Meditation and psychosis

IntroductionFor the last years, there has been a wordlwide increase in the interest of oriental culture, specifically in the practice of meditation. This technic is known to produce cognitive and sensorial perception alterations, with changes in the hormonal and autonomic system. This practice has been associated with different mental disorders such as neurotic manifestations, dissociative and regressive, and even psychotic symptoms.ObjectivesTo analyze the influence of an intensive practice of different styles of meditation in the psychopathology found in our patients (Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid). To study the changes produced in the Central Nervous System measured by Electroencephalogram, PET, and functional MRI.AimsTo define the clinical characteristics, prognois, risk factors and biological changes of an “atypical” psycopathologic case which seems to be more frequent everyday.MethodsExtensive bibliographic review focused in psychopathology related to different types of meditation, either auto or hetero-induced (exorcism). We analyzed the patients attended in our hospital with psychotic semiology after having practiced intensive types of meditacion (transcendental meditation, buddhist meditation, tai-chi, qi-gong, tiao-shen, etc).ResultsWe found serious psychotic and affective symptomatology produced after using these technics. It is important to point out the risk factors and traumatic experiences characteristic of these processes.ConclusionsThere is clinical and epidemiological evidence that a group of psychosis, with different symptomatology and prognosis than schizophrenia and affective disorders, exists. We describe a syndrome of sudden manifestation, with flourished symptoms and serious behavior alterations, etc.

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Risk factors of auditory hallucinations in childhood: adversity and the formation of psychotic-like ideation

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73048-6 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 1343-1343

Author(s):

A.A. Bartels-Velthuis ◽

G. Van de Willige ◽

J.A. Jenner ◽

J. Van Os ◽

D. Wiersma

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Control Sample ◽

Childhood Adversity ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Developmental Expression ◽

Traumatic Experiences ◽

Psychotic Symptoms ◽

Hearing Voices ◽

Social Adversity

Auditory vocal hallucinations (AVH) in general had limited functional impact in 7–8 year old children. However, transitory developmental expression of psychotic symptoms may become more persistent (and clinically relevant), depending on the degree of exposure to environmental risk factors. Therefore, in a five-year follow-up study of a case-control sample associations of (severity of) AVH with social adversity (traumatic experiences and stressful events) and the formation of delusional ideation were examined. In total 337 children (mean age 13.1 years; SD = 0.5) were reassessed. Forty children had continued to hear voices (24%, persistent group), 15 had heard voices for the first time (9%, incident group), 130 children no longer reported AVH (remitted group) and 152 never heard voices (referent group). Early social adversity was strongly associated with both incident and persistent AVH, and predicted greater AVH severity at follow-up. Children with both AVH and delusions were more likely to have experienced traumatic or stressful events than children with either symptom alone. AVH severity was shown to be a mediator in the association between TE (but not SE) and delusion formation. These results suggest that, although hearing voices in 7–8 year olds is in most cases benign, experience of social adversity can predict persistence and onset of new AVH closer to puberty. Given evidence for the association with delusion formation, they do pose a significant clinical risk.

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Graft detachments in endothelial keratoplasty

British Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-318092 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. bjophthalmol-2020-318092

Author(s):

Rashmi Deshmukh ◽

Sridevi Nair ◽

Darren Shu Jeng Ting ◽

Tushar Agarwal ◽

Jacqueline Beltz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Preventive Measures ◽

Endothelial Keratoplasty ◽

Common Complication ◽

Prevention Measures ◽

Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty ◽

Secondary Interventions ◽

Different Types ◽

Incidence Risk ◽

Donor Graft

Graft detachment is the most common complication of endothelial keratoplasty. With the ongoing advancements in the field of endothelial keratoplasty, our understanding of risk factors of graft detachments and its management has been evolving. Various prevention measures have been described in literature including presoaking the donor graft, anterior chamber tamponade, venting incisions, sutures to prevent dislocation of graft. Management of a detached graft involves secondary interventions such as rebubbling, suturing and regrafts. In this review, we discuss graft detachment in different types of endothelial keratoplasty techniques including Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty, Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty and Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty; with emphasis on incidence, risk factors, preventive measures and their management.

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Targeting the CCL2-CCR2 axis in depressive disorders

Pharmacological Reports ◽

10.1007/s43440-021-00280-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Katarzyna Curzytek ◽

Monika Leśkiewicz

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

Immune System ◽

Affective Disorders ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Brain Diseases ◽

Receptor System ◽

Proinflammatory Mediators ◽

Pathological Conditions ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Abnormal Brain

AbstractSince affective disorders are considered to be underlain by the immune system malfunction, an important role in their pathophysiology is assigned to the proinflammatory mediators. Recently, chemokines, the group of chemotactic cytokines, have become a focus for basic and clinical scientists in the context of the development and treatment of brain diseases. Among them, chemokine CCL2 and its main receptor CCR2 have become candidate mediators of abnormal brain-immune system dialogue in depression. Besides the chemotactic activity, the CCL2-CCR2 axis is involved in various neurobiological processes, neurogenesis, neurotransmission, neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, as well as neuroregeneration. Given the range of immunomodulatory possibilities that the CCL2-CCR2 pair can exert on the nervous system, its proinflammatory properties were initially thought to be a major contributor to the development of depressive disorders. However, further research suggests that the malfunctions of the nervous system are rather associated with impaired homeostatic properties manifested by the CCL2-CCR2 dyad dysfunctions. This review aims to present literature data on the action of the CCL2-CCR2 axis in the central nervous system under physiological and pathological conditions, as well as the contribution of this ligand-receptor system to the processes underlying affective disorders. Additionally, this article draws attention to the importance of the CCL2-CRR2 pathway as a potential pharmacological target with antidepressant potential.

