Randomized controlled trial investigating potential effects of relaxation on mitochondrial function in immune cells: A pilot experiment.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a relaxation response induced by hypnosis on the mitochondrial energy production of immune cells compared to an everyday relaxing situation. Chronically stressed individuals (88% women) with at least moderate suggestibility were randomized to a hypnosis (20 min relaxation hypnosis; n = 20) or a control condition (20 min documentary; n = 22). Before and after intervention, peripheral blood was collected.

Longitudinal course of endocannabinoids and -acylethanolamines in hair of mothers and their children in the first year postpartum: investigating the relevance of maternal childhood maltreatment experiences.

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) exerts long-lasting psychological and biological alterations in affected individuals and might also affect the endocannabinoid (eCB) system which modulates inflammation and the endocrine stress response. Here, we investigated the eCB system of women with and without CM and their infants using hair samples representing eCB levels accumulated during the last trimester of pregnancy and 10-12 months postpartum.

Methods: CM exposure was assessed with the .

Classification of Patient Recovery from COVID-19 Symptoms using Consumer Wearables and Machine Learning.

Current remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients relies on manual symptom reporting, which is highly dependent on patient compliance. In this research, we present a machine learning (ML)-based remote monitoring method to estimate patient recovery from COVID-19 symptoms using automatically collected wearable device data, instead of relying on manually collected symptom data. We deploy our remote monitoring system, namely eCOVID, in two COVID-19 telemedicine clinics.

An exploratory study of hypnosis-induced blood count changes in chronically stressed individuals.

Hypnosis is a clinically accepted relaxation technique known for stress reduction. Results from hematological research provide evidence of changes in blood components through hypnosis. However, these hematological effects have been rarely examined.

Coping in the Emergency Medical Services: Associations With the Personnel's Stress, Self-Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, and Health.

Background: Emergency Medical Services personnel (EMSP) are recurrently exposed to chronic and traumatic stressors in their occupation. Effective coping with occupational stressors plays a key role in enabling their health and overall well-being. In this study, we examined the habitual use of coping strategies in EMSP and analyzed associations of coping with the personnel's health and well-being.

Expression of DNA repair genes and its relevance for DNA repair in peripheral immune cells of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves elevated levels of cellular oxidative stress which jeopardizes the integrity of essential cell compartments. Previously, we demonstrated higher levels of DNA lesions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in PTSD. Retaining vital levels of DNA integrity requires cells to mobilize compensatory efforts in elevating their DNA-repair capacity.

Sources of social support for postpartum women with a history of childhood maltreatment: Consequences for perceived stress and general mental health in the first year after birth.

Background: Women with a history of childhood maltreatment (CM) experience the postpartum period as particularly stressful and may benefit less from social support, implicating a higher risk for mental health problems and higher stress levels in mothers with CM.

Objective: Thus, we investigated the complex relationship of CM and social support provided by different sources (intimate partner, parents, parents-in-law, friends) in predicting stress perception and mental health over the course of the first year postpartum.

Participants: In N = 295 postpartum women we assessed CM experiences, stress perception, perceived social support and general mental health 3 and 12 months postpartum.

Effectiveness of treating depression with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing among inpatients-A follow-up study over 12 months.

Increasing prevalence of depression poses a huge challenge to the healthcare systems, and the success rates of current standard therapies are limited. While 30% of treated patients do not experience a full remission after treatment, more than 75% of patients suffer from recurrent depressive episodes. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy represents an emerging treatment option of depression, and preliminary studies show promising effects with a probably higher remission rate when compared to control-therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

Hair-based biomarkers in women with major depressive disorder: Glucocorticoids, endocannabinoids, -acylethanolamines, and testosterone.

Background: Stress-related alterations in the regulation of several endocrine systems, including the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and -gonadal (HPG) axes and the endocannabinoid system are proposed to be involved in the etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, this study examines whether altered concentrations of glucocorticoids, testosterone, endocannabinoids, and related -acylethanolamines accumulated in hair are present in MDD.

Methods: Female participants (range: 19-59,  = 30.

Circulating inflammatory markers, cell-free mitochondrial DNA, cortisol, endocannabinoids, and -acylethanolamines in female depressed outpatients.

Objectives: Major depressive disorder (MDD) involves peripheral low-grade pro-inflammatory activity. This multi-biomarker case-control study characterises the proinflammatory status in MDD beyond C-reactive protein (CRP) and Interleukin (IL)-6 levels through investigating concomitant alterations of immunoregulatory biomolecules.

