Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy.

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown have been widely recognized as traumatic events that pose threats to psychological well-being. Recent studies reported that during such traumatic events, women tend to be at greater risk than men for developing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Several studies reported that a mindfulness-based stress reduction protocol (MBSR) provides useful skills for dealing with traumatic events. In our study, a sample of Italian females received an 8-week MBSR course plus 6 weeks of video support for meditation practice during the first total lockdown in Italy. We assessed the participants with questionnaires before and after this period to investigate their mindfulness skills, psychological well-being, post-traumatic growth, and psychological flexibility. After the intervention, the meditators group reported improvement in measures associated with self-acceptance, purpose in life, and relation to others compared to the control group. Furthermore, our results showed that participants with greater mindfulness scores showed high levels of psychological flexibility, which in turn was positively associated with higher levels of psychological well-being. We concluded that the MBSR could support psychological well-being, at least in female subjects, even during an unpredictable adverse event, such as the COVID-19 lockdown, by reinforcing key psychological aspects.

Cognitive-behavioral profiles in teenagers with Dravet syndrome.

AIM: To investigate behavior and cognitive performances of teenage patients with Dravet syndrome (DS). METHODS: We enrolled 20 teenage patients (12 females and 8 males) with DS, followed in the Child Neurology Unit of the Catholic University (Rome). Patients underwent a full clinical examination including behavioral and cognitive assessments (respectively, CBCL and Wechsler scales). RESULTS: All patients showed behavior disorders and mental retardation, mild in six cases, moderate in seven and severe in the remaining seven. Among mildly retarded patients visual function, particularly visuo-motor abilities resulted mostly impaired in Wechsler subtests, whereas verbal skills were relatively preserved. In contrast, a general cognitive impairment was observed in moderately and severely retarded patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our teenage patients with DS compared with other series at different ages (young childhood, adulthood) suggest a progressivity of neurological and neuropsychological signs. A visuomotor default and a relative preservation of verbal skills, like what has been found in previous reports of younger patients, are still evident in mildly impaired cases. Therefore, the progression over time of these cases toward a generalized impairment may be suggested, but only longitudinal studies can confirm it. There was a possible responsibility of some epileptic disorders in worsening the neuropsychological outcome (early myoclonic seizures and atypical absences, as well as persistent EEG background slowness in the last 3years).