Dietary inflammatory index and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) are considered a potential threat to mental health. Inflammation predominantly plays a role in the pathophysiology of NPDs. Dietary patterns are widely postulated to be involved in the physiological response to inflammation. This review aims to discuss the literature on how dietary inflammatory index (DII) is related to inflammation and, consequently, NPDs. After comprehensive scrutiny in different databases, the articles that investigated the relation of DII score and various NPDs and psychological circumstances were included. The association between dietary patterns and mental disorders comprising depression, anxiety, and stress proved the role of a proinflammatory diet in these conditions' exacerbation. Aging is another condition closely associated with DII. The impact of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory diet on sleep quality indicated related disorders like sleep latency and day dysfunctions among the different populations are in relation with the high DII score. The potential effects of genetic backgrounds, dietary patterns, and the gut microbiome on DII are discussed as well. To plan preventive or therapeutic interventions considering the DII, these factors, especially genetic variations, should be considered as there is a growing body of literature indicating the role of personalized medicine in different NPDs. To the best of our knowledge, there is a limited number of RCTs on this subject, so future research should evaluate the causality via RCTs and look for therapeutic interventions with an eye on personalized medicine using information about DII in NPDs.

Time perception impairment in multiple sclerosis patients: a survey on internal clock model.

Time perception is known as a mental ability to discern time. Although relative nature of time leaves its numerous aspects undefined, several models have been developed to describe temporal information processing in the brain as well as several areas of the brain have shown to be involved. Time perception alteration has been reported in several neurological conditions; however, the effect of multiple sclerosis (MS) on time perception has yet to be explained. In this study, we aimed to investigate the domains of temporal processing involved in patients with MS and the probable factors affecting it, such as the location of brain demyelinating plaques and gender. Two groups of participants (MS: n = 27 (8 men, 19 women), mean age = 33.85; control: n = 30 (10 men, 20 women), mean age = 28.46) were asked to perform quadruplet time perception tasks (prospective time estimation, duration discrimination, temporal reproduction, and paced motor timing) designed with a software program. Patients with MS had significantly higher scores in time estimation (p < 0.01) and duration discrimination (p < 0.001, in 100-ms interval; p < 0.05, in 1000-ms interval), indicating that MS patients overestimate the time. Since a slower internal clock for MS patients was expected as a result of axonal demyelination, these results suggest the time overestimation in patients with MS which is in contrast with the internal clock model. It means that a slow internal clock causes underestimating and perceiving the time slower.

Cardiovascular system is at higher risk of affecting by COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 has shown its potential to cause severe manifestations among individuals with underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD). The patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 with pre-existing CVD are more likely to relapse. There are several reasons, including the prolonged hospitalization time as a consequence of their more severe illness and aberrant expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) - the cell surface receptor of SARS-COV2 that is present on cardiac cells - and using drugs such as ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) that alter the expression of ACE2. Besides, SARS-CoV-2 shares structural similarities with SARS-CoV-1, and that patients recovered from SARS-CoV1 have shown an increased risk of developing inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiac diseases. It makes some concerns that people who recovered from SARS-CoV2 are also liable to develop these chronic conditions later. Further studies should investigate the probability of recurrence of COVID-19 in patients with CVD and the development of approaches for the prevention of chronic inflammatory conditions in patients with CVD who recovered from COVID-19.

Potential Prophylactic and Therapeutic Effects of Respiratory Physiotherapy for COVID-19.

New coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has succeeded in surprising the world with infecting more than 12 million people and claiming 560,000 lives in only six months. COVID-19 is associated with a spectrum of respiratory symptoms, especially dyspnea. Patients who progress to severe or critical condition display peripheral and posterior lung lesions bilaterally. These patients require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU); therefore, they are prone to ICU-related complications during disease and after recovery. Respiratory physiotherapy techniques, in particular, active techniques, might help the improvement of airway clearance and lung capacity in addition to the reduction of breathing effort during the active disease. In parallel, it might lead to the prevention of disabilities, resulting from infection and extended hospitalization in patients who recovered from COVID-19. This supports physiotherapy both as a prophylactic and therapeutic strategy for COVID-19.