TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schwarzmeier, Hanna
A1  - Leehr, Elisabeth Johanna
A1  - Böhnlein, Joscha
A1  - Seeger, Fabian Reinhard
A1  - Roesmann, Kati
A1  - Gathmann, Bettina
A1  - Herrmann, Martin J.
A1  - Siminski, Niklas
A1  - Junghöfer, Markus
A1  - Straube, Thomas
A1  - Grotegerd, Dominik
A1  - Dannlowski, Udo
T1  - Theranostic markers for personalized therapy of spider phobia: Methods of a bicentric external cross‐validation machine learning approach
JF  - International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research
N2  - Objectives
Embedded in the Collaborative Research Center “Fear, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders” (CRC‐TRR58), this bicentric clinical study aims at identifying biobehavioral markers of treatment (non‐)response by applying machine learning methodology with an external cross‐validation protocol. We hypothesize that a priori prediction of treatment (non‐)response is possible in a second, independent sample based on multimodal markers.

Methods
One‐session virtual reality exposure treatment (VRET) with patients with spider phobia was conducted on two sites. Clinical, neuroimaging, and genetic data were assessed at baseline, post‐treatment and after 6 months. The primary and secondary outcomes defining treatment response are as follows: 30% reduction regarding the individual score in the Spider Phobia Questionnaire and 50% reduction regarding the individual distance in the behavioral avoidance test.

Results
N = 204 patients have been included (n = 100 in Würzburg, n = 104 in Münster). Sample characteristics for both sites are comparable.

Discussion
This study will offer cross‐validated theranostic markers for predicting the individual success of exposure‐based therapy. Findings will support clinical decision‐making on personalized therapy, bridge the gap between basic and clinical research, and bring stratified therapy into reach. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT03208400).
KW  - machine learning
KW  - spider phobia
KW  - theranostic markers
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-213430
VL  - 29
IS  - 2
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Baune, Bernhard T.
A1  - Konrad, Carsten
A1  - Grotegerd, Dominik
A1  - Suslow, Thomas
A1  - Birosova, Eva
A1  - Ohrmann, Patricia
A1  - Bauer, Jochen
A1  - Arolt, Volker
A1  - Heindel, Walter
A1  - Domschke, Katharina
A1  - Schöning, Sonja
A1  - Rauch, Astrid V.
A1  - Uhlmann, Christina
A1  - Kugel, Harald
A1  - Dannlowski, Udo
T1  - Interleukin-6 gene (IL-6): a possible role in brain morphology in the healthy adult brain
JF  - Journal of Neuroinflammation
N2  - Background: Cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) have been implicated in dual functions in neuropsychiatric disorders. Little is known about the genetic predisposition to neurodegenerative and neuroproliferative properties of cytokine genes. In this study the potential dual role of several IL-6 polymorphisms in brain morphology is investigated. 
Methodology: In a large sample of healthy individuals (N = 303), associations between genetic variants of IL-6 (rs1800795; rs1800796, rs2069833, rs2069840) and brain volume (gray matter volume) were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Selection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) followed a tagging SNP approach (e. g., Stampa algorigthm), yielding a capture 97.08% of the variation in the IL-6 gene using four tagging SNPs. Principal findings/results In a whole-brain analysis, the polymorphism rs1800795 (-174 C/G) showed a strong main effect of genotype (43 CC vs. 150 CG vs. 100 GG; x = 24, y = -10, z = -15; F(2,286) = 8.54, p(uncorrected) = 0.0002; p(AlphaSim-corrected) = 0.002; cluster size k = 577) within the right hippocampus head. Homozygous carriers of the G-allele had significantly larger hippocampus gray matter volumes compared to heterozygous subjects. None of the other investigated SNPs showed a significant association with grey matter volume in whole-brain analyses. 
Conclusions/significance: These findings suggest a possible neuroprotective role of the G-allele of the SNP rs1800795 on hippocampal volumes. Studies on the role of this SNP in psychiatric populations and especially in those with an affected hippocampus (e.g., by maltreatment, stress) are warranted.
KW  - aging brain
KW  - hippocampal neurogenesis
KW  - cholinergic neurons
KW  - neurothrophic factor
KW  - Alzheimers disease
KW  - neurite outgrowth
KW  - inflammatory cytokines
KW  - major depression
KW  - nervour system
KW  - dentate gyrus
KW  - genetics
KW  - inflammation
KW  - interleukin 6
KW  - neuroprotection
KW  - voxel-based morphometry
Y1  - 2012
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130804
VL  - 9
IS  - 125
ER  -