Listening Sessions to Shape the Innovative NIH ComPASS Common Fund Program to Advance Health Equity.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognized the need for a research program to address the underlying structural factors that impact health. To inform the development of the NIH Common Fund Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) Program, NIH obtained input through community listening sessions. Through its design, ComPASS recognizes the essential role of community organizations as the lead in addressing persistent structural and social challenges to accelerate progress toward advancing health equity.

Biotypes of Central Nervous System Complications in People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): National Institute of Mental Health Perspectives on Advancing the Future of HIV Healthcare.

Despite effective suppressive antiretroviral therapy, central nervous system (CNS) complications related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remain a significant problem for people with HIV (PWH). Numerous studies have contributed data to define the mechanisms underlying HIV-associated CNS pathophysiology, but causality remains elusive, with no effective therapies to prevent, reduce, or reverse HIV-associated CNS complications. Multiple physiological, clinical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and environmental factors contribute to the observed heterogeneity of adverse CNS outcomes among PWH.

Scaling up public mental health care in Sub-Saharan Africa: insights from infectious disease.

Introduction: Models estimate that the disability burden from mental disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will more than double in the next 40 years. Similar to HIV, mental disorders are stigmatized in many SSA settings and addressing them requires community engagement and long-term treatment. Yet, in contrast to HIV, the public mental healthcare cascade has not been sustained, despite robust data on scalable strategies.

Challenges and Opportunities in Psychiatric Neuroscience.

Psychiatry faces a number of challenges as a field. These include the high individual and societal costs of mental illnesses, overlapping and heterogeneous diagnoses, a complete lack of biomarkers, and treatments that, although efficacious for some, leave many without adequate relief. On the other hand, scientific and technical advances present considerable opportunities, especially in genomics, computational and theoretical approaches, and neural circuit technologies.

Child injuries in Ethiopia: A review of the current situation with projections.

Background: Heavy burden of child injuries and lack of policy response in Ethiopia call for an improved understanding of the situation and development of action plans from multiple governmental agencies and stakeholders.

Methods: A consortium of international and Ethiopian researchers and stakeholders used extensive literature review and mixed analytical methods to estimate and project the burden of fatal and non-fatal child unintentional injuries in Ethiopia from 2015 to 2030. Estimates were derived for children aged 0-14 years.

Genetic diversity and linkage disequilibrium in the chemokine receptor CCR2-CCR5 region among individuals and populations.

Background: Chemokine receptors CCR2 and CCR5 play a key role in immune and inflammatory responses and have been associated with several diseases, including AIDS. In order to comprehend health disparities it is important to understand the nature of genetic variation in specific genes of interest in different populations. Current studies of the CCR2 and CCR5 receptor genes are primarily focused on the CCR5-Δ32, and CCR2-V64I SNPs.

Striosome-matrix pathology and motor deficits in the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease is characterized by striatal degeneration and progressive motor deficits. To examine striatal compartment-specific pathology and its relation to motor symptoms, we used immunohistochemistry to identify and measure the striosomes and matrix of 7-13-month-old YAC128 and wild type (WT) mice that were previously tested on motor tasks. Compared to WTs, 13-month-old YAC128s showed volume shrinkage in striosomes, and cell loss in both compartments.