Interpersonal counseling versus active listening in the treatment of mild depression: a randomized controlled trial.

[Purpose] Healthcare workers, such as physical therapists, need to be equipped in dealing with patients' psychological problems. The three-session interpersonal counseling (three-session IPC) is a constructed counseling method that can be performed even by non-mental health professionals. This study examined the efficacy of the three-session IPC for treating depression. Immediate efficacy and efficacy up to 12 weeks post-intervention were examined. [Participants and Methods] In this randomized controlled trial of the two groups, one group (n=24) received the three-session IPC therapy (IPC group) while the other (n=24) received three sessions of active listening (active listening group). Depression was assessed using the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) at baseline, post-intervention, and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. [Results] There was a significant difference in total SDS scores between the IPC and active listening groups from baseline to 4 weeks after counseling, although no significant differences were observed at other time points. [Conclusion] The three-session IPC may be effective for 4 weeks after counseling. However, further studies are warranted in this regard.

Depression Among University Students With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms: A Study of Interpersonal Counseling.

OBJECTIVE: University students with symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience depression. This study examined whether interpersonal counseling (IPC) could be an effective treatment for depression among students with ADHD symptoms. METHODS: Participants were assigned to either an IPC (N=5) or control (N=7) group. Depression was assessed by using the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) at baseline, postintervention, and at 4-, 8-, and 12-week follow-ups. RESULTS: No significant changes in the SDS total score were observed for either group at each postintervention point. However, the IPC group showed a large effect size at the 4- and 12-week follow-ups. A significant intergroup difference was observed after 4 weeks. No significant intergroup difference was observed after 12 weeks, but there was a large effect size. CONCLUSIONS: IPC appeared to have effects at 4 weeks postintervention. Because this was an exploratory study, further research is necessary.

Increased prefrontal cortex activity on near-infrared spectroscopy after interpersonal counseling in individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

[Purpose] The number of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been increasing. These patients show low activity in the prefrontal cortex, which can be improved by pharmacotherapy and neurofeedback training. This exploratory study aimed to examine whether the hemodynamic response in the prefrontal cortex during an inhibition response in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder tendencies increased after interpersonal counseling. [Participants and Methods] Participants (n=5) received three interpersonal counseling sessions. Interpersonal counseling focuses on the patient's current problems and devises specific coping strategies, and it can be performed by healthcare personnel such as physiotherapists. Prefrontal cortex activity during a suppression reaction task was measured by using near-infrared spectroscopy at baseline and post-interpersonal counseling. The outcome was a difference in the oxyhemoglobin level from baseline to post-interpersonal counseling. [Results] The oxyhemoglobin level in the prefrontal cortex significantly increased post-interpersonal counseling. [Conclusion] These results suggested that interpersonal counseling could improve the hemodynamic response in the prefrontal cortex under inhibition in individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder tendencies, suggesting that interpersonal counseling may be effective for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms.

Specific expression and function of the A-type cytochrome c oxidase under starvation conditions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has one A-type (caa3) and multiple C-type (cbb3) cytochrome c oxidases as well as two quinol oxidases for aerobic respiration. The caa3 oxidase is highly efficient in creating a proton gradient across the cell membrane, but it is not expressed under normal growth conditions and its physiological role has not been investigated. In the present study, a mutant strain deficient in the coxBA-PA0107-coxC genes encoding caa3 exhibited normal growth under any test conditions, but it had low relative fitness under carbon starvation conditions, indicating that the expression of caa3 is advantageous under starvation conditions. A mutant that lacked four terminal oxidase gene clusters except for the cox genes was unable to grow aerobically because of low expression level of caa3. However, suppressor mutants that grew aerobically using caa3 as the only terminal oxidase emerged after aerobic subculturing. Analyses of the suppressor mutants revealed that a mutation of roxS encoding a sensor kinase of a two-component regulator RoxSR was necessary for the aerobic growth in synthetic medium. Two additional mutations in the 5'-flanking region of coxB were necessary for the aerobic growth in LB medium. Although the expression level of caa3 was higher in the suppressor mutants, their growth rates were lower than when the other terminal oxidases were utilized, suggesting that caa3 was not suited for utilization as the only terminal oxidase. Overexpression of the cox genes also inhibited the aerobic growth of the wild-type strain. These results indicate that caa3 is tightly regulated to be expressed only under starvation conditions at low level and it functions in cooperation with other terminal oxidases to facilitate survival in nutrient starvation conditions.

