Therapeutic Hemoglobin Levels after Gene Transfer in β-Thalassemia Mice and in Hematopoietic Cells of β-Thalassemia and Sickle Cells Disease Patients

Preclinical and clinical studies demonstrate the feasibility of treating β-thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) by lentiviral-mediated transfer of the human β-globin gene. However, previous studies have not addressed whether the ability of lentiviral vectors to increase hemoglobin synthesis might vary in different patients

Symptoms of mania and anxiety do not contribute to suicidal ideation or behavior in the presence of bipolar depression

Bipolar disorder is typified by episodes of manic/hypomanic and depressive symptoms, either distinctly or concurrently as mixed symptoms. While depressive symptoms are the major driver of risk, it is unclear whether specific combinations of manic and anxiety symptoms contribute differentially to suicidal ideation and behavior in individuals with bipolar disorder during a depressive state. This study uses a quantitative application of Rothman’s theoretical framework of causation, or ‘causal pies’ model. Data were obtained from the National Network of Depression Centers Mood Outcomes Program for 1028 visits from 626 individuals with bipolar disorder with current moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms, operationalized as a Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) score ≥10. Mania symptoms were captured using the Altman Self-Rating Mania scale (ASRM) and anxiety symptoms were captured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7). The outcome of suicidal ideation or behavior was captured using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). In this cohort of individuals with bipolar disorder and at least moderate depressive symptoms, we found no increased risk of suicidal ideation or behavior attributable to manic and anxiety symptom clusters in individuals with bipolar disorder during depressive state. A small amount (4%) of risk was attributable to having severe depressive symptoms. These findings, however, may be influenced by limitations in sample size and measurement instruments. Future studies would benefit from larger samples and more rigorous assessments, including clinician-rated measures

Mental Health and Clinical Psychological Science in the Time of COVID-19: Challenges, Opportunities, and a Call to Action

COVID-19 presents significant social, economic, and medical challenges. Because COVID-19 has already begun to precipitate huge increases in mental health problems, clinical psychological science must assert a leadership role in guiding a national response to this secondary crisis. In this article, COVID-19 is conceptualized as a unique, compounding, multidimensional stressor that will create a vast need for intervention and necessitate new paradigms for mental health service delivery and training. Urgent challenge areas across developmental periods are discussed, followed by a review of psychological symptoms that likely will increase in prevalence and require innovative solutions in both science and practice. Implications for new research directions, clinical approaches, and policy issues are discussed to highlight the opportunities for clinical psychological science to emerge as an updated, contemporary field capable of addressing the burden of mental illness and distress in the wake of COVID-19 and beyond

When Robert E. Park Was (Re)Writing ‘The City’: Biography, the Social Survey and the Science of Sociology

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