Resilience can be an important factor in health promotion. The aim of the present study was to carry out a review of the literature in the Pubmed and PsycINFO databases, using the descriptors "resilience" and "chronic disease". The research contemplated publications conducted in the past 20 years from June 1993 to June 2013. Twelve articles that met the inclusion criteria were identified. These articles pointed towards a negative relationship between resilience and depression, anxiety, incapacitation, and somatization, and also found an inverse correlation between resilience scores and the progression of illness (activity of the disease, control of glycemic level, and severity of depression), and an association between resilience and quality of life and health promotional behavior. In conclusion, resilience may influence the process of illness and outcome in health. It is necessary to develop preventive interventions that allow protective factors for resilience to be developed, which could improve the outcomes in health.

Resilience (RS) concerns human beings' capacity to respond positively to adverse situations they face, enabling individuals to achieve, maintain, or recover physical or emotional health after devastating illness, losses, or other stressful situations. RS can be an important factor in health promotion. The aim of this study was to evaluate RS in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Forty-five SLE patients participated in this study and were evaluated by both Mini International Neuropsychiatric and Wagnild and Young scales. Of these, 8.9% had low RS (score < 121), 71% medium score (between 121 and 146), and 20% high RS (score > 146). Patients over 35 years of age had the highest scores on the RS scale and patients at risk of committing suicide presented the lowest RS scores, possibly due to high level of depression. Identifying risk and protective factors is important for developing psychological support strategies.

Background: Older adults with chronic illnesses face many challenges related to their diseases and need higher resilience capacities to overcome. Resilience, as a mediator among various dimensions of health, can lead to positive health outcomes in such people. The current study aimed at discovering the impact of resilience on the perception of chronic disease from older adults' perspective. Methods: The current qualitative study was conducted in specialized clinics of Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Kashan, Iran. A total of 25 older adults with chronic diseases were recruited by purposive sampling. Data were generated by semi-structured interviews and continued until data saturation. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded by MAXQDA7 software. Data were analyzed based on Graneheim and Lundman approach. Results: Three main themes were extracted from the data including achieving spiritual transcendence (approaching God, appreciate the beauty around); creating peace and balance (controlling the inner stress, maintaining solidarity of family); overcoming the disease (compliance with treatment, building effective interpersonal relationships). Conclusion: The themes indicated that effective interventions such as teaching stress management, communication skills, and adherence to treatment should be provided by healthcare providers and policy makers to improve the resilience of the older adults with chronic diseases.

An increase in the prevalence of anxiety disorders (ADs), in individual, social, and economic losses, due to the high prevalence, chronicity, and disability of the individual besides the growth of multiple environmental stressors that are related to lifestyles, has been observed, which are all more harmful to one's health, and associated with genetic inheritances, among other factors. This reality may contribute to the risk of losing neurological functions, for example, cognition and memory, as well as to the development of more severe psychiatric disorders, with high levels of heritability and risk of suicide. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the most abundant neurotrophins in the human brain. Studies with neurotrophins allowed the introduction of one more hypothesis, called neurotrophic hypothesis, that would explain the physiopathology of mental disorders (MD), where deficits of neuroplasticity would occur and cause atrophy of certain regions of the brain (mainly cortical and the hippocampus), contributing to the development of mental disorders. Knowing the neurobiology of the ADs, as well as its relation to BDNF levels, may contribute to preventive actions regarding the said disorder in the general population. The objective of this chapter is to analyze the relation between levels of BDNF and AD.

RESUMO -Manifestações neuropsiquiátricas são comuns no lúpus eritematoso sistêmico (LES), especialmente depressão, ansiedade e psicose. O estresse psicológico e o uso de corticóide têm sido responsabilizados pelas manifestações psicopatológicas. Objetivou-se realizar revisão de literatura sobre a eficácia da intervenção psicológica no tratamento do LES, utilizandose pesquisas em bases de dados, através dos descritores "psychotherapy" and "lupus", incluindo-se os ensaios clínicos randomizados e os estudos prospectivos. Foram encontrados seis artigos, sendo quatro ensaios clínicos randomizados e dois estudos prospectivos. Cinco artigos encontraram evidências de acentuada melhora nos pacientes que tinham acompanhamento psicológico e apenas um não encontrou tal evidência. Concluiu-se que a intervenção psicológica pode ser uma ferramenta importante no tratamento do LES.Palavras-chave: lúpus eritematoso sistêmico, psicoterapia, doença autoimune. Literature Review of Efficacy of Psychological Interventions in the Treatment of Systemic Lupus ErythematosusABSTRACT -Neuropsychiatric manifestations, especially depression, anxiety and psychosis, are common in systemic lupus erythmatosus (SLE). The psychological stress and the use of corticoids have been blamed for these psychopathological manifestations. A literature review was realized on the efficacy of psychological interventions in the treatment of SLE, using research data bases, through the descriptors "psychotherapy" and "lupus", including randomized clinical trials and prospective studies. Six articles were found, of these, four were randomized clinical trials, and two prospective studies. Five articles related evidence of pronounced improvement in patients that had psychological follow-up and one article did not found such evidence. Psychological intervention can be an important tool in the treatment of SLE.