| 1. |
- Han, Laura K. M., et al.
(författare)
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Accelerating research on biological aging and mental health : Current challenges and future directions
- 2019
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Ingår i: Psychoneuroendocrinology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0306-4530 .- 1873-3360. ; 106, s. 293-311
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aging is associated with complex biological changes that can be accelerated, slowed, or even temporarily reversed by biological and non-biological factors. This article focuses on the link between biological aging, psychological stressors, and mental illness. Rather than comprehensively reviewing this rapidly expanding field, we highlight challenges in this area of research and propose potential strategies to accelerate progress in this field. This effort requires the interaction of scientists across disciplines - including biology, psychiatry, psychology, and epidemiology; and across levels of analysis that emphasize different outcome measures - functional capacity, physiological, cellular, and molecular. Dialogues across disciplines and levels of analysis naturally lead to new opportunities for discovery but also to stimulating challenges. Some important challenges consist of 1) establishing the best objective and predictive biological age indicators or combinations of indicators, 2) identifying the basis for inter-individual differences in the rate of biological aging, and 3) examining to what extent interventions can delay, halt or temporarily reverse aging trajectories. Discovering how psychological states influence biological aging, and vice versa, has the potential to create novel and exciting opportunities for healthcare and possibly yield insights into the fundamental mechanisms that drive human aging.
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| 2. |
- Schwieler, Lilly, et al.
(författare)
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A novel, robust method for quantification of multiple kynurenine pathway metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid
- 2020
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Ingår i: Bioanalysis. - : Future Science Ltd. - 1757-6180 .- 1757-6199. ; 12:6, s. 379-392
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Kynurenine metabolites are potential modulators of psychiatric disease. We aimed to develop a highly sensitive biochemical analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tryptophan (TRP) metabolites, to investigate the stability of metabolites and to confirm our previous findings of aberrant CSF quinolinic acid (QUIN) and picolinic acid (PIC) in suicide attempters using this method. Methodology & results: Ten CSF TRP metabolites were analyzed with ultraperformance LC-MS/MS. The method showed small intra- and interassay variation. Metabolites were stable following freeze-thaw cycles. A decreased CSF PIC/QUIN ratio was found in suicide attempters. Conclusion: The feasibility of reliably determining CSF TRP metabolites were demonstrated, including separation of the two isomers PIC and nicotinic acid (NA) and the finding of a reduced PIC/QUIN ratio replicated in suicide attempters.
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| 3. |
- Månsson, Kristoffer N. T., et al.
(författare)
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Improvement in indices of cellular protection after psychological treatment for social anxiety disorder
- 2019
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Ingår i: Translational Psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2158-3188. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Telomere attrition is a hallmark of cellular aging and shorter telomeres have been reported in mood and anxiety disorders. Telomere shortening is counteracted by the enzyme telomerase and cellular protection is also provided by the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Here, telomerase, GPx, and telomeres were investigated in 46 social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients in a within-subject design with repeated measures before and after cognitive behavioral therapy. Treatment outcome was assessed by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (self-report), administered three times before treatment to control for time and regression artifacts, and posttreatment. Venipunctures were performed twice before treatment, separated by 9 weeks, and once posttreatment. Telomerase activity and telomere length were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and GPx activity in plasma. All patients contributed with complete data. Results showed that social anxiety symptom severity was significantly reduced from pretreatment to posttreatment (Cohen’s d = 1.46). There were no significant alterations in telomeres or cellular protection markers before treatment onset. Telomere length and telomerase activity did not change significantly after treatment, but an increase in telomerase over treatment was associated with reduced social anxiety. Also, lower pretreatment telomerase activity predicted subsequent symptom improvement. GPx activity increased significantly during treatment, and increases were significantly associated with symptom improvement. The relationships between symptom improvement and putative protective enzymes remained significant also after controlling for body mass index, sex, duration of SAD, smoking, concurrent psychotropic medication, and the proportion of lymphocytes to monocytes. Thus, indices of cellular protection may be involved in the therapeutic mechanisms of psychological treatment for anxiety.
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| 4. |
- Lindqvist, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Plasma circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA in social anxiety disorder
- 2022
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Ingår i: Psychoneuroendocrinology. - : Elsevier. - 0306-4530 .- 1873-3360. ; 148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To investigate plasma levels of circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and healthy controls (HC).METHODS: In this study, 88 participants (46 patients with SAD and 42 HCs) were enrolled and both ccf-mtDNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) mtDNA copy number (mtDNA-cn) were measured at up to three times per individual (9-11 weeks apart). SAD patients also received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) between the second and third time-point.RESULTS: SAD patients had significantly lower ccf-mtDNA compared to HCs at all time points, but ccf-mtDNA did not change significantly after CBT, and was not associated with severity of anxiety symptoms. Plasma ccf-mtDNA did not significantly correlate with PBMC mtDNA-cn in patients.CONCLUSION: This is the first report of lower ccf-mtDNA in patients with an anxiety disorder. Our findings could reflect a more chronic illness course in SAD patients with prolonged periods of psychological stress leading to decreased levels of ccf-mtDNA, but future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm or refute this hypothesis.
