Digital patient-centred learning in medical education: A national learning platform with virtual patients as part of the DigiPaL project.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the medical faculties in the Federal Republic of Germany converted their curricula to digital formats on a large scale and very quickly in spring 2020 as an emergency measure. At the same time, a start was made on the nationwide exchange of digital teaching/learning materials via the online platform "LOOOP share" in order to save local resources. Among other things, virtual patient cases (VP) were shared across faculties for case-based learning, through which students can acquire clinical decision-making skills.

Role of Serum Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Central N-Acetylaspartate for Clinical Response under Antidepressive Pharmacotherapy.

Background: The predictive therapeutic value of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its changes associated with the use of specific antidepressants are still unclear. In this study, we examined BDNF as a peripheral and NAA as a central biomarker over the time course of antidepressant treatment to specify both of their roles in the response to the medication and clinical outcome.

Methods: We examined serum BDNF (ELISA kit) in a sample of 76 (47 female and 29 male) depressed patients in a naturalistic setting.