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Psychometric Properties of the Translated Tai Chi Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale for Chinese Adults with Coronary Heart Disease or Risk Factors

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18073651 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 3651

Author(s):

Ting Liu ◽

Aileen Wai Kiu Chan ◽

Ruth E. Taylor-Piliae ◽

Kai-Chow Choi ◽

Sek-Ying Chair

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Coronary Heart Disease ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Tai Chi ◽

Chinese Adults ◽

Forward Translation ◽

Tai Chi Exercise

Tai Chi is an effective exercise option for individuals with coronary heart disease or its associated risk factors. An accurate and systematic assessment of a Mandarin-speaking adults’ self-efficacy in maintaining Tai Chi exercise is lacking. Mandarin Chinese has the most speakers worldwide. This study aimed to translate the Tai Chi Exercise Self-Efficacy scale and examine its psychometric properties. The 14-item Tai Chi Exercise Self-Efficacy scale was translated from English into Mandarin Chinese using a forward-translation, back-translation, committee approach, and pre-test procedure. Participants with coronary heart disease or risk factors (n = 140) enrolled in a cross-sectional study for scale validation. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit of the two-factor structure (Tai Chi exercise self-efficacy barriers and performance) to this sample. The translated scale demonstrated high internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s α value of 0.97, and good test-retest reliability, with an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.86 (p < 0.01). Participants with prior Tai Chi experience reported significantly higher scores than those without (p < 0.001), supporting known-group validity. A significant correlation was observed between the translated scale and total exercise per week (r = 0.37, p < 0.01), providing evidence of concurrent validity. The Mandarin Chinese version of the Tai Chi Exercise Self-Efficacy scale is a valid and reliable scale for Chinese adults with coronary heart disease or risk factors.

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Nomogram based on homogeneous and heterogeneous associated factors for predicting distant metastases in patients with colorectal cancer

World Journal of Surgical Oncology ◽

10.1186/s12957-021-02140-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tianwen Luo ◽

Yutong Wang ◽

Xuefeng Shan ◽

Ye Bai ◽

Chun Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Lung Metastases ◽

Roc Curves ◽

Distant Metastases ◽

Good Prediction ◽

Operating Characteristics ◽

Good Prediction Performance ◽

Different Types ◽

Associated Risk Factors

Abstract Background The identification of the homogeneous and heterogeneous risk factors for different types of metastases in colorectal cancer (CRC) may shed light on the aetiology and help individualize prophylactic treatment. The present study characterized the incidence differences and identified the homogeneous and heterogeneous risk factors associated with distant metastases in CRC. Methods CRC patients registered in the SEER database between 2010 and 2016 were included in this study. Logistic regression was used to analyse homogeneous and heterogeneous risk factors for the occurrence of different types of metastases. Nomograms were constructed to predict the risk for developing metastases, and the performance was quantitatively assessed using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve and calibration curve. Results A total of 204,595 eligible CRC patients were included in our study, and 17.07% of them had distant metastases. The overall incidences of liver metastases, lung metastases, bone metastases, and brain metastases were 15.34%, 5.22%, 1.26%, and 0.29%, respectively. The incidence of distant metastases differed by age, gender, and the original CRC sites. Poorly differentiated grade, more lymphatic metastasis, higher carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and different metastatic organs were all positively associated with four patterns of metastases. In contrast, age, sex, race, insurance status, position, and T stage were heterogeneously associated with metastases. The calibration and ROC curves exhibited good performance for predicting distant metastases. Conclusions The incidence of distant metastases in CRC exhibited distinct differences, and the patients had homogeneous and heterogeneous associated risk factors. Although limited risk factors were included in the present study, the established nomogram showed good prediction performance.

