Review of Management Considerations for Excoriation Disorder in Older Adults.

Excoriation disorder (ED) is defined as compulsive skin picking that results in skin damage and emotional distress. Optimal management of ED includes individualized treatment plans consisting of psychotherapies, behavioral and pharmacologic interventions. Compared with younger populations, older adults are at increased risk for poor outcomes, such as infection and hospitalization, and require unique management considerations.

Digital Collateral Information Through Electronic and Social Media in Psychotherapy: Comparing Clinician-reported Trends Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Patient clinical collateral information is critical for providing psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care. With the shift to primarily virtual care triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, psychotherapists may have received less clinical information than they did when they were providing in-person care. This study assesses whether the shift to virtual care had an impact on therapists' use of patients' electronic and social media to augment clinical information that may inform psychotherapy.

Vaginal microbiota evaluation and prevalence of key pathogens in ecuadorian women: an epidemiologic analysis.

Vaginal infection is a gynecological problem in women of reproductive age with multiple health outcomes. The most common forms of infection include bacterial vaginosis (BV), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VC), and aerobic vaginitis (AV). Our main goals were to evaluate different types of vaginal infections in Ecuadorian women in a large urban area (Quito) and to characterize the vaginal microbiota colonization by opportunistic species.

Socio-economic status, executive functions, and theory of mind ability in adolescents: Relationships with language ability and cortisol.

Socio-economic status (SES) is linked to the development of cognitive abilities, particularly language and executive processes. It is unclear whether these represent a single or independent correlates. We studied 110 Ecuadorian youths aged 12-17 with measures of SES, language, executive function, and theory of mind (ToM), a.

Modulation of striatum based non-declarative and medial temporal lobe based declarative memory predicts academic achievement at university level.

Background: There is a dearth of research on the roles of non-declarative (implicit) learning linked to the striatum and declarative (explicit) learning associated with the medial temporal lobes as predictors of academic attainment.

Methods: Participants were 120 undergraduate students, studying Psychology or Engineering, who completed several long-term memory tests.

Results: There was a significant interaction between the groups (Psychology or Engineering) and task type (declarative or non-declarative): Engineers performed better at declarative and psychologists at non-declarative learning.

Exhaled nitric oxide and vascular endothelial growth factor as predictors of cold symptoms after stress.

Objective: Prior research has demonstrated that psychosocial stress is associated with respiratory infections. Immunologic, endocrine, and cardiovascular predictors of such infections have been explored with varying success. We therefore sought to study the unexplored role of airway mucosal immunity factors, nitric oxide (NO) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

A novel biomarker associated with distress in humans: calcium-binding protein, spermatid-specific 1 (CABS1).

Calcium-binding protein spermatid-specific 1 (CABS1) is expressed in the human submandibular gland and has an anti-inflammatory motif similar to that in submandibular rat 1 in rats. Here, we investigate CABS1 in human saliva and its association with psychological and physiological distress and inflammation in humans. Volunteers participated across three studies: ) weekly baseline measures; ) a psychosocial speech and mental arithmetic stressor under evaluative threat; and ) during academic exam stress.

Socioeconomic deprivation and the development of neuropsychological functions: A study with "street children" in Ecuador.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is known to have a considerable influence on the development of neuropsychological functions. In particular there is strong evidence for less efficient development of prefrontal-cortex-related functions in children raised in low-SES households. "Street children" are a common feature of low SES in many low- and middle-income countries, and some researchers have suggested that the unique life experiences of street children may drive their neurocognitive development.

Cortisol response to acute stress in asthma: Moderation by depressive mood.

Both individuals with asthma and depression show signs of a dysregulated hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. However, little is known about the cortisol response to stress in the context of co-occurring asthma and depressive mood. Thirty-nine individuals with asthma and 41 healthy controls underwent a combined speech and mental arithmetic stressor.

The Role of the Microbiome in the Relationship of Asthma and Affective Disorders.

The effect of stress, anxiety and other affective states on inflammatory conditions such as asthma is well documented. Although several immune pathway mechanisms have been proposed and studied, they cannot fully explain the relationship. In this chapter we present a new perspective on asthma development and exacerbation that integrates findings on the role of psychological factors in asthma with the microbiome and the hygiene hypothesis in asthma development.

