Lithium Use During Pregnancy in 14 Countries.

Importance: In pregnancy, the benefits of lithium treatment for relapse prevention in psychiatric conditions must be weighed against potential teratogenic effects. Currently, there is a paucity of information on how and when lithium is used by pregnant women.

Objective: To examine lithium use in the perinatal period.

[Not Available].

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas which often manifests as a mild disease but can be associated with high morbidity and mortality. Drug-induced AP is rare and most likely underdiagnosed. Vedolizumab is a human monoclonal antibody with gut-selective integrin antagonist effect, and it is used for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Fecal Supernatants from Patients with Crohn's Disease Induce Inflammatory Alterations in M2 Macrophages and Fibroblasts.

Intestinal macrophages and fibroblasts act as microenvironmental sentinels mediating inflammation and disease progression in Crohn's disease (CD). We aimed to establish the effects of fecal supernatants (FSs) from patients with CD on macrophage and fibroblast phenotype and function. FS were obtained by ultracentrifugation, and the metabolites were analyzed.

Defining optimal parameters to maximize the effect of electrochemotherapy on lung cancer cells whilst preserving the integrity of immune cells.

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is becoming an established therapy for melanoma and is under investigation for application in additional cancer types. One potential cancer type that may benefit from ECT is lung cancer as lung cancer treatments remain unable to deliver long-lasting treatment responses. Given the importance of the immune system in lung cancer, here we have also examined the impact of ECT on immune populations.

Skin microbiota analysis in patients with anorexia nervosa and healthy-weight controls reveals microbial indicators of healthy weight and associations with the antimicrobial peptide psoriasin.

Anorexia nervosa (AN), a psychiatric condition defined by low body weight for age and height, is associated with numerous dermatological conditions. Yet, clinical observations report that patients with AN do not suffer from infectious skin diseases like those associated with primary malnutrition. Cell-mediated immunity appears to be amplified in AN; however, this proinflammatory state does not sufficiently explain the lower incidence of infections.

Electrochemotherapy and immune interactions; A boost to the system?

Electrochemotherapy (ECT), the application of an electric impulse to deliver chemotherapy drugs into cells, has been in clinical trials since the early 1990s and has been used for a variety of different malignancies including melanoma and sarcoma. A standard operating procedure for the use of ECT in clinical settings has been established since 2006. ECT is very effective in reducing the local tumour burden via T-cell dependent killing of the cancer cells; however abscopal effects are not consistently observed.

IL-36 signalling enhances a pro-tumorigenic phenotype in colon cancer cells with cancer cell growth restricted by administration of the IL-36R antagonist.

The IL-36 cytokines are a recently described subset of the IL-1 family of cytokines, shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of intestinal diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Given the link between IBD and colitis -associated cancer, as well as the involvement of other IL-1 family members in intestinal tumorigenesis, the aim of this work was to investigate whether IL-36 cytokines play a role in the pathogenesis of colon cancer. Whilst research to date has focused on the role of IL-36 family members in augmenting the immune response to induce tumour rejection, very little remains known about IL-36R signalling in tumour cells in this context.

Increased Risks of Death and Hospitalization in Influenza/Pneumonia and Sepsis for Individuals Affected by Psychotic Disorders, Bipolar Disorders, and Single Manic Episodes: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Individuals with severe mental disorders (SMDs) such as psychotic disorders, bipolar disorders, and single manic episodes have increased mortality associated with COVID-19 infection. We set up a population-based study to examine whether individuals with SMD also had a higher risk of hospitalization and death from other infectious conditions. Anonymized and summarized data from multiple Swedish patient registers covering the entire Swedish population were supplied by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare.

Electroporation of suspension cell lines - A proposed assay set for optimizations.

To make in vitro single cell electroporation protocols more comparable between various cancer types and groups, we propose a set of assays to test a range of electric field strengths at the start of any new project to determine the optimal electric field strength for a given cell line. While testing a range of electric field strengths, we kept the other ESOPE parameters constant (8 pulses, 100 µs pulse duration, 1 Hz pulse frequency). Basic assays were employed to measure short-term viability, effectiveness of treatment, metabolic activity, and recovery potential post-treatment to determine the optimal field strength for a particular cell line.

Seven Weeks of High-Dose Vitamin D Treatment Reduces the Need for Infliximab Dose-Escalation and Decreases Inflammatory Markers in Crohn's Disease during One-Year Follow-Up.

Background: Seven weeks of high-dose vitamin D treatment decreases intestinal IL17A and IFN-γ mRNA expression in active Crohn's disease (CD). In this follow-up study, we investigated whether seven-week vitamin D treatment affected the infliximab response in the following 45 weeks compared to placebo.

Methods: CD patients ( = 40) were initially randomised into four groups: infliximab + vitamin-D; infliximab + placebo-vitamin-D; placebo-infliximab + vitamin-D; and placebo-infliximab + placebo-vitamin-D.

Death Associated With Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection in Individuals With Severe Mental Disorders in Sweden During the Early Months of the Outbreak-An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Population-Based Register Study.

Individuals with severe mental disorder (SMD) have a higher risk of somatic comorbidity and mortality than the rest of the population. We set up a population-based study to assess whether individuals with SMD had a higher risk of death associated with a COVID-19 infection (COVID-19 associated death) than individuals without SMD. Exploratory analysis with a cross-sectional design in the framework of a population-based register study covering the entire Swedish population.

