Parkinson's disease with anxiety: clinical characteristics and their correlation with oxidative stress, inflammation, and pathological proteins.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to explore the differences in the clinical characteristics and oxidative stress indicators, inflammatory factors, and pathological proteins in serum between Parkinson's disease (PD) with anxiety (PD-A) and with no anxiety (PD-NA) patients, and further correlations among clinical characteristics and above variables were analyzed in PD-A and PD-NA groups. METHODS: A total of 121 patients with PD were enrolled in this study and assessed by the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (14 items) (HAMA-14). These patients were divided into PD-A and PD-NA groups according to a cut-off point of 7 of HAMA-14. Demographic variables were collected, and clinical symptoms were assessed by multiple rating scales. The levels of free radicals, inflammatory factors, and pathological proteins in serum were measured by chemical colorimetric method and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The differences of above variables were compared between PD-A and PD-NA groups, and the correlations of clinical symptoms with the abovevariables were analyzed in PD-A and PD-NA groups. RESULTS: The frequency of PD-A was 62.81%. PD-A group exhibited significantly impaired motor dysfunction and multiple non-motor symptoms, including fatigue, sleep behavior disorder, restless leg syndrome and autonomic dysfunction, and dramatically compromised activities of daily living compard with PD-NA group. PD-A group displayed prominently increasedlevels of hydroxyl radical (·OH) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and a decreased nitric oxide (NO) level in serum compared with PD-NA group (P<0.001, P = 0.001, P= 0.027, respectively). ·OH, NO, and TNF-α were identified as the risk factors of PD-A (OR = 1.005, P = 0.036; OR = 0.956, P = 0.017; OR = 1.039, P = 0.033, respectively). In PD patients, HAMA-14 score was significantly and positively correlated with the levels of ·OH and TNF-α in serum (P<0.001, P = 0.002, respectively). In PD-A group, ·OH level was significantly and negatively correlated with Aß1-42 level, while TNF-α level was significantly and positively correlated with P-tau (S396) level in serum. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of PD-A is high. PD-A patients present more severe motor dysfunction and multiple non-motor symptoms, and poorer activities of daily living. The increased levels of ·OH and TNF-α levels and the decreased NO level in serum are all associated with more severe anxiety in PD patients.Findings from this study may provide in-depth insights into the clinical characteristics, underlying mechanisms of PD-A, and potential correlations among anxiety, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cognitive decline in PD patients.

Identification of knowledge anxiety factors among researchers based on grounded theory.

Based on a grounded theoretical analysis of interviews and open data, this study develops a model delineating the factors influencing Knowledge Anxiety, encompassing 5 primary categories and 20 subcategories. These categories encompass Academic Characteristics (knowledge quantity, knowledge quality, and knowledge content), Outer Environment (paid marketing, negative feedback, intense competition, and evaluation mechanism), and Cognitive Environment (work stress, scientific research funding, interpersonal relationships, Time limitation, and Cause difficult) which have been identified as external drivers influencing researchers' Knowledge Anxiety. Conversely, Ability Characteristics (scientific literacy, personality traits, English proficiency, and self-expectations) and Emotional Cognition (inertia thinking, negative self-concept, perceived risks, self-efficacy, and knowledge demand) have been recognized as internal drivers impacting researchers' Knowledge Anxiety. Findings reveal that external factors such as Academic Characteristics, Outer Environment, and Cognitive Environment directly impact researchers' susceptibility to Knowledge Anxiety. Internal factors, represented by Individual Competencies and Emotional Perception, also wield significant influence. Furthermore, external forces can affect Knowledge Anxiety either directly or indirectly by interfacing with internal determinants. This study underscores that researchers' Knowledge Anxiety emerges from intricate interactions among diverse factors, rather than stemming from a solitary cause. These insights furnish valuable comprehension and prospective strategies for mitigating Knowledge Anxiety among researchers, ultimately contributing to the advancement of research in this domain.

Comorbid anxiety is associated with more changes in the Management of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is not an anxiety disorder, but it shares similar symptomatology. The impact of this comorbidity on management is unknown. This information may lead to better strategies to improve the care of this subgroup. METHOD: The electronic medical records of 322 patients seen at our institution between 2018 and 2022 with confirmed POTS diagnoses were analyzed. Demographics, anxiety comorbidities, questionnaire responses, and treatment course changes were collected. Negative binomial regression models examined if the presence of an anxiety disorder was associated with the number of POTS treatment course changes offset by observation time. RESULTS: When adjusted for sex, age, baseline GAD-7 score, and baseline PROMIS global mental health score, those with a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder had2.6 times the incident rate of treatment changes for POTS management (IRR = 2.66 (95% CI: 1.43-4.95)). CONCLUSION: Individuals carrying the diagnosis of an anxiety disorder had an increase in the incident rate of treatment changes for POTS therapy. This finding may be due to the underlying pathophysiology and treatment of anxiety disorders, the effect of bias, and difficulty with symptom differentiation. More work needs to be done to determine how to best care for POTS patients with comorbid anxiety.

The interplay between math performances, spatial abilities, and affective factors: The role of task.

Many studies have suggested that cognitive and affective abilities (such as math anxiety- MA and math self-efficacy) explain individual differences in math. PURPOSE: The present study explores the interplay between MA, math self-efficacy, spatial anxiety and spatial abilities in explaining individual differences on two complex math tasks. PROCEDURES: Ninety-three college students took part in the experiment and completed 3 emotional questionnaires, in addition to 2 math tasks and a mental rotation task. FINDINGS: The interplay between math performances and cognitive and affective factors is related to task demand. MA and spatial abilities affected math performances directly, regardless of task. Spatial anxiety had only an indirect effect on math performances via MA, regardless of task. CONCLUSIONS: These finding suggest that for math performances, contrary to MA, real spatial abilities rather than perceived spatial anxiety play a significant role in explaining individual differences.  Hence, the present result dissociates cognitive and emotional factors.