Vol 6, No 1 (2025)

BACKGROUND: Functional and structural studies of the brain highlight the importance of white matter alterations in schizophrenia. However, molecular studies of the alterations associated with the disease remain insufficient.

AIM: To study the lipidome and transcriptome composition of the corpus callosum in schizophrenia, including analyzing a larger number of biochemical lipid compounds and their spatial distribution in brain sections, and corpus callosum transcriptome data. To integrate the results of molecular approaches to create a comprehensive molecular perspective of the disease.

METHODS: A total of 8 brain tissue samples (4 from healthy controls (HC) + 4 from schizophrenia patients (SZ)) were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and RNA sequencing for transcriptome profiling. Additionally, 6 brain tissue samples (3 HC + 3 SZ) were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric imaging (MALDI-MSI). This approach enabled the characterization of mRNA and lipids in brain tissue samples, and the spatial distribution of selected lipids within brain sections.

RESULTS: The analysis revealed a general trend of reduced lipid levels in the corpus callosum of schizophrenia patients for lipid classes measured by mass spectrometric methods. Specifically, nine lipid classes detected via HPLC-MS showed significant differences in schizophrenia samples, with seven of them having lower median intensity. The results between HPLC-MS and MALDI-MSI were highly concordant. Transcriptome analysis identified 1,202 differentially expressed genes, clustered into four functional modules, one of which was associated with lipid metabolism.

CONCLUSION: We identified a series of lipidome and transcriptome alterations in the corpus callosum of schizophrenia patients that were internally consistent and aligned well with previous findings on white matter lipidome changes in schizophrenia. These results add to the existing scope of molecular alterations associated with schizophrenia, shedding light on the biological processes potentially involved in its pathogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Fixed drug eruption is a type of adverse drug reaction affecting the skin, marked by recurrent rashes that appear at the same site each time a particular drug is taken. Generalized bullous fixed drug eruption (GBFDE) is a severe form of FDE characterized by vesicles or bullae and involvement of a significant portion of the body surface area. To date, no association between GBFDE and chlordiazepoxide has been reported in the literature.

CASE REPORT: The authors present the case of a 40-year-old male inpatient in the psychiatry department of a tertiary care hospital in Assam, India. The patient was admitted in an alcohol withdrawal state and was initially prescribed chlordiazepoxide at a dose of 60 mg/day. He developed GBFDE within a day of chlordiazepoxide administration. The drug was discontinued, and he was treated with oral and topical corticosteroids instead, resulting in a significant improvement.

CONCLUSION: Сhlordiazepoxide is a rare but potential trigger of GBFDE. Clinicians should closely monitor patients on chlordiazepoxide for possible signs of GBFDE.

BACKGROUND: New psychoactive substances (NPS) represent a global problem, especially among young people. In Central Asia, while the trafficking in NPS continues to grow, there remains a lack of data on the social, health and psychological consequences of their use.

AIM: To investigate the motives behind the NPS use among young people in the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the medical and social characteristics of this group.

METHODS: The study will include young people (18–35 years) who have used NPS in the preceeding 30 days (on the basis of self-reports) or are undergoing rehabilitation and plan to cease the NPS use within the next 12–18 months. Semi-structured interviews will reveal the reasons for NPS use, risk perception, stigma, barriers to seeking help, and the need for preventive and rehabilitation services. Interviews will take place at the Republican Mental Health Center and two specialized rehabilitation centers in Uzbekistan between November 2024 and the completion of enrollment (25–30 participants), but no later than May 2025. Additionally, a focus group of psychiatrists, psychotherapists, narcologists, and psychologists will evaluate the level of awareness amongst health care professionals as regards of NPS use and its prevalence, medical, and social implications.

EXPECTED RESULTS: The study will identify the key motives of NPS use, usage patterns, and social and medical barriers of help-seeking. Findings will contribute to the development of prevention and rehabilitation strategies, including digital communication platforms and interactive educational programs.

CONCLUSION: The study focuses on raising awareness about the consequences of NPS in the Republic of Uzbekistan. This is essential for developing effective public health prevention and rehabilitation programs.

Yuri Lotman (1922–1993) was a semiologist, literary critic, and cultural historian from Soviet Russia. He is credited with founding the multidisciplinary Tartu-Moscow School of Semiotics. As a cultural theorist and humanist, he was highly influential across many fields, but his contributions to theories about the brain as a semiotic system have often been overlooked.

Topics such as the asymmetry of the brain hemispheres, the “untranslatable” specialization of their respective “languages”, interhemispheric dialogue, and the unity of consciousness were frequent subjects of discussion within the scientific community that formed around the multidisciplinary Tartu-Moscow (and Leningrad) group. Recently, scholars such as E. Andrews and T.V. Chernigovskaya have highlighted the influence and relevance of the “neurosemiotic” model proposed by Yu.M. Lotman in the late 1970s. However, our impression is that a fundamental aspect, which Yu.M. Lotman considered indispensable for the functioning of any “thinking system”, has been overlooked in the application of this model to contemporary studies of neurophysiology. This aspect is the intersemiotic translation device that Yu.M. Lotman calls the “semiotic boundary”. We can consider this as a “third” structure of intersection between the two hemispheres, which actively operates to translate specialized information systems reciprocally. In this paper, we will attempt to restore its significance according to an interpretation updated to the most recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience.