Persecution-induced reduction in earning capacity of Holocaust victims: influence of psychiatric and somatic aspects.

The incidence of mental and somatic sequelae is very high in the group of persons damaged by the Holocaust. Based on the sociomedical criteria prevailing in Germany, the assessment of persecution-induced reduction in earning capacity of Holocaust victims (vMdE) is mainly orientated towards direct Holocaust-induced somatic and mental sequelae but must also take into account the interaction of direct Holocaust-induced damage with subsequently acquired physical, mental, and psychosocial factors. The current medical evaluation is focused on the question whether persecution-induced symptoms are exacerbated by endogenous factors like mental or somatic diseases and/or exogenous factors like life events. In that case the grade of vMdE could be increased. Based on the synopsis of 56 Holocaust victims, we ascertained in this study that newly acquired somatic diseases and psychic morbidities contribute to an increase in persecution-induced mental complaints.

Orexin expression and promoter-methylation in peripheral blood of patients suffering from major depressive disorder.

Orexins are endogenous neuropeptides synthesized in hypothalamic neurones; they play a major role in the regulation of feeding, drinking, endocrine function and sleep/wakefulness that is often disturbed in major depression. The aim of this study was to explore Orexin A expression and promotermethylation in peripheral blood cells of 29 patients (14 male and 15 female patients at three different time points during antidepressive treatment) suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) by quantitative RT-PCR and bisulfite sequencing. There was a measurable difference between Orexin A expression on admission in comparison to the Orexin mRNA expression in the healthy control group (T=1.53; df=39; p=0.135) that failed to reach statistical significance. An inverse correlation between Orexin A mRNA expression on admission and the HAMD scores at all measurement dates each week over 6 weeks could be detected. A cluster of methylated CPG sites within the promoter region of the Orexin A gene could be identified that was positively correlated with Delta CT values of the mRNA expression 14 days after hospital admission (r=0.625; p=0.072) and 4 weeks afterwards (r=0.582; p=0.1). Considering only the methylation of the 7 CPGs within the CPG island in the promoter 4 weeks after treatment onset a statistically significant relation between the cluster of CPG sites within the island and body weight (r=0.55; p=0.034) as well as BMI (r=0.474; p=0.074) could be detected. Furthermore, this methylation pattern 4 weeks after treatment onset was positively associated with mRNA expression on admission, 2 and 4 weeks afterwards. In sum, these results are an indicator of a link between social stresses, disruptions in energy homeostasis and changes in body weight in relation to depressive disorders that are possibly linked to Orexin dysregulation.

Relationship between lunar phases and serious crimes of battery: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: The hypothesis of a lunar influence on human abnormal behavior is still widespread, although research has led to conflicting findings. Therefore, a population-based study to assess the influence of lunar phases on violent crimes was conducted. METHODS: The study included all serious crimes of battery (aggravated assaults) committed in Middle Franconia (Bavaria, Germany) between 1999 and 2005 (n = 23 142). Data were analyzed regarding lunar phase, sex, and place of crime scene (outdoor vs indoor). RESULTS: No significant associations between full, absent, and the moon's interphases and serious crimes of battery could be detected. Furthermore, a Fourier analysis was conducted that failed to produce an association between violence and the moon's phases. DISCUSSION: Several possible explanations for the presented results are discussed including biological and social mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: The present study fails to find a significant association between lunar phases and crimes of battery.