Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent and disabling mental disorder, associated with significant psychiatric co-morbidity. Previous research on structural brain alterations associated with SAD has yielded inconsistent results concerning the direction of the changes in gray matter (GM) in various brain regions, as well as on the relationship between brain structure and SAD-symptomatology. These heterogeneous findings are possibly due to limited sample sizes. Multi-site imaging offers new opportunities to investigate SAD-related alterations in brain structure in larger samples. An international multi-center mega-analysis on the largest database of SAD structural T1-weighted 3T MRI scans to date was performed to compare GM volume of SAD-patients (<i>n</i> = 174) and healthy control (HC)-participants (<i>n</i> = 213) using voxel-based morphometry. A hypothesis-driven region of interest (ROI) approach was used, focusing on the basal ganglia, the amygdala-hippocampal complex, the prefrontal cortex, and the parietal cortex. SAD-patients had larger GM volume in the dorsal striatum when compared to HC-participants. This increase correlated positively with the severity of self-reported social anxiety symptoms. No SAD-related differences in GM volume were present in the other ROIs. Thereby, the results of this mega-analysis suggest a role for the dorsal striatum in SAD, but previously reported SAD-related changes in GM in the amygdala, hippocampus, precuneus, prefrontal cortex and parietal regions were not replicated. Our findings emphasize the importance of large sample imaging studies and the need for meta-analyses like those performed by the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium.

Violence against women remains a significant public health problem globally. The majority of longitudinal studies documenting the negative impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on the mental health of women come from high-income countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal association between emotional, physical, or sexual IPV and depression symptoms among South African women in a prospective cohort study. Participants were 981 South African women enrolled in the Drakenstein Child Health Study-a cohort study investigating the early life determinants of child health. Interview data from four time-points (antenatal care visit, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months postpartum) were included. The primary independent variable was self-reported emotional, physical, and sexual IPV in the past 12 months. Depressive symptoms were assessed at each time-point with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS); a cutoff score of ⩾13 was used to define significant depression symptoms. We used pooled-multivariable logistic regression models to determine associations between the three different forms of IPV and significant depression symptoms while adjusting for time-fixed and time-updated covariates. The mean age of the sample at antenatal care visit was 27 years (standard deviation = 6.0). In the adjusted model including all forms of IPV and adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, substance use, and childhood trauma, emotional (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] =1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI): [1.02, 2.34]; <i>p</i> = .039)] and sexual (aOR = 2.02, 95% CI: [1.10, 3.72]; <i>p</i> < .001) IPV were significantly associated with significant depression symptoms. The relationship between physical IPV and significant depression symptoms was not statistically significant (aOR = 0.68, 95% CI: [0.44, 1.05]; <i>p</i> = .485). Our study confirms findings from high-income countries of the association between IPV and depressive symptoms among women in South Africa. Routine screening for IPV, including emotional IPV and intervention programs for IPV among women, is needed in South Africa.

Although OHCD rates declined substantially during 1995 to 2009, they displayed educational gradients that remained constant over time.

(Reprinted and permission from <i>Lancet</i> 2016; 388: 3048-59).

Abstract Subcortical brain structures are integral to motion, consciousness, emotions, and learning. We identified common genetic variation related to the volumes of nucleus accumbens, amygdala, brainstem, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen, and thalamus, using genome-wide association analyses in over 40,000 individuals from CHARGE, ENIGMA and the UK-Biobank. We show that variability in subcortical volumes is heritable, and identify 25 significantly associated loci (20 novel). Annotation of these loci utilizing gene expression, methylation, and neuropathological data identified 62 candidate genes implicated in neurodevelopment, synaptic signaling, axonal transport, apoptosis, and susceptibility to neurological disorders. This set of genes is significantly enriched for Drosophila orthologs associated with neurodevelopmental phenotypes, suggesting evolutionarily conserved mechanisms. Our findings uncover novel biology and potential drug targets underlying brain development and disease.

Overall, our results indicate that epigenetic age acceleration in blood can be observed in PHIV+ adolescents and that these epigenetic changes accompany poorer cognitive functioning.

Combination of lower TPQ-HA, lower SPSRQ-SP, and greater risk-taking inclination may maintain disordered eating in patients with B/P EDs. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

The area inferior to the portal vein is the most reliable location for hepatic 18F-FDG uptake measurements on PET/MR.

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WM training may improve control of impulsivity and self-regulation in people with MUD.

Introduction: Standard infliximab doses of 5 mg/kg given at weeks 0, 2, and 6 for induction followed by maintenance doses every 8 weeks have proven effective for achieving clinical remission of ulcerative colitis. Unfortunately, during acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) exacerbations, several physiologic changes occur that may accelerate infliximab clearance. The most commonly proposed mechanisms include: a high tumor necrosis factor burden, excessive fecal elimination of infliximab, and increased proteolytic degradation of infliximab by the reticuloendothelial system. Based on the pharmacokinetic properties of infliximab in ASUC, it is reasonable to expect that modified dosing strategies may be required to optimize efficacy. Strategies employed to combat a suboptimal response include decreasing the dosing interval, increasing the dose to 10 mg/kg, or both. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 41 hospitalized patients who received their first dose of infliximab for steroid-refractory ASUC at a single academic medical center from January 2010 to July 2016. Patients were categorized as having received standard induction dosing or accelerated induction dosing, which we broadly defined as any dose given 4 days earlier than standard dosing frequency, employing a 10 mg/kg per dose strategy, or both. Our primary outcome was to evaluate whether patients who received accelerated dosing had fewer colectomies at 90 days compared with patients receiving standard dosing. Results: The rate of colectomy at 90 days was lower with the standard regimen (11.1%, 2 of 18) compared with the accelerated regimen (39.1%, 9 of 23) (Fisher exact test, P=0.075). Treatment groups did not differ in measures of C-reactive protein, albumin, or hemoglobin at the time of admission or just prior to infliximab administration (Table 1). The accelerated regimen was associated with shorter time to colectomy (log-rank test, P=0.124) (Figure 1). Additionally, patients on the accelerated dosing regimen had longer hospital stays compared with those on a standard dosing regimen (14 days vs 10 days, respectively) (Wilcoxon rank-sum test, P=0.54).FigureTable: Table. Baseline CharacteristicsConclusion: In hospitalized patients with severe ulcerative colitis, an accelerated infliximab induction strategy did not decrease the need for colectomy at 90 days compared with standard dosed infliximab. While our study is limited by small numbers and heterogeneity within the accelerated dosing group, this adds to limited data in this very ill population.