Nefashot, meaning ‘Souls’ and ‘People’ in Hebrew, emerged from a local group of impassioned activists. Our core mission is to promote mental health awareness through cultural and artistic expressions, bridging gaps in open and inclusive conversations.

In our early years, our primary goal was to infuse MH discussions into public spaces through art. However, as our community has evolved, so too have our objectives. Today, we recognize the profound impact of these connections and discussions, both within and beyond our dynamic community. We’ve come to understand that belonging to this community is, in itself, a catalyst for change. This shift in perspective has allowed us to fully embrace the transformative potential of community engagement and direct our activities.

At the heart of our approach is the nurturing of a profound sense of belonging within our diverse community. We achieve this through two vital activities: (1) Ongoing Community Communication: Within our dynamic community, which includes individuals dealing with mental health challenges, professionals, family members, friends, and allies, communication is paramount to our unity. We maintain an open and continuous dialogue through a dedicated WhatsApp group. This platform facilitates connection, sharing of experiences, and mutual support, strengthening the bonds that unite us in our shared mission. (2) Community-Driven Event Production: Beyond our annual ‘Osim Nefashot’ week, held around World Mental Health Day, we seize opportunities throughout the year to organize events or collaborate with larger events like International Women’s Day in March or Book Week in June. Encouraging active participation in event planning and execution not only amplifies the voices of our members but also deepens their sense of belonging within our ever-evolving community.

Our hallmark is a sustainable process, welcoming new creators, forging connections, and expanding our influence while retaining core members. This renewal and continuity enable us to reach new audiences and expand mental health awareness through art and culture. Our growth is showcased, with 90 events organized last year.

Nefashot’s transformation from activists to a diverse community is an ongoing journey requiring commitment and deliberate steps. Our allocated resources and activities ensure each participant, from creators to venues to attendees, plays a vital role in advancing mental health awareness. We remain dedicated to nurturing inclusivity and promoting mental well-being through art and culture.

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Psychological help-seeking attitudes are influenced by various factors, including self-stigma, mental health literacy, and levels of depression and anxiety. Several studies have examined the relationships between these variables and help-seeking attitudes, shedding light on the predictors of seeking psychological help. Self-stigma, or the internalization of negative attitudes towards seeking psychological help, has been found to significantly impact help-seeking attitudes. Individuals who experience higher levels of self-stigma are more likely to hold negative attitudes towards seeking help. Additionally, mental health literacy, which refers to knowledge and understanding of mental health issues, has been identified as another important predictor of help-seeking attitudes. Individuals with higher mental health literacy are more likely to have positive attitudes towards seeking psychological help. Depression and anxiety, two common mental health concerns, have also been found to influence help-seeking attitudes. Research has shown that individuals with higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms are more likely to express intentions to seek counseling for psychological and interpersonal concerns. These mental health concerns can serve as motivators for individuals to seek professional help. Furthermore, cultural and demographic factors can also play a role in shaping help-seeking attitudes.

This study was planned to examine the variables predicting psychological help seeking attitudes: self-stigma, mental health literacy, and depression/anxiety

The sample of the study was determined by purposive sampling method. The study was conducted with individuals who willing to participate the study and above 18 years age.

Individuals who saw the online advertisement and click on the study’s link were be brought to the study’s home page on Online Surveys. Should they wish to proceed, they will be brought to an information page detailing the purpose of the study, how their confidentiality and anonymity will be preserved and how their data will be treated.

Socio-Demographic Data Form, Mental Health Literacy Scale, Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help Scale and Attitudes Towards Seeking Psychological Help Scale were used. Data analyses was planned to run via Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version, 27.0.

The analysis of the data is still ongoing in detail by the researchers. The findings and relational implications of the study will be presented.

In conclusion, self-stigma, mental health literacy, and levels of depression and anxiety are important variables that predict psychological help-seeking attitudes. Understanding these factors can inform the development of interventions and strategies to promote help-seeking behaviors and reduce barriers to seeking psychological help.

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Teachers encounter various challenges that can significantly affect their professional well-being. This issue stands as of paramount importance, for it not only wields influence over job satisfaction but also carries weighty implications for the quality of education provided.

This study aims to investigate the factors that affect teachers’ well-being, specifically examining the relationship between perceived stress, psychosocial risks, and burnout among public high school teachers in Tetouan, Morocco.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among 258 teachers, resulting in a response rate of 57%. Three distinct instruments were used to collect data: The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to evaluate perceived stress levels, the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) to assess psychosocial risks at work, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for burnout measurement. We examined the bivariate correlations among these three concepts.

