The association between plasma betaine level and brain structural changes in schizophrenia.

Previous studies on metabolic profiling have shown decreased plasma levels of betaine in schizophrenia. Betaine serves as a substrate of betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase, which converts homocysteine to methionine. A decrease in betaine may lead to the elevation of homocysteine and an insufficient supply of methyl donors, which may affect DNA methylation.

Computational mechanisms of neuroimaging biomarkers uncovered by multicenter resting-state fMRI connectivity variation profile.

Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is increasingly used to develop biomarkers for psychiatric disorders. Despite progress, development of the reliable and practical FC biomarker remains an unmet goal, particularly one that is clinically predictive at the individual level with generalizability, robustness, and accuracy. In this study, we propose a new approach to profile each connectivity from diverse perspective, encompassing not only disorder-related differences but also disorder-unrelated variations attributed to individual difference, within-subject across-runs, imaging protocol, and scanner factors.

Brain microstructure alterations in bipolar disorder subtypes revealed by diffusion kurtosis imaging.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is often associated with extensive changes in white matter (WM) microstructure. While diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used in BD studies, diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) has rarely been explored, particularly concerning the different subtypes of BD. This cross-sectional study compared DTI and DKI metrics of the brain WM in participants with BD type I (BD-I) and II (BD-II) and in healthy controls (HC).

Oncolytic virus-mediated p53 activation boosts the antitumor immunity of a p53-transduced dendritic cell vaccine.

Dendritic cells (DCs) transduced with replication-deficient, wild-type human p53-expressing adenovirus Ad-p53 (Ad-p53 DCs) induce p53-targeting cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). However, the antitumor efficacy of Ad-p53 DCs is diminished by weak p53 immunogenicity in tumor cells and poor immune responses. We developed a p53-armed oncolytic adenovirus, OBP-702, to induce tumor-specific p53 expression and antitumor immune response, suggesting a role for OBP-702 in enhancing the antitumor efficacy of Ad-p53 DCs.

[Development of Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapy to Improve the Immunosuppressive Microenvironment in Pancreatic Cancer].

Immunotherapy resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)limits treatment outcomes; therefore, improving the immunosuppressive microenvironment is important for PDAC treatment. We developed an oncolytic adenovirus, OBP-702, carrying the tumor suppressor gene p53, and report its therapeutic potential to induce cytopathic effects and activate antitumor immunity via p53 induction. In the present study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of epigenetic modulators in oncolytic viral immunotherapy combined with a dendritic cell vaccine.

Classroom-Level and Individual-Level Prosociality and Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Adolescents.

Importance: Although individual prosociality, defined as voluntary behavior intended to benefit another, is known to promote help-seeking behaviors among adolescents, it remains unclear whether a prosocial community, such as the classroom, also facilitates these behaviors.

Objective: To investigate the associations of classroom-level and individual-level prosociality with help-seeking behaviors, considering age and gender, and to examine moderation effects of being bullied.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cross-sectional study, annual surveys were conducted via questionnaire among students in Japanese junior and senior high schools from 2020 to 2023.

Lithium and valproate affect subcortical brain volumes in individuals with bipolar disorder: Mega-analysis of 235 individuals.

Introduction: The mega-analysis conducted by the ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group revealed significant volume increment effects of lithium on the hippocampus in individual with bipolar disorder. However, the study did not assess other medications and other subcortical regions.

Methods: Data of 235 individuals with bipolar disorder were taken from a mega-analysis conducted by the COCORO consortium in Japan.

Comprehensive evaluation of pipelines for classification of psychiatric disorders using multi-site resting-state fMRI datasets.

Objective classification biomarkers that are developed using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data are expected to contribute to more effective treatment for psychiatric disorders. Unfortunately, no widely accepted biomarkers are available at present, partially because of the large variety of analysis pipelines for their development. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated analysis pipelines using a large-scale, multi-site fMRI dataset for major depressive disorder (MDD).

Proposal for a Novel Classification of Patients With Enlarged Ventricles and Cognitive Impairment Based on Data-Driven Analysis of Neuroimaging Results in Patients With Psychiatric Disorders.

