Comparison of mouse models of depression induced by different modeling methods / 生理学报

The present article was aimed to compare the effectiveness of different induction methods for depression models. Kunming mice were randomly divided into chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) group, corticosterone (CORT) group, and CUMS+CORT (CC) group. The CUMS group received CUMS stimulation for 4 weeks, and the CORT group received subcutaneous injection of 20 mg/kg CORT into the groin every day for 3 weeks. The CC group received both CUMS stimulation and CORT administration. Each group was assigned a control group. After modeling, forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and sucrose preference test (SPT) were used to detect the behavioral changes of mice, and the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and CORT were detected with ELISA kits. Attenuated total refraction (ATR) spectra of mouse serum were collected and analyzed. HE staining was used to detect morphological changes in mouse brain tissue. The results showed that the weight of model mice from the CUMS and CC groups decreased significantly. There was no significant change in immobility time of model mice from the three groups in FST and TST, while the glucose preference of model mice from the CUMS and CC groups was significantly reduced (P < 0.05). The serum 5-HT levels of model mice from the CORT and CC groups were significantly reduced, while the serum BDNF and CORT levels of model mice from the CUMS, CORT, and CC groups showed no significant changes. Compared with their respective control groups, the three groups showed no significant difference in the one-dimensional spectrum of serum ATR. The difference spectrum analysis results of the first derivative of the spectrogram showed that the CORT group had the greatest difference from its respective control group, followed by the CUMS group. The structures of hippocampus in the model mice from the three groups were all destroyed. These results suggest that both CORT and CC treatments can successfully construct a depression model, and the CORT model is more effective than the CC model. Therefore, CORT induction can be used to establish a depression model in Kunming mice.

Risk factors associated with osteoporosis and fracture in psoriatic arthritis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Although there are few studies mentioned there may be some relationship between psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and osteoporosis, clinical data in real world still need to be clarified in China. The aim of this study was to assess the areal and volumetric bone mineral density (BMD), frequency of fracture, and risk factors in patients with PsA.@*METHODS@#A total of one hundred PsA patients who visited Peking University First Hospital and one hundred age- and sex-matched healthy controls with DXA data were enrolled in the study. Patients with clinical fractures confirmed by X-ray during follow-up were also recorded. Clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded and compared between the abnormal BMD group and the normal BMD group, as well as between the fracture and non-fracture groups. Risk factors for fracture and low BMD were analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Mean BMD at the total hip and femoral neck was significantly lower in PsA patients than that in healthy controls (0.809 ± 0.193 vs. 0.901 ± 0.152 g/cm2, P  = 0.041; 0.780 ± 0.146 vs. 0.865 ± 0.166 g/cm2, P  = 0.037, respectively). Moreover, lumbar spine BMD was negatively correlated with psoriasis duration, swollen joint count and DAS28-CRP (r = -0.503, -0.580, -0.438; P < 0.05). Total hip BMD and femoral neck BMD were negatively correlated with HAQ (r = -0.521, -0.335; P < 0.05). Fractures occurred in 29 patients during the follow-up period. Logistic regression analysis showed that older age (OR 1.132 [95%CI: 1.026-1.248), P < 0.05], higher HAQ score (OR 1.493, 95%CI: 1.214-1.836, P < 0.01), higher disease activity index for psoriatic arthritis (OR 1.033, 95% CI: 1.002-1.679, P < 0.05) and hip joint involvement (OR 6.401, 95% CI: 4.012-44.180, P < 0.05) were risk factors for fracture in the multivariate model.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Increased risks of osteoporosis and fracture were found in PsA patients compared to healthy controls. Besides age, high disease activity and hip joint involvement were risk factors for decreased BMD and fracture.

