Changes in platelet serotonin concentration after four weeks of alcohol abstinence depending on the genotype of the serotonin transporter.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive and uncontrolled drinking that causes distress and has damaging consequences for men and women of all ages. It is one of the four most disabling diseases and it affects approximately 14.6 million persons in Europe. OBJECTIVES: Objective of this study is to investigate changes in platelet serotonin concentration after four weeks of alcohol abstinence in regards to the genotype of the serotonin transporter. METHODS: A total of 154 patients with AUD were included in the study. Platelet serotonin concentrations were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Genotype of serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism was determined by the polymerase chain reaction-based method. RESULTS: We did not establish a statistically significant main effect of serotonin transporter polymorphism on platelet serotonin concentration after four weeks of abstinence. CONCLUSION: Aforementioned finding is in line with previous research suggesting a complex relationship between serotonin transporter gene and platelet serotonin levels, and congruent with the well-established genotype interaction with numerous other factors, such as sex, ethnicity, education level, and stressful life events.

Could Mental and Physical Exercise Alleviate Alzheimer's Disease?

The aim of this review is to emphasize the importance of mental activity and aerobic physical exercise as one of the most important health-related activities which may delay the onset or slow down the progression of Alzheimer's dementia. Studies have shown that the elderly who regularly engage in mental and physical activities have a lower risk of dementia development. Performing mental and physical activities regularly has a synergistic effect on the improvement of cognitive functions. Complex mental activity during life is associated with a reduction in the hippocampal atrophy rate, which is a sensitive early-stage biomarker of dementia while regular physical exercise can slow down the progressive reduction of the cortical brain volume which occurs during aging. Mental activity increases a person's "cognitive reserve" and promotes the formation of new communications between brain cells. Since it is not possible to influence genetic components of Alzheimer's dementia, preventative interventions such as encou¬raging regular engagement in mental and physical activities are extremely important. Activities need to be safe, moderate, comfortable, and adapted as to type, duration, and especially the health and functional status of the patient. In the near future, it is expected that genome analysis in personalized medicine will guide us in the right direction on certain types of physical and mental exercise.

THE USE OF ELECTRORETINOGRAPHY AND OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA.

The use of electroretinography (ERG) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) has currently expanded beyond ophthalmology alone. The aim of this review is to present the results and knowledge acquired by these two methods in patients suffering from schizophrenia. Reviewing the studies applying ERG and OCT methods in the field of psychiatry, one can conclude that results of the research imply morphological and functional changes of retina in patients with schizophrenia that are not consistent. However, in most studies there was reduction of the amplitude and changes in the implicit time related parameters on ERG and thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer on OCT. Neurons in the eye use the same neurotransmitters as neurons in the basal brain structures that are most affected in schizophrenia, according to the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. Unlike neurons in the basal brain structures, the neurons in the eye are in vivo available to ERG. Using the aforementioned tests together with clinical diagnostic criteria of schizophrenia, the subgroups with different prognostic and therapeutic specificities within schizophrenia as a group of diseases might be identified more precisely.

PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY IN SPORTS.

- Peripheral nerve injuries in sports are rare. Peripheral nerve injuries in sports are caused by pressure, stretching, or bone fracture. Peripheral nerve injuries are more frequent on upper limbs, and the type of injury is determined by the type of sport. According to Seddon, we distinguish 3 levels of injury: 1) neurapraxia; 2) axonotmesis; and 3) neurotmesis. Diagnosis must be reached as early as possible to enable timely initiation of appropriate treatment. The diagnostics of peripheral nerve injuries includes electromyography and nerve conduction studies, somatosensory evoked potentials, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound. Proximal nerve injuries have a poorer prognosis for neurologic recovery.

Sudden death due to swimming in elderly women.

The aim was to analyze the rate of sudden death in elderly Croatian women in comparison to elderly Croatian men, who died suddenly due to swimming. In the period from 2002 to 2011 one elderly Croatian woman and five elderly men died suddenly during swimming. In the same time, the same number of elderly foreigners died due to swimming at the Croatian Adriatic coast. One Croatian woman aged 66, who suffered of arterial hypertension with left ventricular hyper- trophy of 15 mm, diabetes mellitus and alcoholic liver cirrhosis, drowned in the sea during swimming. She was intoxi- cated with alcohol and had alcohol level in urine of 3.03 per thousand. One foreign woman, aged 82, who suffered coronary heart disease with left ventricular scar after myocardial infarction, arterial hypertension with excessive left ventricular hypertrophy of 22 mm and nephroangiosclerosis, suddenly lost conscionsness during swimming. The death rate in elderly Croatian women due to swimming reached 0.25, and the death rate in men is eight times higher: 1.97 (p = 0.0701), but the difference is not significant probably because of a small observational number.

Manual Snow Removal and Sudden Death.

The aim was to analyze the causes of sudden death in middle-aged and elderly men during manual snow removal. During snowy winter months in Zagreb, from January 2013 to January 2014, four males aged 52, 65, 72 and 81, died suddenly while manually removing snow. They were all autopsied. All of them have suffered from arterial hypertension and coronary heart disease, and one suffered from metabolic syndrome. The cause of death in two was probable malignant ventricular arrhythmia. In the third who fell down on the icy surface, consequences were cerebral contusion and neck vertebral luxation. In the fourth who fell down from the top of a 15 m tall building during snow removal, the cause of death were multiple injuries: fractures of both clavicles, ribs and vertebrae's Th5, Th6, hematothorax, cardiac contusion, hematopericardium, thoracic aorta rupture, contusions and ruptures of both lungs, rupture of the diaphragm, liver rupture, hematoperitoneum and cerebral edema. The estimated death rate in the City of Zagreb for males aged 30-64 years is 5.44/1,000,000 inhabitants, which is less than in those aged 65-85 years (40.03/1,000,000; p = 0.2269). Sudden strenuous physical effort due to manual snow removal in two non-trained persons, who have suffered from arterial hypertension and coronary heart disease, was the cause of sudden death. Manual snow removal is an important cause of sudden death, as it is a very arduous effort in non-adapted middle-aged and elderly persons.

Sports and health: equivalence or contrariety.

Playing sports is a widely known method of health promotion. Balanced exercise and diet are keys to healthy life. However, sports activities can cause different injuries, from joint to head injuries. Although head injuries cause a variety of acute and chronic disorders, they are often undertreated. There are 1.6 million injured people examined at emergency departments throughout Europe every year. In sports like boxing, football, soccer, hockey, handball, basketball and bicycling, head injuries occur at a frequency of 4% to 22%. Particularly significant are chronic difficulties that occur after recurrent head injuries, i.e. cognitive deficits and changes in electroencephalogram. Qualifications of professional personnel are insufficient for professional evaluation and treatment of head injuries. The best way for sports to become an important link in health and disease prevention is to go back to sports basics while using acquired scientific knowledge.