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Background: In the available literature, levels of BDNF and CRP have been reported to correlate with suicide in depressive patients but there are inconsistencies in the results. We aimed to evaluate and compare BDNF and CRP concentrations in MDD patients with(MDD + SA) and without suicide attempts (MDD-SA) and healthy controls. Methods: 30 (MDD + SA) patients, 30 (MDD-SA) patients, and 26 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Age, sex, and BMI of patients were recorded. Blood sample was obtained for measurement of BDNF and CRP. Smoking and drug history, family history of suicide, and history of self-harm were also documented. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 22 and R version 4.1.1. Results: 86 patients in three groups were evaluated (mean age: 28.45 ± 9.27 years, 56.71% female). Baseline and demographic parameters except for self-harm (40%, 3.3%, and 0% for MDD + SA, MDD-SA, and healthy controls, respectively, p = 0.001) did not differ between groups. CRP level was not significantly different between groups. BDNF showed a significant difference between groups (17.35, 16.45, and 19.43 for three groups, respectively, p < 0.001). An increase in BDNF decreased the odds of both depression and suicide. Roc curve showed excellent power for BDNF in discriminating MDD groups With healthy group.Roc can notdicrimiate MDD + SA and MDD-SA. Conclusion: In our study, the concentration of BDNF differed significantly between depressed patients with/without suicide attempts and healthy controls which shows the association of BDNF with depression development and not suicide attempts. We could not find any association between CRP level and suicide attempt but still larger cohorts are needed for a definite conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused stress and anxiety for various parts of society all over the world. This concern and stress are not limited to being affected by COVID-19 because this condition has also caused changes in people's lifestyles. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the validity and reliability of the COVID-19-related stressors questionnaire and determine the contribution of each of the stressors to the prediction of mental health in the Iranian population. Methods: This descriptive-analytical and correlational study was performed on 301 volunteers living in Tehran, Iran. Due to the prevalence of COVID-19, questionnaires were distributed by convenience samplingmethodand online conduction. The instruments used in the present study were the researcher-made questionnaire on Iranians' COVID-19-related stressors (ICRS) and the mental health questionnaire general health questionnaire (GHQ-12). Content validity (qualitative and quantitative), face validity, structural validity (exploratory factor analysis), Cronbach's alpha, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS version 24 and AMOS24 software. Results: In exploratory factor analysis, the final 25 items were obtained in seven factors with an explanation of 66.25% variance. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that worrying about changing economic status, getting COVID-19 and change in lifestyle increased the chance of developing mental health disorder up to 1.29 (OR = 1.29), 1.28 (OR = 1.28), and 1.18 times (OR = 1.18), respectively. The variable of changing family interactions reduces the chance of developing a mental health disorder by 0.85 times (OR = 0.85). Conclusions: The COVID-19-related stressors questionnaire is valid and can be used in future research. Identifying the most important stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and determining each contribution to mental health prediction will help health policymakers to make better decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Diabetic neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus. It is associated with nerve damage due to oxidative stress and high levels of pro-inflammatory mediators. In the present study, we examined the anti-nociceptive effects of Fullerene nanoparticle, as a potent anti-oxidant, during diabetic neuropathy. Methods: Diabetes mellitus induced through injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (40 mg/kg). Four groups were used in the study as follows: the control, control+fullerene, diabetes, and diabetes +fullerene groups. All four groups received sesame oil. Treatment rats received fullerene C60 (1mg/kg/day) for 9 weeks by intra-gastric gavage. Then, cold allodynia, histology, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF- α) protein expression of the hippocampus were measured 9 weeks after injection of STZ. Results: Our data revealed that STZ induces cold allodynia in both hind paws and increases the TNF- α protein expression in the hippocampus. Furthermore, STZ induces neural degeneration in the hippocampus. Additionally, fullerene C60 significantly attenuated cold allodynia and TNF- α protein expression. Also, fullerene C60 has neuro-protective effects on hippocampal neurons. However, fullerene C60 did not significantly reduce serum glucose levels in diabetic animals. Conclusion: Our data suggest that fullerene C60 likely suppressed pain, and neural loss by inhibitory effects on TNF- α protein expression in the hippocampus during diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Studying the predictors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during the Covid-19 pandemic is a new research field. The current study was conducted in order to evaluate the predictors of PTSD based on mental health, Covid-19 anxiety and sleep quality in the students of the Lorestan province, Iran. Method: In order to carry out this study, 200 students (143 females and 57 males) were selected by convince sampling and participated in this study. The participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Covid-19 Anxiety Scale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and demographic information questionnaire. The data was analyzed by independent t-student and stepwise regression using SPSS 24. Results: Findings revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between Covid-19 anxiety, general sleep quality and mental health with PTSD symptoms (p<0.05). Also, stepwise regression analysis showed that sleep quality and mental health were predictors of PTSD and mental health is the best predictor of PTSD and could determine 0.27 of PTSD variance. Finally, the 46.5 % prevalence of PTSD symptoms in students was an important finding of this study. Conclusion: Necessity to pay attention to dimensions of mental health as an influential factor in the spread of other psychological disorders is recommended. Due to the high prevalence of PTSD symptoms, the inclusion of health-oriented programs becomes more important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with chronic pain exhibit anxiety and deficits in memory. Additionally, α 2 -adrenoceptors that are wildly expressed in the brain have an important role in modulating both pain and memory formation. In the present study, we investigated the interaction effects of crocin with central α 2 -adrenoceptors on pain comorbidity and hippocampal synaptic plasticity changes following chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in rats. All the drugs (crocin, an antagonist (yohimbine) and agonist (clonidine) of α 2 -adrenergic receptors) were injected (via intracerebroventricular injection) from the day of CCI operation (day 0) and continued daily (once per day) until the 14th day post-CCI. The effects of drugs on the cold allodynia (using acetone test) and anxiety-like behaviors (using elevated plus maze, EPM and open field tests) were assessed. Spatial memory (using Barnes maze) was assessed on day 14 post-CCI operation. Hippocampal synaptic plasticity (using in-vivo extracellular field potential recording) was performed on day 14 post-CCI operation. We observed that crocin induced analgesic, anxiolytic and memory enhancer action following CCI surgery. Furthermore, crocin significantly increased long-term potentiation (LTP) (increased fEPSP slope and population spike amplitude). Furthermore, the co-injection of yohimbine effectively decreased analgesic, anxiolytic and enhancer action of crocin on the LTP parameters (fEPSP slope and population spike amplitude). Our study provided information that protective effects of crocin on pain/anxiety responses and synaptic plasticity were possibly mediated by central α 2 -adrenoceptor in the rats with chronic pain., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)