Brain, behavior, and immunity
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Brain Behav. Immun. · Oct 2020
Factors related to mental health of inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China.
To evaluate the mental health status of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to explore the related factors. ⋯ A majority of COVID-19 infected inpatients reported experiencing mental health disturbances. Female sex, disease duration, levels of inflammatory markers and self-perceived illness severity are factors that could be used to predict the severity of patients' mental symptoms.
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Brain Behav. Immun. · Aug 2020
Vicarious traumatization in the general public, members, and non-members of medical teams aiding in COVID-19 control.
Since December 2019, more than 79,000 people have been diagnosed with infection of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A large number of medical staff was sent to Wuhan city and Hubei province to aid COVID-19 control. Psychological stress, especially vicarious traumatization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, should not be ignored. ⋯ Interestingly, the vicarious traumatization scores of the general public were significantly higher than those of the front-line nurses (P < 0.001); however, no statistical difference was observed compared to the scores of non-front-line nurses (P > 0.05). Therefore, increased attention should be paid to the psychological problems of the medical staff, especially non-front-line nurses, and general public under the situation of the spread and control of COVID-19. Early strategies that aim to prevent and treat vicarious traumatization in medical staff and general public are extremely necessary.
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Brain Behav. Immun. · Aug 2020
Multicenter StudyA multinational, multicentre study on the psychological outcomes and associated physical symptoms amongst healthcare workers during COVID-19 outbreak.
Since the declaration of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as pandemic, there are reports on the increased prevalence of physical symptoms observed in the general population. We investigated the association between psychological outcomes and physical symptoms among healthcare workers. ⋯ Our study demonstrates a significant association between the prevalence of physical symptoms and psychological outcomes among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. We postulate that this association may be bi-directional, and that timely psychological interventions for healthcare workers with physical symptoms should be considered once an infection has been excluded.
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Brain Behav. Immun. · Aug 2020
PARP-1-regulated TNF-α expression in the dorsal root ganglia and spinal dorsal horn contributes to the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain in rats.
Emerging evidence has implicated poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1), a transcriptional coregulator, in a variety of inflammatory diseases. In the current study, the role of PARP-1 in neuropathic pain and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. Neuropathic pain was determined by assessing the paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and paw withdrawal latency (PWL) following lumbar 5 spinal nerve ligation (SNL) in male rates. ⋯ Co-IP assay revealed that SNL caused a significant increase in the level of histone H1 poly(ADP)-ribosylation. Together, these results indicate that PARP-1-regulated TNF-α expression in the DRG and spinal dorsal horn following SNL contributes to the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. Targeting PARP-1 might be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of the chronic pain.
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Brain Behav. Immun. · Aug 2020
Observational StudySubjective neurological symptoms frequently occur in patients with SARS-CoV2 infection.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a novel pneumonia leading to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Recent studies documented that SARS-Coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV2), responsible for COVID-19, can affect the nervous system. The aim of the present observational study was to prospectively assess subjective neurological symptoms (sNS) in patients with SARS-CoV2 infection. ⋯ Patients with SARS-CoV2 infection frequently present with sNS. These symptoms are present from the early phases of the disease. The possibly intrinsic neurotropic properties of SARS-CoV2 may justify the very high frequency of sNS. Further studies targeted at investigating the consequences of SARS-CoV2 infection on the CNS should be planned.