Exhaled Nitric Oxide Decreases during Academic Examination Stress in Asthma.

Rationale: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is known to vary with multiple endogenous and exogenous factors. Laboratory stress and depressive mood have been associated with altered FeNO levels, but little is known about the susceptibility of FeNO to longer-lasting states of psychological stress in asthma.

Objectives: We sought to study changes in FeNO, lung function, and endogenous cortisol levels in students in a low-stress period during the academic term and in high-stress periods of up to 5 days during final exams.

High cortisol awakening response and cortisol levels moderate exposure-based psychotherapy success.

Background: Research suggests that elevated stress hormones during exposure can facilitate fear extinction in laboratory settings. However, prospective studies on the clinical benefits of endogenous cortisol on clinical improvements in naturalistic exposures are lacking.

Methods: Twenty-six patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia completed three weekly in-vivo exposure sessions and a fourth session 2 months following therapy completion, resulting in a total of 94 in-vivo exposure sessions.

Increases in exhaled nitric oxide after acute stress: association with measures of negative affect and depressive mood.

Background: Increases in fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) have been observed after acute laboratory stress, which could indicate a strengthening of immune defenses in acute stress because of the quick onset of the response and the role of nitric oxide in airway-protective functions. In addition, because sustained psychological distress and depression are known to deteriorate immune defenses systems, they may dampen the FeNO response to acute stress.

Methods: FeNO and negative affect were measured before and after a speech and mental arithmetic stressor.

Social support as a predictor exhaled nitric oxide in healthy individuals across time.

Psychosocial factors such as social support and depression have long been associated with health outcomes. Elevated depressive symptoms are usually associated with worse health outcomes, whereas social support has been related to improvements in health. Nitric oxide levels are an important marker of both cardiovascular health and immune function.

Airway nitric oxide and psychological processes in asthma and health: a review.

Objective: The fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has been widely used as a marker of airway inflammation in asthma in recent years. However, NO serves multiple functions throughout the organism, and various influences on FeNO levels beyond inflammation have been documented. Emerging literature indicates that psychological processes are systematically linked to FeNO.

Academic exam stress and depressive mood are associated with reductions in exhaled nitric oxide in healthy individuals.

Nitric oxide (NO) has beneficial effects on cardiovascular and immune health. Stress and depression have been linked to a reduction in serum NO. In this study, we examined the effect of academic exam stress on the fraction of NO in exhaled air (FeNO) and spirometric lung function in 41 healthy college students.

The effect of academic exam stress on mucosal and cellular airway immune markers among healthy and allergic individuals.

Research suggests that psychological stress can exacerbate allergies, but relatively little is known about the effect of stress on mucosal immune processes central to allergic pathophysiology. In this study, we quantified vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and interleukin-4 concentrations in saliva (S) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) during final exams and at midsemester among 23 healthy and 21 allergic rhinitis individuals. IFN-γs decreased during exams for both groups while VEGF(EBC) increased (and increases in VEGFs were a trend).

Stress, asthma, and respiratory infections: pathways involving airway immunology and microbial endocrinology.

Stress and infections have long been independently associated with asthma pathogenesis and exacerbation. Prior research has focused on the effect of psychological stress on Th cells with particular relevance to atopic asthma. In this review, we propose new perspectives that integrate the role of infection in the relationship between psychological stress and asthma.

Psychosocial factors and behavioral medicine interventions in asthma.

Objective: This review examines the evidence for psychosocial influences in asthma and behavioral medicine approaches to its treatment.

Method: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on psychosocial influences and the evidence for behavioral interventions in asthma with a focus on research in the past 10 years and clinical trials. Additional attention was directed at promising new developments in the field.

Behavioral medicine approaches to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent respiratory disease and associated with considerable individual and socioeconomic burden. Recent research started examining the role of psychosocial factors for course and management of the disease.

Purpose: This review provides an overview on recent findings on psychosocial factors and behavioral medicine approaches in COPD.

Effects of psychosocial stress on the pattern of salivary protein release.

Previous research suggests that acute stress can increase the release of immune-relevant proteins in saliva. However, no attempts have been made to examine a wider range of salivary proteins in response to stress. In this study, we identified and quantified changes in the pattern of salivary protein release in a 45 min time period following the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in 12 asthmatic and 13 healthy participants.