Cordycepin Inhibits Enterovirus A71 Replication and Protects Host Cell from Virus-Induced Cytotoxicity through Adenosine Action Pathway.

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) infection typically causes mild illnesses, such as hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD), but occasionally leads to severe or fatal neurological complications in infants and young children. Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment available for EV-A71 infection. Thus, the development of an effective anti-EV-A71 drug is required urgently. Cordycepin, a major bioactive compound found in Cordyceps fungus, has been reported to possess antiviral activity. However, its specific activity against EV-A71 is unknown. In this study, the potency and role of cordycepin treatment on EV-A71 infection were investigated. Results demonstrated that cordycepin treatment significantly reduced the viral load and viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) level in EV-A71-infected Vero cells. In addition, EV-A71-mediated cytotoxicity was significantly inhibited in the presence of cordycepin in a dose-dependent manner. The protective effect can also be extended to Caco-2 intestinal cells, as evidenced by the higher median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) values in the cordycepin-treated groups. Furthermore, cordycepin inhibited EV-A71 replication by acting on the adenosine pathway at the post-infection stage. Taken together, our findings reveal that cordycepin could be a potential antiviral candidate for the treatment of EV-A71 infection.

Making in-roads across the youth mental health landscape in Singapore: the Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT).

AIM: Adolescence and early adulthood is marked by physical, emotional and psychological changes, and is the peak onset of mental disorders. Internationally, one-fifth of children and adolescents have serious mental health problems, yet services catering to them are scarce. Locally, traditional mental health services are associated with much stigma. In 2009, the Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT), a youth-focused outreach and assessment service, was set up to address service gaps and care barriers. METHODS: CHAT's key offering is a free and confidential mental health assessment service to facilitate help-seeking individuals between the ages of 16 and 30 gain access to early treatment. Young persons' profile and assessment outcomes were collected and entered into a database. RESULTS: Between May 2009 and March 2013, CHAT received 601 referrals: 40.1% (241/601) from young persons themselves and 40.9% (246/601) from school or community counsellors. 79.2% (313/395) of those assessed had mental health issues. 61.5% (243/395) were referred to specialist clinics and 28.6% (113/395) to school or community counsellors. CONCLUSION: There is a steady increase in our referrals; majority are self-referred or referred from school and community counsellors. This attests to the success of our general outreach and targeted capacity-building efforts. Cognizant of young persons' distress, CHAT continues to work with downstream services for continuity of care, which also presents opportunities to consolidate and expand our network of specialist and community partners. Future directions seek to address current challenges: having a mobile platform to complement our face-to-face assessments, and building collaborations to provide holistic services for young persons.