Thinning of the retinal nerve fiber and choroidal layers in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: A controlled study.

PURPOSE: We aimed to evaluate retinal nerve fiber and choroidal layer alterations in adolescents with anorexia nervosa using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. METHODS: Thirty patients with anorexia nervosa and 30 healthy adolescents aged 12-18 years were included in this study. Their age, sex, body mass index, anorexia nervosa type, disease duration, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography data were recorded. RESULTS: Central macular thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in the temporal and inferior regions were significantly lesser in patients with anorexia than in healthy controls (p<0.05). Moreover, significant choroidal thinning around the foveal and subfoveal regions in patients with anorexia was observed (p<0.05). In addition, a statistically significant relation between the increase in disease duration and the thinning of the inferior retinal nerve fiber layer was detected (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The retinal nerve fiber layer and choroidal layer thicknesses were lesser in patients with anorexia than in healthy controls. Screening for retinal indices might prevent the development of irreversible retinal pathologies in adolescents with anorexia nervosa. In addition, thinning of the retinal nerve fiber and choroidal layers could reflect structural or functional changes in the brain of adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

Effects of thymoquinone and memantine alone and in combination on memory and hippocampal morphology in rats with streptozotocin-induced Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Thymoquinone (TQ) has broad biological functions, including antiinflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective properties. Memantine (MEM) is indicated for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe AD. We aimed to evaluate the effect of TQ alone or in combination with MEM on memory and hippocampal morphology in an STZ-induced rat AD model. METHODS: Thirty male rats were included in this study. The AD model was created by giving ICV STZ. The rats were divided into 5 groups (n = 6 each). Group 1 (control group): The rats received only ICV-STZ 3 mg/kg for 2 weeks. Group 2 (sham group): In addition to ICV STZ, 9% NaCl, 1 mL/day i.p. for 2 weeks of injection, was applied. Group 3 (TQ group): In addition to ICV STZ, rats received TQ 10 mg/kg i.p. for 2 weeks. Group 4 (MEM group): In addition to ICV STZ, rats were given MEM at a dose of 5 mg/kg for two weeks. Group 5 (TQ+MEM group): In addition to ICV STZ, this group was given TQ (10 mg/kg/day, i.p.) and MEM (5 mg/kg/day, i.p.) for 2 weeks. On the 15th day, passive avoidance learning (PAL) was applied to all groups. Then, rats were sacrificed, neurons in the hippocampal CA1, CA2, CA3 regions were evaluated. RESULTS: Groups 3, 4, 5 had longer latency periods than groups 1 and 2. The neuron density in the CA1, CA2, CA3 regions had decreased in groups 1 and 2 compared to groups 3, 4, 5. There were significantly more neurons in groups 3, 4, 5 than in groups 1 and 2. DISCUSSION: We found that TQ alone and in combination with MEM showed ameliorative effects on memory and hippocampal morphology. TQ may offer a promising treatment strategy for AD.

Do Histologically Aggressive Subtypes of Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma have Worse Clinical Outcome than Non-Aggressive Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma Subtypes? A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Histologically aggressive micropapillary thyroid carcinomas (PTMC) subtypes are thought to be associated with an aggressive clinical course. However, evidence for unfavorable clinical outcomes in patients with aggressive PTMC subtypes is not clear. In this study, we intended to determine the difference in clinical outcomes between patients with aggressive and non-aggressive PTMC subtypes. In this multicenter cohort study, the computer-recorded clinical and histopathological data of patients who underwent thyroid surgery between January 2000 - January 2021 in 9 referral centers and were diagnosed as PTMC were analyzed. A total of 1585 patients [female 1340 (84.5%), male 245 (15.5%), mean age 47.9±11.63 years), with a mean follow-up time of 66.55±37.16 months], were included in the study. Ninety-eight cases were diagnosed as aggressive and 1487 as non-aggressive subtypes. Persistent/recurrent disease was observed in 33 (33.7% )and 41 (2.8%) patients with aggressive and non-aggressive subtypes (p<0.001). Diseases-free survival rates were markedly lower in patients with aggressive than in those with non-aggressive PTMC subtypes (66.3 vs. 94.8%, log-rank p<0.001). Moreover, in multivariate analysis, aggressive histology was an independent predictor of persistent/recurrent disease, after controlling for other contributing factors (HR 5.78, 95% CI 3.32-10, p<0.001). Patients with aggressive PTMC subtypes had higher rates of incomplete biochemical and structural response than patients with non-aggressive subtypes as well (p<0.001). Aggressive PTMC subtypes share many characteristics with histologically identical tumors>1 cm in size. Therefore, the histopathological subtype of PTMC should be taken into consideration to tailor a personalized management plan.

