The Highs and Lows of Memantine-An Autophagy and Mitophagy Inducing Agent That Protects Mitochondria.

Memantine is an FDA-approved, non-competitive NMDA-receptor antagonist that has been shown to have mitochondrial protective effects, improve cell viability and enhance clearance of Aβ peptide. Currently, there are uncertainties regarding the precise molecular targets as well as the most favourable treatment concentrations of memantine. Here, we made use of an imaging-based approach to investigate the concentration-dependent effects of memantine on mitochondrial fission and fusion dynamics, autophagy and mitochondrial quality control using a neuronal model of CCCP-induced mitochondrial injury so as to better unpack how memantine aids in promoting neuronal health.

Persistent Maternal Mental Health Disorders and Toddler Neurodevelopment at 18 Months: Longitudinal Follow-up of a Low-Income South African Cohort.

One of the biggest threats to early childhood development in Africa is poor maternal mental health. The present study reports on the relationships between clinical diagnoses of persistent maternal mental health disorders (at 3- and/or 6- and 18-month post-term age) and toddler neurodevelopment at 18 months of age. Eighty-three mother-toddler dyads from low socio-economic status settings in Cape Town, South Africa, were included.

Impact of completing a psychosocial rehabilitation programme on inpatient service utilisation in South Africa.

Background: Deinstitutionalisation refers to the process of transferring most of the psychiatric care provision from inpatient state-run institutions to community-based care. However, it has proven difficult to implement and failed to reach its desired targets. New Beginnings (NB) is a transitional care facility that facilitates the transition from in- to outpatient care.

Maternal mental health and infant neurodevelopment at 6 months in a low-income South African cohort.

Maternal mental health disorders and the adverse consequences for infant neurodevelopment have received substantial research attention in high-income countries over the past five decades. In Africa, where relatively little work has been done on this topic, researchers have largely focused on infant physical health outcomes. This longitudinal study investigated the neurodevelopment of infants at 6 months post-term with exposure to mothers with a clinical diagnosis of persistent mental health disorders residing in low-income communities in Cape Town, South Africa.

Descriptive outcomes for a cohort of high-frequency psychiatric service users in the Western Cape, South Africa after 10 years.

Background: Assertive community treatment (ACT) is an intervention implemented to manage the effects of deinstitutionalisation. South African studies have reported decreased admissions at 12 and 36 months when a modified ACT intervention is compared with standard care. However, costs associated with the intervention have raised the question of its feasibility in developing countries.

Early motor behavior of infants exposed to maternal mental health disorders - A South African perspective.

Introduction: Over the past five decades the bulk of research on exposure to maternal mental health disorders and infant neurodevelopment has been generated in high-income countries. The current study included infants, residing in low-income communities in South Africa, born to mothers with a history of psychiatric disorders.

Aim: To assess the motor behavior of 10- to 20-week-old infants exposed to maternal mental health disorders, and a subgroup of infants with prenatal psychotropic medication exposure.

Single-course bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (1xBEP) as adjuvant treatment in testicular nonseminoma clinical stage 1: outcome, safety, and risk factors for relapse in a population-based study.

Introduction: Clinical stage 1 (CS1) nonseminomatous (NS) germ cell tumors involve a 30% probability of relapse upon surveillance. Adjuvant chemotherapy with one course of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (1xBEP) can reduce this risk to <5%. However, 1xBEP results are based solely on five controlled trials from high-volume centers.

The Shared Pleasure Paradigm: A study in an observational birth cohort in South Africa.

Mother-infant dyads in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) may be exposed to a range of factors associated with suboptimal development. Optimal infant development is likely supported by synchronicity in the early mother-infant relationship, but limited corroborative research is available in LMICs. The Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS) provided an opportunity to study this synchronicity and its associations in South Africa.

Maternal Shared Pleasure, Infant Withdrawal, and Developmental Outcomes in a High Risk Setting in South Africa.

Infants in lower middle income countries are often exposed to early adversities which may lead to suboptimal caregiving environments and place them at risk of not achieving their developmental potential. Synchrony and positive engagement in the mother-infant relationship plays a critical role in buffering the impact of early adversity. Shared Pleasure (SP) is considered a marker of high intensity positive interaction and may hold a promise of improving developmental outcomes.

Pregnancy outcomes, early separation, and psychiatric relapse experienced by South African women with peripartum psychosis: a descriptive exploration.

The peripartum is associated with increased incidence of severe mental illness (SMI), a greater occurrence of psychotic symptoms and psychiatric admissions. This study aimed to describe the psychiatric, medical and psycho-social risk factors affecting South African mothers who experienced peripartum psychosis. Using a prospective, descriptive design, we conducted a detailed interview and supplementary information was collected by review of clinical records.

Digit ratio as an endophenotype in a schizophrenia population.

Background: Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental health condition affecting the lives of many South Africans. The origins of the heterogeneity in the presentation of the illness remain uncertain.

