COVID-19-related stress in postpartum women from Argentina during the second wave in 2021: Identification of impairing and protective factors.

OBJECTIVE: Postpartum women are a vulnerable population to pandemic stressors that challenge their psychological well-being. Thus, reliable and valid instruments are necessary to measure pandemic-related stress and to identify risk and protective factors. This work aimed to assess psychometric properties of the COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Stress Scale (PSS-10-C) and associations of maternal pandemic stress with demographic, reproductive and pandemic factors of Argentinian postpartum women during the second COVID-19 wave. DESIGN: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted from April to June 2021. SETTING: Online recruitment of postpartum women was carried out during the second wave of COVID-19 in Argentina. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and had the corresponding ethical approval. PARTICIPANTS: This study was performed on 300 women, aged 18-49 years, up to 12 months postpartum in Argentina. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: Stress was assessed with PSS-10-C, with a sociodemographic questionnaire being used to collect demographic, reproductive and pandemic variables. Statistical analysis included psychometric procedures, structural equation modeling, and multiple regressions. PSS-10-C was a reliable and structurally valid instrument with two subscales, with entire scale, Stress and Coping subscales scoring 17.31 (6.52), 9.70 (4.61) and 7.61 (2.77), respectively. History of mood disorders, pregnancy loss, and unhealthy child during the pandemic predisposed to increased stress (ß > 0.10, p < 0.05), whereas having work and practicing breastfeeding promoted coping to face it (ß < -0.13, p < 0.05). This situation was impaired by mood changes, loss of happiness, economic changes, fear of contracting COVID-19 -own or by a loved one- (ß > 0.11, p < 0.05). KEY CONCLUSIONS: The study highlighted the vulnerability of postpartum women's mental health in the pandemic context, with PSS-10-C being a useful instrument for clinicians and researchers to assess perceived stress. Targeting interventions toward women at higher risk can be highly beneficial for maternal and child health.

Memory enhancement in Argentinian women during postpartum by the dietary intake of lignans and anthocyanins.

Due to their polyphenolic content, vegetable foods have neuroprotective effects which provide health benefits for specific human groups. Thus, they may be a useful dietary component for women who experience mnesic variations during postpartum, and here we examined the hypothesis that polyphenols can differentially enhance memory functioning. In particular, we aimed to associate the dietary intake of polyphenols with different memory systems in Argentinian postpartum women. The daily intakes of polyphenol groups were calculated using a validated food frequency questionnaire and the Phenol-Explorer database. Short-term memory (STM), long-term memory (LTM), learning (L), lexical-semantic memory (LSM), and working memory (WM) were assessed. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression models were used to analyze the dietary polyphenols (predictors) and memory domains (responses), taking into account demographic, obstetric, and psychological factors. The sample included 71 women, with an average age of 29.59 years (SE = 0.73). Most of these women lived in a couple (91%), were unemployed (63%), and had ≥12 years of formal education (72%). STM, LTM, L, and LSM correlated with lignans and anthocyanins, with LTM also being correlated with flavanones, flavonols, and tyrosols, and L and LSM also being associated with flavonols. A significant correlation was also found between WM and lignans. In conclusion, a cognitive improvement was demonstrated, mainly associated with the intake of lignans and anthocyanins, in the STM, LTM, WM, L, and LSM systems of postpartum women. This is the first study to our knowledge suggesting a role of polyphenolic effects on memory functioning during postpartum.

Age, education and gender effects on Wisconsin card sorting test: standardization, reliability and validity in healthy Argentinian adults.

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a widely used neuropsychological assessment of executive functioning. The aim of this study was to provide norm values and analyze the psychometric properties of WCST in healthy Argentinian adults aged from 18 to 89 years old (N = 235). Descriptive statistics are reported as means, standard deviations and percentiles, with the effects of age, education and gender being investigated by ANOVA, and with the effect sizes being calculated. The psychometrics were studied using the WCST structure, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity, and WCST norms adjusted for age and educational level are proposed. This instrument is a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of executive functions. However, as the age- and educational-related effects were demonstrated, these characteristics need to be considered before interpreting WCST scores. Regarding gender, no differences were found. Our results expand the geographical and sociocultural applicability of WCST.

