Maternal environmental enrichment protects neonatal brains from hypoxic-ischemic challenge by mitigating brain energetic dysfunction and modulating glial cell responses.

There is evidence that maternal milieu and changes in environmental factors during the prenatal period may exert a lasting impact on the brain health of the newborn, even in case of neonatal brain hypoxia-ischemia (HI). The present study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal environmental enrichment (EE) on HI-induced energetic and metabolic failure, along with subsequent neural cell responses in the early postnatal period. Male Wistar pups born to dams exposed to maternal EE or standard conditions (SC) were randomly divided into Sham-SC, HI-SC, Sham-EE, and HI-EE groups. Neonatal HI was induced on postnatal day (PND) 3. The Na+,K+-ATPase activity, mitochondrial function and neuroinflammatory related-proteins were assessed at 24 h and 48 h after HI. MicroPET-FDG scans were used to measure glucose uptake at three time points: 24 h post-HI, PND18, and PND24. Moreover, neuronal preservation and glial cell responses were evaluated at PND18. After HI, animals exposed to maternal EE showed an increase in Na+,K+-ATPase activity, preservation of mitochondrial potential/mass ratio, and a reduction in mitochondrial swelling. Glucose uptake was preserved in HI-EE animals from PND18 onwards. Maternal EE attenuated HI-induced cell degeneration, white matter injury, and reduced astrocyte immunofluorescence. Moreover, the HI-EE group exhibited elevated levels of IL-10 and a reduction in Iba-1 positive cells. Data suggested that the regulation of AKT/ERK1/2 signaling pathways could be involved in the effects of maternal EE. This study evidenced that antenatal environmental stimuli could promote bioenergetic and neural resilience in the offspring against early HI damage, supporting the translational value of pregnancy-focused environmental treatments.

Pregnancy swimming prevents early brain mitochondrial dysfunction and causes sex-related long-term neuroprotection following neonatal hypoxia-ischemia in rats.

Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is a major cause of cognitive impairments in infants. Antenatal strategies improving the intrauterine environment can have high impact decreasing pregnancy-derived intercurrences. Physical exercise alters the mother-fetus unity and has been shown to prevent the energetic challenge imposed by HI. This study aimed to reveal neuroprotective mechanisms afforded by pregnancy swimming on early metabolic failure and late cognitive damage, considering animals' sex as a variable. Pregnant Wistar rats were submitted to daily swimming exercise (20' in a tank filled with 32 °C water) during pregnancy. Neonatal HI was performed in male and female pups at postnatal day 7. Electron chain transport, mitochondrial mass and function and ROS formation were assessed in the right brain hemisphere 24 h after HI. From PND45, reference and working spatial memory were tested in the Morris water maze. MicroPET-FDG images were acquired 24 h after injury (PND8) and at PND60, following behavioral analysis. HI induced early energetic failure, decreased enzymatic activity in electron transport chain, increased production of ROS in cortex and hippocampus as well as caused brain glucose metabolism dysfunction and late cognitive impairments. Maternal swimming was able to prevent mitochondrial dysfunction and to improve spatial memory. The intergenerational effects of swimming were sex-specific, since male rats were benefited most. In conclusion, maternal swimming was able to affect the mitochondrial response to HI in the offspring's brains, preserving its function and preventing cognitive damage in a sex-dependent manner, adding relevant information on maternal exercise neuroprotection and highlighting the importance of mitochondria as a therapeutic target for HI neuropathology.

Depression, depressive symptoms, and depressed mood among a community sample of adolescents.

Using a structured interview, the authors found that the prevalence of major depression and dysthymic disorder was 4.7% and 3.3%, respectively, in a community sample of 150 adolescents. All of the adolescents who met the criteria for major depression and dysthymic disorder had other psychiatric disorders as well; anxiety was the most frequent accompanying DSM-III diagnosis.

Psychiatric disorders in a community sample of adolescents.

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders diagnosed according to DSM-III in adolescents in the general population is not known. The authors address this issue in a community sample of 150 adolescents 14-16 years of age. Structured interviews as well as other instruments were used to collect data. Twenty-eight (18.7%) of the 150 adolescents were identified as having a psychiatric disorder. These 28 adolescents viewed their parents as less caring, had lower self-esteem, and resolved their conflicts through verbal aggression and physical violence more often than did the adolescents who did not have a psychiatric disorder. The authors make recommendations regarding the use of structured interviews in future research.

The usefulness of screening for mental illness.