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Co-Deregulated miRNA Signatures in Childhood Central Nervous System Tumors: In Search for Common Tumor miRNA-Related Mechanics

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13123028 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 3028

Author(s):

George I. Lambrou ◽

Apostolos Zaravinos ◽

Maria Braoudaki

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Cns Tumors ◽

Normal Brain ◽

Cns Tumor ◽

Different Types ◽

Receiver Operator Curve Analysis ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Tumor Types ◽

Operator Curve

Despite extensive experimentation on pediatric tumors of the central nervous system (CNS), related to both prognosis, diagnosis and treatment, the understanding of pathogenesis and etiology of the disease remains scarce. MicroRNAs are known to be involved in CNS tumor oncogenesis. We hypothesized that CNS tumors possess commonly deregulated miRNAs across different CNS tumor types. Aim: The current study aims to reveal the co-deregulated miRNAs across different types of pediatric CNS tumors. Materials: A total of 439 CNS tumor samples were collected from both in-house microarray experiments as well as data available in public databases. Diagnoses included medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, ependydoma, cortical dysplasia, glioblastoma, ATRT, germinoma, teratoma, yoc sac tumors, ocular tumors and retinoblastoma. Results: We found miRNAs that were globally up- or down-regulated in the majority of the CNS tumor samples. MiR-376B and miR-372 were co-upregulated, whereas miR-149, miR-214, miR-574, miR-595 and miR-765 among others, were co-downregulated across all CNS tumors. Receiver-operator curve analysis showed that miR-149, miR-214, miR-574, miR-595 and miR765 could distinguish between CNS tumors and normal brain tissue. Conclusions: Our approach could prove significant in the search for global miRNA targets for tumor diagnosis and therapy. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous reports concerning the present approach.

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Dynamic networks of psychotic symptoms in adults living in precarious housing or homelessness

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291720004444 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Andrea A. Jones ◽

Kristina M. Gicas ◽

Sara Mostafavi ◽

Melissa L. Woodward ◽

Olga Leonova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Psychotic Disorder ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Community Sample ◽

Dynamic Networks ◽

Premature Mortality ◽

Psychotic Symptoms ◽

Network Measures ◽

History Of ◽

Precarious Housing

Abstract Background People living in precarious housing or homelessness have higher than expected rates of psychotic disorders, persistent psychotic symptoms, and premature mortality. Psychotic symptoms can be modeled as a complex dynamic system, allowing assessment of roles for risk factors in symptom development, persistence, and contribution to premature mortality. Method The severity of delusions, conceptual disorganization, hallucinations, suspiciousness, and unusual thought content was rated monthly over 5 years in a community sample of precariously housed/homeless adults (n = 375) in Vancouver, Canada. Multilevel vector auto-regression analysis was used to construct temporal, contemporaneous, and between-person symptom networks. Network measures were compared between participants with (n = 219) or without (n = 156) history of psychotic disorder using bootstrap and permutation analyses. Relationships between network connectivity and risk factors including homelessness, trauma, and substance dependence were estimated by multiple linear regression. The contribution of network measures to premature mortality was estimated by Cox proportional hazard models. Results Delusions and unusual thought content were central symptoms in the multilevel network. Each psychotic symptom was positively reinforcing over time, an effect most pronounced in participants with a history of psychotic disorder. Global connectivity was similar between those with and without such a history. Greater connectivity between symptoms was associated with methamphetamine dependence and past trauma exposure. Auto-regressive connectivity was associated with premature mortality in participants under age 55. Conclusions Past and current experiences contribute to the severity and dynamic relationships between psychotic symptoms. Interrupting the self-perpetuating severity of psychotic symptoms in a vulnerable group of people could contribute to reducing premature mortality.

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The Hdden Children Survived by the Holocaust. Injury and Mourning. Retrospective Research

Diogenes ◽

10.54664/tqzx9040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Lazar Admadhov ◽

Keyword(s):

Retrospective Study ◽

Retrospective Studies ◽

Holocaust Survivors ◽

Traumatic Experiences ◽

Psychological Consequences ◽

Therapeutic Group ◽

Half Century ◽

The Holocaust ◽

Different Types ◽

Jewish Children

“Hidden Jewish children”, Holocaust survivors. Traumatisms and mourning. Retrospective studies. This contribution concerning traumatism and the mourning of Jewish children, holocaust survivors hidden in France during WWII, is a retrospective study on the psychological consequences in a situation of genocide in childhood. In this article two different types of research, carried out in France, will be underlined. The first concerns a group of former hidden children who created an association, more than half-century after the end of the war, to establish a self-therapeutic group. The second research studies former hidden children who have remained isolated and generally have had difficulties in metabolizing their traumatic experiences.

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Depression and tobacco smoking (analytical review). Part 2

Terapevt (General Physician) ◽

10.33920/med-12-2110-06 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 44-56

Author(s):

Sergey Zinovievich Savin ◽

Evgeniya Valerievna Solodkaya

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Suicidal Behavior ◽

Tobacco Smoking ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Effective Means ◽

Scientific Publications ◽

Analytical Review ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

Causes And Risk Factors

In the pathogenesis of depressive disorders and the consequent suicidal behavior, an important role belongs to the neurochemical processes and structures of the central nervous system. An analytical study of Russian and foreign literature was carried out to obtain information about the relationship between neurochemical factors in the development of depressive disorders and to elucidate the causes and risk factors of suicidal behavior due to depression and an unhealthy habit common among young people, i.e. tobacco smoking. A systematic search of scientific publications on the neurobiological aspects of the research into the causes and risk factors of depressive spectrum disorders was carried out. The analysis of the results of relevant neurobiological studies in the field of etiology and formation of depressive disorders with suicidal behavior contributes to the development of effective means of prevention and treatment of depressive spectrum disorders.

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