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| 5. |
- Tymofiyeva, Olga, et al.
(författare)
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High levels of mitochondrial DNA are associated with adolescent brain structural hypoconnectivity and increased anxiety but not depression
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Affective Disorders. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0165-0327 .- 1573-2517. ; 232, s. 283-290
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Adolescent anxiety and depression are highly prevalent psychiatric disorders that are associated with altered molecular and neurocircuit profiles. Recently, increased mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-cn) has been found to be associated with several psychopathologies in adults, especially anxiety and depression. The associations between mtDNA-cn and anxiety and depression have not, however, been investigated in adolescents. Moreover, to date there have been no studies examining associations between mtDNA-cn and brain network alterations in mood disorders in any age group.METHODS: The first aim of this study was to compare salivary mtDNA-cn between 49 depressed and/or anxious adolescents and 35 well-matched healthy controls. The second aim of this study was to identify neural correlates of mtDNA-cn derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tractography, in the full sample of adolescents.RESULTS: There were no diagnosis-specific alterations in mtDNA-cn. However, there was a positive correlation between mtDNA-cn and levels of anxiety, but not depression, in the full sample of adolescents. A subnetwork of connections largely corresponding to the left fronto-occipital fasciculus had significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) values in adolescents with higher than median mtDNA-cn.LIMITATIONS: Undifferentiated analysis of free and intracellular mtDNA and use of DTI-based tractography represent this study's limitations.CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study help elucidate the relationships between clinical symptoms, molecular changes, and neurocircuitry alterations in adolescents with and without anxiety and depression, and they suggest that increased mtDNA-cn is associated both with increased anxiety symptoms and with decreased fronto-occipital structural connectivity in this population.
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| 6. |
- Lindqvist, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA, but not leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number, is elevated in major depressive disorder
- 2018
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Ingår i: Neuropsychopharmacology. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0893-133X .- 1740-634X. ; 43:7, s. 1557-1564
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been linked to mitochondrial defects, which could manifest in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms or mutations. Additionally, copy number of mtDNA (mtDNA-cn) can be quantified in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)s, indirectly reflecting cellular energetics, or in the circulating cell-free mtDNA (ccf-mtDNA) levels, which may reflect a fraction of the mitochondrial genome released during cellular stress. Few studies have examined ccf-mtDNA in MDD, and no studies have tested its relationship with intracellular mtDNA-cn or with antidepressant treatment response. Here, mtDNA levels were quantified in parallel from: (i) PBMCs and (ii) cell-free plasma of 50 unmedicated MDD subjects and 55 controls, in parallel with PBMC telomere length (TL) and antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GpX) activity. MtDNA measures were repeated in 19 MDD subjects after 8 weeks of open-label SSRI treatment. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and smoking, MDD subjects had significantly elevated levels of ccf-mtDNA (F = 20.6, p = 0.00002). PBMC mtDNA-cn did not differ between groups (p > 0.4). In preliminary analyses, we found that changes in ccf-mtDNA with SSRI treatment differed between SSRI responders and non-responders (F = 6.47, p = 0.02), with the non-responders showing an increase in ccf-mtDNA and responders not changing. Baseline ccf-mtDNA was positively correlated with GpX (r = 0.32, p = 0.001), and PBMC mtDNA correlated positively with PBMC TL (r = 0.38, p = 0.0001). These data suggest that plasma ccf-mtDNA and PBMC mtDNA-cn reflect different cellular processes and that the former may be more reflective of certain aspects of MDD pathophysiology and of the response to SSRI antidepressants.
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| 7. |
- Sundberg, Isak
(författare)
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Exploring Links between Melatonin, Inflammation and Depression
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading global causes of disease burden. Worse yet, about one third of the patients with MDD do not experience a remission with current treatments. The symptoms of MDD likely represent a variety of underlying pathologic processes and more knowledge about these processes is needed to optimize treatment for MDD. The focus of this thesis was to study the relationship between inflammation, melatonin and symptoms of depression. In papers I-III a population of young adults seeking psychiatric care was examined for depressive symptoms, melatonin levels in saliva, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and inflammatory markers in blood. In paper IV a cohort of patients with hepatitis C receiving treatment with new direct-acting agents (DAAs) were prospectively followed during treatment for depressive symptoms and sleep.All patients were diagnosed by means of structured or semi-structured interviews and depressive symptoms were assessed with the self-rating version of the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and GI symptoms were assessed with the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale-IBS. Melatonin in saliva was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and inflammatory markers in blood were analysed by proximity extension assay.In young adults seeking psychiatric care melatonin levels at bedtime were inversely correlated with depressive symptoms. In those patients with a current depressive episode low melatonin values at bedtime were a negative prognostic factor for response after 6 months (paper I). Postprandial melatonin levels were positively associated with GI symptoms of bloating and pain (paper II). Postprandial melatonin levels were also associated with the inflammatory markers vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and monocyte inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α). Evening levels of melatonin did not correlate with the inflammatory markers. VEGF-A and MCP-1 as well as postprandial levels of melatonin correlated with a diagnosis of anxiety disorder, whereas MIP-1α correlated with MDD (paper III). Patients with hepatitis C underwent treatment with DAAs without experiencing pronounced psychiatric side effects in terms of depressive symptoms or sleep disturbances (paper IV).In summary, the findings confirm a relationship between bedtime melatonin levels and depressive symptoms. The findings also show a connection between daytime melatonin and GI-symptoms. In addition, the findings indicate an association between inflammation and daytime melatonin. Together these results demonstrate links between melatonin, inflammation and depression. Lastly, interferon-free treatment against hepatitis C did not induce depressive symptoms.
