Maternal respiratory viral infections during pregnancy and offspring's neurodevelopmental outcomes: a systematic review

Maternal infections during pregnancy, as cytomegalovirus and zika, have been consistently associated with severe newborn neurodevelopmental conditions, mainly related to vertical transmission and congenital infection. However, little is known about the neurodevelopmental consequences of maternal respiratory viral infections, which are the most prevalent infections during pregnancy. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has increased the interest in understanding the consequences of infections in offspring's development. This systematic review explores whether maternal gestational viral respiratory infections are associated with neurodevelopmental deviations in children below 10 years-old. The search was conducted in Pubmed, PsychInfo and Web of Science databases. 12 articles were revised, including information about maternal infection (Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and unspecified respiratory infections) and offspring's neurodevelopment (global development, specific functions, temperament and behavioral/emotional aspects). Controversial results were reported regarding maternal respiratory infections during pregnancy and infants' neurodevelopment. Maternal infections seem to be associated with subtle alterations in some offspring's developmental subdomains, as early motor development, and attentional, behavioral/emotional minor problems. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of other psychosocial confounding factors

Salivary secretory immunoglobulin A as a potential biomarker of psychosocial stress response during the first stages of life: A systematic review

Mucosal secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) has been recognized as a key component of human first line defense against infection. However, its reactivity to psychosocial stressors is poorly understood. This systematic review aimed to explore whether s-IgA levels changed after psychosocial stress in subjects under the age of 18. Fifteen articles were included. s-IgA basal levels are increased in children older than 9 years old exposed to stress. Furthermore, s-IgA seems to follow a circadian rhythm, which is altered under stress conditions. Finally, the collective evidence suggests that salivary s-IgA rapidly increases under acute stress after puberty. Overall, our review indicates that s-IgA could be considered a potential psychosocial stress biomarker of interest for pediatric and child-juvenile psychiatric population. Further studies are needed to validate the role of s-IgA circadian rhythm and basal levels as psychosocial stress biomarkers and disentangle the role of age and type of stressor

Secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) reactivity to acute psychosocial stress in children and adolescents: The influence of pubertal development and history of maltreatment.

Background: Mucosal secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) is an antibody protein-complex that plays a crucial role in immune first defense against infection. Although different immune biomarkers have been associated with stress-related psychopathology, s-IgA remains poorly studied, especially in youth. Objectives: The present study investigated how s-IgA behaves in front of acute psychosocial stress in children and adolescents, including possible variability associated with developmental stage and history of childhood maltreatment (CM). Methods: 94 children and adolescents from 7 to 17 years (54 with a current psychiatric diagnostic and 40 healthy controls) drawn from a larger Spanish study were explored (EPI-Young Stress Project). To assess biological reactivity, participants provided five saliva samples during an acute laboratory-based psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C). Samples were assayed for s-IgA, as well as for cortisol. Pubertal development was ascertained by Tanner stage and CM following TASSCV criteria. Results: We observed s-IgA fluctuations throughout the stressor, indicating the validity of TSST-C to stimulate s-IgA secretion (F(4,199) = 6.200, p <.001). Although s-IgA trajectories followed a reactivity and recovery pattern in adolescents, children exhibited no s-IgA response when faced with stress (F(4,197) = 3.406, p =.010). An interaction was found between s-IgA and CM (F(4,203) = 2.643, p =.035). Interestingly, an interaction between developmental stage, CM history and s-IgA reactivity was identified (F(12,343) = 2.036, p =.017); while children non-exposed to maltreatment exhibited no s-IgA changes to acute stress, children with a history of CM showed a similar response to adolescents, increasing their s-IgA levels after the psychosocial stressor. Conclusion: Acute psychosocial stress stimulates s-IgA secretion, but only after puberty. However, children with a history of maltreatment exhibited a response resembling that of adolescents, suggesting an early maturation of the immune system. Further studies are needed to clarify the validity of s-IgA as an acute stress biomarker, including additional measures during stress exposure. Keywords: Acute stress; Adolescents; Childhood maltreatment; Children; Developmental stage; TSST-C; secretory Immunoglobulin A (s-IgA)

Jardins per a la salut

Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia. Assignatura: Botànica farmacèutica. Curs: 2014-2015. Coordinadors: Joan Simon, Cèsar Blanché i Maria Bosch.Els materials que aquí es presenten són el recull de les fitxes botàniques de 128 espècies presents en el Jardí Ferran Soldevila de l’Edifici Històric de la UB. Els treballs han estat realitzats manera individual per part dels estudiants dels grups M-3 i T-1 de l’assignatura Botànica Farmacèutica durant els mesos de febrer a maig del curs 2014-15 com a resultat final del Projecte d’Innovació Docent «Jardins per a la salut: aprenentatge servei a Botànica farmacèutica» (codi 2014PID-UB/054). Tots els treballs s’han dut a terme a través de la plataforma de GoogleDocs i han estat tutoritzats pels professors de l’assignatura. L’objectiu principal de l’activitat ha estat fomentar l’aprenentatge autònom i col·laboratiu en Botànica farmacèutica. També s’ha pretès motivar els estudiants a través del retorn de part del seu esforç a la societat a través d’una experiència d’Aprenentatge-Servei, deixant disponible finalment el treball dels estudiants per a poder ser consultable a través d’una Web pública amb la possibilitat de poder-ho fer in-situ en el propi jardí mitjançant codis QR amb un smartphone

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) of ICD-11 in youths with childhood maltreatment: Associations with age of exposure and clinical outcomes.

