[Perception of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Pneumology Professionals in Germany]. / Wahrnehmung der COVID-19-Pandemie unter pneumologischen Fachkräften in Deutschland.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a huge burden on global health systems. Although far-reaching prevention measures such as the increase of intensive care capacities and drastic restrictions of public life have so far been able to avert an overload of the German health care system, the current situation implies an exceptionally high burden on medical professionals. The current study presents the results of an opinion evaluation among 513 pneumology specialists in Germany in the period from March 27th to April 11th, 2020. While the majority of respondents stated that Germany was "well" prepared for the pandemic, this assessment was significantly worse among participants from the outpatient sector compared to the hospital sector (p < 0.001). Furthermore, a lack of medical protective equipment was reported significantly more frequently by respondents from the outpatient sector (p < 0.001). The importance of telemedicine approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic was rated "high" (35.2 %) or "very high" (17.2 %) by most pneumology professionals, with participants from the hospital sector giving a higher rating (p < 0.001). Finally, 45.8 % of the respondents expressed a "negative" influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on their personal mood and 58.3 % expressed "strong" or "very strong" concerns about the health of their fellow human beings. This assessment was significantly stronger among female participants and participants from the nursing sector (p < 0.001). In summary, the current study analyses for the first time the professional and personal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pneumology professionals in Germany. The results could help to identify first starting points to better support health professionals during the current and future challenges.

Increased CRF mRNA expression in the sexually dimorphic BNST of male but not female GAD67 mice and TMT predator odor stress effects upon spatial memory retrieval.

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is an important region for 2,5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT) predator odor-induced stress responses in mice. It is sexually dimorphic and a region for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-enhanced stress responses. Dense GABAergic and CRF input from the amygdala to the BNST gives point to relevant interactions between CRF and GABA activity in these brain regions. Hence, to investigate sexual dimorphism of stress-induced neuronal changes, we studied effects of acute TMT exposure on CRF mRNA expression in stress-related brain regions in male and female GAD67 mice and their wild-type littermates. In GAD67 mice, heterozygous knock-in of GFP in GABAergic neurons caused a 50% decrease of GAD67 protein level in the brain [91,99]. Results show higher CRF mRNA levels in the BNST of male but not female GAD67 mice after TMT and control odor exposure. While CRF neurons in the BNST are predominantly GABAergic and CRF enhances GABAergic transmission in the BNST [20,51], the deficit in GABAergic transmission in GAD67 mice could induce a compensatory CRF increase. Sexual dimorphism of the BNST with greater density of GABA-ir neurons in females could explain the differences in CRF mRNA levels between male and female GAD67 mice. Effects of odor exposure were studied in a radial arm maze (RAM) task. Results show impaired retrieval of spatial memory after acute TMT exposure in both sexes and genotypes. However, only GAD67 mice show increased working memory errors after control odor exposure. Our work elicits GAD67 mice as a model to further study interactions of GABA and CRF in the BNST for a better understanding of how sex-specific characteristics of the brain may contribute to differences in anxiety- and stress-related psychological disorders.