The results demonstrate significant associations among the studied factors. Perceived stress has a positive correlation with emotional exhaustion (r=0.51; p<0.01) and depersonalization (r=0.56; p<0.01), and a negative correlation with personal accomplishment (r=-0.31; p<0.01). Additionally, emotional exhaustion has a positive correlation with psychological demand (r=0.38; p<0.01). Depersonalization shows a positive correlation with psychological demand (r=0.18; p<0.05), but a negative correlation with decision latitude (r=-0.30; p<0.01) and social assistance (r=-0.24; p<0.01). Conversely, personal accomplishment presents a positive correlation with decision latitude (r=0.58; p<0.01) and social assistance (r=0.50; p<0.01).

This study underscores the importance of decision latitude and social assistance in promoting personal accomplishment and mitigating burnout among teachers. Nonetheless, further research is required to substantiate these results and determine the fundamental cause and effect relationships.

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The mental health for workers in the healthcare industry have been put through challenges.The first evaluation happened during the first wave of the pandemic, the second one, with grater sample size, have been conducted in Spring 2022.The healthcare system makes it less plausible to release stress adequately. The attitude of repression by the people makes the rise in stress-levels less knowledgeable This time the somatic symptoms makes the stress-levels steady shown. Our goal, to make visible, to categorise and recognise the somatic symptoms and the psychological symptoms, thus predicting the burn-out phase.

The attitude of repression by the people makes the rise in stress-levels less knowledgeable This time the somatic symptoms makes the stress-levels steady shown. Our goal, to make visible, to categorise and recognise the somatic symptoms and the psychological symptoms, thus predicting the burn-out phase.

Methods:

Participants: 497 medic workers

• - PPS - Perceived Stress Scale - Type d personality scale -

• - Workplace Stress Questionnaire and Symptom List (Hungarian Hypertonia Society)

• - Beck Depression Questionnaire (9-item)

• - Oldenburg Burn-Out Questionnaire Results: From the questionnaire answers we counted

• - WHO Well-being Scale (5-item)

12% of the people reached levels above the significant stress-level and 26% reached the mild-depression level. The burn-out levels have been significantly higher in the region of disappointment. Regarding the results of the somatic symptoms, depression and stress levels it had a leading factor, which was exhaustion.

The most frequent co-occurences of the 20 somatic and psychological symptoms of the Hungarian Hypertension Society Symptom List were also used in this study to refine the analysis. The factor analysis highlited 3 sypmtom clusters out of the 20 symptoms with the following co-occurrences (fatigue, concentration disturbance, headache, feeling of tension, palpitation, dizziness, inner tremor, distressing thoughts, sweating and nausea) The symptoms formed a total of 6 factors, of which 2 were found to be predictive of burnout and depression. The factors of muscle tension, fatigue, lack of concentration, feeling tense showed the strongest correlation with the measured varibles (burnout r=0,447, depression r=0,343, D-scale, negative mood r=0,369, p=0,000 at significance levels.)

The attention for the somatic complaints have a high attention between the workers, it’s part of the work culture to give more and more sacrifices, to hide the psychological effects, and deem them as weaknesses. Regarding the health of the worker it’s necessary to be more informative, to show more bearable physical symptoms to define and prevent the burn-out periods.

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It is a well-known fact that regular physical activity (PA) has a positive effect on a person’s somatic health. Does PA have similar correlations with self-esteem in medical students of different cultural backgrounds?

To determine the intensity and correlations of PА and self-esteem in domestic and foreign undergraduate medical students

We carried out a survey of 305 domestic and 241 international medical students of both genders at Ulianov Chuvash State University. For this aim we used the Sociocultural Health Questionnaire (E. Nikolaev)

We have established that with the same duration of the sessions the average frequency of physical activity (PA) of foreign medical students is higher than that of domestic students (p=.001). The latter more often exercise in gyms (p=.001) and consume bodybuilding supplements (p=.01). Foreign medical students’ self-assessment of their health (p=.001) and sportiness (p=.001) is higher than that of domestic students (7.90 vs 6.98 и 6.72 vs 5.82 correspondingly). Higher frequency of PA correlates in domestic medical students with higher self-assessment of their successfulness (r=.47), attractiveness (r=.46), and confidence (r=.43); while in foreign students – of their sportiness (r=.49), confidence (r=.25), sociability (r=.23). Longer sessions of PA by domestic medical students are interrelated with higher self-assessment of their intellect (r=.35), confidence (r=.34), happiness (r=.34); while in foreign students – of sportiness (r=.47), health (r=.36), and successfulness (r=.36).

The revealed data testify to the fact that PA of both domestic and foreign medical students closely correlates with positive assessment of their own personality.

