Temporal evolution of brain structural changes associated with anxiety sensitivity in patients with breast cancer: A causal network analysis.

Evaluation of anxiety sensitivity in patients with psoriasis

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are among the most common, chronic and debilitating diseases. This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of compassion focused therapy on distress tolerance, difficulty in emotion regulation and anxiety sensitivity in patients with cardiovascular disease. Methods: It was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test and a control group. The statistical population included all cardiovascular patients in Mashhad city in 2019-2020. The sample consisted of 30 cardiovascular patients referred to Valiasr clinic that were selected by available sampling method and placed in experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent compassion focused therapy for 8 sessions of 2 hours and, at the end, both groups received post-test. The measurement tools were distress tolerance scale, difficulties in emotion regulation scale and anxiety sensitivity scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the variables of distress tolerance, difficulty in emotion regulation and anxiety sensitivity (P<0.05); In other words, compassion focused therapy has been effective on distress tolerance, difficulty in emotion regulation and anxiety sensitivity in patients with cardiovascular disease. Conclusion: Based on the results, this therapeutic approach can be used to increase distress tolerance and reduce difficulty in emotion regulation and anxiety sensitivity in cardiovascular patients.

Progressive brain structural abnormality in cerebral small vessel disease assessed with MR imaging by using causal network analysis

Regional homogeneity alterations in patients with breast cancer: Mediation between anxiety sensitivity and health anxiety-related metacognition.

Structural alterations of brain grey and white matter in early deaf adults

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is a major medical problem worldwide.The purpose of the present researchwas to examine a comparison of the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on anxiety sensitivity in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).Method:This research was a quasi-experimental one with the plan of the pre-test posttest, and control group. The statistics of this research consisted of patients with CVD who were treated at Kasra Hospital in Tehran in 2019. The samples were 135 patients aged 40-65 years with CVD identified among patients assigned to the two groups experimental and one control group. Data were collected using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. The research data results were analyzed using the methods of multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).Results: Multivariate analysis of covariance showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based therapy significantly decreased anxiety sensitivity, physical concern, social concern, and cognitive concern in the experimental group (p<0.001).Discussion: These results suggest that cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based therapy could adjust anxiety sensitivity in patients with CVD.Based on the results, these two interventions can by promoting social skills, realistic view of cognitive abilities and adaptive coping styles, reduce the anxiety sensitivity in patients with CVD.

Cognitive and structural brain abnormalities are common following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The authors compared cognition and brain structure in 14 TBI survivors and 28 matched healthy comparison subjects. TBI survivors showed reduced cerebral volume, due mainly to white matter changes, and poorer attention, psychomotor speed, and memory. Severity of white matter abnormality correlated with worse performance on several cognitive measures that distinguished between groups. Using voxel-based morphometry, regions of reduced white matter concentration were found throughout the cerebrum along with more localized gray matter reductions. Findings suggest that diffuse rather than focal aspects of TBI contribute most to cognitive outcome.

As a neuroprogressive illness, depression is accompanied by brain structural abnormality that extends to many brain regions. However, the progressive structural alteration pattern remains unknown. To elaborate the progressive structural alteration of depression according to illness duration, we recruited 195 never-treated first-episode patients with depression and 130 healthy controls (HCs) undergoing T1-weighted MRI scans. Voxel-based morphometry method was adopted to measure gray matter volume (GMV) for each participant. Patients were first divided into three stages according to the length of illness duration, then we explored stage-specific GMV alterations and the causal effect relationship between them using causal structural covariance network (CaSCN) analysis. Overall, patients with depression presented stage-specific GMV alterations compared with HCs. Regions including the hippocampus, the thalamus and the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) presented GMV alteration at onset of illness. Then as the illness advanced, others regions began to present GMV alterations. These results suggested that GMV alteration originated from the hippocampus, the thalamus and vmPFC then expanded to other brain regions. The results of CaSCN analysis revealed that the hippocampus and the vmPFC corporately exerted causal effect on regions such as nucleus accumbens, the precuneus and the cerebellum. In addition, GMV alteration in the hippocampus was also potentially causally related to that in the dorsolateral frontal gyrus. Consistent with the neuroprogressive hypothesis, our results reveal progressive morphological alteration originating from the vmPFC and the hippocampus and further elucidate possible details about disease progression of depression.

