High educational performance is a distinctive feature of bipolar disorder: a study on cognition in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia patients, relatives and controls.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is associated with lower intelligence and poor educational performance relative to the general population. This is, to a lesser degree, also found in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients. It is unclear whether bipolar disorder I (BD-I) patients and their relatives have similar lower intellectual and educational performance as that observed in schizophrenia. METHOD: This cross-sectional study investigated intelligence and educational performance in two outpatient samples [494 BD-I patients, 952 schizophrenia spectrum (SCZ) patients], 2231 relatives of BD-I and SCZ patients, 1104 healthy controls and 100 control siblings. Mixed-effects and regression models were used to compare groups on intelligence and educational performance. RESULTS: BD-I patients were more likely to have completed the highest level of education (odds ratio 1.88, 95% confidence interval 1.66-2.70) despite having a lower IQ compared to controls (ß = -9.09, S.E. = 1.27, p < 0.001). In contrast, SCZ patients showed both a lower IQ (ß = -15.31, S.E. = 0.86, p < 0.001) and lower educational levels compared to controls. Siblings of both patient groups had significantly lower IQ than control siblings, but did not differ on educational performance. IQ scores did not differ between BD-I parents and SCZ parents, but BD-I parents had completed higher educational levels. CONCLUSIONS: Although BD-I patients had a lower IQ than controls, they were more likely to have completed the highest level of education. This contrasts with SCZ patients, who showed both intellectual and educational deficits compared to healthy controls. Since relatives of BD-I patients did not demonstrate superior educational performance, our data suggest that high educational performance may be a distinctive feature of bipolar disorder patients.

Microdeletions in the Y chromosome of infertile men.

BACKGROUND: Some infertile men with azoospermia or severe oligospermia have small deletions in regions of the Y chromosome. However, the frequency of such microdeletions among men with infertility in general is unknown. We sought to determine the prevalence of Y-chromosome microdeletions among infertile men and to correlate the clinical presentation of the men with specific deletions. METHODS: We studied 200 consecutive infertile men. Each man was evaluated comprehensively for known causes of infertility, and Y-chromosome microdeletions were studied with use of the polymerase chain reaction to amplify specific regions of the chromosome. The Y chromosomes of 200 normal men were also analyzed. RESULTS: Fourteen infertile men (7 percent) and four normal men (2 percent) had microdeletions of the Y chromosome. Nine of the infertile men had azoospermia or severe oligospermia (sperm concentration, <5 million per milliliter), four had oligospermia (sperm concentration, 5 million to <20 million per milliliter), and one had normospermia (sperm concentration, > or = 20 million per milliliter). The size and location of the deletions varied and did not correlate with the severity of spermatogenic failure. The fathers of six infertile men with microdeletions were studied; two had the same deletions as their sons, and four had no deletions. CONCLUSIONS: A small proportion of men with infertility have Y-chromosome microdeletions, but the size and position of the deletions correlate poorly with the severity of spermatogenic failure, and a deletion does not preclude the presence of viable sperm and possible conception.

A binding site model and structure-activity relationships for the rat A3 adenosine receptor.

A novel adenosine receptor, the A3 receptor, has recently been cloned. We have systematically investigated the hitherto largely unexplored structure-activity relationships (SARs) for binding at A3 receptors, using 125I-N6-2-(4-aminophenyl)ethyladenosine as a radioligand and membranes from Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with the rat A3-cDNA. As is the case for A1 and A2a receptors, substitutions at the N6 and 5' positions of adenosine, the prototypic agonist ligand, may yield fairly potent compounds. However, the highest affinity and A3 selectivity is found for N6,5'-disubstituted compounds, in contrast to A1 and A2a receptors. Thus, N6-benzyladenosine-5'-N-ethylcarboxamide is highly potent (Ki, 6.8 nM) and moderately selective (13- and 14-fold versus A1 and A2a). The N6 region of the A3 receptor also appears to tolerate hydrophilic substitutions, in sharp contrast to the other subtypes. Potencies of N6,5'-disubstituted compounds in inhibition of adenylate cyclase via A3 receptors parallel their high affinity in the binding assay. None of the typical xanthine or nonxanthine (A1/A2) antagonists tested show any appreciable affinity for rat A3 receptors. 1,3-Dialkylxanthines did not antagonize the A3 agonist-induced inhibition of adenylate cyclase. A His residue in helix 6 that is absent in A3 receptors but present in A1/A2 receptors may be causal in this respect. In a molecular model for the rat A3 receptor, this mutation, together with an increased bulkiness of residues surrounding the ligand, make antagonist binding unfavorable when compared with a previously developed A1 receptor model. Second, this A3 receptor model predicted similarities with A1 and A2 receptors in the binding requirements for the ribose moiety and that xanthine-7-ribosides would bind to rat A3 receptors. This hypothesis was supported experimentally by the moderate affinity (Ki 6 microM) of 7-riboside of 1,3-dibutylxanthine, which appears to be a partial agonist at rat A3 receptors. The model presented here, which is consistent with the detailed SAR found in this study, may serve to suggest future chemical modification, site-directed mutagenesis, and SAR studies to further define essential characteristics of the ligand-receptor interaction and to develop even more potent and selective A3 receptor ligands.