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The epigenome involving chemical modifications of DNA and chromatin that modulates gene expression in response to external and environmental conditions is characterized by great plasticity and reacts by epigenetic marks such as methylation signatures that can be inherited across generations.

Urban dwellers likely adapt to the level and growth of urbanization and resulting environmental changes through epigenetic changes. The aim of this study is to present what is currently known about the DNA methylome (the information of DNA methylation of all cytosines in a genome) and cognition when humans are exposed to changing urban environments.

We conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature using PubMed database with the following keywords: DNA methylation, brain and urbanity.

Our search revealed a scarcity of scientific articles reporting methylome studies with assessment of correlations between methylome, cognitive status and urban environment. Among these papers, a Chinese study (2021) found a significant correlation between childhood urbanicity and better cognitive performance by measuring genome-wide methylation profile using more than 850,000 genome-wide CpG sites. In this study, the authors suggested that the impact of childhood urbanicity on cognition is partially mediated by the methylome and brain structure/function in humans whose childhood urbanicity differed. Other studies using other research approaches, suggested that the impact of living in an urban area is linked to better performance in terms of working memory, processing speed and verbal learning. We also found that the vast majority of studies investigating DNA methylation involved in rapid adaptation to new environments, including urban environments, focused on plant and animal species.

The effects of urbanization on human beings are a topic of ongoing debate. Some studies suggest that urbanization can have beneficial effects on cognition, while others find that it can have harmful effects. Quantitative studies of methylation and the correlations between methylome, cognition, and urbanicity offer new opportunities to measure these effects and gain a better understanding of their mechanisms.

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While the acoustic environment in the cities correlates with various health-related problems, health benefits of natural sounds are proven. These positive effects of the sounds of nature should probably be taken seriously in urban design and urban renewal projects.

The aim of this study was to review the paradigm of natural soundscapes in the cities, psychological effects of natural soundscapes and the potential urban recommendations for such architecture design.

We conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature using Web databases with the following keywords: natural soundscapes, natural sound, urban design, and mental health.

Our research found that improving the urban environment soundscape for the well-being of city dwellers has become one of the most pressing challenges of modern times. In a growing number of published studies, positive psychological effects of natural soundscapes are explored using various methods such as questionnaires, biofeedback sensors coupled with virtual reality experiences in laboratories, and quantification of the prevalence of restorative acoustic environments in parks. In a recent study (2023), Jian Kang from the United Kingdome, reported that “by taking psycho-acoustical, neural and physiological, and contextual factors into account, the European Research Council Soundscape Indices project will adequately reflect levels of human comfort, to integrate side-by-side with (and eventually replace) decibel-based metrics into existing (international) regulations”. The same paper highlighted how the transition from fighting noise pollution to creating soundscapes is key.

Architects should develop mandatory guidelines regarding the spatial planning focusing on managing natural soundscapes in cities. Various sites such as green urban public spaces that offers exposure to natural sounds should be an integral part of the urban environment. These areas must be with a high abundance of natural sound (geophony and bio phony) and a low anthropogenic sound to enhance human physical and psychological health.

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Climate change and its impact on mental health is a growing area of research. Several studies have explored the relationship between climate change and mental health, highlighting the various ways in which climate change can affect individuals’ psychological well-being. Incorporating mental health indicators into climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments is another important aspect of research in this area (Hayes & Poland, 2018). The study suggests that standardized methods to measure and predict the psychosocial outcomes of climate change should be implemented to better understand the mental health impacts. While the physical health consequences of climate change have received more attention, the mental health impacts are often overlooked (Nicholas et al., 2020).

This study was planned to examine the impact of climate change the impact of climate change on mental health

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with individuals who willing to participate the study and above 18 years age. Individuals who saw the online advertisement and click on the study’s link were be brought to the study’s home page on Online Surveys. Should they wish to proceed, they will be brought to an information page detailing the purpose of the study, how their confidentiality and anonymity will be preserved and how their data will be treated.

Socio-Demographic Data Form, Climate Change Worry Scale, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised- Abbreviated, general health questioner and Depression, Anxiety, Stress scale were used for collecting data. Data analyses was planned to run via Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version, 27.0.

The analysis of the data is still ongoing in detail by the researchers. The findings and relational implications of the study will be presented.

In conclusion, this study highlight the importance of understanding the mental health impacts of climate change and developing strategies to address them. Climate change can have direct and indirect consequences on mental health, and vulnerable populations such as children and adolescents may be particularly at risk. Reducing psychological distance and incorporating mental health indicators into assessments can help in understanding and addressing the mental health consequences of climate change.

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The beneficial effects of yoga have been researched for decades, and in some countries it is also used in health care to maintain physical and mental health. Its effectiveness in the treatment of stress and anxiety, as well as in achieving a relaxed state, is supported by numerous studies.

In the present research, our aim was to investigate the direct and subclinical effects of yoga, where the subjects did at least 10 minutes of yoga a day for two weeks. Our hypotheses are that the participants experience relaxation, mindfulness and positive emotions significantly (1) more often and (2) more intensely as a result of yoga.

We included 25 average population, healthy people between the ages of 18 and 30, who exercised at least 10 minutes of yoga a day for two weeks with the help of a mobile app. We used the Smith Relaxation States Inventory (SRSI3) and its disposition-measuring version (SRSI3d), which examine 19 relaxation states (R-states) presumably related to relaxation, divided into 4 categories: basic relaxation, mindfulness, positive energy and transcendence. During the statistical analyses, the values taken at the beginning of the research, before practice, were compared with the values taken directly after the last practice using the Wilcoxon test. Bonferroni correction was used to correct the first-order error that increases when testing several hypotheses simultaneously.

Immediately after practicing yoga, the participants had significantly higher basic relaxation (M0=2.74, M1=4.24, p<0.0001), awareness (M0=2.71, M1=2.89, p<0.0001) and positive energy (M0=3.88, M1= 4.81, p<0.0001) and in the long term they experienced significantly more relaxation (M0=3.12, M1=3.94, p<0.0001), awareness (M0=3.41, M1=4.40, p<.0001), positive energy (M0= 4.39, M1=5.14, p<0.001) and transcendence (M0=3.23, M1=4.05, p=0.001).

Based on our results, yoga can be an effective additional tool in maintaining and improving health, but also in improving the condition and quality of life of mental and somatic patients.

None Declared

The modern understanding of AD allows us to consider it through the constructs of “vulnerability” and “stability” of the brain as a dynamic system of dialectical interaction between the pathogenic process and the protective process that prevents neurodegeneration. The concept of cognitive reserve (CR) is based on observations of discrepancy between the degree of brain pathology and the severity of clinical manifestations. The concept of “reserve” was proposed to describe the resistance of the brain to a developing damage caused by a pathological process. Stern (2002) considered CR as a protective factor that modifies the impact of brain pathology on cognitive function. The researchers have defined CR as an ability to optimize cognitive function through differential involvement of structures or neural networks of the brain into brain activity.

A systematic review of scientific studies has been conducted

The review includes an analysis of full-text literature sources.

Several possible directions of CR influence on cognitive functions have been described:

1. 1) CR may reduce the risk of MCI or dementia through mechanisms, which do not depend on the level of neurodegenerative pathological changes in the brain.

2. 2) CR can interact with the markers of brain pathology or healthaffectingthe future cognitive decline or risk of progression. It has been found that smaller volumes or thickness in some AD vulnerable areas of the brain represent a stronger risk factor for cognitive impairment in people with low CR than in people with higher CR. CR protective effects on clinical outcomes reduce as the number of damaged neurons increases.

3. 3) The protective effect of CR increasesduring late AD onset and at a low rate of the damaged substrate accumulation.

4. 4) CR changes the relationship between genetic factors and aging withclinical and cognitive outcomes. The relationship between age and AD pathology level or age-related structural changes in the brain may weaken in people with higher CR

The concept of cerebral-cognitive reserve actualizes the problem of the search for compensatory mechanisms of cognitive deficit in AD, the assessmentof the structure of the reserve, the development and implementationof programs to maintain the reserve, the preventionof its depletion, starting from the preclinical stage of the disease, which can prevent the transformation of preclinical manifestations of AD into cognitive disorders

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What topics from their personal lives do patients bring to talk to the clinical team, in addition to reporting their health-illness complaints, being examined, and receiving medical and nursing guidance? Knowing the symbolic aspects of the professional-patient relationship allows for care with more empathy and greater adherence to outpatient service follow-ups. The sociocultural contexts of vulnerable adolescents amplify the importance of reproductive health care and understanding perceptions about romantic relationships and sexuality. During adolescence, risky behaviours can interfere with life opportunities and the future. The lack of care for adolescents’ reproductive health is associated with irreparable physical and psychosocial consequences. In Brazil, the Unified Health System functions as an important support for the community.

To interpret the symbolic meanings attributed by pregnant teenagers regarding the possible experience of talking and receiving guidance about romantic relations and sexuality from the clinical team of public primary attention (in the EPA-2023, we presented the work “on family relationships”, another branch belonging to the same PhD research).