Antimicrobial peptides in patients with anorexia nervosa: comparison with healthy controls and the impact of weight gain.

Clinical observations show that patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) are surprisingly free from infectious diseases. There is evidence from studies in Drosophila melanogaster that starvation leads to an increased expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). AMPs are part of the innate immune system and protect human surfaces from colonization with pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Decrease in Mucosal IL17A, IFNγ and IL10 Expressions in Active Crohn's Disease Patients Treated with High-Dose Vitamin Alone or Combined with Infliximab.

Background: Vitamin D treatment may reduce Crohn's disease (CD) activity by modulating the mucosal immune function. We investigated if high-dose vitamin D +/- infliximab modulated the mucosal cytokine expression in active CD.

Methods: Forty CD patients were randomized into: infliximab + vitamin D; infliximab + placebo-vitamin D; placebo-infliximab + vitamin D or placebo-infliximab + placebo-vitamin D.

Perinatal mental health around the world: priorities for research and service development in Sweden.

Sweden has a unique opportunity to identify and follow up women presenting with, or at risk for, perinatal mental health problems and disorders because universal screening programmes are provided by its primary healthcare system. Although they are implemented across almost the entire population, screening programmes are not necessarily leading to effective interventions because the multidisciplinary perinatal mental healthcare teams that provide for the assessment and treatment of moderate to severe disorders are very few in number and must be increased. In particular, efforts to reach immigrant parents must be intensified to achieve equal quality of care for all.

Interleukin-15 in cancer immunotherapy: IL-15 receptor complex versus soluble IL-15 in a cancer cell-delivered murine leukemia model.

Cytokines of the common γ-chain receptor family such as IL-15 are vital with respect to activating immune cells, sustaining healthy immune functions, and augmenting the anti-tumor activity of effector cells, making them ideal candidates for cancer immunotherapy. IL-15, either in its soluble form (IL-15sol) or complexed with IL-15Rα (IL-15Rc), has been shown to exhibit potent anti-tumor activities in various experimental cancer studies. Here we describe the impact of intraperitoneal IL-15 in a cancer cell-delivered IL-15 immunotherapy approach using the 70Z/3-L leukemia mouse model.

Hypoxia potentiates monocyte-derived dendritic cells for release of tumor necrosis factor α via MAP3K8.

Dendritic cells (DCs) constantly sample peripheral tissues for antigens, which are subsequently ingested to derive peptides for presentation to T cells in lymph nodes. To do so, DCs have to traverse many different tissues with varying oxygen tensions. Additionally, DCs are often exposed to low oxygen tensions in tumors, where vascularization is lacking, as well as in inflammatory foci, where oxygen is rapidly consumed by inflammatory cells during the respiratory burst.

[Multi-professional epilepsy teams including psychiatric expertise].

Epilepsy has a diverse spectrum of consequences that can necessitate multi-professional cooperation in order to guarantee a high level of care. Psychiatric comorbidity is common, which influences quality of life, seizure control and mortality. Multi-professional teams, with participation from neurology, psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy and social work, can together tailor the individual care for patients with complex needs.

[A Swedish example of integrated perinatal mental health care].

Mental disorders are common during the perinatal period and expose mother and child to major risks.  Almost all women in Sweden attend maternal and child health care centers regularly before and after birth. This constitutes a unique opportunity to detect women with early signs of mental disorder or at risk of recurrence of prior illness.

Current, experimental, and future treatments in inflammatory bowel disease: a clinical review.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) may result from dysregulated mucosal immune responses directed toward the resident intestinal microbiota. This review describes the hallmark immunobiology of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis as well as therapeutic targets and mechanisms of action for current, experimental, and future treatments in IBD. Conventional therapies include 5-aminosalicylic acid, glucocorticosteroids, thiopurines, and methotrexate.

High-dose vitamin D supplementation decreases the number of colonic CD103 dendritic cells in healthy subjects.

Purpose: Vitamin D may induce tolerance in the intestinal immune system and has been shown to regulate the phenotype of tolerogenic intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro. It is unknown whether vitamin D supplementation affects human intestinal DCs in vivo, and we aimed to investigate the tolerability and effect on intestinal CD103DCs of high-dose vitamin D treatment in healthy subjects.

Methods: Ten healthy subjects received a total of 480,000 IU oral vitamin D over 15 days and colonic biopsies were obtained before and after intervention by endoscopy.

Ethylene, an early marker of systemic inflammation in humans.

Ethylene is a major plant hormone mediating developmental processes and stress responses to stimuli such as infection. We show here that ethylene is also produced during systemic inflammation in humans and is released in exhaled breath. Traces of ethylene were detected by laser spectroscopy both in vitro in isolated blood leukocytes exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as well as in vivo following LPS administration in healthy volunteers.

Internet delivered cognitive behavior therapy for antenatal depression: A randomised controlled trial.

Unlabelled: Major depression occurs in 5-10% of pregnancies and is associated with many negative effects for mother and child, yet treatment options are scarce. To our knowledge, this is the first published randomised controlled trial on Internet delivered Cognitive Behavior Therapy (ICBT) for this group.

Objective: To test the efficacy of a pregnancy adapted version of an existing 10-week ICBT-program for depression as well as assessing acceptability and adherence DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial.