D. Itzhaky, D. Amital, K. Gorden, A. Bogomolni, Y. Arnson and H. Amital
Background: Vitamin D is increasingly associated with the pathology of cognition and mental illness. Vitamin D receptors have been detected on neurons that regulate behavior.
Objective: To assess vitamin D serum concentrations in patients with major depression and schizophrenia as compared to healthy controls and to determine if a correlation exists between serum levels of vitamin D and disease activity.
Methods: We recruited 50 patients with schizophrenia and compared them to 33 patients with major depression and 50 controls with no major psychopathology. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia and the Hamilton Depression scale for depression were administered on the same day the blood samples were drawn. We used LIAISON® 25-OH vitamin D (DiaSorin) immunoassay to measure serum concentrations of 25-OH vitamin D.
Results: Lower serum vitamin D concentrations were detected among patients with schizophrenia (15.0 ± 7.3 ng/ml) compared to patients with depression (19.6 ± 8.3 ng/ml) and to controls (20.2 ± 7.8 ng/ml, P < 0.05). We found no correlation between disease activity, measured by the PANSS score, and vitamin D levels.
Conclusions: Serum vitamin D levels were lower in patients with schizophrenia as compared to patients with depression and to healthy controls. No correlation was found between serum concentration and disease activity. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the role of vitamin D in the autoimmune mechanism and in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
R. Haimov-Kochman, C. Adler, E. Ein-Mor, D. Rosenak and A. Hurwitz
Background: ‘Religious (halachic[1]) infertility’ results from precoital ovulation prior to immersion in a ritual bath (mikveh) 7 days after menstruation, as mandated by Jewish religious law. Previous authors recommended treatment with estradiol to postpone ovulation and enhance pregnancy rates.
Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of halachic infertility in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, and assess the efficacy of estradiol treatment in postponing ovulation and increasing pregnancy rates.
Methods: We reviewed 88 cycles, of which 23 were control cycles and 65 estradiol-treated cycles, and analyzed the files of 23 women who were treated with 6 mg estradiol/day from day 1 for 5 days of the cycle.
Results: The prevalence of precoital ovulation in the infertile population was 21%. Most of the patients (94%) ovulated before day 13 of the cycle. A short follicular phase due to low ovarian reserve or thyroid endocrinopathy was noted in 12% of the patients. While 64% of the women reported consultation with a Rabbinate authority, 68% of the patients sought medical therapy. Estradiol postponed ovulation for at least one day in 89% of the treatment cycles. Ovulation post-mikveh occurred in 73% of estradiol-treated cycles. The pregnancy rate was 12.5% per cycle and the cumulative pregnancy rate 35% per woman. Half the patients reported spotting during estradiol-treated cycles, and this postponed coitus.
Conclusions: Precoital ovulation is a major reason for infertility among observant couples attending fertility clinics. Estradiol treatment is effective in delaying ovulation and restoring fecundity however, it causes some adverse effects that may decrease its effectiveness.
[1] Referring to Halacha, the body of Jewish Law
D. Bendayan, A. Hendler, K. Litman and V. Polansky
Background: Interferon-gamma release tests are appealing alternatives to the tuberculin skin test (TST) for latent tuberculosis infection.
Objectives: To determine the yield of the Quantiferon TB Gold test (QFT-G) in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis disease, with a focus on elderly patients, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection, and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB).
Methods: The QFT-G test was performed in 98 patients suspected of having active tuberculosis. The results were evaluated for each subgroup of patients and compared to the results of the TST.
Results: Active tuberculosis was diagnosed in 92 of the 98 patients. Sixteen (17.3%) were elderly patients (over age 70), 15 (16%) were co-infected with HIV, and 14 (15%) had EPTB. QFT-G was positive in 49 patients (53%) and indeterminate in 4. The results were not significantly affected by HIV co-infection (P = 0.17), old age (P = 0.4), or the presence of EPTB (P = 0.4). There was a good correlation between the TST and the QFT-G test (P < 0.001). In EPTB and in the elderly, the QFT-G test appears to be better than the TST.
Conclusions: The QFT-G test is suboptimal in its ability to detect active tuberculosis and should not be used to exclude it.
N. Shoenfeld, O. Rosenberg, M. Kotler and P.N. Dannon
The phenomenon of hair pulling has been recognized for centuries, yet the true prevalence of trichotillomania (TTM) is largely unknown and the topic has been sparsely studied. TTM is classified as an impulse-control disorder despite much debate about its etiology. In this review we summarize the different hypotheses, including impulse-control disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, behavioral problems and addiction, and the appropriate treatment methods. The combination of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and antipsychotic medications are shown to be most effective. Treatment with anti-addiction drugs seems relevant. Further research is needed to increase our knowledge regarding the etiology of TTM.
D. Boltin and Y. Niv
Eradication of Helicobacter pylori is accompanied by an array of metabolic and hormonal changes in the host. Weight gain following H. pylori eradication is a poorly understood phenomenon and probably results from an interaction between multiple factors. Ghrelin, a peptide hormone secreted by the stomach, is involved in the regulation of food intake and appetite and may account for some of these changes. Although several observational studies have demonstrated that H. pylori infection suppresses circulating ghrelin levels, it has yet to be proven that ghrelin levels increase following eradication. On the other hand, gastric expression of ghrelin, also suppressed by H. pylori, clearly increases following eradication. The determinants of plasma ghrelin levels remain elusive, as do the effects of eradication on these levels. Weight gain following H. pylori eradication may be attributable to changes in plasma and gastric ghrelin however, this hypothesis needs to be further investigated.
N. Moustafa-Hawash, T. Smolkin, A. Ilivitzki, A. Zimberg-Bossira, A. Gildish, R. Gershoni-Baruch and I.R. Makhoul
U. Netz, Z. Perry, S. Libson and M. Bayme