We used the Clinical-Qualitative Method (Turato. Portuguese Psychos. J, 2000 2(1): 93-108). For data collection, the main researcher used the Semi-Directed Interview with Open-ended Questions In-Depth and Field Notes, fully transcript. The employ of the Seven Steps of the Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis (Faria-Schützer et al. Cien Saude Colet. 2021; 26(1): 265-274) permits the solid discussion categories. Sample closed by saturation information criterion (Fontanella et al. Cad Saude Publica. 2008; 24(1): 17-27).

Sample of 10 adolescents, from 15 to 19 years. Interviewed by the first author, a female psychologist, online from September 2020 to June 2022. Findings validated by peer reviewers from Lab of Clinical-Qualitative Research. Categories to this congress: 1) maternal figure referred to as the axis of orientations on sexuality. This seems to empty the opportunity or the need to discuss these aspects in clinical consultations; 2) interviewees do not cite teenage pregnancy in its new emotional status as present in the prenatal consultation protocol; 3) there is a discourse of the re-signification of relationship with a loving partner by assuming also symbolically the pregnancy by both.

Professionals that the teenagers access in clinical consultations at primary attention are not perceived psychoanalytically as transferential figures for conversations about romantic relationships and/or sexuality. It is opportune to rediscuss the expected and/or desired roles of the clinical team in that studied context from the psychic and cultural symbolic universe.

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Patients with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or mood disorders, as depression, often showed dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system, resulting in increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and heightened activity of the immune system that may cause alterations in the structure and function of brain regions through direct neurotoxic effects, oxidative stress, changes in levels of neurotransmitters and decreasing some neurotrophins. Among the most studied pro-inflammatory cytokines in this field there are Intereleukine-6 (IL-6) and Interleukine-1β (IL-1β); however, scant and conflicting data are currently available in the literature about their use as potential biomarkers, and even less on possible comparisons in PTSD and depression.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate circulating levels of IL-6 and IL-1β in patients with PTSD and to compare them with those of subjects with depression and healthy controls.

A sample of 45 subjects, including 15 subjects diagnosed with PTSD (PTSD group), 15 with depression (DEP group), and 15 healthy controls (HC group) were recruited at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa. HC group included subjects recruited on a voluntary basis. The psychiatric diagnosis was assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5-Clinician Version (SCID-5-CV), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report lifetime version (TALS-SR). A peripheral venous blood sample was collected to perform the biochemical assays. The analyses of IL-6 and IL-1β were performed with a dedicated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISAs) achieved at the Laboratory of Biochemistry of the Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa.

No statistically significant gender or age differences emerged in the three groups. There were no statistically significant differences in IL-1β levels among the three groups. Conversely, the PTSD group showed higher levels of IL-6 compared to the DEP and to the HC ones, with a statistically significant difference in the post-hoc analysis among the PTSD and DEP groups with respect to the HC one (p<0.05).

Our results suggest the key role of a chronic low-grade inflammatory state in PTSD and in depression, probably related to a dysregulation in HPA axis and cortisol release, with an increase in proinflammatory cytokines including IL-6 that seemed to be more pronounced in PTSD.

None Declared

Lymphocytes are dysfunctional during long-term ethanol consumption and may contribute the progression from healthy to problem drinking. GABAA receptors are molecular targets of ethanol on lymphocytes, potentiating the effects of alcohol.

We first demonstrated that original compound ortho-fluoro-benzonal, artificial GABA receptor ligand, has immunostimulating properties and is able to restored long-term alcoholized mice lymphocytes activity in vitro through GABAA receptors.  Based on the previous results we investigated effects of the ex vivo ortho-fluoro-benzonal modulated lymphocytes in recipients with experimental alcoholism.

Male (CBAxC57Bl/6)F1 mice with 6-month 10% ethanol exposure were undergoing the transplantation of syngeneic long-term alcoholized mice lymphocytes, pretreated in vitro with ortho-fluoro-benzonal. Recipient’s ethanol consumption, parameters of the nervous and immune systems functional activities were estimated.

It was shown that lymphocytes modulated ex vivo with ortho-fluoro-benzonal after intravenous injection caused in syngeneic long-term alcoholized recipients ethanol consumption decrease and stimulation of behavioral activity in the “open field” test against the background of changes in the level of a number of cytokines in pathogenetically significant brain structures. Stimulation of humoral immune response, estimated by the relative number of antibody-forming spleen cells was also detected in recipients after lymphocytes transplantation. The injected immune cells were recorded in the parenchyma of the spleen and brain of recipients, which suggests, in particular, their direct influence on these functions.