Benefit of ultrasound in the phenotype recognition of psoriatic arthritis / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the difference in phenotype recognition of PsA patients in two clinical scenarios, physical examination with and without ultrasound assessment.@*METHODS@#PsA patients who visited the rheumatology and clinical immunology department of Peking University First Hospital between January 2010 and October 2020, with complete data of clinical and ultrasound assessment were enrolled. The phenotypes were first identified based on physical examination only, and then combined with enthesitis and dactylitis shown on power doppler and gray-scale ultrasound. The phenotype groupings without and with ultrasound assessment were presented with Wayne diagram. The distributions of different clinical phenotypes were compared by using χ2 test or Fisher's exact test. The differences of clinical phenotypes with and without ultrasound assessment were compared by using Wilcoxon signed rank test.@*RESULTS@#A total of 227 patients with PsA were enrolled with one or more clinical domains. Physical examination revealed that psoriasis was in 209 (92.1%, 209/227) patients, nail involvement in 98 (43.2%, 98/227) patients, peripheral arthritis in 219 (96.5%, 219/227) patients, axial involvement in 25 (11.0%, 25/227) patients, dactylitis in 80 (35.2%, 80/227) patients, and enthesitis in 18 (7.9%, 18/227) patients. Besides 18 patients with clinical enthesitis, ultrasound scan revealed acute enthesitis in 80 patients, with hypoechogenicity (55 cases), tendon thickening (62 cases), and presence of Doppler signals (48 cases). Similarly, dactylitis on ultrasound was found in 18 patients besides those patients with clinical dactylitis. Compared with the phenotypes recognized based on physical examination only, the additional ultrasound assessment revealed that the most common phenotypes, peripheral arthritis was significantly less frequently recognized (49.8% vs. 27.8%, P < 0.001), however on the other hand, the proportion of the patients with peripheral arthritis and enthesitis was significantly increased (4.4% vs. 18.1%, P < 0.001). The phenotype of peripheral arthritis combined with enthesitis, and dactylitis was also dramatically increased (1.8% vs. 17.6%, P < 0.001).@*CONCLUSION@#Ultrasound is a useful tool to identify enthesitis and dactylitis. With the aid of ultrasound assessment, rheumatologists can better identify the lesions of PsA, accurately identify the phenotypes, and further guide the subsequent treatment.

Depression and anxiety in patients with psoriatic arthritis: Prevalence and associated factors / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), to investigate whether there is a difference in the prevalence of depression and anxiety between PsA and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to identify associated risk factors for depression and anxiety in PsA patients.@*METHODS@#PsA and RA patients who visited Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology in Peking University First Hospital from May 2018 to Sep 2019 were recruited. Self-rating anxiety scale and self-rating depression scale were surveyed and compared between PsA and RA patients. Demographics and clinical features including age, gender, disease duration, disease activity score, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), and medical application were collected. Power Doppler and grey-scale ultrasound of joints, tenosynovitis and enthesis were performed. Multivariate Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with mood disorders and the odds ratio of depression and anxiety between the PsA and RA patients.@*RESULTS@#Among the 114 enrolled PsA patients, 37 (32.5%) had mood disorders, in which 36 (31.6%) with depression and 15 (13.2%) with anxiety. Compared with 201 RA patients, PsA patients showed greater odds for depression [adjusted OR (95%CI): 2.7 (1.1-6.4)]. Depression was more often observed in the PsA than in the RA patients (31.6% vs. 18.9%, P=0.011). The similar trend for anxiety was also observed, although the difference was insignificant (13.2% vs. 8.5%, P=0.185). Age (OR=0.95, P=0.008), psoriasis duration (OR=0.94, P=0.018), pain visual analogue scale (OR=1.47, P=0.011), PASI score (OR=1.07, P=0.007) and presence of ultrasound enthesitis (OR=4.13, P=0.009) were identified as factors associated with depression in the PsA patients. PASI score (OR=1.07, P=0.001) was identified as associated factor for anxiety in the PsA patients.@*CONCLUSION@#The prevalence of depression and anxiety is elevated in PsA patients. Depression is significantly more prevalent in PsA patients than in RA patients. Younger age, shorter psoriasis duration, worse pain and presence of ultrasound enthesitis are associated with depression, while severe psoriasis rash is associated with both depression and anxiety in PsA patients.