Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Improved Social Interaction, Recognition And Working Memory With Cannabidiol Treatment In A Prenatal Infection (Poly I:C) Rat Model, Ashleigh L. Osborne, Nadia Solowij, Ilijana Babic, Xu-Feng Huang, Katrina Weston-Green

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia are associated with cognitive impairment, including learning, memory and attention deficits. Antipsychotic drugs are limited in their efficacy to improve cognition; therefore, new therapeutic agents are required. Cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating component of cannabis, has anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and antipsychotic-like properties; however, its ability to improve the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia remains unclear. Using a prenatal infection model, we examined the effect of chronic CBD treatment on cognition and social interaction. Time-mated pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (n=16) were administered polyinosinic-polycytidilic acid (poly I:C) (POLY; 4 mg/kg) or saline (CONT) at gestation day 15. Male offspring …

The Value Of Psychological Treatment For Borderline Personality Disorder: Systematic Review And Cost Offset Analysis Of Economic Evaluations, Denise Meuldijk, Alexandra Mccarthy, Marianne E. Bourke, Brin F. S Grenyer

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Aim Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a common mental health condition with high patterns of service utilisation of inpatient and community treatment. Over the past five years there has been significant growth in research with economic data, making this systematic review a timely update.

Methods Empirical studies written in English or German, published up to December 2015, and cited in major electronic databases were examined using the PRISMA systematic review method. Papers were included that had one of the following: data related to cost of BPD to society, the individual, the carer or families; cost benefits of interventions. Reported cost …

Neurodevelopmental Expression Profile Of Dimeric And Monomeric Group 1 Mglurs: Relevance To Schizophrenia Pathogenesis And Treatment, Jeremy Lum, Francesca Fernandez-Enright, Natalie Matosin, Jessica L. Andrews, Xu-Feng Huang, Lezanne Ooi, Kelly A. Newell

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1/mGluR5) play an integral role in neurodevelopment and are implicated in psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. mGluR1 and mGluR5 are expressed as homodimers, which is important for their functionality and pharmacology. We examined the protein expression of dimeric and monomeric mGluR1α and mGluR5 in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus throughout development (juvenile/adolescence/adulthood) and in the perinatal phencyclidine (PCP) model of schizophrenia. Under control conditions, mGluR1α dimer expression increased between juvenile and adolescence (209-328%), while monomeric levels remained consistent. Dimeric mGluR5 was steadily expressed across all time points; monomeric mGluR5 was present in juveniles, dramatically …

Early Antipsychotic Treatment In Juvenile Rats Elicits Long-Term Alterations To The Dopamine Neurotransmitter System, Michael De Santis, Jiamei Lian, Xu-Feng Huang, Chao Deng

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Prescription of antipsychotic drugs (APDs) to children has substantially increased in recent years. Whilst current investigations into potential long-term effects have uncovered some alterations to adult behaviours, further investigations into potential changes to neurotransmitter systems are required. The current study investigated potential long-term changes to the adult dopamine (DA) system following aripiprazole, olanzapine and risperidone treatment in female and male juvenile rats. Levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), phosphorylated-TH (p-TH), dopamine active transporter (DAT), and D₁ and D₂ receptors were measured via Western blot and/or receptor autoradiography. Aripiprazole decreased TH and D₁ receptor levels in the ventral tegmental …

Reconceptualizing Involuntary Outpatient Psychiatric Treatment From "Capacity" To "Capability", Edwina M. Light, Michael D. Robertson, Ian Kerridge, Philip Boyce, Terry Carney, Alan Rosen, Michelle Cleary, Glenn E. Hunt, Nick O'Connor

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Justifying involuntary psychiatric treatment on the basis of a judgment that a person lacks capacity is controversial because there are questions about the meaning and utility of the concept in this context. There are complexities to using capacity in this way, which are further amplified in the community outpatient setting compared with acute inpatient care. A richer account of capacity, its meanings, and practical applications in context, is required. This qualitative study sought to build inductively a model of capacity in the context of involuntary outpatient psychiatric treatment, based on 38 interviews with stakeholders from New South Wales, Australia. The …

