Comparison of Depressive Symptoms between International and Domestic Students in a Japanese University: Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant lifestyle changes and uncertainties, triggering a secondary wave of mental health issues in society. University students are especially susceptible to mental disorders. International students are considered more vulnerable due to limited emotional and financial support from their families and difficulties accessing community support.

A Comparison of Mental Health among Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Power Plant Accident Survivors in the Long Term after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Even now, ten years after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), thousands of residents of Fukushima Prefecture are still living as evacuees. To understand the mental health states and needs for psychological care of the survivors, we conducted a questionnaire survey of survivors who were evacuated from Fukushima to Ibaraki due to the nuclear power plant accident and of the residents of two areas in Ibaraki where damage was particularly severe due to the tsunami or liquefaction. Our results show that stress related to participants' hometowns and to the disaster was a risk factor for depression and post-traumatic stress among the survivors in the medium to long term in all regions examined.

The Mental Health of Long-Term Evacuees outside Fukushima Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Ten years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, thousands of residents of Fukushima Prefecture were still living as evacuees. Among them, unignorable numbers of people were living outside of the prefecture. A survey was conducted with evacuees to Ibaraki, the neighboring prefecture of Fukushima, to investigate their medium- to long-term mental care needs.

A longitudinal comparison of college student mental health under the COVID-19 self-restraint policy in Japan.

Background: The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in substantial mental health problems. In addition to the fear of infection, prevention policies that result in isolation such as lockdowns or, in Japan, "self-restraint," are associated with psychological symptoms. University students are vulnerable to emotional disorders because of the psychological challenges associated with the transition to adulthood.

Association between depressive state and behavioral changes induced by the state of emergency for Coronavirus disease 2019: Evidence from university students in Japan.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has caused numerous problems worldwide since 2020. The pandemic and subsequent quarantine policies have resulted in numerous psychological problems among students. The quarantine policy forced students to change their behavior and refrain from going out.

Visualizing the Process of Disaster Mental Health Services in the Joso Flood by Network Analyses of Emails.

Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan was severely affected by flooding of the River Kinugawa in September 2015. Local psychiatric organizations immediately began providing disaster mental health services (DMHS). In post-disaster settings, DMHS involving organizational interventions by multiple regional institutions are required to support disaster victims.

Apathy symptoms induced by low-dose venlafaxine: Two cases.

Recent guidelines regarding pharmacological interventions for major depressive disorder (MDD) recommend first using serotonin (5HT) selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or 5HT and norepinephrine (NE) reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Although SSRIs and SNRIs are effective and well-tolerated, apathy occurs as an adverse effect in some SSRIs-treated patients. Because apathy would be associated with the 5HT pathway, if a patient exhibits apathy symptoms under SSRIs treatment, a clinical strategy has been to change the SSRIs to treatment with an SNRIs.

Quality of Internet information referring to mental health and mental disorders in Japan.

Although the Internet has been widely used in Japan, the quality of information on mental health-related issues has not been evaluated so far. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the current status of Japanese websites that deal with mental health, mental disorders, and their associated matters. Using a search engine, Google, 37 websites were identified that exclusively contain information on mental health or mental disorders.

Association of a polymorphism of the transforming growth factor-beta1 gene with cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Background: A recent study showed that transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) induces amyloid-beta deposition in cerebral blood vessels and meninges of a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that TGF-beta1 mRNA levels are correlated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in human AD brains. A T/C polymorphism at codon 10 in exon 1 of the TGF-beta1 gene has been reported to be associated with the serum TGF-beta1 concentration. We investigated whether the TGF-beta1 polymorphism is associated with the risk of CAA.

Association of neprilysin polymorphism with cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Objectives: The risk of sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) may be associated with genetic polymorphisms of molecules related to anabolism or catabolism of amyloid beta protein (Abeta). The authors investigated whether a polymorphism of the gene (NEP) coding for neprilysin, an enzyme catabolising Abeta, is associated with CAA.

Methods: The study analysed the GT repeat polymorphism in the enhancer/promoter region of NEP and severity of CAA in 164 necropsied elderly Japanese subjects.

No association of paraoxonase genotype or atherosclerosis with cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Background And Purpose: Both cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and paraoxonase have been reported to be related to lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. We investigated whether the paraoxonase gene (PON1) polymorphism and atherosclerosis are associated with risk of CAA.

Methods: Associations of the PON1 polymorphism and atherosclerosis of the aorta and coronary and cerebral arteries with the severity of CAA were investigated in 154 elderly Japanese individuals, including 47 patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Senile dementia of the neurofibrillary tangle type: a comparison with Alzheimer's disease.

A subset of senile dementia, 'senile dementia (SD) of the neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) type' (SD-NFT), is characterized by numerous NFTs in the hippocampal region and absence or scarcity of senile plaques throughout the brain. To elucidate the pathogenesis of SD-NFT in comparison with Alzheimer's disease (AD), we investigated the hippocampal lesions and analyzed the tau gene. The hippocampal regions from 5 patients with SD-NFT were neuropathologically evaluated in comparison with AD and nondemented control subjects.

Unilateral spatial neglect in AD: significance of line bisection performance.

Background: Unilateral spatial neglect has been rarely reported in patients with AD, although they often have right and left asymmetry of temporoparietal dysfunction.

Objective: To investigate if patients with AD would show unilateral spatial neglect in the line bisection test, and to reveal the relationship between their neglect and the area of cerebral dysfunction.

Method: Thirty-two patients with mild to moderate AD and 32 age-matched healthy control subjects underwent an extensive line bisection test.

Alpha2-macroglobulin polymorphism is not associated with AD or AD-type neuropathology in the Japanese.

Background: alpha2-Macroglobulin (A2M) forms the complex with amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) and is associated with degradation of Abeta. It has been reported that the A2M gene (A2M) exon 18 splice acceptor deletion polymorphism influences the development of AD, regardless of apolipoprotein E-epsilon4 (APOE-epsilon4) status.

Objective: To determine the effect of A2M polymorphism on the development of AD and AD-type neuropathologic changes.

A deletion polymorphism of alpha(2)-macroglobulin gene and cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Background And Purpose: alpha(2)-Macroglobulin may be implicated in amyloid beta protein deposition. A deletion in the exon 18 splice acceptor of the alpha(2)-macroglobulin gene (A2M) has been reported to be associated with risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In search of genetic risk factors for cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), we investigated association of the A2M deletion polymorphism with CAA.