The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 2014; 15: 1
EDITORIAL
Dear colleagues, I am delighted to introduce our first issue of 2014 featuring current research on biological markers in substance use disorders as well as on cognitive and biological characteristics of anxiety, stress-related and impulse control disorders. In their review focusing on the role of glial abnormalities in substance use disorders and depression, Niciu and colleagues outline that altered glutamate neurotransmission and metabolism, specifically changes in the levels and activity of transporters, receptors and synaptic proteins potentially related to synaptic physiology, appear to be salient features of both disorders. Additionally the authors report glial cell pathology, microglial/neuroinflammatory pathology and oligodendrocyte impairment to be evident in both disorders. It is concluded that glutamatergic neuromodulation is a rational drug target in this comorbidity. Klauke and colleagues set out to investigate gene– environment interactions of the neuropeptide S receptor gene (NPSR) A/T polymorphism (rs324981) and life events with respect to anxiety sensitivity. Results showed that carriers of the more active T/T genotype or subjects with a high number of maltreatment experiences in childhood, respectively, reported increased anxiety sensitivity, and that an interaction of these factors further increased this clinical feature. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with hyperaldosteronism was explored by Apostolopoulou and colleagues. When compared to healthy controls, a higher prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients treated with mineralocorticoid antagonists and those having undergone unilateral adrenalectomy was found. In addition, when compared to untreated male patients, untreated female patients showed higher levels of anxiety and depression and displayed correlations between plasma renin concentration and anxiety symptoms. Horovitz and colleagues assessed the interactive effect of stress and sex in the long-term consequences of juvenile stress in rats. Results indicated that female rats are more susceptible to both the long-term effects of juvenile and to the immediate effects of adulthood stress. Furthermore, male and female rats showed different profiles of anxiety,
ISSN 1562-2975 print/ISSN 1814-1412 online © 2014 Informa Healthcare DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2013.872930
depressive and comorbid symptoms. The authors discuss their findings with respect to both gender differences in the aetiology of predisposition to and gender symptomatology differences in stress-related disorders. In a follow-up study, Biederman and colleagues investigated the role of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and prenatal nicotine exposure as risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their findings showed no interaction between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ADHD, and both were identified as independent risk factors for PTSD at a 10-year follow-up. Conzelmann and colleagues set out to explore overall autonomic hypoactivity reflecting hypoarousal as aetiological factor in ADHD at baseline during rest and in response towards stimuli. Skin conductance measures as well as valence and arousal ratings in response to positive, negative and neutral pictures were examined in boys with ADHD. Results revealed a general autonomic hypoactivity in ADHD at baseline and in response to low arousing neutral and high arousing emotional stimuli, with a probable normalizing effect of methylphenidate. By focusing on functional outcome and psychosocial changes following deep brain stimulation in patients with Tourette’s syndrome, Dehning and colleagues found an improvement in functional outcome and quality of life measures over the course of 72 postoperative months. Returning to our initial topic of biological markers in substance use disorders, Kaminitz and colleagues, in a brief report, aimed to characterize behavioural and brain biochemical traits in mice expressing a dominant negative DISC1mutant (DN-DISC1), which is generally considered the most prominent candidate gene for schizophrenia. Mutant DISC1 mice expressed deficits in preference to social novelty. In addition, sex-dependent differences were found in the number of cortical BDNF receptors as well as in the expression of cannabinoid-1 receptors. The last finding may indicate a possible link between DISC1 mutation and the cannabinoid system. Yours sincerely, Siegfried Kasper, MD Chief Editor
Copyright of World Journal of Biological Psychiatry is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
EDITORIAL
Dear colleagues, I am delighted to introduce our first issue of 2014 featuring current research on biological markers in substance use disorders as well as on cognitive and biological characteristics of anxiety, stress-related and impulse control disorders. In their review focusing on the role of glial abnormalities in substance use disorders and depression, Niciu and colleagues outline that altered glutamate neurotransmission and metabolism, specifically changes in the levels and activity of transporters, receptors and synaptic proteins potentially related to synaptic physiology, appear to be salient features of both disorders. Additionally the authors report glial cell pathology, microglial/neuroinflammatory pathology and oligodendrocyte impairment to be evident in both disorders. It is concluded that glutamatergic neuromodulation is a rational drug target in this comorbidity. Klauke and colleagues set out to investigate gene– environment interactions of the neuropeptide S receptor gene (NPSR) A/T polymorphism (rs324981) and life events with respect to anxiety sensitivity. Results showed that carriers of the more active T/T genotype or subjects with a high number of maltreatment experiences in childhood, respectively, reported increased anxiety sensitivity, and that an interaction of these factors further increased this clinical feature. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with hyperaldosteronism was explored by Apostolopoulou and colleagues. When compared to healthy controls, a higher prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients treated with mineralocorticoid antagonists and those having undergone unilateral adrenalectomy was found. In addition, when compared to untreated male patients, untreated female patients showed higher levels of anxiety and depression and displayed correlations between plasma renin concentration and anxiety symptoms. Horovitz and colleagues assessed the interactive effect of stress and sex in the long-term consequences of juvenile stress in rats. Results indicated that female rats are more susceptible to both the long-term effects of juvenile and to the immediate effects of adulthood stress. Furthermore, male and female rats showed different profiles of anxiety,
ISSN 1562-2975 print/ISSN 1814-1412 online © 2014 Informa Healthcare DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2013.872930
depressive and comorbid symptoms. The authors discuss their findings with respect to both gender differences in the aetiology of predisposition to and gender symptomatology differences in stress-related disorders. In a follow-up study, Biederman and colleagues investigated the role of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and prenatal nicotine exposure as risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their findings showed no interaction between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ADHD, and both were identified as independent risk factors for PTSD at a 10-year follow-up. Conzelmann and colleagues set out to explore overall autonomic hypoactivity reflecting hypoarousal as aetiological factor in ADHD at baseline during rest and in response towards stimuli. Skin conductance measures as well as valence and arousal ratings in response to positive, negative and neutral pictures were examined in boys with ADHD. Results revealed a general autonomic hypoactivity in ADHD at baseline and in response to low arousing neutral and high arousing emotional stimuli, with a probable normalizing effect of methylphenidate. By focusing on functional outcome and psychosocial changes following deep brain stimulation in patients with Tourette’s syndrome, Dehning and colleagues found an improvement in functional outcome and quality of life measures over the course of 72 postoperative months. Returning to our initial topic of biological markers in substance use disorders, Kaminitz and colleagues, in a brief report, aimed to characterize behavioural and brain biochemical traits in mice expressing a dominant negative DISC1mutant (DN-DISC1), which is generally considered the most prominent candidate gene for schizophrenia. Mutant DISC1 mice expressed deficits in preference to social novelty. In addition, sex-dependent differences were found in the number of cortical BDNF receptors as well as in the expression of cannabinoid-1 receptors. The last finding may indicate a possible link between DISC1 mutation and the cannabinoid system. Yours sincerely, Siegfried Kasper, MD Chief Editor
Copyright of World Journal of Biological Psychiatry is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
