Optimization of bacterial cellulose production by Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans in synthetic media and agrifood side streams supplemented with organic acids and vitamins.

The effect of thiamine (TA), ascorbic acid (AA), citric acid, and gallic acid (GA) on bacterial cellulose (BC) production by Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans, in synthetic (Hestrin and Schramm, HS) and natural substrates (industrial raisins finishing side stream extract, FSSE; orange juice, OJ; green tea extract, GTE), was investigated. The Response Surface Methodology was found reliable for BC yield prediction and optimization. Higher yields were achieved in the FSSE substrates, especially those supplemented with AA, TA, and GA (up to 19.4 g BC/L). The yield in the non-fortified substrates was 1.1-5.4 and 11.6-15.7 g/L, in HS and FSSE, respectively. The best yield in the natural non-fortified substrate FSSE-OJ-GTE (50-20-30 %), was 5.9 g/L. The porosity, crystallinity, and antioxidant properties of the produced BC films were affected by both the substrate and the drying method (freeze- or oven-drying). The natural substrates and the process wastewaters can be further exploited towards added value and sustainability. Take Home Message Sentence: Raisin and citrus side-streams can be efficiently combined for bacterial cellulose production, enhanced by other vitamin- and phenolic-rich substrates such as green tea.

A longitudinal study of alterations of hippocampal volumes and serum BDNF levels in association to atypical antipsychotics in a sample of first-episode patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is associated with structural and functional abnormalities of the hippocampus, which have been suggested to play an important role in the formation and emergence of schizophrenia syndrome. Patients with schizophrenia exhibit significant bilateral hippocampal volume reduction and progressive hippocampal volume decrease in first-episode patients with schizophrenia has been shown in many neuroimaging studies. Dysfunction of the neurotrophic system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The initiation of antipsychotic medication alters the levels of serum Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels. However it is unclear whether treatment with antipsychotics is associated with alterations of hippocampal volume and BDNF levels. METHODS: In the present longitudinal study we investigated the association between serum BDNF levels and hippocampal volumes in a sample of fourteen first-episode drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia (FEP). MRI scans, BDNF and clinical measurements were performed twice: at baseline before the initiation of antipsychotic treatment and 8 months later, while the patients were receiving monotherapy with second generation antipsychotics (SGAs). RESULTS: We found that left hippocampal volume was decreased (corrected left HV [t = 2.977, df = 13, p = .011] at follow-up; We also found that the higher the BDNF levels change the higher were the differences of corrected left hippocampus after 8 months of treatment with atypical antipsychotics (Pearson r = 0.597, p = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: The association of BDNF with hippocampal volume alterations in schizophrenia merits further investigation and replication in larger longitudinal studies.

Major depression in elderly medical inpatients in Greece, prevalence and identification.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of episodes of DSM-IV major depression, as well as their identification rates, in elderly inpatients in a general hospital in Greece. METHODS: 200 selected patients, 65 years old and over, hospitalized in Surgery and Internal Medicine Departments, were assessed for major depression over a period of 12 months (October 2006-November 2007) by means of SCID-I/P, HADS, BDI and GDS-15. During the same period, liaison calls from the same departments were evaluated and findings were compared. RESULTS: When psychiatric screening was performed, 28 patients (14%) were diagnosed as suffering from a major depressive episode. During the same period, there were only 20 liaison calls from the same departments for patients over 65 years old, from which 4 patients were found to be suffering from major depression. Comparison between the two periods showed significant underestimation of depression. All psychometric scales detected depression sufficiently. CONCLUSIONS: In general hospital elderly inpatients, depression still remains underestimated. Depression symptom scales could be used as routine tests for screening major depression.

Reduced serum BDNF levels in patients with chronic schizophrenic disorder in relapse, who were treated with typical or atypical antipsychotics.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor signals and dopaminergic function in the brain are strongly associated, and research on BDNF in schizophrenia may enhance our insights on the pathophysiological mechanisms of this disease. In the present study we aimed to investigate the possible association between serum BDNF levels and schizophrenic relapses and the possible differential effects of treatment with typical and atypical antipsychotics on serum BDNF levels in the same group of patients. We measured serum BDNF levels in 47 patients with schizophrenia during a relapse and again 6 weeks after administration of antipsychotic treatment (14 on risperidone, 18 on haloperidol, 10 on olanzapine and five on amisulpride) and in 44 healthy volunteers. Patients with schizophrenia showed reduced serum BDNF levels in relation to healthy volunteers at study entry. No significant differences were revealed in BDNF serum levels after 6 weeks of antipsychotic treatment in the patients compared to their own levels at study entry. However, serum BDNF was significantly increased in the subgroup receiving olanzapine compared to the other antipsychotics. Our findings may indicate a differential effect of olanzapine on BDNF levels compared to haloperidol, risperidone, and amisulpride.

Dimensional approach to delusions in psychotic depression in the elderly: factor structure and clinical correlates.

OBJECTIVE: The present study attempted to investigate the clinically important broader dimensions of clinical characteristics of delusions, through multivariate analysis, in a pure sample of elderly unipolar delusional depressives as well as to test their external validity against a set of demographic, anamnestic and psychopathological validators. METHODS: Fifty inpatients suffering from psychotic major depression (PMD) in the context of major depressive disorder, 60 years old or older, were assessed on the basis of SCID IV, HRSD, MMSE and by three-point ordinal scales of 12 clinical, intrinsic or relational characteristics of delusions tested for their inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: Principal Component Analysis resulted in the extraction of five factors, jointly accounting for 69.7% of the total variance. The five factors were interpreted as representing the dimensions of delusional strength, acute upsetting, delusional organization, incomprehensibility and incitation to actions. Most of the factors were differentially associated with patients' demographic, anamnestic and clinical variables. CONCLUSION: Our results overlap in part with those of another similar study in delusional depressives of all age-ranges, differing, however, in respects possibly attributable to peculiarities of elderly depressives. Overall, the findings of the present study contribute to the further elucidation of major clinical dimensions of delusions in PMD in the elderly and the testing of their external validity.

Clinical dimensions of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenic disorders.

BACKGROUND: Auditory hallucinations occupy, along with delusional beliefs, the center stage of active or "positive" psychotic clinical psychopathology. During the last decade, several sets of auditory hallucinations' clinical features were subjected to multivariate statistical analyses to disclose major dimensions of psychotic patients' overall hallucinatory experience and behavior. However, these studies failed, to a large extent, to provide satisfactory external validations of the thereby extracted factors. METHODS: We investigated the major clinical dimensions of verbal auditory hallucinations in a sample of 100 inpatients with schizophrenic disorders. Patients (61 men and 39 women) were examined before the initiation of antipsychotic treatment and their assessment included 18 major clinical features of auditory hallucinations. Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Global Assessment Scale, and Mini-Mental State Examination were used as external validators. RESULTS: Principal component analysis resulted in the extraction of 5 factors interpreted as the dimensions of severity of auditory hallucinations, emotional and behavioral impact, rate of their intrusion in self-consciousness, delusional elaboration, and similarity to ordinary auditory perception, respectively. The second and third factors extracted in our study correlated with short duration of illness, whereas the first, fourth, and fifth ones correlated with chronicity. Our second factor correlated with clinical severity of patients' current mental state, the fifth factor with severity of their cognitive impairment, and the first and fourth ones with lower clinical depression despite patients' chronicity. CONCLUSION: The findings of our study contribute to the further elucidation of the major clinical dimensions of auditory hallucinations and the testing of their external validity.