Enzymatic characterization and in vivo function of five terminal oxidases in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa has five aerobic terminal oxidases: bo(3)-type quinol oxidase (Cyo), cyanide-insensitive oxidase (CIO), aa3-type cytochrome c oxidase (aa3), and two cbb(3)-type cytochrome c oxidases (cbb(3)-1and cbb(3)-2). These terminal oxidases are differentially regulated under various growth conditions and are thought to contribute to the survival of this microorganism in a wide variety of environmental niches. Here, we constructed multiple mutant strains of P. aeruginosa that express only one aerobic terminal oxidase to investigate the enzymatic characteristics and in vivo function of each enzyme. The Km values of Cyo, CIO, and aa3 for oxygen were similar and were 1 order of magnitude higher than those of cbb(3)-1 and cbb(3)-2, indicating that Cyo, CIO, and aa3 are low-affinity enzymes and that cbb(3)-1 and cbb(3)-2 are high-affinity enzymes. Although cbb(3)-1 and cbb(3)-2 exhibited different expression patterns in response to oxygen concentration, they had similar Km values for oxygen. Both cbb(3)-1 and cbb(3)-2 utilized cytochrome c4 as the main electron donor under normal growth conditions. The electron transport chains terminated by cbb(3)-1 and cbb(3)-2 generate a proton gradient across the cell membrane with similar efficiencies. The electron transport chain of aa3 had the highest proton translocation efficiency, whereas that of CIO had the lowest efficiency. The enzymatic properties of the terminal oxidases reported here are partially in agreement with their regulatory patterns and may explain the environmental adaptability and versatility of P. aeruginosa.

Differential expression of multiple terminal oxidases for aerobic respiration in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has five terminal oxidases for aerobic respiration. Two of them, the bo(3) oxidase (Cyo) and the cyanide-insensitive oxidase (CIO), are quinol oxidases and the other three, the cbb(3)-1 oxidase (Cbb3-1), the cbb(3)-2 oxidase (Cbb3-2) and the aa(3) oxidase (Aa3), are cytochrome c oxidases. The expression pattern of the genes for these terminal oxidases under various growth conditions was investigated by using lacZ transcriptional fusions and some novel regulatory issues were found. The Aa3 genes were induced under starvation conditions. The Cyo genes were induced by exposure to the nitric oxide-generating reagent S-nitrosoglutathione. The CIO genes were induced by exposure to sodium nitroprusside as well as cyanide. The stationary phase sigma factor RpoS was found to be involved in the expression of the Aa3 and CIO genes. The role of two redox-responsive transcriptional regulators, ANR and RoxSR, was investigated using the anr and roxSR mutant strains. The ANR was involved in the repression of the CIO genes and induction of the Cbb3-2 genes. The other three terminal oxidase genes were not significantly regulated by ANR. On the other hand, all five terminal oxidase genes were shown to be directly or indirectly regulated by RoxSR. The Aa3 genes were repressed but the genes for the other four enzymes were induced by RoxSR. The transcriptome data also showed that some respiration-related genes were regulated by RoxSR, suggesting that this two-component regulatory system plays an important role in the regulation of respiration in P. aeruginosa.

Siccanin rediscovered as a species-selective succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor.

To identify antibiotics targeting to respiratory enzymes, we carried out matrix screening of a structurally varied natural compound library with Pseudomonas aeruginosa membrane-bound respiratory enzymes. We identified a succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor, siccanin (IC(50), 0.9 microM), which is a potent antibiotic against some pathogenic fungi like Trichophyton mentagrophytes and inhibits their mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase. We found that siccanin was effective against enzymes from P. aeruginosa, P. putida, rat and mouse mitochondria but ineffective or less effective against Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium glutamicum, and porcine mitochondria enzyme. Action mode was mixed-type for quinone-dependent activity and noncompetitive for succinate-dependent activity, indicating the proximity of the inhibitor-binding site to the quinone-binding site. Species-selective inhibition by siccanin is unique among succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors, and thus siccanin is a potential lead compound for new chemotherapeutics.