Methods: In 20 female MDD patients and 24 non-depressed women, circulating levels of CRP, IL-6, cortisol, selected endocannabinoids (ECs; anandamide [AEA], 2-arachidonylglycerol [2-AG]), and -acylethanolamines (NAEs), as well as circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) were measured.

Investigating mitochondrial bioenergetics in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of women with childhood maltreatment from post-parturition period to one-year follow-up.

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) exerts various long-lasting psychological and biological changes in affected individuals, with inflammation being an interconnecting element. Besides chronic low-grade inflammation, CM might also affect the energy production of cells by altering the function and density of mitochondria, i.e.

Therapists' Experiences With the Effectiveness and Feasibility of Videoconference-Based Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

Research on the effectiveness and applicability of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) videoconference is sparse. Considering the emerging use of internet-based psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic, information on videoconference-based EMDR (eEMDR) would be beneficial for many therapists. In this study, 23 therapists from the EMDR-Institute in Germany provided information about their experiences with eEMDR in a questionnaire-based survey.

Associating Emergency Medical Services personnel's workload, trauma exposure, and health with the cortisol, endocannabinoid, and N-acylethanolamine concentrations in their hair.

In their line of duty, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel are exposed to chronically stressful working conditions and recurrent traumatic events, which increase their risk for detrimental health outcomes. Here, we investigated whether this risk is due to altered regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the endocannabinoid system. Therefore, 1 cm hair strands were collected from a cohort of 72 German EMS personnel in order to measure concentrations of cortisol, endocannabinoids [i.

Childhood maltreatment is associated with changes in mitochondrial bioenergetics in maternal, but not in neonatal immune cells.

Childhood maltreatment (CM) comprises experiences of abuse and neglect during childhood. CM causes psychological as well as biological alterations in affected individuals. In humans, it is hardly explored whether these CM consequences can be transmitted directly on a biological level to the next generation.

A combination of combat experience, early abduction, and severe traumatization fuels appetitive aggression and violence among abductees of rebel war in Northern Uganda.

Individuals who perpetrate violence may likely perceive violence as appealing and infliction of violence to derive pleasure is termed as appetitive aggression. Individuals who were abducted as children into an armed group often experience a higher number of traumatic event types, that is traumatic load and are usually socialized in a violence-endorsing environment. This study aims to investigate the interaction between age at initial abduction with that of traumatic load, and their influence on appetitive aggression along with perpetration of violent acts by former members of an armed rebel group of both sexes.

Childhood maltreatment compromises resilience against occupational trauma exposure: A retrospective study among emergency medical service personnel.

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) compromises resilience against stress and trauma throughout life. Therefore, it could present a major risk factor for the health of frequently trauma-exposed professionals such as emergency medical service (EMS) personnel.

Objective: We investigated, whether EMS personnel's history of CM increased their risk for mental and physical stress symptoms after occupational trauma exposure.

Deconstructing Traumatic Mission Experiences: Identifying Critical Incidents and Their Relevance for the Mental and Physical Health Among Emergency Medical Service Personnel.

Emergency medical service (EMS) personnel frequently encounter emotionally stressful or even traumatic incidents in their line of duty. In this study, a checklist of emotionally stressful events for the German EMS was introduced. A mixed-method approach was used to identify mission events that were critical for the development of mental and physical stress symptoms.

Higher sense of coherence is associated with better mental and physical health in emergency medical services: results from investigations on the revised sense of coherence scale (SOC-R) in rescue workers.

As rescue workers are regularly confronted with potentially traumatising on-duty events, they have an increased risk to develop trauma-related mental and physical health impairments, including post-traumatic, depressive, and somatic symptoms. For this high-risk group, it could be of particular importance to experience their occupational burden as manageable, meaningful, and coherent. This mindset - called - may be a potential resilience factor against the development of mental and physical health problems.

Emotion Regulation in Rescue Workers: Differential Relationship With Perceived Work-Related Stress and Stress-Related Symptoms.

Rescue workers are exposed to enduring emotional distress, as they are confronted with (potentially) traumatic mission events and chronic work-related stress. Thus, regulating negative emotions seems to be crucial to withstand the work-related strain. This cross-sectional study investigated the influence of six emotion regulation strategies (i.

No evidence for true training and transfer effects after inhibitory control training in young healthy adults.

Recent studies reported that training of working memory may improve performance in the trained function and beyond. Other executive functions, however, have been rarely or not yet systematically examined. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of inhibitory control (IC) training to produce true training-related function improvements in a sample of 122 healthy adults using a randomized, double-blind pretest/posttest/follow-up design.