Safety and efficacy of repetitive stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using transcranial focused ultrasound in treatment-resistant depressed patients: A non-inferiority randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: About 30% of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder fail with the mainstream pharmacological treatment. Patients who do not achieve clinical remission of symptoms, even with two different antidepressants, are classified with treatment-resistant depression (TDR). This condition imposes an additional burden with increased Disability Adjusted Life Years.

Use of biomarkers for predicting a malignant course in acute ischemic stroke: an observational case-control study.

Acute ischemic stroke is a sudden neurological event caused by brain ischemia. Patients with large vessel occlusion are at high risk of developing significant cerebral edema, which can lead to rapid neurological decline. The optimal timing for decompressive hemicraniectomy to prevent further brain damage is still uncertain.

Sex and the Estrous-Cycle Phase Influence the Expression of G Protein-Coupled Estrogen Receptor 1 (GPER) in Schizophrenia: Translational Evidence for a New Target.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder with sex bias in disease onset and symptom severity. Recently, it was observed that females present more severe symptoms in the perimenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. The administration of estrogen also alleviates schizophrenia symptoms.

Executive Functions and Motor Adaptation to Predictable and Unpredictable Perturbations.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the influence of executive functions (EF) on motor adaptation. We compared the motor performance of adults with and without EF deficits. Those with EF deficits ( = 21) were individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) under medical treatment, and those without EF deficits ( = 21) comprised a control group (CG) of participants who were also without neurological or psychiatric diagnoses.

Impacts of mental health in the sleep pattern of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

Background: After >2 years of the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is well established how sleep symptoms are rising, especially among healthcare workers (HCW). The aim of this study is to evaluate what features are associated with sleep disturbances in the HCW population.

Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of social and clinical variables associated with sleep problems and insomnia incidence in HCW in a large, national-level cohort.

Cognitive impairment in the HTLV-1 infection: a comparative study associated with functional performance.

Human T cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-1) infection courses with a myelopathy, the tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). In a case-control study, we compared the neuropsychological profile and functional characteristics in two case HTLV-1-infected groups (asymptomatic and with HAM/TSP) with a control group negative for HTLV-1. Subjects were paired for age, sex, and educational features.

Spinal cord hypometabolism associated with infection by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1(HTLV-1).

Background: HTLV-1 infection is endemic in Brazil. About 1 to 2% of the Brazilian population is estimated to be infected, but most infected HTLV-1 individuals do not know about their own infection, which favors the continuity of sexual and vertical virus transmission. In addition, HTLV-1 associated central nervous system diseases and their pathophysiologic mechanisms are not fully understood.

The overweight increases circulating inflammatory mediators commonly associated with obesity in young individuals.

Obesity is a serious and growing world healthy problem affecting developed and developing countries. The new conception of obesity as a basal inflammatory condition has opened a new window of possibilities to identify inflammatory biomarkers to be used in the diagnosis or prognosis of obesity-associated comorbidities. This present work aims the identification of the adipokines (leptin and resistin), chemokines (CCL2, CCL5, CXCL16) and the BMP-2 and their association with the clinical, biochemical (fasting glucose, hemogram, cholesterol, T3, T4 and TSH) and anthropometric (weight, height, body circumferences, skinfold thickness and percentage of body fat) parameters in young adults (18-30 years old) presenting obesity and overweight.

Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid levels of cytokines as disease markers of neurologic manifestation in long-term HTLV-1 infected individuals.

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the presence of a particular immunological profile in individuals long-term infected with HTLV-1, followed presenting different clinical courses.

Materials & Methods: Forty-eight individuals were evaluated for 19 cytokines analyzed in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of patients with HTLV-1 presenting with and without neurological symptoms.

Results: Proinflammatory cytokines and the chemokine ligand 11 (ITAC/CXCL11) were increased in individuals with HTLV-1 coursing with neurological symptoms.

HTLV-1 proviral load in cerebrospinal fluid may not be a good marker to differentiate asymptomatic carriers with high proviral load in blood from HAM/TSP patients.

An elevated human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) proviral load (PVL) is an important risk factor for HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), although there is a considerable frequency of asymptomatic carriers (AC) with high PVL in blood. Our objective was to evaluate whether PVL quantified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is helpful to distinguish AC from HAM when AC have high PVL in blood (AC). AC (n = 7) were characterized to have high PVL in blood by quantification of samples collected over time (mean 7 years).

Functional decline in the elderly with MCI: Cultural adaptation of the ADCS-ADL scale.

Objective: Translate, transcultural adaptation and application to Brazilian Portuguese of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study - Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) scale as a cognitive screening instrument.

Method: We applied the back translation added with pretest and bilingual methods. The sample was composed by 95 elderly individuals and their caregivers.