Background: Exposure to childhood maltreatment (CM) increases the risk of psychiatric morbidity in youths. The new Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) diagnosis captures the heterogeneity and complexity of clinical outcomes observed in youths exposed to CM. This study explores CPTSD symptomatology and its association with clinical outcomes, considering the impact of CM subtypes and age of exposure. Methods: Exposure to CM and clinical outcomes were evaluated in 187 youths aged 7-17 (116 with psychiatric disorder; 71 healthy controls) following the Tools for Assessing the Severity of Situations in which Children are Vulnerable (TASSCV) structured interview criteria. CPTSD symptomatology was explored by confirmatory factor analysis, considering four subdomains: post-traumatic stress symptoms, emotion dysregulation, negative self-concept and interpersonal problems. Results: Youths exposed to CM (with or without psychiatric disorders) showed greater internalizing, externalizing and other symptomatology, worse premorbid adjustment and poorer overall functioning. Youth with psychiatric disorder and exposed to CM reported more CPTSD symptomatology, psychiatric comorbidity and polypharmacy and earlier onset of cannabis use. Different subtypes of CM and the developmental stage of exposure differentially impact CPTSD subdomains. Limitations: Small percentage of resilient youths was studied. It was not possible to explore specific interactions between diagnostic categories and CM. Direct inference cannot be assumed. Conclusions: Gathering information on type and age of exposure to CM is clinically useful to understand the complexity of psychiatric symptoms observed in youths. Inclusion of the CPTSD diagnosis should increase the implementation of early specific interventions, improving youths' functioning and reducing the severity of clinical outcomes

Factors associated with successful dietary changes in an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet intervention: a longitudinal analysis in the PREDIMED-plus trial

Purpose Long-term nutrition trials may fail to respond to their original hypotheses if participants do not comply with the intended dietary intervention. We aimed to identify baseline factors associated with successful dietary changes towards an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) in the PREDIMED-Plus randomized trial. Methods Longitudinal analysis of 2985 participants (Spanish overweight/obese older adults with metabolic syndrome) randomized to the active intervention arm of the PREDIMED-Plus trial. Dietary changes were assessed with a 17-item energyreduced MedDiet questionnaire after 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Successful compliance was defned as dietary changes from baseline of≥5 points for participants with baseline scores<13 points or any increase if baseline score was≥13 points. We conducted crude and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models to identify baseline factors related to compliance. Results Consistent factors independently associated with successful dietary change at both 6 and 12 months were high baseline perceived self-efcacy in modifying diet (OR6-month: 1.51, 95% CI 1.25–1.83; OR12-month: 1.66, 95% CI 1.37–2.01), higher baseline fber intake (OR6-month: 1.62, 95% CI 1.07–2.46; OR12-month: 1.62, 95% CI 1.07–2.45), having>3 chronic conditions (OR6-month: 0.65, 95% CI 0.53–0.79; OR12-month: 0.76, 95% CI 0.62–0.93), and sufering depression (OR6-month: 0.80, 95% CI 0.64–0.99; OR12-month: 0.71, 95% CI 0.57–0.88). Conclusion Our results suggested that recruitment of individuals with high perceived self-efcacy to dietary change, and those who initially follow diets relatively richer in fber may lead to greater changes in nutritional recommendations. Participants with multiple chronic conditions, specifcally depression, should receive specifc tailored interventions

Factors associated with successful dietary changes in an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet intervention: a longitudinal analysis in the PREDIMED-plus trial

Purpose Long-term nutrition trials may fail to respond to their original hypotheses if participants do not comply with the intended dietary intervention. We aimed to identify baseline factors associated with successful dietary changes towards an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) in the PREDIMED-Plus randomized trial. Methods Longitudinal analysis of 2985 participants (Spanish overweight/obese older adults with metabolic syndrome) randomized to the active intervention arm of the PREDIMED-Plus trial. Dietary changes were assessed with a 17-item energyreduced MedDiet questionnaire after 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Successful compliance was defned as dietary changes from baseline of≥5 points for participants with baseline scores<13 points or any increase if baseline score was≥13 points. We conducted crude and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models to identify baseline factors related to compliance. Results Consistent factors independently associated with successful dietary change at both 6 and 12 months were high baseline perceived self-efcacy in modifying diet (OR6-month: 1.51, 95% CI 1.25–1.83; OR12-month: 1.66, 95% CI 1.37–2.01), higher baseline fber intake (OR6-month: 1.62, 95% CI 1.07–2.46; OR12-month: 1.62, 95% CI 1.07–2.45), having>3 chronic conditions (OR6-month: 0.65, 95% CI 0.53–0.79; OR12-month: 0.76, 95% CI 0.62–0.93), and sufering depression (OR6-month: 0.80, 95% CI 0.64–0.99; OR12-month: 0.71, 95% CI 0.57–0.88). Conclusion Our results suggested that recruitment of individuals with high perceived self-efcacy to dietary change, and those who initially follow diets relatively richer in fber may lead to greater changes in nutritional recommendations. Participants with multiple chronic conditions, specifcally depression, should receive specifc tailored interventions