indicates that the presence of exotic grasses can more than double BYDV incidence in natives. Given the ubiquity of BYDVs, our results suggest that apparent competition and other virus-mediated processes may influence interactions among native and exotic grasses and potentially contribute to shifts in grassland community composition.

HRPT2, encoding parafibromin, is mutated in hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome.

We report here the identification of a gene associated with the hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor (HPT-JT) syndrome. A single locus associated with HPT-JT (HRPT2) was previously mapped to chromosomal region 1q25-q32. We refined this region to a critical interval of 12 cM by genotyping in 26 affected kindreds. Using a positional candidate approach, we identified thirteen different heterozygous, germline, inactivating mutations in a single gene in fourteen families with HPT-JT. The proposed role of HRPT2 as a tumor suppressor was supported by mutation screening in 48 parathyroid adenomas with cystic features, which identified three somatic inactivating mutations, all located in exon 1. None of these mutations were detected in normal controls, and all were predicted to cause deficient or impaired protein function. HRPT2 is a ubiquitously expressed, evolutionarily conserved gene encoding a predicted protein of 531 amino acids, for which we propose the name parafibromin. Our findings suggest that HRPT2 is a tumor-suppressor gene, the inactivation of which is directly involved in predisposition to HPT-JT and in development of some sporadic parathyroid tumors.

Evolutionary relationships of trichostrongyloid nematodes (Strongylida) inferred from ribosomal DNA sequence data.

The evolutionary relationships of 21 species of trichostrongyloid nematodes were determined by use of sequence data of the second internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA aligned according to secondary structure information. Irrespective of the method of analysis used, the topologies of the phylogenetic trees derived from the molecular data differed with respect to all four hypotheses proposed previously for the evolutionary relationships of the different subfamilies within the Trichostrongylidae based on morphological data. Thus, the molecular data set did not resolve the conflict between the four previous proposals for the subfamilial relationships. Nonetheless, all trees derived from the molecular data showed strong support for the exclusion of the genera Filarinema and Amidostomum from the clade containing the species within the family Trichostrongylidae. This represents a major difference from the most recent proposal of the systematics of the Trichostrongyloidea in which these two genera were included within the Trichostrongylidae. Therefore, the molecular data support an earlier systematic framework in which Filarinema and Amidostomum were considered to be sister groups of the Trichostrongyloidea.

Common secondary structures for the second internal transcribed spacer pre-rRNA of two subfamilies of trichostrongylid nematodes.

Sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA for the parasitic trichostrongylid nematodes Trichostrongylus probolurus, Trichostrongylus rugatus and Camelostrongylus mentulatus were compared with previously published sequences for five other species within the genus Trichostrongylus. The secondary structures of the second internal transcribed spacer pre-rRNA for these nematodes were predicted using an energy minimisation method. The results indicate that a common secondary structure of the second internal transcribed spacer of these nematodes is maintained despite distinct differences in primary sequence between species. Sequence differences among Trichostrongylus species ranged from 1.3 to 7.6%, but each species differed by 22-26% in sequence when compared with C. mentulatus which belongs to a different subfamily.

Systematic relationships of some members of the genera Oesophagostomum and Chabertia (Nematoda: Chabertiidae) based on ribosomal DNA sequence data.

The present study characterised seven species of the Chabertiidae (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) belonging to either the subfamily Oesophagostominae (Oesophagostomum radiatum, Oesophagostomum venulosum, Oesophagostomum dentatum, Oesophagostomum quadrispinulatum, Oesophagostomum columbianum, Oesophagostomum bifurcum) or to the subfamily Chabertiinae (Chabertia ovina) by their second internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequence, assessed the extent of intraspecific variation and interspecific differences in the sequence, and inferred the phylogenetic relationship of C. ovina with respect to members of the Oesophagostominae. In both the phenetic and cladistic analyses of the sequence data, Chabertia was nested within Oesophagostomum, suggesting either that the species examined represent members of the same genus, or alternatively, that Oesophagostomum may represent more than one genus.

Analysis of sequence homogenisation in rDNA arrays of Haemonchus contortus by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

Testing different theories of concerted evolution experimentally has been hampered mainly due to the lack of appropriate model systems and technical limitations. In this study, we employed a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approach for the display and definition of nucleotide variations in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of the parasitic nematode, Haemonchus contortus. The ITS-2 was amplified from individual adult nematodes by PCR and subjected to DGGE. Of the 94 individuals (representing nine different populations) analysed, 13 different DGGE profiles were displayed. Eighteen bands representing those profiles were excised and sequenced. Sequencing defined 13 different types of ITS-2 with 12 nucleotide variations (4 transitions, 5 transversions, 1 insertion and 2 deletions) which could be related to particular positions of the predicted secondary structure for the ITS-2 pre-rRNA. The results showed that individuals of interbreeding populations of H. contortus can have rDNA arrays that are partially or fully homogenised for different sequence variants (despite interindividual variation), suggesting that the homogenisation process is driven mainly by intrachromosomal exchange. The findings also demonstrated the capacity of the DGGE-sequencing strategy to quantify the frequency of ITS-2 sequence types within individual nematodes from different populations without the need for cloning or Southern blot procedures. This has important implications for studying the mechanisms of sequence homogenisation in rDNA and pre-rRNA processing as well as for elucidating speciation events and population differentiation at the molecular level.

