Acupuncture at ST36 Alleviates the Behavioral Disorder of Autistic Rats by Inhibiting TXNIP-Mediated Activation of NLRP3

Autism is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that severely affects patients’ quality of life. We aimed to investigate whether acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) could alleviate the behavior disorder of autistic rats by inhibiting thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP)-mediated activation of NLRP3. An autism model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of pregnant rats with valproic acid (VPA). The pups’ behaviors were analyzed using hot plate, open field, Morris water maze, and 3-chamber social interaction tests. Nissl staining was used to visualize neurons in prefrontal cortex. Levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, interleukin (IL)-1β, and caspase were determined by Western blot or quantitative real-time PCR. After ST36 acupuncture, pain sensitivity, autonomous activity, sociability index, sociability preference index, and learning and memory were improved in the autism model rats. Levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, IL-1β, and caspase 1 were decreased after acupuncture. Interference with TXNIP alleviated the behavior disorders and inhibited NLRP3, caspase 1, and IL-1β levels. In summary, ST36 acupuncture reduced TXNIP expression, inhibited the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, and alleviated the behavior disorder related to the prefrontal cortex of the autistic rats. These results point to a potential mechanism for acupuncture-induced improvement of autistic behavioral disorders.

Evaluating Behavioral Changes Prevalence Among Primary and Preschool Children Due to COVID-19 Epidemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent changes in the community lifestyle can be associated with problems and complications. It seems very important to identify the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic accurately. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate behavioral changes in children due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Khorasan in 2021. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 312 children were studied. Inclusion criteria included all children under 12 years of age without apparent mental disorders and chronic diseases affecting behavioral changes. Exclusion criteria were parental separation, experiencing natural disasters in the last two years, losing a first-degree family member in the last two years, and any underlying disease in the child and first-degree family members. The questionnaires included a demographic questionnaire and the Ruther Children's Behavior Questionnaire, completed by parents online due to the COVID-19 epidemic and the new situation. Results: The results showed that the behavioral disorder prevalence was 37.2% (n = 116). The mean scores were 3.10 ± 2.23 for aggression-hyperactivity, 3.11 ± 3.08 for anxiety-depression, 2.65 ± 1.79 for social maladaptation, 2.34 ± 1.83 for antisocial behavior, and 1.59 ± 1.29 for attention deficit. There was no significant relationship between demographic indicators and behavioral disorders (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The results indicated an increase in the prevalence of behavioral disorders in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it seems necessary to identify influencing factors and find appropriate solutions to prevent such disorders.

Fractal analysis of neuroimaging: comparison between control patients and patients with the presence of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative cognitive, affective, and behavioral disorder aligned to the aging process and other coronary diseases. To contribute to the early diagnosis of the disease, a neuroimaging treatment is implemented through a preprocessing to subsequently calculate the fractal dimension associated with these images in order to propose an alternative to the one proposed in medical physics through positron emission tomography. In this work, a comparative analysis is made of a previous work using the Box Counting methodology versus the calculation of the fractal dimension by means of software developed by the researchers based on the same method. The differences between the fractal dimensions of the neuroimages of control patients and patients with the presence of the disease are maintained showing a lower value of fractal dimension in patients with the disease due to the physical deterioration of the brain.

The light response in chickens divergently selected for feather pecking behavior reveals mechanistic insights towards psychiatric disorders

Background Feather pecking is a serious behavioral disorder in chickens that has a considerable impact on animal welfare and poses an economic burden for poultry farming. To study the underlying genetics of feather pecking animals were divergently selected for feather pecking over 15 generations based on estimated breeding values for the behavior. Methods and results By characterizing the transcriptomes of whole brains isolated from high and low feather pecking chickens in response to light stimulation we discovered a putative dysregulation of micro RNA processing caused by a lack of Dicer1. This results in a prominent downregulation of the GABRB2 gene and other GABA receptor transcripts, which might cause a constant high level of excitation in the brains of high feather pecking chickens. Moreover, our results point towards an increase in immune system-related transcripts that may be caused by higher interferon concentrations due to Dicer1 downregulation. Conclusion Based on our results, we conclude that feather pecking in chickens and schizophrenia in humans have numerous common features. For instance, a Dicer1 dependent disruption of miRNA biogenesis and the lack of GABRB2 expression have been linked to schizophrenia pathogenesis. Furthermore, disturbed circadian rhythms and dysregulation of genes involved in the immune system are common features of both conditions.

Risk factor of growth faltering in infants aged 2-12 months

Background: Growth faltering is a condition of growth disturbance that marked by slower growth velocity compared with previous growth chart. Growth faltering can cause effects in immune response, cognitive, & physical and psychomotor disturbance, behavioral disorder, learning problems, higher risk of infection and mortality.Objectives: To analyze risk factor of growth faltering in infant aged 2-12 months.Materials and Methods: A case control study was conducted in Public Health Center in Semarang city. Subject were infants aged 2 until 12 months with growth faltering. Variables were divided to exclusive breastfeeding, mother’s education, mother’s employment, social economic status, infection, mother’s nutrition and gestational age. Anthropometric and questionnaire data were obtained and analyzed among 116 infants. Statistic test used Chi square and multivariate analysis.Results: Chi-square analysis showed that breastfeeding (p=0.016) and gender (p=0.04) had a significant relationship with growth faltering in infant 2-12 months. Under standard parent’s income (p=0.809), Acute Respiratory Tract Infection (ARTI) (p=0.377), diarrhea (p=0.243), mother’s nutrition (p=1.00), gestational age (p=0.77), low mother’s education (p=0.83) and working mother (p=0.26) didn’t have a significant relationship with growth faltering in infant aged 2-12 months. Multivariate analysis showed that gender (p=0.035) and breastfeeding (p=0.019) were the most influencing variable to growth faltering. In 2-6 group, breastfeeding pattern had significant relationship with growth faltering (p=0.77)Conclusions: Breastfeeding and gender were risk factors of growth faltering in infant aged 2-12 months. Further research needed on how to prevent growth faltering in first 1000 days of life so it may avoid stunting in later life.

