Gray Matter Volumes in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Before and After Fluoxetine or Cognitive-Behavior Therapy: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) are considered first-line treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, little is known about their modulatory effects on regional brain morphology in OCD patients. We sought to document structural brain abnormalities in treatment-naive OCD patients and to determine the effects of pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral treatments on regional brain volumes. Treatment-naive patients with OCD (n = 38) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging scan before and after a 12-week randomized clinical trial with either fluoxetine or group CBT. Matched-healthy controls (n = 36) were also scanned at baseline. Voxel-based morphometry was used to compare regional gray matter (GM) volumes of regions of interest (ROIs) placed in the orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate and temporolimbic cortices, striatum, and thalamus. Treatment-naive OCD patients presented smaller GM volume in the left putamen, bilateral medial orbitofrontal, and left anterior cingulate cortices than did controls (p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). After treatment with either fluoxetine or CBT (n = 26), GM volume abnormalities in the left putamen were no longer detectable relative to controls. ROI-based within-group comparisons revealed that GM volume in the left putamen significantly increased (p<0.012) in fluoxetine-treated patients (n = 13), whereas no significant GM volume changes were observed in CBT-treated patients (n = 13). This study supports the involvement of orbitofronto/cingulo-striatal loops in the pathophysiology of OCD and suggests that fluoxetine and CBT may have distinct neurobiological mechanisms of action. Neuropsychopharmacology (2012) 37, 734-745; doi: 10.1038/npp.2011.250; published online 26 October 2011

Consolidation of Bi-2223 superconducting powders by spark plasma sintering

The spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique, by using a compacting pressure of 50 MPa, was used to consolidate pre-reacted powders of Bi1.65Pb0.35Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+delta (Bi-2223). The influence of the consolidation temperature, T-D, on the structural and electrical properties has been investigated and compared with those of a reference sample synthesized by the traditional solid-state reaction method and subjected to the same compacting pressure. From the X-ray diffraction patterns, performed in both powder and pellet samples, we have found that the dominant phase is the Bi-2223 in all samples but traces of the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (Bi-2212) were identified. Their relative density were similar to 85% of the theoretical density and the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity, rho(T), indicated that increasing T-D results in samples with low oxygen content because the SPS is performed in vacuum. Features of the rho(T) data, as the occurrence of normal-state semiconductor-like behavior of rho(T) and the double resistive superconducting transition, are consistent with samples comprised of grains with shell-core morphology in which the shell is oxygen deficient. The SPS samples also exhibited superconducting critical current density at 77 K, J(c)(77K), between 2 and 10A/cm(2), values much smaller than similar to 22A/cm(2) measured in the reference sample. Reoxygenation of the SPS samples, post-annealed in air at different temperatures and times, was found to improve their microstructural and transport properties. Besides the suppression of the Bragg peaks belonging to the Bi-2212 phase, the superconducting properties of the post-annealed samples and particularly J(c)(77K) were comparable or better than those corresponding to the reference sample. Post-annealed samples at 750 degrees C for 5min exhibited J(c)(77K) similar to 130A/cm(2) even when uniaxially pressed at only 50 MPa. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4768257]

Neuropsychological predictors of response to randomized treatment in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Objective: To identify neuropsychological predictors of treatment response to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and fluoxetine in treatment-naive adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: Thirty-eight adult outpatients with OCD underwent neuropsychological assessment, including tasks of intellectual function, executive functioning and visual and verbal memory, before randomization to a 12-week clinical trial of either CBT or fluoxetine. Neuropsychological measures were used to identify predictors of treatment response in OCD. Results: Neuropsychological measures that predicted a better treatment response to either CBT or fluoxetine were higher verbal IQ (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence) (p = 0.008); higher verbal memory on the California Verbal Learning Test (p = 0.710); shorter time to complete part D (Dots) (p<0.001), longer time to complete part W (Words) (p = 0.025) and less errors on part C (Colors) (p<0.001) in the Victoria Stroop Test (VST). Fewer perseverations on the California Verbal Learning Test, a measure of mental flexibility, predicted better response to CBT, but worse response to fluoxetine (p = 0.002). Conclusion: In general, OCD patients with better cognitive and executive abilities at baseline were more prone to respond to either CBT or fluoxetine. Our finding that neuropsychological measures of mental flexibility predicted response to treatment in opposite directions for CBT and fluoxetine suggests that OCD patients with different neuropsychological profiles may respond preferentially to one type of treatment versus the other. Further studies with larger samples of OCD patients are necessary to investigate the heuristic value of such findings in a clinical context. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Flux-Line-Lattice Melting and Upper Critical Field of Bi1.65Pb0.35Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+delta Ceramic Samples

We have conducted magnetoresistance measurements rho(T,H) in applied magnetic fields up to 18 T in Bi1.65Pb0.35Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+delta ceramic samples which were subjected to different uniaxial compacting pressures. The anisotropic upper critical fields H (c2)(T) were extracted from the rho(T,H) data, yielding and the out-of-plane superconducting coherence length xi (c) (0)similar to 3 . We have also estimated and xi (ab) (0) similar to 90 . In addition to this, a flux-line-lattice (FLL) melting temperature T (m) has been identified as a second peak in the derivative of the magnetoresistance d rho/dT data close to the superconducting transition temperature. An H (m) vs. T phase diagram was constructed and the FLL boundary lines were found to obey a temperature dependence H (m) ae(T (c) /T-1) (alpha) , where alpha similar to 2 for the sample subjected to the higher compacting pressure. A reasonable value of the Lindemann parameter c (L) similar to 0.29 has been found for all samples studied.

Leishmanicidal activity in vitro of Musa paradisiaca L. and Spondias mombin L. fractions

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonotic disease characterized by infection of mononuclear phagocytes by Leishmania chagasi. The primary vector is Lutzomyia longipalpis and the dog is the main domestic reservoir. The control and current treatment of dogs using synthetic drugs have not shown effectiveness in reducing the incidence of disease in man. In attempt to find new compounds with leishmanicidal action, plant secondary metabolites have been studied in search of treatments of VL. This study aimed to evaluate the leishmanicidal activity of Musa paradisiaca (banana tree) and Spondias mombin (cajazeira) chemical constituents on promastigotes and amastigotes of L. chagasi. Phytochemical analysis by column chromatography was performed on ethanol extracts of two plants and fractions were isolated. Thin layer chromatography was used to compare the fractions and for isolation the substances to be used in vitro tests. The in vitro tests on promastigotes of L chagasi used the MTT colorimetric method and the method of ELISA in situ was used against amastigotes besides the cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7 cells. Of the eight fractions tested, Sm1 and Sm2 from S. mombin had no action against promastigotes, but had good activity against amastigotes. The fractions Mp1 e Mp4 of M. paradisiaca were very cytotoxic to RAW 264.7 cells. The best result was obtained with the fraction Sm3 from S. mombin with IC50 of 11.26 mu g/ml against promastigotes and amastigotes of 0.27 mu g/ml. The fraction Sm3 characterized as tannic acid showed the best results against both forms of Leishmania being a good candidate for evaluation in in vivo tests. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V.