Cytokines and anxiety in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients not receiving antidepressant medication: a little-explored frontier and some of its brief history

Autoimmunity travelled from the theoretical roots planted by Burnet with the clonal selection theory and the early finding of a mouse providing a test for the role of the thymus as a source of forbidden clones. This chapter briefly reviews early work with the NZB mouse and presents results of an analysis of associations between cytokines and physical and psychometric parameters in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients not medicated with antidepressants. Some cytokines, particularly IFN-gamma, relate significantly to physical symptoms and anxiety. We conclude with the speculation that anxiety is linked to innate immunity and more severe neuropsychiatric disease in SLE to adaptive immunity

Cytokines and anxiety in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients not receiving antidepressant medication: a little-explored frontier and some of its brief history

Autoimmunity travelled from the theoretical roots planted by Burnet with the clonal selection theory and the early finding of a mouse providing a test for the role of the thymus as a source of forbidden clones. This chapter briefly reviews early work with the NZB mouse and presents results of an analysis of associations between cytokines and physical and psychometric parameters in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients not medicated with antidepressants. Some cytokines, particularly IFN-gamma, relate significantly to physical symptoms and anxiety. We conclude with the speculation that anxiety is linked to innate immunity and more severe neuropsychiatric disease in SLE to adaptive immunity

As massagens no tratamento de descompensações esquizofrénicas agudas, com sintomatologia de destruturação da imagem corporal

Os autores assinalaram a pouca atenção que tem sido dada às terapias corporais e à formação dos terapeutas neste domínio. Referiram a importância que, todavia, tem sido atribuída por certos autores d utilização das terapias corporais no tratamento de doentes esquizofrénicos: os paks, a relaxação, os diferentes grupos, as massagens, etc. Mostraram a eficácia revelada pelas massagens no tratamento de todos os doentes apresentando descompensações esquizofrénicas com destruturação aguda da imagem corporal no quadro terapêutico da hospitalização de dia e numa perspectiva de prevenção da hospitalização completa. Descrevem a técnica das massagens chamando a atenção para o cuidado que se deve ter para evitar a emergência de fantasmas de sedução-devoração: massagens diárias, de cerca de uma hora, parando-se com o aparecimento do desprazer, globais, de frente a frente, num ambiente «medicalizado», efectuadas na presença de um casal de enfermeiros que se alternam na prática das massagens, discutindo-se do tratamento, na presença do médico ou psicólogo e enfermeiros massagistas ( triterapia), paragem das massagens desde que sejam obtidos bons resultados. Referem os trabalhos que na psicologia animal e humana têm demonstrado a importância do contacto corporal e das massagem nos processos de maturação psicológica normal e patológica. Comentam o estatuto do «corpo psicológico » e como poderão actuar beneficamente as massagens quando da sua destruturação, seja para refazer o gestalt, seja para prevenir a organização esquizofrénica.------ ABSTRACT ------An account has been made by the authors concerning the little attention one has been paying to bodily therapies. Nevertheless, they stressed the bodily therapies some scientists use to treat schizophrenic patients (paks, massages, relaxation, etc.) and pointed out the efficiency of massages as treatment of all the schizophrenic descompensations with acute disruption of body image, in a therapeutic set of day-hospitalization, thus of prevention of complete internment. They also described the technical performance and the special care that must go with this kind of treatment in order to avoid the outburst of seduction devouring phantoms: whole massages, medical ambiance, permanent presence of a massagist couple giving massages by turns dayly, discussion concerning the treatment being present the doctor or the psychologist, massagistnurses and the patient (threetherapy), to leave of the treatment whenever remission occur. Finally, they reviewed the psychological studies that show the importance of body contacts and massages in maturation process and discussed not only the statute of the «psychological body», but also how massages could be beneficial in presence of a disruption, either rebuilting the gestalt or preventing the schizophrenic organization

A relação entre o stress e os estilos de vida nos estudantes de medicina da Faculdade de Medicina do Porto

