This study anonymously screened 13,332 individuals worldwide for psychological symptoms related to Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic from March 29 th to April 14 th , 2020. A total of n=12,817 responses were considered valid with responses from 12 featured countries and five WHO regions. Female gender, pre-existing psychiatric condition, and prior exposure to trauma were identified as notable risk factors, whereas optimism, ability to share concerns with family and friends like usual, positive prediction about COVID-19, and daily exercise predicted fewer psychological symptoms. These results could aid in dynamic optimization of mental health services during and following COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract. Background: Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common dementing illness. Multiple risk factors are associated with VaD, but the individual contribution of each to disease onset and progression is unclear. We examined the relationship between diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM) and the clinical variables of VaD. Methods: Data from 593 patients evaluated between June, 2003 and June, 2008 for cognitive impairment were prospectively entered into a database. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 63 patients who fit the NINDS-AIREN criteria for VaD. The patients were divided into those with DM (VaD-DM, n = 29) and those without DM (VaD, n = 34). The groups were compared with regard to multiple variables. Results: Patients with DM had a significantly earlier onset of VaD (71.9 ± 6.54 vs. 77.2 ± 6.03, p < 0.001), a faster rate of decline per year on the mini mental state examination (MMSE; 3.60 ± 1.82 vs. 2.54 ± 1.60 points, p = 0.02), and a greater prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms at the time of diagnosis (62% vs. 21%, p = 0.02). Conclusions: A history of pre-morbid DM was associated with an earlier onset and faster cognitive deterioration in VaD. Moreover, DM was associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with VaD. A larger study is needed to verify these associations. It will be important to investigate whether better glycemic control will mitigate the potential effects of DM on VaD.

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This study anonymously examined 2,734 psychiatric patients worldwide for worsening of their pre-existing psychiatric condition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Valid responses mainly from 12 featured countries indicated self-reported worsening of psychiatric conditions in 2/3rd of the patients assessed that was validated through their significantly higher scores on scales for general psychological disturbance, post- traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Female gender, feeling no control of the situation and reporting dissatisfaction with the response of the state during the COVID- 19 pandemic, and reduced interaction with family and friends increased the worsening of pre-existing psychiatric conditions, whereas optimism, ability to share concerns with family and friends and using social media like usual were associated with less worsening. An independent clinical investigation from the USA confirmed worsening of psychiatric conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic based on identification of new symptoms that necessiated clinical interventions such as dose adjustment or starting new medications in more than half of the patients.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been associated with changes in frontal and temporal lobe-mediated cognitive and behavioral functions. Verbal fluency, a sensitive measure to these changes, was utilized to investigate phonemic and semantic abilities in 49 ALS patients and 25 healthy controls (HCs). A subset of the ALS patients was classified as ALS-intact, ALS with mild cognitive impairments (ALS-mild), and ALS with fronto-temporal dementia (ALS-FTD) based on a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Clustering and switching, the underlying component processes of verbal fluency, were analyzed using Troyer's (Troyer, Moscovitch, & Winocur, 1997) and Abwender's (Abwender, Swan, Bowerman, & Connolly, 2001) scoring systems. ALS patients exhibited decreased fluency versus HCs. For phonemic fluency, the intact ALS sample generated fewer clusters and more switches than the ALS-mild and ALS-FTD patients using both scoring systems. This suggests temporal involvement in ALS patients, with increasing frontal lobe involvement in patients with greater cognitive dysfunction. For semantic fluency, similar results were obtained with a greater emphasis on declines in clustering or increased temporal lobe dysfunction. These results suggest that verbal fluency measures identify frontal and temporal lobe involvement in the cognitive decline associated with ALS, particularly when the component processes are evaluated. The clinical utility of these scoring systems with ALS patients is also discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the world and inevitably influenced people's behaviors including the likelihood of crime and deviance. Emerging empirical evidence suggests a decline in certain crimes (e.g., theft,

Background Accumulating evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of individuals. However, the susceptibility of individuals to be impacted by the pandemic is variable, suggesting potential influences of specific factors related to participants’ demographics, attitudes, and practices. Objective We aimed to identify the factors associated with psychological symptoms related to the effects of the first wave of the pandemic in a multicountry cohort of internet users. Methods This study anonymously screened 13,332 internet users worldwide for acute psychological symptoms related to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 29 to April 14, 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic amidst strict lockdown conditions. A total of 12,817 responses were considered valid. Moreover, 1077 participants from Europe were screened a second time from May 15 to May 30, 2020, to ascertain the presence of psychological effects after the ease down of restrictions. Results Female gender, pre-existing psychiatric conditions, and prior exposure to trauma were identified as notable factors associated with increased psychological symptoms during the first wave of COVID-19 (P<.001). The same factors, in addition to being related to someone who died due to COVID-19 and using social media more than usual, were associated with persistence of psychological disturbances in the limited second assessment of European participants after the restrictions had relatively eased (P<.001). Optimism, ability to share concerns with family and friends like usual, positive prediction about COVID-19, and daily exercise were related to fewer psychological symptoms in both assessments (P<.001). Conclusions This study highlights the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at the worldwide level on the mental health of internet users and elucidates prominent associations with their demographics, history of psychiatric disease risk factors, household conditions, certain personality traits, and attitudes toward COVID-19.

Traumatic experiences during childhood can persistently alter mental and physical health in humans and have been implicated in transmission of symptoms to the progeny in animal models. Molecular evidence from these models implicates epigenetic/non-genetic factors, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), in the expression of trauma-induced symptoms and their transmission to the offspring. To confirm these findings in humans, we assembled three cohorts of subjects exposed to childhood trauma and examined selected miRNAs linked to psychological and pathophysiological manifestations of childhood trauma. Children aged 7-12 years (n = 72, control n = 30) exposed to paternal loss and maternal separation (PLMS) exhibited increase in two miRNAs, miR-16 and miR-375 in serum and reduced level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) compared to control children. Comparable miRNA changes were observed in serum of adult men aged 18-25 years (n = 13, control n = 17) who had been exposed to PLMS at a young age. Finally, the same miRNAs were altered in sperm of adult men aged 21-50 years (n = 23, control n = 35) exposed to two or more significant traumatic events in childhood, assessed retrospectively using the standardized childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ). In vitro experiments show that regulation of these miRNA involves the HDL receptor SRB-1, suggesting a link between trauma-associated miRNAs and metabolic alterations.