Results demonstrated that transplantation of ortho-fluoro-benzonal-modulated lymphocytes caused positive psychoneuroimmunomodulating effect in long-term alcoholized recipients, which makes it possible to consider adoptive immunotherapy as a promising method in the treatment of alcoholism.

None Declared

It is known that the formation of aggressive behavior is accompanied by neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory changes. Immune cells have a regulatory effect on the central nervous system functions, including regulation of behavior.

We first demonstrated that ex vivo chlorpromazine - modulated immune cells have a positive aggressive behavior editing effect. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of the indicated cells on some central mechanisms underlying the development of aggressive reactions.

(CBAxC57Bl/6) F1 aggressive male mice, developed in conditions of chronic social stress, were undergoing the transplantation of syngeneic spleen lymphocytes with ex vivo chlorpromazine-modulated functional activity. In recipients the immunohistochemical analysis was performed assessing the expression of the microglial marker Iba1. The levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) and cytokines was assessed by ELISA. For histological examination Nissl staining was applied.

Aggressive behavior editing after the chlorpromazine-modulated immune cells transplantation registered against the background of some structural and functional changes in the brain. It was found an increase in the density of pyramidal neurons in CA1 and CA3 hippocampal regions and augmented level of Bdnf. The decreased expression of microglial activation marker Iba1, accompanied with decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, INF-γ) and increased  anti-inflammatory (IL-4) cytokine was found. Visualization of functionally active lymphocytes pre-treated with chlorpromazine in the brain parenchyma of aggressive recipients suggests a direct effect of injected lymphocytes on CNS.

The effect of chlorpromazine - modulated immune cells that edits aggressive behavior is realized by stimulating neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and reducing neuroinflammation.

None Declared

Schizophrenia has progressively been seen as a multifactorial disease, with its pathogenesis including immune dysfunction. Studies have leaned into the activation of brain inflammation, influencing the development of schizophrenia in certain subgroups of patients. Additionally, the role of the T helper (Th17) cells and neuromediators associated are implicated in the pathophysiology of psoriasis, a chronic immune-mediated dermatological condition. A significantly elevated risk was found with 41% increased odds of schizophrenia compared with subjects without psoriasis. The concomitant diagnosis of both illnesses has motivated further investigation into their shared pathways.

Characterize the prevalence of psoriasis in patients with schizophrenia and mutual involved mechanisms.

Retrospective analysis of inpatients of a Portuguese Psychiatry department with the established diagnosis of Schizophrenia, between 2018 and 2022. Additionally a literature review on the topic was conducted.

A sample of 94 patients admitted was obtained. The majority of patients were male (80,1%). The prevalence of the diagnosis of Psoriasis was 6,4% (n=6). A previous epidemiological study conducted in the Portuguese general population concluded that the prevalence of psoriasis is on average 4,4%, which is inferior to the value obtained in our sample. Other studies that measured the relationship between both diagnoses corroborated our results, documenting higher prevalences of psoriasis in patients with schizophrenia than the general population.

The relationship between psoriasis and schizophrenia seems to be bidirectional, with schizophrenia patients having higher risk of psoriasis and psoriasis patients having higher risk of schizophrenia. This could be explained by multiple mechanisms, mainly the activation of Th17 cells but also the fact that there may be a genetic susceptibility due to proximal chromosome loci associated with both diseases (chromosome 6p21.3). This information is essential in providing care to patients because treatment must be carefully adapted. It has been demonstrated that atypical antipsychotics might worsen psoriatic manifestations and immunosuppressive agents are linked to psychotic episodes and worse mental health. Thus, there should be increased alertness for the detection of these conditions in patients with either one of them.

None Declared

An alteration of inflammatory indices has been reported in several major mental disorders. This alteration seems to be related to disease severity and treatment resistance, but its pathophysiological meaning remains to be established. Patients with severe mental disorders tend to have increased levels of circulating cytokines and increased microglial activity in the central nervous system, suggesting that inflammation may contribute to the onset, or chronicity, of mental disorders. Detecting inflammation‐relevant symptom clusters across mental disorders may represent an important step towards precision medicine in psychiatry.

The SMInflam project is a longitudinal, observational, real-world study which aims to: assess a set of inflammatory indices at baseline in a sample of patients with the diagnosis of a major mental disorder; identify inflammatory profiles of these patients using a latent class analysis approach; assess the response to pharmacological treatments of patients with different inflammatory profiles; re-assess the inflammatory indices and profiles at several times during follow-up and test their correlation with the evolution of psychopathology.