The study assessed the effect of screening for mental disorder by means of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) on the rate of detection of mental disorder by fourteen physicians in a primary-care clinic. After completing the GHQ, patients were randomised into control (722 patients) and experimental (730 patients) groups. GHQ results of the experimental group were made available to the physicians; those of the control group were not. Sociodemographic factors influenced the physicians' rate of diagnosis of mental disorders (rates were lower for men, students, and patients with at least a partial college education than in subjects who had a low income, less than 7 years of school, or were widowed) but there was no difference between control and experimental groups (16.8% vs 16.0%). Among patients with a prior diagnosis of a mental disorder, twice as many were found to have mental disorders by the physicians as by the GHQ (70% vs 33%).

Specialist/generalist division of responsibility for patients with mental disorders.

The division of responsibility between general medical staff and mental specialists for care of persons with medical record diagnoses of mental disorders is documented in four organized health care settings. Rates of mental disorders identified in all departments ranged from 35.6 to 122.8 per 1,000 population. Specialty mental health departments treated most severe psychotic and personality disorders, plus transient situational disturbances, whereas neurotic, childhood behavior, and psychophysiological disorders received as much or greater attention in general medical departments. Mental disorder diagnoses were associated with greater patient use of general medical departments. However, joint specialty mental health/general medical treatment of these patients was associated with lower general medical department visit rates in all settings. Such joint care was facilitated by the low average visit frequency use of mental health departments. (2.2 to 8.9 visits per patient per year).

Use of general medical care services by persons with mental disorders.

Data are presented on the medical diagnoses and the type of general medical services used by persons with mental disorder diagnoses. This study is based on the 1975 experience of registrants in four medical programs contained in three organizational settings. The data on services were retrieved from each program's automated date system. The percent of patients seen in general medical departments receiving a mental disorder diagnosis ranged from 4.8% to 13.6% among the four programs. Patients with mental disorder diagnoses visit general medical departments from 11/2 to two times as frequently as patients without such diagnoses. Persons with a diagnosed mental disorder are likely to receive care for conditions in more International Classification of Diseases categories than other patients, and are more likely to receive a diagnosis for ill-defined conditions, signs, and symptoms.

Uses of ambulatory health/mental health utilization data in organized health care settings.

A follow-up assessing uses of findings from NIMH-supported research on health and mental health services utilization in organized health care settings revealed a range of applications across the study sites. The research, conducted primarily for national policy purposes, had an impact on study sites in the following areas: clinician perceptions and attitudes about mental health services provided; program directions; fiscal policy; and further related research. Research team composition and dissemination of study findings are discussed in relation to the applications made.

A model of rural health care. Consumer response among users of the Marshfield Clinic.

Comparisons of prepaid, Medicaid and fee-for-service patients using the Marshfield Clinic and affiliated non-Clinic physicians indicate that a well-organized multispecialty group can successfully provide accessible and responsive care to rural populations and integrate varying types of payment systems. Most patients were highly satisfied, but differences in satisfaction among varying subgroups were substantially attributable to access barriers. Patients in the Greater Marshfield Community Health Plan (prepaied patients) were most generally satisfied, but patients using non-Clinic affiliates were higher on socioemotional satisfaction, reflecting certain barriers to personal care in complex organizational settings.

Diagnosed mental disorder in children and use of health services in four organized health care settings.

The authors present comparative data on the extent, nature, and impact of diagnosed mental disorder among children under 18 years of age seen during 1975 in four organized health care settings. Between 3.3% and 10.1% of the children seen were diagnosed as having a mental disorder in the study year, representing an annual prevalence of between 2.2% and 8.2% of the "covered" child populations. Transient situational disturbances, behavior disorders, and special symptoms were the most common diagnoses; the more severe disorders (organic brain disease, schizophrenia, and affective and other psychoses) accounted for less than 4% of all diagnosed mental disorder. Patients with diagnosed mental disorder used non-mental-health services (except those of pediatricians) appreciably more often than did patients without such a diagnosis.

Diagnosis of mental disorder in adults and increased use of health services in four outpatient settings.

The differential use of medical services by patients with and those without a diagnosis of mental disorder was examined in four adult populations by age, sex, diagnosis, and medical department used. The four settings offered comprehensive services to patients who varied greatly in socioeconomic status. In all four settings patients with a diagnosis of mental disorder used all services and general health services more than patients without such a diagnosis. Results document increased medical morbidity and a greater likelihood of a diagnosis of an ill-defined condition in patients with mental disorder than that found in patients without a diagnosis of mental disorder.