Genetic markers for strongylid nematodes of livestock defined by PCR-based restriction analysis of spacer rDNA.

Twenty-four species of parasitic nematode (order Strongylida) from sheep, goats, cattle or pigs were characterised using a polymerase chain reaction-linked restriction fragment length polymorphism technique (PCR-RFLP). The ribosomal (r)DNA region spanning the first internal transcribed spacer (ITS-1), 5.8S rRNA gene and the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) (designated ITS) was amplified from genomic DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), digested separately with four restriction endonucleases (RsaI, HinfI, DraI or NlaIII) and the fragments separated by agarose gel electrophoresis. The PCR products amplified from all species appeared as a single band of approximately 870 bp in size, except for Ostertagia ostertagi whose product was approximately 1250 bp. The PCR-RFLP analysis of ITS revealed characteristic restriction patterns for all species, except for C. surnabada and C. oncophora which had identical patterns. The study demonstrated that ITS contains useful genetic markers for the identification of a range of strongylid nematodes of livestock. These markers should be of use in specific PCR assays for the identification of developmental stages of the parasites where morphological characters are unreliable.

Genetic evidence indicating that Cooperia surnabada and Cooperia oncophora are one species.

Sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of ribosomal DNA were determined for the trichostrongylid nematodes Cooperia surnabada and Cooperia oncophora, to test the hypothesis that they represent one species. Also included for comparison were other morphologically distinct species within the genus, namely Cooperia punctata and Cooperia curticei. There were no differences in the consensus ITS-2 sequences between C. oncophora and C. surnabada, whereas each taxon differed from C. punctata and C. curticei by 1.7% and 4.1%, respectively. Also, C. punctata differed from C. curticei by 5.0%. Based on these results and the DNA studies of other trichostrongylid species, it is proposed that C. oncophora and C. surnabada represent a single species.

Differences in the second internal transcribed spacer of four species of Nematodirus (Nematoda: Molineidae).

Genetic differences among Nematodirus spathiger, Nematodirus filicollis, Nematodirus helvetianus and Nematodirus battus in the nucleotide sequence of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of ribosomal DNA ranged from 3.9 to 24.7%. Pairwise comparisons of their ITS-2 sequences indicated that the most genetically similar species were N. spathiger and N. helvetianus. N. battus was the most genetically distinct species, with differences ranging from 22.8 to 24.7% with respect to the other three species. Some of the nucleotide differences among species provided different endonuclease restriction sites that could be used in restriction fragment length polymorphism studies. The ITS-2 sequence data may prove useful in studies of the systematics of molineid nematodes.

Rapid PCR-based delineation of the porcine nodular worms, Oesophagostomum dentatum and O. quadrispinulatum.

At some stages of development, it is impossible to identify the porcine nodular worms Oesophagostomum dentatum and O. quadrispinulatum to the species level using morphological parameters. A molecular approach utilizing genetic markers in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of ribosomal (r) DNA was developed to overcome this limitation. The ITS-2 sequence of each species was determined, and specific oligonucleotide primers were designed to regions of greatest sequence difference between the species. Utilizing these primers, rapid PCR procedures were developed for the specific amplification of DNA of O. dentatum or O. quadrispinulatum, which are now used routinely to monitor the purity of larval cultures and to confirm the identity of larvae derived from the intestine or faeces. The application of specific PCR has major implications for studying the population biology of nodular worms in the pig model.

The purification of human basophils: their immunophenotype and cytochemistry.

An IgM class monoclonal antibody Bsp-1 that selectively reacts with human basophils was used to label basophils in normal and leukaemic haemopoietic samples. The immunophenotype of Bsp-1+ basophils was determined using a panel of 21 IgG subclass monoclonal antibodies in two-colour immunofluorescence assays. Basophils expressed the leucocyte common antigen, HLA-ABC antigens and antigens defined by CD11 and CD13 monoclonal antibodies. Other myeloid cell (granulocyte-monocyte) associated anti-antigens, lymphoid cell surface determinants and HLA-DR antigens were not detected. Basophil preparations of 95-98% purity were obtained from the peripheral blood of patients with CML and umbilical cords using fluorescence activated cell sorting techniques. Purified basophils exhibited metachromatic staining with toluidine blue, alcain blue and astra blue. PAS staining was observed in 7% of cord Bsp-1+ cells and of 55% CML Bsp-1+ cells. Between 5% and 10% of basophils were chloroacetate esterase-positive which suggests that some Bsp-1+ cells are immature basophils.