Development And Feasibility Testing Of Prompt-Care, An Ehealth System For Collection And Use Of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures For Personalized Treatment And Care: A Study Protocol, Afaf Girgis, Geoff P. Delaney, Anthony Arnold, Andrew Alexis Miller, Janelle V. Levesque, Nasreen Kaadan, Martin G. Carolan, Nicole Cook, Kenneth Masters, Thomas T. Tran, Tiffany Sandell, Ivana Durcinoska, Martha Gerges, Sandra Avery, Weng Ng, Stephen Della-Fiorentina, Haryana M. Dhillon, Ashley M. Maher

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Background: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures have been used widely to screen for depression, anxiety, and symptoms in cancer patients. Computer-based applications that collect patients' responses and transfer them to the treating health professional in real time have the potential to improve patient well-being and cancer outcomes.

Objective: This study will test the feasibility and acceptability of a newly developed eHealth system which facilitates PRO data capture from cancer patients, data linkage and retrieval to support clinical decisions and patient self-management, and data retrieval to support ongoing evaluation and innovative research.

Methods: The eHealth system is being developed in consultation with …

Applications Of Nanotechnology For Melanoma Treatment, Diagnosis, And Theranostics, Jiezhong Chen, Renfu Shao, Xu Dong Zhang, Chen Chen

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer and has very high rates of mortality. An early stage melanoma can be surgically removed, with a survival rate of 99%. However, metastasized melanoma is difficult to cure. The 5-year survival rates for patients with metastasized melanoma are still below 20%. Metastasized melanoma is currently treated by chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy. The outcome of most of the current therapies is far from optimistic. Although melanoma patients with a mutation in the oncogene v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) have an initially higher positive response rate to targeted …

Effects Of Olanzapine And Betahistine Co-Treatment On Serotonin Transporter, 5-Ht2a And Dopamine D2 Receptor Binding Density, Jiamei Lian, Xu-Feng Huang, Nagesh Pai, Chao Deng

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Olanzapine is widely used in treating multiple domains of schizophrenia symptoms but induces serious metabolic side-effects. Recent evidence has showed that co-treatment of betahistine (a histaminergic H1 receptor agonist and H3 receptor antagonist) is effective for preventing olanzapine-induced weight gain/obesity, however it is not clear whether this co-treatment affects on the primary therapeutic receptor binding sites of olanzapine such as serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors (5-HT2AR) and dopaminergic D2 receptors (D2R). Therefore, this study investigated the effects of this co-treatment on 5-HT2AR, 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) and D2R bindings in various brain regions involved in antipsychotic efficacy. Female Sprague Dawley rats were administered …

In Vivo Pharmacological Evaluations Of Novel Olanzapine Analogues In Rats: A Potential New Avenue For The Treatment Of Schizophrenia, Somayeh Jafari, Xu-Feng Huang, Jessica L. Andrews, Francesca Fernandez-Enright

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Olanzapine (Olz) is one of the most effective antipsychotic drugs commonly used for treating schizophrenia. Unfortunately, Olz administration is associated with severe weight gain and metabolic disturbances. Both patients and clinicians are highly interested in the development of new antipsychotics which are as effective as atypical antipsychotics but which have a lower propensity to induce metabolic side effects. In the present study, we examined two new derivatives of Olz; OlzEt (2-ethyl-4-(4′-methylpiperazin-1′-yl)-10Hbenzo[b]thieno[2,3-e][1,4]diazepine), and OlzHomo (2-ethyl-4-(4′-methyl-1′,4′-diazepan-1′-yl)-10H-benzo[b]thieno[2,3-e] [1,4]diazepine), for their tendency to induce weight gain in rats. Weight gain and metabolic changes were measured in female Sprague Dawley rats. Animals were treated orally …