Schizophrenia is considered to occur due to both environmental and genetic factors. Depressive symptoms and apolipoprotein E (
  ) gene polymorphisms are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, the effect of 
  gene polymorphism on depressive symptoms has never been investigated among Chinese elderly schizophrenia patients.
 
  This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the effect of 
  gene polymorphism on blood lipid metabolism and depressive symptoms among elderly schizophrenia patients.
 
  A total of 301 elderly schizophrenia patients (161 males, age ranges from 60 to 92years, with an average age of 67.31±6.667) were included in the study. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). 
  gene polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Correlations between GDS and serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels with 
  genotypes were assessed.
 
  The concentration of LDL in the 
  E2 group was significantly lower than those in the 
  E3 and 
  E4 groups, and the GDS scores in the 
  E2 and 
  E3 groups were higher than those in the 
  E4 group. Using partial correlation analysis and controlling the duration of disease and hyperlipidemia, we found that GDS scores were significantly correlated with LDL (
  =-0.179, 
  =0.025).
 
  E2 genotype is associated with more depressive symptoms and lower serum LDL in elderly Chinese schizophrenia patients, and there is a negative correlation between depressive symptoms and LDL.
 The APOE E2 genotype is associated with more depressive symptoms and lower serum LDL in elderly Chinese schizophrenia patients, and there is a negative correlation between depressive symptoms and LDL.We investigated the relationship between disability self-awareness and cognitive and daily living functions in 49 patients with schizophrenia. The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS) self-report was used to identify patient-rated global function. A clinician-rated measure of global function was obtained using the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP); disability self-awareness was calculated using two global function scores. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) were used to evaluate clinical symptoms, while the MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) and the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA) were applied to assess cognitive and daily living functionality, respectively. The WHODAS scores correlated significantly with the MCCB verbal learning, visual learning, and social cognition domains, and with the UPSA communication domain. The PSP correlated significantly with all MCCB and UPSA domains. Disability self-awareness demonstrated positive correlation with most domains of MCCB and UPSA. The findings of this study indicate that the lower the cognitive and daily living function in patients with schizophrenia, the more positively they perceive their own disability.We present a rare case of Coombs-negative autoimmune haemolytic anaemia in a multiparous woman in secondary care.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/bms-1166.html  There were no known underlying medical or obstetric risk factors for haemolytic anaemia. Following extensive investigation and a therapeutic trial of oral corticosteroids, a diagnosis was made. Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia is potentially fatal, and prompt diagnosis with haematology input is essential to ensure maternal and fetal safety in pregnancy and the puerperium. With only a small number of cases of Coombs-negative autoimmune haemolytic anaemia reported in the literature, we present this rare case for discussion. We highlight the importance of thorough investigation of refractory anaemia in pregnancy and consider the associated challenges.Glomus tumor is an uncommon, benign, soft-tissue lesion in which the cells recapitulate the structure of the normal modified smooth muscle cells of the glomus body. Glomus tumors usually occur in tissues that normally contain glomus bodies; only rarely can they develop in sites where glomus bodies are normally sparse or absent. There are three subtypes of glomus tumor, with glomangiomyoma being the rarest. No more than 10 cases of glomus tumor in female genitalia have previously been reported, involving the vulva, vaginal area, periurethral area and clitoris. A clitoral glomangiomyoma is extremely rare. This is a case report of a glomangiomyoma in the clitoral area. Published reports of glomus tumor in the female external genitalia are reviewed.Cadmium (Cd2+) is considered a human carcinogen as it causes oxidative stress and alters DNA repair responses. However, how Cd2+ is taken up by cells remains unclear. We hypothesized that Cd2+ could be transported into cells via a membrane copper (Cu) transporter, CTR1. CTR1 expression was not affected by Cd2+ exposure at the mRNA or protein level. Stable cell lines overexpressing either hCTR1, in the human liver cell line HepG2, or zCTR1, in the zebrafish liver cell line ZFL, were created to study their responses to Cd2+ insult. It was found that both HepG2 and ZFL cells overexpressing CTR1 had higher Cd2+ uptake and thus became sensitive to Cd2+. In contrast, hCTR1 knockdown in HepG2 cells led to a reduced uptake of Cd2+, making the cells relatively resistant to Cd2+. Localization studies revealed that hCTR1 had a clustered pattern after Cd2+ exposure, possibly in an attempt to reduce both Cd2+ uptake and Cd2+-induced toxicity. These in vitro results indicate that CTR1 can transport Cd2+ into the cell, resulting in Cd2+ toxicity.Phenylhydrazine (PHZ), an intermediate in the synthesis of fine chemicals is toxic for human health and environment. Despite of having severe detrimental effects on different physiological systems, exposure of erythrocytes to PHZ cause destruction of haemoglobin and membrane proteins leading to iron release and complete haemolysis of red blood cells (RBC). Involvement of oxidative stress behind such action triggers the urge for searching a potent antioxidant. The benefits of consuming olive oil is attributed to its 75% oleic acid (OA) content in average. Olive oil is the basic component of Mediterranean diet. Hence, OA has been chosen in our present in vitro study to explore its efficacy against PHZ (1 mM) induced alterations in erythrocytes. Four different concentrations of OA (0.01 nM, 0.02 nM, 0.04 nM and 0.06 nM) were primarily experimented with, among which 0.06 nM OA has shown to give maximal protection. This study demonstrates the capability of OA in preserving the morphology, intracellular antioxidant status and the activities of metabolic enzymes of RBCs that have been diminished by PHZ, through its antioxidant mechanisms.