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Background: New CD36 mutations are constantly being identified, although no study has specifically targeted a Taiwanese population. CD36 deficiency can result in dyslipid state and slow clearance of chylomicron. This could be linked to more frequent lipemic donations., Study Design and Methods: We used flow cytometric methods to study the CD36 deficiency in 640 regular volunteer platelet apheresis donors from Taipei blood centre. The coding exons of CD36 gene were sequenced in CD36-deficient individuals, and the allele frequencies of CD36 variants were determined in the larger population by mutation-specific PCR and oligonucleotide hybridization. Visual inspection of lipemic plasma was routinely performed on samples taken before commencement of apheresis. Individuals found to have lipemic plasma are deferred until next donation. We investigated the link between positive lipemic deferral record and low platelet CD36 expression status., Results: We found four donors (0·6%) with type I CD36 deficiency (both platelets and monocytes CD36(null) ) and six (1·0%) with type II CD36 deficiency (PLT: CD36(null) , monocyte: CD36(low) ). Six CD36 genetic variants were identified, two of them were novel, all but one are found exclusively in CD36(null) and CD36(low) expressors. Subjects with CD36 genetic variants also displayed deficient or reduced CD36 on monocytes. Donors with null or low PLT CD36 expression were more likely to have a lipemic deferral record than control subjects with normal PLT CD36 expression (X(2) = 27·36, odds ratio = 2·6, 95% conference interval: 1·8-3·8, P < 0·0001)., Conclusion: Through this study, we established a donor registry to supply CD36-negative platelets for patients in need., (© 2015 International Society of Blood Transfusion.)

Despite its merits, the Western-style psychiatric community rehabilitation model is not well accepted by caregivers in Taiwan. We examined factors affecting the utilization of community rehabilitation programs in Taiwan. Our stepwise logistic regression revealed that psychoeducation regarding the biological cause of schizophrenia emerged as the major factor for increasing utilization treatment modality. Eighty-nine pairs of schizophrenic patients (who had been recommended for rehabilitation) and their relatives were divided into two groups, the rehabilitation group and the nonrehabilitation group. Both groups were surveyed on help-seeking behavior scales and mental function measurements. The results showed no significant differences in patients' psychopathology, though the rehabilitation group had higher employment rates. As for caregivers, the rehabilitation group scored significantly better on some cognitive appraisals, whereas the nonrehabilitation group was more inclined to institutionalize the patients for life. No significant differences were noticed on rejection attitude, subjective care burden, or expressed emotion measures. Improving caregiver's knowledge about the disease, providing activities that lend emotional, physical, and financial support and thereby reduce the burden and increase the satisfaction of caregivers may be useful. Besides making the Western-style psychiatric community rehabilitation model more effective and accessible for patients and caregivers in Taiwan, cultural adaptation is also needed.