Urinary biomarker panel for diagnosing patients with depression and anxiety disorders

Yin

et al. 2020

Medicine

Background: Electroacupuncture (EA) treatment has antidepressant effect and when patients were treated with EA and antidepressants, the effect could be maintained for a longer time. However, the effect of EA combined with antidepressants based on metabolism is still in the initial observation stage, which requires further research. Methods: A total of 60 patients with moderate depression were assigned into 2 groups at a ratio of 1:1, the EA group (receiving EA and antidepressants) and the control group (taking antidepressants only) in this randomized controlled pilot trial. The EA treatment was performed 3 times a week for 8 consecutive weeks and then follow up for 4 weeks. The patients’ depressive mood was measured by the Hamilton Depression scale (HAMD) at baseline, week 4, week 8 and week 12. Before and after 8-week treatment, morning urine samples from all patients were analyzed by the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to find possible metabolic markers of depression and of EA treatment related changes. Results: Compared with the control group, the EA group showed more significant improvements in depressive symptoms measured by HAMD at week 4 (16.89 ± 5.74 vs 25.58 ± 7.03, P < .001), week 8 (9.59 ± 5.13 vs 25.04 ± 7.49, P < .001) and week 12 (11.07 ± 6.85 vs 27.25 ± 7.14, P < .001). The significant differences in urinary specific metabolites before and after EA treatment were malonic acid (fatty acid biosynthesis), cysteine (glutamate metabolism), glutathione (glutamate metabolism), tryptophan (tryptophan metabolism), proline (glutamate metabolism), and N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine. These metabolites are involved in tryptophan metabolism, glutamate metabolism, and fatty acid biosynthesis. Conclusion: EA treatment combined with antidepressants is more effective in improving depressive symptoms than antidepressants alone. EA may treat depression by acting on tryptophan metabolism, glutamate metabolism, and fatty acid biosynthesis. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR-2000030786.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of acupuncture on depression and its correlation with metabolic alterations

Yin

et al. 2020

Medicine

“…In addition, it is reported that aminomalonic acid can inhibit asparagine synthesis 32 . Several metabolomics studies have also found that altered aminomalonic acid level in serum was associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, ketamine overdose and aneurysm, indicating that aminomalonic acid is an important serum indicator for diseases and toxicities 30,33,34 . Serine is an important amino acid and the precursor for choline synthesis 35 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of metabolite biomarkers in serum of rats exposed to chlorpyrifos and cadmium

Wang

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) and cadmium (Cd) are widespread environmental pollutants, which are often present in drinking water and foods. However, the combined effects of CPF and Cd were not entirely clear at present. There was also no biomarker available to diagnose the poisoning of the two chemicals at low dose for long-term exposures. In this study, we investigated the change of serum metabolites of rats with subchronic exposure to CPF, Cd, and CPF plus Cd using gas chromatography-mass spectrometerbased metabolomics approach. We performed a stepwise optimization algorithm based on receiver operating characteristic to identify serum metabolite biomarkers for toxic diagnosis of the chemicals at different doses after 90-day exposure. We found that aminomalonic acid was the biomarker for the toxicity of Cd alone administration, and serine and propanoic acid were unique biomarkers for the toxicities of CPF plus Cd administrations. Our results suggest that subchronic exposure to CPF and Cd alone, or in combination at their low doses, could cause disturbance of energy and amino acid metabolism. Overall, we have shown that analysis of serum metabolomics can make exceptional contributions to the understanding of the toxic effects following long-term low-dose exposure of the organophosphorus pesticide and heavy metal.Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is a widely used organophosphorus insecticide with cholinergic toxicity 1,2 . CPF exposure can induce severe toxicity in multiple organs 3 . Cadmium (Cd) is a persistent toxic metal with very long half-life 4 . Chronic Cd exposure induces toxicity in kidneys, liver, and bones 5-8 . Due to their toxicity to different target organs, CPF and Cd pose significant threats to public health.CPF and Cd are widespread environmental toxicants which often coexist in water, air, and soil 3,9 . Given that environmental toxicants are widespread, organisms are seldom exposed to only one chemical. Thus, it is important to study the combined toxicity of multiple toxicants. More and more studies suggest that combined exposure to different chemicals can potentiate the toxicity of single chemical alone 2,10,11 . As the technology advances, new methodologies such as omics approaches are developed, and great progress has been made in the study of mixture toxicology, which increases our ability to predict the potential risks of exposure to mixtures 12 .The acute toxicity of CPF and Cd are well understood 13,14 . We have reported that chronic exposure to CPF and Cd individually and in combination caused neurotoxicity and hepatotoxicity 15,16 . We found that CPF and Cd disturbed energy and amino acids metabolism in the brain and liver. Therefore, in this study, we try to identify the biomarkers in serum, upon exposure to CPF, Cd, and their mixture.Metabolomics is a very useful approach for toxicological studies because it can characterize the changes of metabolite levels induced by toxic chemicals and identify the specific biomarkers for each toxicant 17,18 . In the present study, we aim to use metabolomics analysis in se...

“…Firstly, the sample size was relatively small in each group; then future studies with a large cohort of patients were needed to validate our conclusion. Secondly, all patients with T1a glottic cancer were recruited from the same city and were of the same ethnicity; this point might limit the applicability of our conclusion [ 30 – 32 ]. Thirdly, the follow-up period was relatively short (median, 33 months in the CO2-LS group, 36 months in the LTP-RFA group), which made it impossible to compare the five-year overall survival rates of these two intervention methods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Dioxide Laser Microsurgery versus Low-Temperature Plasma Radiofrequency Ablation for T1a Glottic Cancer: A Single-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Zhang

Wang

BioMed Research International

et al. 2018

Background Very few studies have been conducted to compare carbon dioxide laser microsurgery (CO2-LS) with low-temperature plasma radiofrequency ablation (LTP-RFA) in treating T1a glottic cancer. Therefore, we conducted this study to compare the efficacy of CO2-LS and LTP-RFA to define a superior therapeutic modality for T1a glottic cancer. Methods Patients (n=131) with T1a glottic cancer were recruited between January 2010 and September 2014. The included patients were randomly assigned to either receive CO2-LS (n=65) or LTP-RFA (n=66). We conducted the following multidimensional vocal assessments: (i) videostroboscopic evaluation; (ii) auditory-perceptual evaluation; (iii) aerodynamics/ efficiency; (iv) acoustics; and (v) self-assessment questionnaires. Meanwhile, the surgery time and three-year overall survival rates in two groups were recorded. The predefined primary endpoint was overall survival, and the minimum follow-up time was set to six months. Results After treatment, we found that the structure and vibration of vocal cord might recover more quickly in patients receiving LTP-RFA than in patients receiving CO2-LS, and moreover, the patients in the LTP-RFA group had the better vocal functions. Meanwhile, the surgery time was significantly less in the LTP-RFA group (8.83±1.59 minutes) than in the CO2-LS group (12.49±1.40 minutes) (p<0.00001). In addition, the two intervention methods had the similar three-year overall survival rates (94% versus 96%, p=0.58). Conclusion These results indicated that both LTP-RFA and CO2-LS could effectively treat T1a glottic cancer, and LTP-RFA might have some advantages in voice function. Limited by the relatively small sample size, future studies were needed to validate our conclusion.