Long-term benzodiazepine use in patients with major depressive disorder in China.

PURPOSE: There have been no data about long-term benzodiazepine (BZD) use and its correlates in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in China. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of long-term BZD use (more than three months) and its demographic and clinical correlates in Chinese patients with MDD. DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 1,192 patients with MDD were examined in 10 mental health centers in China. Patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics and prescriptions for psychotropic drugs were recorded using a standardized form. FINDINGS: A large portion of patients (36.2%) received long-term BZD treatment. Univariate analyses revealed that long-term BZD users were older, poorer, and had more impaired occupational functioning than patients not taking BZDs. Long-term BZD users had fewer psychotic symptoms and took less antipsychotic drugs. In multivariate analyses, long-term BZD use was independently associated with older age and more severe impaired occupational functioning; long-term BZD users were less likely to receive antipsychotic medications and traditional antidepressants (tricyclic antidepressants, tetracyclic antidepressant, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Long-term BZD use was common in patients with MDD in China. A host of demographic and clinical factors were independently associated with long-term BZD use.

Neonatal MK-801 treatment differentially alters the effect of adolescent or adult MK-801 challenge on locomotion and PPI in male and female rats.

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder and is typically "triggered" by subsequent insults in life. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801) induces locomotor hyperactivity and prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits, which can mimic the schizophrenia phenotype. In this experiment, we assessed whether neonatal exposure to MK-801 (postnatal days 5-14) could induce sensitization to both hyperactivity and PPI deficit caused by later-life acute MK-801 treatment during adolescence or adulthood. Our results showed that the hyperactivity induced by an acute MK-801 challenge was enhanced in male and female rats after neonatal MK-801 treatment. Notably, in the PPI test, adult female rats neonatally exposed to MK-801 exhibited a significantly greater reduction in PPI in response to acute MK-801 administration, whereas male rats receiving neonatal MK-801 treatment expressed attenuated PPI disruption in adulthood. Our data indicate that a combination of neonatal and later-life NMDA receptor blockades could induce sensitization in the locomotor activity of both sexes in adolescence and adulthood. In addition, a sex difference was observed in the effects of this treatment regime on PPI.

Use of clozapine in older Asian patients with schizophrenia between 2001 and 2009.

BACKGROUND: To date there has been no large-scale international study that examined the use of clozapine in older patients with schizophrenia. This study examined the use of clozapine and its demographic and clinical correlates in older patients with schizophrenia in East Asia during the period between 2001 and 2009. METHOD: Information on 1,157 hospitalized patients with schizophrenia aged 50 or older in five East Asian countries and territories (China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan) was extracted from the database of the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns (REAP) project. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics and prescription of psychotropic medications were recorded. RESULTS: Clozapine was prescribed for 20.6% of the pooled sample; 19.0% in 2001, 19.4% in 2004 and 22.9% in 2009. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the whole sample revealed that patients taking clozapine had a longer duration of illness, more negative symptoms and were less likely to receive first generation antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs, but more likely to report weight gain compared to those not receiving clozapine. Compared to those in other sites, older patients in China were more likely to receive clozapine. CONCLUSIONS: The prescription of clozapine for older Asian schizophrenia inpatients has remained at a stable level during the past decade. The appropriateness of use of clozapine in China needs to be further explored.

[Effects of seeding-box total fertilization on rice yield and nitrogen loss].

By using seeding-box total fertilization technology, a two-year field plot experiment was conducted to study the effects of applying medium rate of controlled-release urea fertilizer (MN, 80 kg N x hm(-2)), high rate of controlled-release urea fertilizer (HN, 120 kg N x hm(-2)), and conventional urea fertilizer (FP, 300 kg N x hm(-2)) on rice yield and nitrogen loss. As compared with FP, HN did not decrease rice yield significantly, and MN and HN increased the two-year average nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by 26.2% and 20.7%, respectively (the NUE in treatment FP was 33.2%). In treatment FP, the total N concentration in surface water peaked after 1-3 days of urea application; while in treatments MN and HN, the total N concentration in surfate water peaked after 7-9 days of urea application, and was significantly lower than that in treatment FP throughout the rice growth period. The nitrogen leaching loss in treatment FP mainly occurred at tillering stage, while that in treatments MN and HN delayed to tillering-flowering stage. In all treatments, the NO3(-)-N loss accounted for 59.7% - 64.2% of the total N loss. HN decreased the total N leaching loss by 51.8%, as compared with FP.

[Construction, expression and purification of trichosanthin mutant gene TCS(FYY163-165CSA);].

AIM: To construct and express a trichosanthin (TCS) gene mutant and purify the expressed product in E.coli. METHODS: The potential antigenic determinant was predicted on TCS molecule by computer modeling and induced for site-directed mutation. The gene mutant TCS(FYY163-165CSA); was amplified by PCR using the genomic DNA of Trichosanthes kirilowii as a template and cloned into expression vector pRSET-A, then transfected into E.coli BL21 (DE3) for expression by inducing with IPTG. The expressed product was identified by Western blotting and purified by Ni-NTA affinity column chromatography. RESULTS: The soluble target protein was successfully expressed in E.coli. Homogenous TCS mutant protein was obtained after purification of expressed product. CONCLUSION: The site-directed mutagenesis, expression and purification of TCS provide a new approach for reconstructing TCS.