The sample will consist of 50 patients with a diagnosis of a major mental disorders consecutively enrolled at the outpatient unit of the Department of Psychiatry of University of Campania. All enrolled patients will be administered a set of reliable and validated psychopathological assessment tools. We will perform a complete physical evaluation, and a battery of laboratory tests. Peripheral markers of chronic inflammation will be assessed. Clinical and biological assessments will be performed at baseline (T0) and after 3 and 6 months (respectively, T1 and T2).

Expected results include the evaluation of the levels of inflammatory indices in a varied sample of patients with severe mental disorders. According to the pre-post design, these aspects will be evaluated before the start and at the follow-up. We will also take into consideration the role of confounding factors such as age and gender, which represent a critical biological variable influencing such inflammatory pathways.

Collected data will be used for having a more informative, reliable and valid characterization of psychopathology in a vast sample of patients with severe mental disorders. Our study may represent the first of a new wave of methodologically-sound studies on the role of inflammation and psychopathology in patients with severe mental disorders.

None Declared

Limbic encephalitis (LE) is a subacute or chronic, non-infectious inflammation of the brain, usually occurring in adulthood, with predominant involvement of mesiotemporal structures and a clinical manifestation consisting mainly of new memory impairment, affective disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy, psychoses, etc.

To point out the importance of knowledge of potentially treatable dementia syndromes such as atypical manifestation of probably LE.

We present a clinical case of a 47-years-old woman with an atypical dementia syndrome and typical radiological findings corresponding to a LE, among others, but without the previously known immunological antibodies.

According to the literature, the diverse subsyndromes of LE can be subsumed under the two main categories of “paraneoplastic” and “non-paraneoplastic”. In addition to the acute and subacute courses, there is increasing evidence for chronic, slowly progressive courses, which expand the spectrum of potentially treatable dementia syndromes. Understanding and knowledge of the broad, clinical syndrome of LE have increased dramatically in recent years. Both nosological classification through differentiated diagnosis and specific therapeutic protocols have become increasingly developed and established. Nevertheless, there are rare clinical cases with a clinical phenotype and radiological findings that correspond to LE, but are both non-paraneoplastic in origin and seronegative with respect to the previously known immunological typing by autoantibodies. This gray area of nosological entity represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

The authors would like to point out the importance of an adequate diagnosis of the forms of LE that have been nosologically classified so far and are partly well treatable. Limbic encephalitis is an important differential diagnosis in dementia, especially in young patients with atypical courses. There is a need for further research regarding better diagnosis and therapy of the so far immunologically unidentifiable forms of clinical LE.

Literature:

Bazir Ahmad et al., Practical Neurology 2011

Guidelines of the German Neurological Society (DGN), 2008

Leypoldt et al., Akt Neurol 2012

Prüss et al., Neurology 2012

None Declared

Schizophrenia, a multisystem chronic psychiatric disorder of unknown etiology, is associated with several immune dysfunctions, including abnormal levels of circulating cytokines. Exsisting evidence shows a potential causative role for cytokines in schizophrenia symptom development. Furthermore, disease duration, symptom severity, aggressive behavior, and cognitive deficits are correlated with levels of certain cytokines. Despite the development of new antipsychotics, the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia often do not respond adequately to pharmacotherapy.

Research questions and hypotheses: 1. Can there be a cytokine or cytokines among the different cytokine levels detected in schizophrenia that can be used as biomarkers of treatment response? 2. Can changes in cytokine levels indicate the occurrence of psychotic relapse? 3. Can changes in the cytokine level play a role in predicting the prognosis of the disease? The secondary objectives of the planned research, in addition to the above, are to clarify the knowledge gathered so far about the relationship between cytokine level changes and the clinical symptoms associated with them.

We investigate cytokine levels, blood samples are taken on hospital admission. Based on the publications, we mainly focus on the Il-2, Il-4, Il-6 and Il-10 levels, which can serve as possible predictive biomarkers relating to treatment response. We will also assess the possible role of abnormal cytokine levels and their association with symptoms severity and their potential clinical implications. The severity of the symptoms is monitored with the PANSS.

15 schizophrenic patients who were hospitalized due to a psychotic relapse have been included. Blood samples were taken to measure cytokine levels, the PANSS scale was recorded during a psychotic relapse. We have included 9 healthy, age- and gender-matched healthy controls in the study, from whom blood samples were taken to measure cytokine levels. Preparation for measurement of cytokine levels is underway. Patient involvement is ongoing.

A better understanding of cytokine imbalance in schizophrenia patients can potentially help in early diagnosis, novel therapeutic target indentification and development, patient stratification for choosing the best therapeutic protocol, and predicting prognosis, relapse and treatment response.