Loneliness, internalizing symptoms, and inflammatory markers in adolescent COVID-19 survivors.

BACKGROUND: Concerns about the psychiatric sequelae after COVID-19 infection have increased as the pandemic spreads worldwide. The increase in self-isolation during this pandemic period has also revealed the importance of feelings of loneliness. This study aimed to examine the relationship between baseline inflammation levels, internalizing symptoms, and feelings of loneliness in adolescent COVID-19 survivors in the long term. METHODS: A total of 74 adolescents (41 girls, 55.4%, mean age 14.88) and their parents were included in the study. This cross-sectional study assessed internalizing symptoms via Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) and feelings of loneliness using the UCLA-loneliness scale. Baseline inflammatory markers at COVID-19 diagnosis were collected. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictors for depression in adolescents. RESULTS: The most common disorder was Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (25.7%), and 33.8% of the adolescents were in the clinical range in at least one internalizing domain. Baseline C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels correlated weakly with MDD scores. Loneliness scores correlated with all internalizing symptoms, strong association with MDD scores. Loneliness, anxiety, and parental anxiety were associated with an increased likelihood of MDD. Baseline CRP positivity did not predict MDD in adolescent COVID-19 survivors. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that anxiety, loneliness, and parental anxiety play an important role in adolescents' experience of depressive symptoms after COVID-19 infection. Thus, screening parental psychopathology and loneliness in COVID-19 survivors seems to be preventive for adolescent mental health problems.

Psychiatric symptoms in children with COVID-19, mothers` psychological resilience and related factors: pandemic hospital inpatient experiences.

BACKGROUND: Information on psychological problems and affecting factors in children hospitalized with the suspicion or diagnosis of COVID-19 is limited. We aimed to screen the psychiatric symptoms of children hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ankara City Children`s Hospital and evaluate the caregivers` depression, anxiety, stress, and resilience levels during hospitalization. METHODS: Among the children and adolescents hospitalized in Ankara City Children`s Hospital between 1 May 2020 and 31 May 2020 due to the diagnosis of COVID-19, those who agreed to participate in the study were included. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS- 21) scale, and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) were used to determine the symptoms. RESULTS: The mean age of study group (n = 49) was 8.7 ± 5.0 years, 59.2% (n = 29) were girls. The mean children`s SDQ-externalizing problems scores were higher in the COVID-19 positive mothers group than the COVID-19 negative mothers` group. The SDQ-total score was positively and strongly correlated with the DASS total score, DASS-depression score, and DASS-anxiety score. BRS scale scores were negatively correlated with the SDQtotal, externalizing, and DASS-21scale scores. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 positivity in mothers could be associated with externalizing problems in children. The high resilience of caregivers of inpatients seems to be related to less psychopathology in children. During hospitalization, caregivers` psychological evaluation and psychosocial support may be important for preventive child mental health.

Dynamic changes in the food-cue processing of obese adolescents: A controlled eye-tracking study from a dual-system perspective.

Adolescent obesity is a growing global health problem. Studies have demonstrated that exposure to food cues plays a role in both the development and the persistence of obesity. Understanding how visual attention changes dynamically in response to food cues may explain how they contribute to obesity. The primary aims were to evaluate attentional bias for food cues and conduct a time-course analysis of obese adolescents' food-cue processing. We also investigated the roles of inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and eating styles in their visual attention to food stimuli. A total of 60 age- and gender-matched 12-16-year-olds (n = 30, obese group; n = 30, control group; M = 13.9 years, SD = 1.26) were included in this study's sample. The participants viewed a series of high-calorie and low-calorie food images along with nonfood images in the free exploration paradigm during eye-tracking. Time-course analysis of the proportion of fixations on images of food and high-calorie foods determined that the attentional processing of the two groups differed, especially in later stages. The obese group had higher Stroop Interference and Trail Making Test-B scores than the control group, but these executive functions' scores did not affect their proportions of fixations on food and high-calorie food images over time. Higher Perceptual Reasoning Index scores led to a decrease in the proportions of fixations on high-calorie food images over time in the obese group, and this was particularly noticeable after about 4000 ms. This study found that time-course analysis of visual attention to food cues allows us to understand how it changes dynamically over larger time intervals. Future studies should provide knowledge about maintained attention for food cues and their relationship with top-down factors in obese adolescents.

