In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.

Q: Context: BDNF blood levels are reduced in MDD. They can be increased with pharmacologic treatment and ECT, but it is not clear whether the combination of treatments promotes an additional increase. The present study aims to evaluate whether combined treatment promotes an increase in BDNF, restoring the level to that of non-depressed controls.', 'Ninety-nine adult inpatients were invited to participate in this naturalistic prospective cohort study between May 2011 and April 2013. Diagnosis was made by MINI, and the symptoms were evaluated at admission and at discharge by HDRS-17. Those inpatients with a diagnosis of depression were included and divided into two groups: those who underwent combined ECT and medication (31 subjects) and those who used only pharmacotherapy (68 subjects). Serum BDNF was measured in blood samples collected at admission and discharge. One hundred healthy blood donors without any psychiatric diagnosis were included as a control group.', 'There were no significant differences in serum BDNF levels between the combined and pharmacological groups at admission and at discharge, and no significant variation in BDNF occurred in any group during the treatment. There were no interactions between time and treatment groups nor significant time effects or treatment group effects for BDNF in the Generalized Estimating Equation Model (GEE). The control group had significantly higher serum BDNF levels in comparison with each of the treatment groups at admission and discharge (p = 0.00).\Question: Is combining ECT with pharmacological treatment of depressed inpatients in a naturalistic study associated with serum BDNF level increase?

A: Combination of ECT with pharmacological treatment did not result in increased serum BDNF levels and did not restore levels to that of controls.
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Q: Context: Different apoptosis pathways activate caspase-3. In a study involving 27 patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), higher caspase-3 levels were found in contusion brain tissue resected from non-survivors than from survivors. The objective of this study was to determine whether there is an association in TBI patients between serum caspase-3 levels (thus using an easier, quicker, less expensive and less invasive procedure) and mortality, in a larger series of patients.', 'We carried out a prospective, observational and multicenter study in six Spanish Hospital Intensive Care Units including 112 patients with severe TBI. All had Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores lower than 9. Patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) in non-cranial aspects higher than 9 were excluded. Blood samples were collected on day 1 of TBI to measure serum caspas-3 levels. The endpoint was 30-day mortality.', 'We found that non-surviving patients (n = 31) showed higher (p = 0.003) serum caspase-3 levels compared to survivors (n = 81). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a higher risk of death in TBI patients with serum caspase-3 levels >0.20 ng/mL than in patients with lower concentrations (Hazard Ratio = 3.15; 95% CI = 1.40 to 7.08; P < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that serum caspase-3 levels > 0.20 ng/mL were associated with mortality at 30 days in TBI patients controlling for Marshall CT classification, age and GCS (Odds ratio = 7.99; 95% CI = 2.116 to 36.744; P = 0.001).\Question: Are serum caspase-3 levels and mortality associated in patients with severe traumatic brain injury?

A: The association between serum caspase-3 levels and mortality in TBI patients was the major novel finding of our study.
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Q: Context: Oxidants are believed to play a major role in the development of emphysema.', 'This study aimed to determine if the expression of human copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) within the lungs of mice protects against the development of emphysema.', 'Transgenic CuZnSOD and littermate mice were exposed to cigarette smoke (6 h/d, 5 d/wk, for 1 yr) and compared with nonexposed mice. A second group was treated with intratracheal elastase to induce emphysema.', 'Lung inflammation was measured by cell counts and myeloperoxidase levels. Oxidative damage was assessed by immunofluorescence for 3-nitrotyrosine and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine and lipid peroxidation levels. The development of emphysema was determined by measuring the mean linear intercept (Lm).', 'Smoke exposure caused a fourfold increase in neutrophilic inflammation and doubled lung myeloperoxidase activity. This inflammatory response did not occur in the smoke-exposed CuZnSOD mice. Similarly, CuZnSOD expression prevented the 58% increase in lung lipid peroxidation products that occurred after smoke exposure. Most important, CuZnSOD prevented the onset of emphysema in both the smoke-induced model (Lm, 68 exposed control vs. 58 exposed transgenic; p < 0.04) and elastase-generated model (Lm, 80 exposed control vs. 63 exposed transgenic; p < 0.03). These results demonstrate for the first time that antioxidants can prevent smoke-induced inflammation and can counteract the proteolytic cascade that leads to emphysema formation in two separate animal models of the disease.\Question: Does superoxide dismutase expression attenuate cigarette smoke- or elastase-generated emphysema in mice?

A:
These findings indicate that strategies aimed at enhancing or supplementing lung antioxidants could be effective for the prevention and treatment of this disease.
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