Different studies have demonstrated that there are significant changes in the health and habits/life-style of university students, and it seems that Medical students also reveal a significant vulnerability to the adoption of health risk behaviours. The present study aims to (1) characterize the main sources of academic stress of the Medical School students of the University of Porto as well as the intensity with which they are experienced, (2) investigate the variations in academic stress and psychosocial variables, due to gender, year of course and displacement from home and (3) contribute, for the first time, to the understanding of stress and life-style of medical students in Portugal. The empirical study included a sample of 251 students from all 6 years of the course (160 females and 91 males), evaluated by the following instruments: (1) The Inventory of Sources of Academic Stress in Medical Education (ISASME), and the Portuguese versions of (2) the Brief Personal Survey (BPS), (3) the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), and (4) the Interpersonal Behaviour Survey-Brief (ICI- Brief). In terms of overall levels of stress (GHQ-12), a prevalence of 58.2% of clinically significant stress symptoms was found, with the students from the basic cycle and those who are living away from home, presenting higher levels of stress. In terms of life-style, 47% of the students revealed health risk behaviours, with eating habits, physical exercise, alcohol and drug consumption, and body image being the main problem areas. Gender and year of course seem to have a significant influence on the variables studied, being the female students those who present higher levels of academic stress, stress responses (pressure/overload, physical distress, anxiety, anger/ frustration, inefficiency, depression and loss of control), and low levels of coping confidence; the students of the basic cycle reveal higher levels of stress in managing their life-style (academic stress), general stress symptoms and stress responses. This study calls attention for the need of preventive intervention with medical students in order to prevent negative consequences of stress and improve their life-style by promoting individual and social resources.Diferentes estudos têm vindo a demonstrar que há mudanças significativas ao nível dos hábitos/estilos de vida dos estudantes do ensino superior e, verifica-se que, os estudan- tes de Medicina também evidenciam uma significativa propensão para a adopção de estilos de vida de risco para a saúde. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho pretende (i) caracterizar as principais fontes de stress académico dos estudantes da Faculdade de Medicina do Porto (FMUP) e a intensidade com que são experienciadas, (ii) investigar as variações com o sexo, ciclo de formação e deslocação da residência de origem, no stress académico e variáveis psicossociais associadas e, (iii) contribuir, pela primeira vez, para o estudo aprofundado do stress e estilos de vida dos estudantes de Medicina em Portugal. O estudo empírico contou com uma amostra de 251 estudantes dos sextos anos do Plano de Estudos da Licenciatura em Medicina da FMUP (160 do sexo feminino e 91 do sexo masculino), avaliados através dos seguintes instrumentos: (a) o Inventário de Fontes de Stress Académico no curso de Medicina (IFSAM), o Inventário de Respostas e Recursos Pessoais (IRRP), (b) o Questionário de Hábitos de Saúde, (c) o General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) e (d) o Inventário de Comportamento Interpessoal-breve (ICI- breve). Verificou-se uma prevalência de 58,2% de sintomas clínicos de stress e 47% dos estudantes revelam comportamentos de risco para a saúde, sendo as áreas de maior preocupação os hábitos alimentares, a prática de exercício físico, o consumo de álcool e tabaco, e a imagem corporal. O sexo e o ciclo de formação revelam uma influência signifi- cativa nas variáveis estudadas, sendo as estudantes do sexo feminino as que apresentam maiores níveis de stress académico, respostas de stress e baixa confiança na sua capaci- dade de coping; já os estudantes do ciclo básico revelam maiores níveis de stress geral, stress na gestão dos estilos de vida e nas respostas de stress. Este estudo poderá contri- buir para alertar para a necessidade de intervir junto dos estudantes de Medicina, no sentido de prevenir as consequências negativas do stress académico e melhorar o bem- estar e estilo de vida dos estudantes de Medicina, promovendo recursos individuais e sociais importantes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estudo de propriedades psicométricas do Questionário de Trauma de Infância – Versão breve numa amostra portuguesa não clínica

Neste trabalho apresentam-se os resultados da adaptação do Questionário de Trauma de Infância –forma breve (CTQ-SF) em população portuguesa. As propriedades psicométricas do instrumento foram estudadas numa amostra não clínica de 746 sujeitos adultos, tendo-se testado a estrutura de cinco fatores, inicialmente proposta pelos autores do questionário. A fiabilidade teste-reteste foi analisada num grupo de 29 sujeitos. As subescalas apresentam coeficientes de consistência interna a variar entre .84 para a escala total, .79 para a negligência emocional, .77 para o abuso físico, .71 para o abuso emocional e sexual, e .47 para a negligência física. A subescala de negligência física apresenta baixa consistência interna, replicando resultados anteriores de outros estudos, salientando a necessidade de uma possível revisão desta subescala. A exposição a negligência emocional e ao abuso verbal aparecem como as formas mais frequentes de maltrato de infância em adultos. O CTQ-SF apresenta características de validade aceitáveis, com exceção da subescala de negligência física. Futuros trabalhos com o instrumento deverão incluir medidas mais eficazes na detecção da negligência física.

Linguateca: um centro de recursos distribuí­do para o processamento computacional da lí­ngua portuguesa

Neste artigo apresentamos uma panorâmica da actividade da Linguateca na criação e disponibilização de recursos e ferramentas para a língua portuguesa. Começamos por uma descrição dos objectivos e pressupostos da Linguateca e uma breve história da sua intervenção, e finalizamos com algumas considerações sobre a melhor forma de prosseguir na organização da área

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups