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“It was reported that ritanserin, a 5HT2A/2C antagonist, improves negative symptoms when added to neuroleptics in inpatients with predominantly negative symptoms. Nevertheless, the results of published studies are contradictory so far. This study was designed to investigate the effect of ritanserin added to risperidone as augmentation therapy in patients with chronic schizophrenia and prominent negative symptoms in a double blind and randomized clinical trial. Eligible participants in this study were

40 patients with chronic Pritelivir solubility dmso schizophrenia. All patients were inpatients and were in the active phase of the illness, and met DSM-IV-TR criteria for schizophrenia. Patients were allocated in a random fashion, 20 to risperidone 6 mg/day plus ritanserin 12 mg/day (6 mg bid) and 20 to risperidone 6 mg/day plus placebo. The principal measure of the outcome was Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Although both protocols significantly decreased the score of the positive, negative and general psychopathological symptoms over the trial period, the combination of risperidone and ritanserin showed a significant superiority over risperidone alone in decreasing negative symptoms and PANSS total scores. The present Selleckchem ACY-1215 study indicates ritanserin as a potential adjunctive treatment strategy for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Nevertheless, results of larger controlled trials are needed. before recommendation before for a broad clinical application can be made. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved.”
“The direction-selective circuit in the retina extracts the directional information of image motion in the visual scene. It is a classic model for neural circuit analysis because its input and output are well-defined and accessible to physiological measurements. However, the neural basis of direction selectivity is still not fully understood. Indeed, this ostensibly simple computation arises from a collection of complex neural mechanisms at all levels of circuit organization. In this review, we describe recent advances in genetic, imaging and optogenetic techniques that have improved our understanding

of the synaptic organization and development underlying retinal direction selectivity.”
“The TAR RNA binding protein, TRBP, is a cellular double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding protein that can promote the replication of HIV-1 through interactions with the viral TAR element as well as with cellular proteins that affect the efficiency of translation of viral transcripts. The structured TAR element, present on all viral transcripts, can impede efficient translation either by sterically blocking access of translation initiation factors to the 5′-cap or by activating the dsRNA-dependent kinase, PKR. Several mechanisms by which TRBP can facilitate translation of viral transcripts have been proposed, including the binding and unwinding of TAR and the suppression of PKR activation.