One of the challenges in diagnosing psychiatric disorders is that the results of biological and neuroscience research are not reflected in the diagnostic criteria. Thus, data-driven analyses incorporating biological and cross-disease perspectives, regardless of the diagnostic category, have recently been proposed. A data-driven clustering study based on subcortical volumes in 5604 subjects classified into four brain biotypes associated with cognitive/social functioning.

Increased structural covariance of cortical measures in individuals with an at-risk mental state.

An anomalous pattern of structural covariance has been reported in schizophrenia, which has been suggested to represent connectome changes during brain maturation and neuroprogressive processes. It remains unclear whether similar differences exist in a clinical high-risk state for psychosis, and if they are associated with a prodromal phenotype and/or later psychosis onset. This multicenter magnetic resonance imaging study cross-sectionally examined structural covariance in a large at-risk mental state (ARMS) sample with different outcomes.

[Combined Efficacy of Dendritic Cell Vaccine and Oncolytic Adenovirus in Colorectal Cancer].

Dendritic cell(DC)vaccine therapy has been widely studied as cancer immunotherapy that potently induces cytotoxic T lymphocytes. However, their efficacy in clinical practice has not yet been established. We have developed an oncolytic adenovirus OBP-702 carrying the tumor suppressor gene p53 and have demonstrated its therapeutic potential to induce cytopathic effect and activate antitumor immunity via p53 induction.

Frontal pole-precuneus connectivity is associated with a discrepancy between self-rated and observer-rated depression severity in mood disorders: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Discrepancies in self-rated and observer-rated depression severity may underlie the basis for biological heterogeneity in depressive disorders and be an important predictor of outcomes and indicators to optimize intervention strategies. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this discrepancy have been understudied. This study aimed to examine the brain networks that represent the neural basis of the discrepancy between self-rated and observer-rated depression severity using resting-state functional MRI.

Macronutrient intake is associated with intelligence and neural development in adolescents.

Introduction: Macronutrient intake can be one of the most influential factors in cognitive and neural development in adolescents. Adolescence is a specific period of cognitive and neural development, and nutritional effects during this period could be life-long. Therefore, understanding the effects of macronutrient intake on cognitive and neural development in adolescents is crucially important.

Hippocampal Structures Among Japanese Adolescents Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: Few studies have used a large-sample, longitudinal, population-based cohort study to examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic as a global major life event is associated with structural plasticity of the adolescent hippocampus.

Objective: To examine whether Japan's first state of emergency (SoE) during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with alterations in the macrostructures and microstructures of the hippocampus during its development.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The population-neuroscience Tokyo TEEN Cohort study is a prospective cohort study with 4 consecutive waves in Tokyo, Japan.

Longitudinal trajectories of anterior cingulate glutamate and subclinical psychotic experiences in early adolescence: the impact of bullying victimization.

Previous studies reported decreased glutamate levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in non-treatment-resistant schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis. However, ACC glutamatergic changes in subjects at high-risk for psychosis, and the effects of commonly experienced environmental emotional/social stressors on glutamatergic function in adolescents remain unclear. In this study, adolescents recruited from the general population underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of the pregenual ACC using a 3-Tesla scanner.

Cerebral cortical structural alteration patterns across four major psychiatric disorders in 5549 individuals.

According to the operational diagnostic criteria, psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are classified based on symptoms. While its cluster of symptoms defines each of these psychiatric disorders, there is also an overlap in symptoms between the disorders. We hypothesized that there are also similarities and differences in cortical structural neuroimaging features among these psychiatric disorders.

Subcortical volumetric alterations in four major psychiatric disorders: a mega-analysis study of 5604 subjects and a volumetric data-driven approach for classification.

Differential diagnosis is sometimes difficult in practical psychiatric settings, in terms of using the current diagnostic system based on presenting symptoms and signs. The creation of a novel diagnostic system using objective biomarkers is expected to take place. Neuroimaging studies and others reported that subcortical brain structures are the hubs for various psycho-behavioral functions, while there are so far no neuroimaging data-driven clinical criteria overcoming limitations of the current diagnostic system, which would reflect cognitive/social functioning.