Effects of bioavailable phenolic compounds from Ilex paraguariensis on the brain of mice with lung adenocarcinoma.

Lung carcinoma is one of the most common cancers and has a high mortality. Recently, we showed that it produces neurological paraneoplastic syndrome, with Ilex paraguariensis (IP) extract exerting palliative effects due to its content of phenolic compounds. It is possible, therefore, that these diet agents can arrive at the brain and exert neuroprotection, after the oral intake of IP. Here, the aim was to investigate the protective role of bioavailable IP compounds on the telencephalon and diencephalon in lung adenocarcinoma-bearing BALB/cJ males. Mice aged 2 months were treated for 3 weeks with 0-100 IP mg·kg-1 ·day-1 . HPLC-UV revealed the presence of chlorogenic acid and quercetin in brain regions, liver, and tumour, in an IP dose-dependent manner. Brain was also evaluated histologically, and interleukin-6 was measured by ELISA. Chlorogenic acid was the major compound found in brain, whereas quercetin was observed at the diencephalon to a lesser extent. Both compounds were involved in IP dose-dependent diencephalic interleukin-6 reduction. Histology suggested cellular protection with less apoptosis in chlorogenic-exposed areas. Taken together, chlorogenic acid and quercetin from dietary IP were bioavailable and bioactive in brain, thereby attenuating lung cancer-related neuroinflammation and damage. These findings support plant-based strategies to improve prognosis.

Neuroprotective Effect of Ilex Paraguariensis Intake on Brain Myelin of Lung Adenocarcinoma-Bearing Male Balb/c Mice.

Ilex paraguariensis (IP) is widely consumed as tea with high nutritional value. This plant contains several bioactive phenolic compounds, which are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. On the other hand, lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) deleteriously involves neoplastic progression, inflammatory paraneoplastic syndromes, and death. Given that brain is a frequent target of this illness, our objective was to determine the neuroprotective effect of IP consumption in LAC-bearing mice. They were orally treated with 50 mg of IP extract/kg/day (IP50) for 3 weeks. Results (phenolic compounds, lipid peroxides, interleukin 6-IL-6-, tumor necrosis factor alpha -TNFα-, and luxol-stained myelination) were compared with respect to untreated controls (C) by the T test. IP50 significantly lowed brain IL-6 (2858.12 ± 57.81 pg g-1 vs. 3801.30 ± 27.34 pg g-1), whereas other variables differed in a less extent. C brains showed demyelination (low luxol-staining contrast between gray and white matters), with IP50 increasing myelination (P < 0.05). In conclusion, LAC deleterious effects on murine brain were prevented by dietary IP, which is an original discovery to develop a nutritional approach against cancer neurological compromise.

Pharmacology and Toxicology of Polyphenols with Potential As Neurotropic Agents in Non-communicable Diseases.

BACKGROUND: The central nervous system (CNS) is involved in organic integration. Nervous modulation via bioactive compounds can modify metabolism in order to prevent systemic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Concerning this, plant polyphenols are proposed as neurotropic chemopreventive/ therapeutic agents, given their redox and regulating properties. OBJECTIVE: To review polyphenolic pharmacology and potential neurological impact on NCDs. METHOD: First, polyphenolic chemistry was presented, as well as pharmacology, i.e. kinetics and dynamics. Toxicology was particularly described. Then, functional relevance of these compounds was reviewed focusing on the metabolic CNS participation to modulate NCDs, with data being finally integrated. RESULTS: Oxidative stress is a major risk factor for NCDs. Polyphenols regulate the redox biology of different organic systems including the CNS, which participates in metabolic homeostasis. Polyphenolic neurotropism is determined by certain pharmacological characteristics, modifying nervous and systemic physiopathology, acting on several biological targets. Nonetheless, because these phytochemicals can trigger toxic effects, they should not be recommended indiscriminately. CONCLUSION: Summing up, the modulating effects of polyphenols allow for the physiological role of CNS on metabolism and organic integration to be utilized in order to prevent NCDs, without losing sight of the risks.