Stigma related to bipolar disorder in the perception of psychiatrists from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

This research sought to understand meanings and implications of the stigma related to bipolar disorder in relation to social processes and local cultural value systems. Seven semidirected individual interviews were performed with psychiatrists (from Belo Horizonte city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil) and analyzed with referential from the Medical Anthropology. Some potential stigmatizing views about bipolar disorder patients were endorsed by respondents related to biomedical model of bipolar disorder.

CXCL-16, IL-17, and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) are associated with overweight and obesity conditions in middle-aged and elderly women.

Background: The current concept of overweight/obesity is most likely related to a combination of increased caloric intake and decreased energy expenditure. Widespread inflammation, associated with both conditions, appears to contribute to the development of some obesity-related comorbidities. Interventions that directly or indirectly target individuals at high risk of developing obesity have been largely proposed because of the increasing number of overweight/obese cases worldwide.

Brain Metabolism Changes in Patients Infected with HTLV-1.

The Human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-1) is the causal agent of HTLV-associated myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP). HAM/TSP is the result of demyelination and cell death in the spinal cord and disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), mediated by a virus-induced inflammatory response. In this study, we applied Positron Emission Tomography with 18F-fluordeoxyglucose (18F-FDG PET) to evaluate brain metabolism in a group of 47 patients infected with HTLV-1, and 18 healthy controls.

Development and validation of the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale - Brazilian version.

Objective:: This article aims to describe the adaptation and translation process of the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) and its reduced version, the Bush-Francis Catatonia Screening Instrument (BFCSI) for Brazilian Portuguese, as well as its validation.

Methods:: Semantic equivalence processes included four steps: translation, back translation, evaluation of semantic equivalence and a pilot-study. Validation consisted of simultaneous applications of the instrument in Portuguese by two examiners in 30 catatonic and 30 non-catatonic patients.

Association between DCHS2 gene and mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease in an elderly Brazilian sample.

Objectives: In 2012, Kamboh and colleagues published a genome-wide association study that identified the DCHS2 gene (rs1466662 T/A) influencing the age at onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aimed to investigate if there is association between the DCHS2 gene and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD in a sample of the Brazilian population.

Methods: 143 controls, 79 aMCI and 299 AD patients were selected and submitted to the same protocol of tests.

Neural correlates of hallucinations in bipolar disorder.

Objective: Approximately one-half of all patients affected by bipolar disorder present with psychotic features on at least one occasion. Several studies have found that alterations in the activity of mesolimbic and prefrontal regions are related to aberrant salience in psychotic patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the structural correlates of a history of hallucinations in a sample of euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder (BD-I).

Antenatal depression: Prevalence and risk factor patterns across the gestational period.

Background: The prevalence of antenatal depression (AD) among pregnant women varies according to the populations under study and the periods of evaluation. This paper investigated patterns of AD prevalence and risk factors in a Brazilian sample.

Methods: Using semi-structured interviews as well as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Plus (MINI), 148 pregnant women were assessed in their second and third trimesters.

Specific cognitive functions and depressive symptoms as predictors of activities of daily living in older adults with heterogeneous cognitive backgrounds.

Cognitive functioning influences activities of daily living (ADL). However, studies reporting the association between ADL and neuropsychological performance show inconsistent results regarding what specific cognitive domains are related to each specific functional domains. Additionally, whether depressive symptoms are associated with a worse functional performance in older adults is still under explored.

A voxel-based morphometry study of gray matter correlates of facial emotion recognition in bipolar disorder.

Facial emotion recognition (FER) is one of the many cognitive deficits reported in bipolar disorder (BD) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate neuroanatomical correlates of FER impairments in BD type I (BD-I). Participants comprised 21 euthymic BD-I patients without Axis I DSM IV-TR comorbidities and 21 healthy controls who were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging and the Penn Emotion Recognition Test (ER40).

Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility Mediates Visuoconstructional Abilities in Older Adults with Heterogeneous Cognitive Ability.

Previous studies suggest that executive functions influence the performance on visuoconstructional tasks. This study aims to investigate whether the relationship between planning ability and the copy of complex figures is mediated by distinct components of executive functions (i.e.

Bipolar disorder prevalence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.

Objective: Bipolar disorder (BD) is common in clinical psychiatric practice, and several studies have estimated its prevalence to range from 0.5 to 5% in community-based samples. However, no systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of BD type 1 and type 2 has been published in the literature.

Postpartum depression: A systematic review of the genetics involved.

Postpartum depression is one of the most prevalent psychopathologies. Its prevalence is estimated to be between 10% and 15%. Despite its multifactorial etiology, it is known that genetics play an important role in the genesis of this disorder.