The impact of the COVID-19 school closure on adolescents' use of mental healthcare services in Sweden

Background School closures used to contain the COVID-19 pandemic may have negative impacts on students' mental health but credible evidence is scarce. Sweden moved upper-secondary students to remote learning but, as the only country in the OECD, kept schools at lower levers open throughout the pandemic. Methods Using nationwide register data, we estimate the difference in the use of mental healthcare services between upper- and lower-secondary students during the pandemic, and relate this to the same group difference prior to the pandemic. For the main analysis, this difference-in-difference approach is applied to the period April-June 2020 when upper-secondary schools were fully closed. We also study the periods July-December 2020 when upper-secondary schools were largely open, and January-March 2021 when they were partially closed. We study the impact on all contacts with hospitals and specialist psychiatric care due to mental and behavioral disorder, as well as prescriptions for antidepressants, insomnia, and ADHD drugs. Findings Compared with expected rates, the use of mental healthcare services among upper-secondary students fell by -3.71 [CI95 -5.52 to -1.91] cases per 1000 during April-June 2020, largely due to a reduction in depression and anxiety-related diagnoses (-1.49; CI95 [-2.36 to -0.63]) and prescriptions (-1.80; CI95 [-2.93 to -0.68]). This reduction in the use of mental healthcare services corresponds to a 4.36% CI95 [-6.47 to -2.25]) decrease compared to the level prior to the pandemic. The decrease compared to expected rates persists through July-December 2020 (-3.55%; CI95 [-5.38 to -1.71]) and January-March 2021 (-5.23%; CI95 [-7.24 to -3.21]). The reduction is stronger among students in the 2nd (-5.06%; CI95 [-8.02 to -2.09]) and 3rd (-4.86%; CI95 [-8.19 to -1.53]) year of upper-secondary school. The decrease is concentrated to students who was not in contact with mental healthcare services earlier in the academic year (-16.70%; CI95 [-22.20 to -11.20]). The relative reduction is largest for unplanned care (-13.88%; CI95 [-19.35 to -8.42]) and care at emergency units (-18.19%; CI95 [-26.44 to -9.92]). Interpretation Closing upper-secondary schools in Sweden reduced use of mental healthcare services. There is no indication of this being due to reduced accessibility. In a setting with no strict lockdown, moving to online teaching for a limited period did not worsen mental health among students in upper-secondary schools.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PATIENTS SERVED IN A PUBLIC DENTAL SERVICE FOR PATIENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN BELÉM

Objective: In view of the scarcity of research aimed at patients with special needs in our region, this study aims to identify the pathologies, such as age, gender, place of origin and prevalence of caries and periodontal disease in patients enrolled in a public dental service in Belém aimed at the care of people with special needs. Method: Retrospective cross-sectional study, where the data collected in the medical records of the patients enrolled in SIDOPE-UFPA were analyzed. Results: At the end of the data collection, 219 medical records of patients eligible to participate in the study were divided into groups, such as Behavioral Disorder (27.85%), Non-Progressive Brain Encephalopathy (10.5%), Syndromes and malformations (8.7%), Intellective deficit (7.76%), among others. The prevalence of caries was 71.23% and Periodontal Disease was 23.7%; (61.6%) and Belém (62.5%) were the most prevalent place of origin. Conclusion: According to the research, most patients still need treatment, due to the high caries index found, and mainly preventive measures so that these numbers can be reduced in the future. It was also observed the complexity and variety of diseases in the patients enrolled, and the incidence of rare syndromes that should and should be studied more specifically, not only by dentistry, but also by professionals from other areas, emphasizing the importance of care multiprofessional approach to these patients.

Association of Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Epilepsy in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh

Background Psychiatric disorders are important aspects of epilepsy and have received increasing attention in the last several years. Although a significant number of children are afflicted with epilepsy with psychiatric comorbidities, the actual burden was not evaluated sufficiently. Objective To determine the types and frequency of psychiatric disorders in children with epilepsy. Materials and Methods This hospital-based case-control study was conducted at the outpatient department of a tertiary care center in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from September 2018 to August 2019. In total, 68 epileptic children, ranging from 5 to 17 years of age, were enrolled as cases. A similar number of nonepileptic children of age, sex, and sociodemographic status matched were enrolled as control. Parent, teacher, and self-version of Bengali Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) were used to assess the psychiatric disorders, and the diagnosis was assigned as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-V of Mental Disorders. Results Higher proportion of psychiatric illness were found significantly among the cases (83.8% vs. 16.2%; p < 0.001) and broad categories of disorders, namely, neurodevelopmental (30.9% vs. 1.5%, p < 0.001), emotional (48.5% vs. 7.4%, p < 0.001) and behavioral disorder (19.1% vs. 7.4%, p = 0.043) compared with controls. There was a significant relationship between psychiatric disorders with the duration of epilepsy of the respondents (p = 0.032). Conclusions This study result showed the significant association of psychiatric disorders with epilepsy among children and adolescent population. Thus, psychiatric disorders should be properly addressed during treatment of epilepsy.