Stevioside (250 mg capsules) was given three times daily to 10 healthy subjects. Steviol glucuronide (steviol 19-O-beta-D-glucopyranosiduronic acid; MM, 494.58; melting point, 198-199 degrees C) was characterized in the 24 h urine as the only excretion product of oral stevioside by MS, NMR, IR, and UV spectroscopy. This is the first report on the unambiguous identification of steviol glucuronide in human urine.

This review provides clear and updated evidence for non-target achievement for all major risk factors, with four different study designs and inclusion criteria, and highlights the need for more comprehensive and intensive application of European guidelines recommendations for CVD prevention in Belgium.

Objective: To investigate factors that may influence treatment choice for Bipolar I/II Disorder (BDI/BDII) patients experiencing a major depressive episode. Methods: The HARMONY study (NCT00888264) was a multi-centre, prospective, non-interventional Belgian study that enrolled BDI or BDII patients experiencing a major depressive episode. The study involved four visits (V): V1 (Baseline), V2 (after 6-weeks), V3 (3-months) and V4 (6-months). Data collection included psychiatric hospitalizations, effect of substance abuse or work/school situation on treatment. Safety and tolerability were not assessed. Results: 152 patients aged 19-75 years (mean±SD: 46.5±11.0; 62.3% female) were recruited: 95 patients (63.3%) with BDI and 55 (36.7%) with BDII, diagnosis was missing for 2 patients. At enrolment, 138 patients were treated by atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) combined with other antipsychotic medications, 14 by AAP monotherapy. Depressive symptoms were treated with quetiapine (42.7%, 64/150), at least one other AAP (40.0%, 60/150; olanzapine, aripiprazole, risperidone or paliperidone), amisulpride (2%, 3/150) and the benzodiazepine chlordiazepoxide (0.67%, 1/150). Patients who first developed symptoms at ≤30-years-old were prescribed quetiapine less than patients who developed symptoms when older (34.2%, 27/79 vs. 53.6%, 37/69, p=0.017). Males were prescribed quetiapine for depressive symptoms more than females (52.6% vs. 36.2%; p= 0.047), more females were prescribed other antipsychotics (42.6% vs. 35.1%). 56.7% (85/150) of patients were hospitalized ≥once for psychiatric symptoms (last 5-years): BDI-63.2% (60/95), BDII-45.5% (25/55). Current treatment choice was not influenced by prior AAP treatment or substance abuse. Conclusions: Age and gender were the main factors influencing treatment choice for BD patients experiencing a depressive episode.

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