Aim: This cross-sectional study performed a retrospective data analysis to determine the usefulness of digit ratio as an endophenotype in a South African schizophrenia population.

Pupillary and Attentional Responses to Infant Facial Expressions in Mothers Across Socioeconomic Variations.

Maternal responses to infant facial expressions were examined in two socioeconomically diverse samples of South African mothers (Study I, N = 111; and Study II, N = 214; age: 17-44 years) using pupil and gaze tracking. Study I showed increased pupil response to infant distress expressions in groups recruited from private as compared to public maternity clinics, possibly reflecting underlying differences in socioeconomic status (SES) across the groups. Study II, sampling uniformly low-SES neighborhoods, found increased pupil dilation and faster orientation to expressions of infant distress, but only in the highest income group.

Associations Between Neonatal Cry Acoustics and Visual Attention During the First Year.

It has been suggested that early cry parameters are connected to later cognitive abilities. The present study is the first to investigate whether the acoustic features of infant cry are associated with cognitive development already during the first year, as measured by oculomotor orienting and attention disengagement. Cry sounds for acoustic analyses (fundamental frequency; F0) were recorded in two neonatal cohorts at the age of 0-8 days (Tampere, Finland) or at 6 weeks (Cape Town, South Africa).

Demographic and clinical profile of patients utilising a transitional care intervention in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Background: The World Health Organization's action plan for 2020 has identified the need for service-based data to motivate for more appropriate community-based services. To date, there is no published data from step-up or step-down facilities in South Africa.

Aim: To describe the demographic and clinical profile of all patients admitted to New Beginnings between 01 January 2011 and 31 December 2015.

Burnout and job satisfaction of nursing staff in a South African acute mental health setting.

Background: Psychiatric nurses constitute a fundamental part of the mental health care system in South Africa. However, high levels of burnout and job dissatisfaction among nursing staff have been associated with reduced empathy and quality of care, and poor service delivery. Stikland Psychiatric Hospital is a state psychiatric hospital situated in Belville and provides all levels of psychiatric care to a large part of the Cape metro region.

Maternal perinatal mental health and infant and toddler neurodevelopment - Evidence from low and middle-income countries. A systematic review.

Background: There is extensive lack of awareness of maternal mental health and its impact on child development in low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs). The aim of this systematic review was to analyze evidence for various maternal perinatal mental health disorders and their association with different domains of infant and toddler neurodevelopment during the first two postnatal years in LAMICs.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted within six databases from Jan 1990-April 2019.

Erratum: The validation of the visual screening tool for anxiety disorders and depression in hypertension and/or diabetes.

No abstract available.

Cross-cultural analysis of attention disengagement times supports the dissociation of faces and patterns in the infant brain.

Infants are slower to disengage from faces than non-face patterns when distracted by novel competing stimuli. While this perceptual predilection for faces is well documented, its universality and mechanisms in relation to other aspects of attention are poorly understood. We analysed attention disengagement times for faces and non-face patterns in a large sample of 6-to 9-month-old infants (N = 637), pooled from eye tracking studies in socioculturally diverse settings (Finland, Malawi, South Africa).

A clinical profile of inpatient admissions to the psychogeriatric unit at Stikland Hospital.

Background: Globally, the number of older people is rising. As a consequence of greater longevity, an increased burden on both medical and mental health care is expected. As a first step towards developing strategies to provide quality mental health care for this growing population, practitioners need to have a thorough understanding of the composition and needs of these patients.

Revisiting the African origins of attachment research-50 years on from Ainsworth: A descriptive review.

Culture plays a significant role in the variations observed in the manifestation, expression, and meaning of attachment behaviors. Africa is home to multiple cultures, with distinct organizations of caregiving relationships underlying the development of attachment. This review aims to consolidate knowledge about African attachment by describing studies of infant attachment conducted in Africa since Mary Ainsworth's Ugandan findings in 1967.

The impact of a psychiatry clinical rotation on the attitude of South African final year medical students towards mental illness.

Background: Stigmatising attitudes of health care professionals towards mental illness can impede treatment provided for psychiatric patients. Many studies have reported undergraduate training to be a critical period for changing the attitudes of medical students, and one particularly valuable intervention strategy involves time spent in a clinical psychiatric rotation. In South Africa, medical students are exposed to a clinical rotation in psychiatry but there is no evidence to show whether this has an effect on attitudes toward mental illness.

The development of the visual screening tool for anxiety disorders and depression: Addressing barriers to screening for depression and anxiety disorders in hypertension and/or diabetes.

 There is a lack of screening tools for common mental disorders that can be applied across cultures, languages and levels of education in people with diabetes and hypertension. Aim: To develop a visual screening tool for depression and anxiety disorders that is applicable across cultures and levels of education. Setting: Participants were purposively recruited from two not-for-profit organisations and two public health facilities - a maternal mental health unit and a primary health care centre.