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| 8. |
- Suneson, Klara, et al.
(författare)
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Low total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein associated with aggression and hostility in recent suicide attempters
- 2019
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Ingår i: Psychiatry Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0165-1781. ; 273, s. 430-434
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Low cholesterol levels have been correlated with both suicidal and aggressive behavior in psychiatric patients. Few studies have investigated associations between serum lipid profiles and both aggressive state and trait. Fifty-two psychiatric medication-free inpatients were included in this study after a suicide attempt. Composite scores of “State Aggression” and “Trait Aggression” were calculated using relevant items from the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale and the Karolinska Scales of Personality. State Aggression was significantly and negatively correlated with total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Trait Aggression was also significantly and negatively correlated with LDL, but not TC. There were small but significant mediation effects of severity of anxiety symptoms on the relationship between State Aggression and TC as well as LDL. In exploratory analyses we found that low cholesterol was also associated with personality traits of hostility. Moreover, low cholesterol was more robustly associated with personality trait items related to interpersonal aggression, as opposed to items related to irritability or more indirect, non-overt aggression. Our findings suggest that low cholesterol is associated with both state and trait aggression in suicide attempters. Future mechanistic studies are warranted to better understand the relationship between low cholesterol and high aggression in suicide attempters.
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| 9. |
- Lindqvist, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Salivary cortisol and suicidal behavior-A follow-up study.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Psychoneuroendocrinology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-3360 .- 0306-4530. ; 33:8, s. 1061-1068
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis is a common finding in major depressive disorder. Similar studies on suicide attempters are less abundant, and the results are divergent. The main aim of the present study was to investigate HPA-axis parameters by the time of a suicide attempt and at follow-up in search for associations between HPA-axis function and suicidal behavior. METHODS: Thirty-five suicide attempters and 16 non-suicidal controls were admitted to a psychiatric ward between the years of 1986 and 1992. Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) in cerebrospinal fluid and urinary cortisol were obtained for the suicide attempters. The patients were followed up approximately 12 years after the index admission. Cortisol was measured in saliva, and additional suicide attempts and current psychiatric symptoms were registered. RESULTS: At follow-up, evening salivary cortisol was lower in suicide attempters compared to controls. Low cortisol levels at follow-up were associated with severe psychiatric symptoms. Among women, repeated suicide attempts were associated with low morning and lunch salivary cortisol, and in this subgroup we also found significant correlations between salivary cortisol at follow-up, and CRH as well as urinary cortisol at index. CONCLUSION: We found evidence for an association between low HPA-axis activity and suicidal behavior. This could be due to long-lasting and severe psychiatric morbidity, which in turn has exhausted the HPA-axis of these patients. The potential role of hypocortisolism should be given more attention in studies on suicidal patients.
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| 10. |
- Hernandez, Natalie V.M., et al.
(författare)
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Depression severity is associated with increased inflammation in veterans with peripheral artery disease
- 2018
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Ingår i: Vascular Medicine (United Kingdom). - 1358-863X. ; 23:5, s. 445-453
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study examines the association between depressive symptoms and inflammatory markers in peripheral artery disease (PAD) to better understand the mechanistic relationship between depression and PAD. A cross-sectional sample of 117 patients with PAD (97% male, 76% Caucasian) was recruited from the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Patients were categorized into three subgroups based upon current depressive symptom severity, as defined by Patient Health Questionnaire-8 scores: no symptoms (score of 0–4, n = 62), mild symptoms (score of 5–9, n = 33), and moderate/severe symptoms (score ≥ 10, n = 22). Serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were assayed and log-transformed for multivariable analysis. To decrease the possibility of Type 1 errors, inflammatory markers were standardized and summed to create a total inflammatory score. In a multivariable analysis controlling for demographics, PAD severity, and atherosclerotic risk factors, mild and moderate/severe depressive symptoms were predictive of a higher total inflammatory score when compared to the group with no symptoms (mild symptoms p = 0.04, moderate/severe symptoms p = 0.007). Exploratory multivariable analyses of individual inflammatory markers found IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the moderate/severe symptoms group (p = 0.006) than in the no symptoms group. Moreover, hs-CRP and ICAM-1 trended upwards with increasing depression severity. TNF-α was not associated with depression severity. We conclude that depressive symptom severity was independently associated with greater inflammation in PAD. Future research should examine the strength and directionality of this association through larger prospective cohort studies, as well as investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible.
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