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BackgroundThe Collaborative Outcome study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT; www.coh-fit.com) is an anonymous and global online survey measuring health and functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to test concurrently the validity of COH-FIT items and the internal validity of the co-primary outcome, a composite psychopathology "P-score".MethodsThe COH-FIT survey has been translated into 30 languages (two blind forward-translations, consensus, one independent English back-translation, final harmonization). To measure mental health, 1-4 items ("COH-FIT items") were extracted from validated questionnaires (e.g. Patient Health Questionnaire 9). COH-FIT items measured anxiety, depressive, post-traumatic, obsessive-compulsive, bipolar and psychotic symptoms, as well as stress, sleep and concentration. COH-FIT Items which correlated r ≥ 0.5 with validated companion questionnaires, were initially retained. A P-score factor structure was then identified from these items using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on data split into training and validation sets. Consistency of results across languages, gender and age was assessed.ResultsFrom >150,000 adult responses by May 6th, 2022, a subset of 22,456 completed both COH-FIT items and validated questionnaires. Concurrent validity was consistently demonstrated across different languages for COH-FIT items. CFA confirmed EFA results of five first-order factors (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic, psychotic, psychophysiologic symptoms) and revealed a single second-order factor P-score, with high internal reliability (ω = 0.95). Factor structure was consistent across age and sex.ConclusionsCOH-FIT is a valid instrument to globally measure mental health during infection times. The P-score is a valid measure of multidimensional mental health.

Objective cognitive characteristics of DSOA in participants without MDD. Neurocognition was evaluated utilizing the Cambridge Neurological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and memory tests. Results: This research demonstrated that CANTAB tests may differentiate between aMCI and controls. The One Touch Stockings of Cambridge, probability solved on first choice (OTS_PSFC), Rapid Visual Information Processing, A prime (RVP_ A´), and the Motor Screening Task, mean latency, were identified as the significant discriminatory CANTAB tests. 37.6% of the variance in the severity of aMCI was predicted by OTS_PSFC, RVP_ A´, word list recognition scores, and education years. Psychosocial stressors (adverse childhood experiences, negative life events), subjective feelings of cognitive impairment, and RVP, the probability of false alarm, account for 40.0% of the DSOA score. Discussion: When MDD is ruled out, aMCI is linked to deficits in attention, executive functions, and memory. Psychosocial stressors did not have a statistically significant impact on aMCI or its severity. Enhanced false alarm response bias coupled with heightened psychological stress (including subjective perceptions of cognitive decline) may contribute to an increase in DSOA among older adults. Keyswords: depression, mild cognitive impairment, adverse childhood experiences, stress, anxiety [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disturbance of neurodevelopment with a complicated pathogenesis and unidentified etiology. Many children with ASD have a history of "allergic symptoms", often in the absence of mast cell (MC)-positive tests. Activation of MCs by various stimuli may release molecules related to inflammation and neurotoxicity, contributing to the development of ASD. The aim of the present paper is to enrich the current knowledge on the relationship between MCs and ASD by discussing key molecules and immune pathways associated with MCs in the pathogenesis of autism. Cytokines, essential marker molecules for MC degranulation and therapeutic targets, are also highlighted. Understanding the relationship between ASD and the activation of MCs, as well as the involved molecules and interactions, are the main points contributing to solving the enigma. Key molecules, associated with MCs, may provide new insights to the discovery of drug targets for modeling inflammation in ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In schizophrenia, a single latent trait underlies psychosis, hostility, excitation, mannerism, negative (PHEMN) symptoms, formal thought disorders (FTD) and psychomotor retardation (PMR). Schizophrenia is accompanied by a breakdown of gut and blood-brain-barrier (BBB) pathways, increased tryptophan catabolite (TRYCAT) levels, bacterial translocation, and lowered natural IgM and paraoxonase (PON)1 activity.

Early life trauma (ELT) may drive mood disorder phenomenology, nitro-oxidative pathways and impairments in semantic memory. There are no data regarding the impact of ELT on affective phenomenology and whether these pathways are mediated by staging or lowered lipid-associated antioxidant defences.

Objective: To explore illness-related factors in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) recipients of adjunctive minocycline (200 mg/day) treatment. The analysis included participants experiencing MDD from a 12-week, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial (RCT). Methods: This is a sub-analysis of a RCT of all 71 participants who took part in the trial. The impact of illness chronicity (illness duration and number of depressive episodes), systemic illness (endocrine, cardiovascular and obesity), adverse effects and minocycline were evaluated as change from baseline to endpoint (12-week) using ANCOVA. Results: There was a consistent but statistically non-significant trend on all outcomes in favour of the use of adjunctive minocycline for participants without systemic illness, less illness chronicity, and fewer adverse effects. Conclusion: Understanding the relationship between MDD and illness chronicity, comorbid systemic illness, and adverse effects, can potentially better characterise those individuals who are more likely to respond to adjunctive anti-inflammatory medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of breastfeeding over formula feed are widely appreciated. However, for many mothers breastfeeding is not possible, highlighting the need for a significant improvement in the contents of formula feed. In this article, the overlooked role of melatonin and the melatonergic pathways in breast milk and in the regulation of wider breast milk components are reviewed. There is a growing appreciation that the benefits of breastfeeding are mediated by its effects in the infant gut, with consequences for the development of the gut-brain axis and the immune system. The melatonergic pathways are intimately associated with highly researched processes in the gut, gut microbiome and gut-brain axis. As the melatonergic pathways are dependent on the levels of serotonin availability as a necessary precursor, decreased melatonin is linked to depression and depression-associated disorders. The association of breastfeeding and the gut-brain axis with a host of medical conditions may be mediated by their regulation of processes that modulate depression susceptibility. The biological underpinnings of depression include increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, kynurenine pathway activity and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, all of which can decrease melatonergic pathway activity. The inclusion of the melatonergic pathways in the biological interactions of breast milk and gut development has significant theoretical and treatment implications, as well as being important to the prevention of a host of infant-, child- and adult-onset medical conditions.