None Declared

The role of spirituality in health and disease is a complex and emerging area of research. Incorporating spirituality into the bio-psycho-social model of health and disease leading to the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model provides a more comprehensive framework. In this context, chronic disorders like primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) are of interest due to their intricate interactions between biological, psychological, and spiritual factors.

To study possible relationships between spirituality, immune parameters, and disease activity in pSS patients.

Patient recruitment for the study took place at the Autoimmune Sjögren specialty clinic, University of Debrecen, resulting in 112 patients. Assessing spirituality of the patients happened through 4 direct questions and the Sprituality Transcendence Scale (24 items). Besides, clinical data of the patients were involved in the study including blood cell counts, rheumatoid factor, immunoglobulin G, Sjögren-specific autoantibodies and disease activity scores (semi-objective and patient reported,). The statistical analysis was conducted applying group comparisons between spiritual and non-spiritual groups, and linear and logistic regression analyses adjusted for sex, age, disease duration, settlement type, education, living in partnership and smoking. Out of the 112 patients 4 gave incomplete response, and therefore got excluded from the analysis, resulting in a total sample size of 108.

Semi-objective disease activity score (ESSDAI) and perceived vaginal dryness was significantly lower in the non-spiritual group. Spirituality was proven as a significant predictor of anti-SSB autoantibody serum activity and ESSDAI, while engaging in prayer/meditation and its duration predicted significantly anti-SSA autoantibody serum activity, perceived skin and tracheal dryness. Concerning logistic regression analysis, we found that an increase of one unit in spirituality reduces the probability with 81.6% of having a detectable, semi-objective disease activity at all. Significant associations were found between the duration of prayer/meditation and both semi-objective and patient reported disease activity scores and autoantibody anti-SSB with an inverse ratio based on logistic regression model.

Spirituality is associated with immune parameters and disease activity in pSS. Patients with spiritual attitude are less likely to have increased disease activity. Besides being spiritual, engagement in individual spiritual activities, such as prayer/meditation has beneficial disease modifying effect. These changes are supposedly due to psychoneuroimmunological pathways. In addition to the biologically measurable variables, the alleviation and aggravation of perceived symptoms (e.g. dryness) are important outcomes of spiritual engagement and practice.

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Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is an autoimmune disorder, characterized by neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as mood instability, psychosis, catatonia, dyskinesia, seizures and vegetative lability. Psychiatric symptoms usually occur in the initial phase, therefore almost half of the patients are first observed at a psychiatric unit, however in later phases the patients’ condition often show progression with the characteristic neurological symptoms, such as perioral dyskinesia and seizures. Although, early recognition and treatment is essential to reach good outcomes, delay in the diagnostic process often happens due to the unspecific early symptoms and the lack of knowledge of this disorder amongst psychiatrists.

Moreover, there are cases, where neurological symptoms do not appear, which can lead to diagnostic failure and mismanagement of these patients. Since anti-NMDAR encephalitis is a rare condition, it is important to treat such cases in specific centres, where sufficient knowledge and multidisciplinary approaches are available.

Our aim was to gather all patients’ data treated with anti-NMDAR encephalitis at two departments (Neurology and Psychiatry) of Semmelweis University. We wanted to analyse psychiatric manifestations of the disorder in details and follow these symptoms long term, with special interest on the cognitive symptoms.

One of our aims was to follow-up these patients and measure antibody titres in their serum, to be able to asses, whether there was any association between prolonged serum positivity and cognitive impairment.

We have retrospectively analysed data of previous cases and prospectively followed up recently hospitalised patients.

Neurocognitive assessment had been conducted by the same psychologist, all the patients were followed up by the same interdisciplinary team, including a neurologist and two psychiatrists. Laboratory tests (autoimmune antibody essays) were conducted by the Immunological Laboratory at Semmelweis University.

Altogether, 13 female patients were treated with anti-NMDAR encephalitis in the past ten years at Semmelweis University. All of them received plasma exchange, iv. steroids and azathioprine. 8 out of the 13 needed ventilation and intensive care treatment. 2 of these patients have mild psychiatric symptoms as residual symptoms, and 1 of them is still in the recovery stage, currently experiencing mild cognitive symptoms.

Only two patient had ovarian teratomas out of the 13, which is a lower number than expected from previous studies.

4 out of 12 had positive antibody titre at follow up, one patient is still at recovery stage, however her antibody titres are still very high.

Semmelweis University is one of the largest centre treating patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis in Hungary. We had altogether 13 patients in the last ten years, with very good outcome, since all of them recovered, although 2 have residual symptoms.

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