Author name: Romeo Mariano, M.D.

Obesity in Bipolar Disorder: An Overview <img src=”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/corehtml/query/egifs/http:–production.springer.de-OnlineResources-Logos-springerlink.gif” alt=”” border=”0″> Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2012 Aug 18; McElroy SL, Keck PE Abstract Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with obesity, overweight, and abdominal obesity, and BD individuals with obesity have a greater illness burden. Factors related to BD, its treatment, and the individual may all contribute to …

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http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm048534.htm Medications for High Blood Pressure Nearly one in three adults in the United States has high blood pressure, also called hypertension. High blood pressure is dangerous because it increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, death. “High blood pressure is often called the ‘silent killer’ because it usually has no …

An Epidemic: 1 in 3 Adults in the United States has High Blood Pressure Read More »

Comparative Effectiveness of Clozapine and Standard Antipsychotic Treatment in Adults With Schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2015 Nov 6;:appiajp201515030332 Authors: Stroup TS, Gerhard T, Crystal S, Huang C, Olfson M Abstract OBJECTIVE: The authors compared the effectiveness of initiating treatment with either clozapine or a standard antipsychotic among adults with evidence of treatment-resistant schizophrenia in routine …

Clozapine is Better than Standard Antipsychotics for Reducing Schizophrenia Hospitalizations but has Greater Health Risks Read More »

Plasma concentrations of retinol in obese children and adolescents: relationship to metabolic syndrome components Rev Paul Pediatr. 2014 Mar;32(1):50-4 Authors: Teske M, Melges AP, de Souza FI, Fonseca FL, Sarni RO OBJECTIVE: To evaluate obese children and adolescents’ retinol plasma levels and to correlate them with metabolic syndrome components. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 61 obese …

Vitamin A Deficiency Leads to Diabetes and Obesity Read More »

Molecular Mechanisms and Timing of Cortical Immune Activation in Schizophrenia Am J Psychiatry. 2015 Jul 2;:appiajp201515010019 Authors: Volk DW, Chitrapu A, Edelson JR, Roman KM, Moroco AE, Lewis DA OBJECTIVE:  Immune-related abnormalities are commonly reported in schizophrenia, including higher mRNA levels for the viral restriction factor interferon-induced transmembrane protein (IFITM) in the prefrontal cortex. The …

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Effect of tDCS on auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Influence of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism Asian J Psychiatr. 2015 Jun 2; Authors: Shivakumar V, Chhabra H, Subbanna M, Agarwal SM, Bose A, Kalmady SV, Narayanaswamy JC, Debnath M, Venkatasubramanian G   Dysregulated cortical plasticity has been demonstrated to underlie the pathogenesis of positive symptoms like auditory …

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Retinoid X receptor: the forgotten partner in regulating lipid metabolism? Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Jun 10;  Authors: Neuschwander-Tetri BA People with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease have lower circulating RA concentrations than do normal controls.  The differences were not trivial, with concentrations in those having severe NASH being less than half the concentrations in controls.  Hepatic expression …

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The adipocyte as an endocrine organ in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis Neuropharmacology. 2012 Jul;63(1):57-75 Authors: Harwood HJ Abstract Over the past decade and a half it has become increasingly clear that adipose tissue is a much more complex organ than was initially considered and that its metabolic functions extend well beyond the classical actions …

Fat as an endocrine organ regulating metabolism Read More »

Activation of immune responses to brain antigens after stroke.   Activation of immune responses to brain antigens after stroke. J Neurochem. 2012 Nov;123 Suppl 2:148-55 Authors: Becker KJ Abstract Infection is common after stroke and is independently associated with a worse outcome. The predisposition to infection following stroke is in part related to a sympathetically …

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