Search

Background: Mental health challenges are encountered by frail older adults as the population ages. The extant literature is scant regarding the correlation between depressive symptoms and social participation among frail older adults. Methods: This study is based on an analysis of data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) participants aged 60 and older who are frail. A frailty index (FI) was developed for the purpose of assessing the frailty level of the participants. Additionally, latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to classify the participants' social engagement patterns in 2015 and 2018. The study used ordered logistic regression to examine the relationship between social participation type and depressive symptoms. We also used Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) methods to explore the impact of changes in social activity types on depressive symptoms after three years of follow-up in 2018. In addition, the response surface analysis (RSM) investigation explored the relationship among FI, depression, and social participation. Results: A total of 4,384 participants completed the baseline survey; three years later, 3,483 were included in the follow-up cohort. The baseline survey indicates that female older adults in rural areas who are single, have lower incomes, shorter sleep durations, and lighter weights exhibited more severe depressive symptoms. Social participation patterns were categorized into five subgroups by LCA. The findings indicate that individuals classified as "board game enthusiasts" (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.47-0.82) and those as "extensive social interaction" (OR,0.67; 95% CI, 0.49-0.90) have a significantly lower likelihood of developing depressive symptoms compared to the "socially isolated" group. We also discovered that "socially isolated" baseline participants who transitioned to the "helpful individual" group after three years had significantly greater depressed symptoms (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.00-2.44). More social activity types and less FI are linked to lower depression in our study. Conclusion: The results of the study emphasize the importance of social participation patterns and the number of social participation types in relation to the severity of depression among frail older adults individuals. This study's findings may provide important insights for addressing depressive symptoms in frail older adults person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain (CP) is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage lasting longer than 3 months. CP is the main reason why people seek medical care and exerts an enormous economic burden. Genome-wide expression analysis has revealed that diverse essential genetic elements are altered in CP patients. Although many possible mechanisms of CP have been revealed, we are still unable to meet all the analgesic needs of patients. In recent years, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been shown to play essential roles in peripheral neuropathy and axon regeneration, which is associated with CP occurrence and development. Multiple key ncRNAs have been identified in animal models of CP, such as microRNA-30c-5p, ciRS-7, and lncRNA MRAK009713. This review highlights different kinds of ncRNAs in the regulation of CP, which provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. It mainly focuses on the contributions of miRNAs, circRNAs, and lncRNAs to CP, specifically peripheral neuropathic pain (NP), diabetic NP, central NP associated with spinal cord injury, complex regional pain syndrome, inflammatory pain, and cancer-induced pain. In addition, we summarize some potential ncRNAs as novel biomarkers for CP and its complications. With an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of CP, ncRNAs may provide novel insight into CP and could become new therapeutic targets in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a localized, painful cutaneous eruption that occurs upon reactivation of the herpes virus. Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common chronic complication of HZ. In this study, we examined the metabolomic and proteomic signatures of disease progression in patients with HZ and PHN. We identified differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs), differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), and key signaling pathways that transition from healthy volunteers to the acute or/and chronic phases of herpetic neuralgia. Moreover, some specific metabolites correlated with pain scores, disease duration, age, and pain in sex dimorphism. In addition, we developed and validated three optimal predictive models (AUC > 0.9) for classifying HZ and PHN from healthy individuals based on metabolic patterns and machine learning. These findings may reveal the overall metabolomics and proteomics landscapes and proposed the optimal machine learning predictive models, which provide insights into the mechanisms of HZ and PHN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain remains to be a clinical challenge and is recognized as a major health problem with varying impacts on quality of life. Currently, the first-line therapy for chronic pain is opioids, which are often accompanied by unwanted psychoactive side effects. Thus, new and effective treatments for chronic pain are urgently needed and eagerly pursued. Inflammatory cytokines, especially interleukin-17 (IL-17), are reportedly potential therapeutic targets owing to their pivotal role in chronic pain from the neuroinflammation perspective. Recently, substantial evidence confirmed that IL-17 and IL-17 receptors (IL-17Rs) were increased in neuropathic, inflammatory, and cancer pain models. Notably, IL-17/IL-17R antibodies also reportedly relieve or cure inflammatory- and pain-related diseases. However, existing studies have reported controversial results regarding IL-17/IL-17Rs as potential therapeutic targets in diverse animal models of chronic pain. In this review, we present a summary of published studies and discuss the evidence, from basic to clinical to research, regarding the role and mechanism of action between IL-17 and diverse kinds of chronic pain in animal models and clinical patients. Furthermore, we evaluated IL-17-based therapy as a potential therapeutic strategy for inflammatory- and pain-related disease. Importantly, we also discussed clinical trials of IL-17/IL-17R targeting monoclonal antibodies. Overall, we found that IL-17 is a potential therapeutic target for chronic pain from the perspective of neuroinflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]