Motor functions, quality of life and maternal anxiety and depression in children with cerebral palsy of different intelligence levels.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in childhood. In addition to motor impairment, it is frequently accompanied by intellectual disability (ID). We aimed to investigate the associations between motor functions, quality of life (QoL) and maternal psychopathology in children with CP of different intelligence levels. METHODS: In total, 37 children and adolescents (16 females and 21 males) between 4 and 18 years of age diagnosed with CP were recruited from a Pediatric Neurology Outpatient Clinic. Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Bimanual Fine Motor Function (BFMF) were used for the children`s motor functions assessment. Quality of life was determined by the caregivers with Pediatric Quality Of Life Inventory-Parent version (PedsQL-P). Maternal anxiety and depression levels were assessed using Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). RESULTS: Moderate-severe ID (n=19)(13.5%, 37.8%) and normal IQ-mild ID (n=18) (32.4 %,16.2%) groups were evaluated in this study. GMFCS level 2 was more frequent in both groups. The majority of the severe-moderate ID group was at BFMF level 4, while the normal IQ-mild ID group was at BFMF level 2. PedsQL-P scores of children with CP, maternal BAI scores, and maternal BDI scores did not differ between the two groups (p > 0.05). Psychosocial PedsQL scores had a moderate negative correlation with the maternal BAI scores (r=- 0.41, p < 0.05). There was also a moderate positive correlations between the ages of children and maternal BDI scores (r=0.34, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that maternal anxiety was correlated with psychosocial QoL in children with CP. Maternal depression scores increasing with the ages of the children with CP may also indicate the social support needs for mothers with children of chronic diseases. Further studies may reveal the associations with other biopsychosocial factors in children with CP of different intelligence levels by using longitudinal study designs with larger sample sizes.

Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental Effects of Early Interventions in Adult Wistar Rats.

INTRODUCTION: Interventions performed in the early period of life are associated with cognitive and behavioral changes in adulthood. The effects of interventions such as exposure to an early stressful life event or environmental enrichment on cognitive and behavioral development are studied. The aim of this study is to develop a new intervention method, to investigate the effects of early interventions on social interaction, memory anxiety levels and NR2B levels in prefrontal and hippocampus in adulthood. The hypothesis of the study is that exposure to the ambivalent mother will affect the behavioral performance of rats at least as much as one hour apart from the mother in the adult period and cause changes in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in the NR2B levels. METHOD: In the study, the Wistar rats were divided into four groups as control group (12), group that remained 15 minutes apart from mother (Mild Stress) (12), group that remained 60 minutes apart from mother (Severe Stress) (14) and ambivalent mother group (13). In adulthood, the social interaction test, elevated plus maze and new object recognition test performances of rats were evaluated. ELISA method was used to evaluate the effect of interventions on the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus NMDA R2B levels. RESULTS: The important findings of the study were that in the new object recognition test, separation from the mother did not affect the recognition memory regardless of gender, while the short-term recognition memory of the females of the ambivalent mothers' group was better than the females in the other groups and the long-term memory performance of the mild stress groups men was better than the man in the other groups. In addition, in the social interaction test, the males of the ambivalent group and the mild stress group showed more aggressive behavior. It was determined that the prefrontal cortex NR2B level was higher in the mild stress and ambivalent mother group compared to the severe stress group, and NR2B level was increased in all intervention groups compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: In contrast to the hypothesis, the results of this study support that the ambivalent mother's group rats are not more adversely affected than the severe group rats and that the model created may be an environmental enrichment model rather than an early stressful life event exposure.