Altered brain structure in women with premenstrual syndrome

Anxiety sensitivity and fear of exercise in patients attending cardiac rehabilitation

BackgroundTinnitus refers to the objective or subjective perception of a series of sounds most frequently described as ringing in the ear or within the head itself. Anxiety and depressive disorders frequently accompany this complaint. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of psychiatric symptoms and the degree of anxiety sensitivity in patients with chronic tinnitus.MethodsFifty patients with chronic tinnitus who had been followed up for at least 6 months or longer were enrolled in this study. All subjects completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3), Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaires. Fifty healthy volunteers were given the same tests and a statistical comparison of the psychometric outcome data was done for subjects with and without chronic tinnitus.ResultsPatients with chronic tinnitus demonstrated higher statistically meaningful scores than the healthy group. Comparison between chronic tinnitus group and control group scores showed that patient group has a high rate of statistically significant results than controls; ASI-3, STAI-2, SCL-90-R GSI, SCL-90-R Somatization, SCL-90-R Depression, SCL-90-R Anxiety (z=−8.00, P<0.01), SCL-90-R Phobic Anxiety.ConclusionHigher scores for anxiety sensitivity and other psychiatric symptoms in patients with chronic tinnitus reflects the prevalence of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, somatoform disorder, and chronic tinnitus. The finding of more psychiatric comorbidity in patients with chronic tinnitus indicates that planning and follow-up in both otolaryngology and psychiatry is necessary to improve the overall results of treatment.

Background: Breast cancer is a malignancy of breast tissue that starts from the lobules or epithelial glands of the breast, where cancer cells grow out of control. Quality of life is a functional representation of physical, psychological, and social responses. Breast cancer affects a person's quality of life which is influenced by various factors, so it is necessary to conduct further research on the quality of life of post-mastectomy breast cancer patients at Sanglah Hospital to determine the quality of life of post-mastectomy breast cancer patients at Sanglah Hospital. Methods: This research is a cross sectional descriptive analytic study with primary and secondary data collection. The sample collection technique is total sampling with inclusion and exclusion criteria considerations, in order to obtain 92 respondents who then answered the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire which was distributed for 3 months (July-September). The variables measured included quality of life, age, KPS, education level, occupation, stage, therapy, economic condition, and physical activity of breast cancer patients. Results: This study was analyzed by univariate, bivariate, and multivariate. From 92 respondents, the quality of life of breast cancer patients was found to be functional in good condition, symptoms and complaints were in poor condition, and overall quality of life and health were in good condition. In the bivariate analysis, therapy, occupation, physical activity, and KPS affect quality of life. In multivariate analysis, KPS affects the condition of symptoms and complaints, and physical activity affects the condition of quality of life and overall health. Conclusion: The quality of life of post-mastectomy breast cancer patients at Sanglah Hospital is generally in good condition, but there are several factors that affect the quality of life of post-mastectomy breast cancer patients at Sanglah Hospital.&#x0D; Keywords : Breast cancer, quality of life, questionnaire EORTC QLQ-C30

White matter volume not associated with hallucinations in clinical high risk and first-episode psychosis: A voxel-based morphometry study.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancerrelated death among women worldwide. About 1.15 million patients are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer annually, and approximately 40 million women die annually due to breast cancer [1,2] Chemotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer often leads to increased symptoms of fatigue and depression, effects that negatively affect quality of life and often last long beyond the completion of therapy [3]. Physical activity levels are reduced significantly for many women after a diagnosis of breast cancer and remain low after treatment is completed. [4] The implementation of a tailored Cardiac Rehabilitation program may provide effective strategy to reduce decline in physical activity and improve Quality of life in Breast Cancer Patients during treatment with Anthracycline- containing regimens Objective To investigate the effect of tailored Cardiac Rehabilitation Program on quality of life (using FACT-B questionnaire) and 6-minute walk test in breast cancer patients after treatment with Anthracyclines. Patients and Methods In this 2-arm parallel prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial, sixty breast cancer patients diagnosed with Breast Cancer and scheduled for Anthracyclines cycles were recruited at Ain Shams University hospitals and divided into two groups Study group (n = 30); participated in modified CR program (Home based CR + Hospital based CR) and Control group (n = 30) did not participate in CR program but still received the usual cancer care. Cardiac rehabilitation program consisted of education, diet control, drug adherence, 9 exercise sessions in between chemotherapy cycles (Hospital based CR) and walking for 30 mins at home (Home based CR), Behavior and psychosocial management, sexual activity, education, smoking cessation. Functional capacity was assessed after study period by sixminute walk test (6MWT). All patients were personally interviewed for assessment of quality of life after study period using (FACT-B) questionnaire. Results Sixty female breast cancer survivors were enrolled. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding age, baseline BMI, medical history, chemotherapy protocol, and. When comparing two groups, the study group showed significant increase in 6 MWD (p = 0.037), percentage of expected of 6MWT (p = 0.01) QOL score (p = 0.005), along with significant decrease in Borg Fatigue post 6 MWT (p = 0.003), Borg Dyspnea post 6 MWT (p = 0.001). Among the Study Group, There was significant increase in METS (p &amp;lt; 0.001), ET (p &amp;lt; 0.001), Maximal HR (p &amp;lt; 0.001), HRR (p &amp;lt; 0.001) along with significant decrease in Basal HR (p &amp;lt; 0.001) Conclusion The results of this study demonstrated that Modified Cardiac Rehabilitation program implemented during treatment with Anthracyclines improves functional capacity and Quality of life in Breast Cancer patients Recommendations We recommend that multicomponent supervised cardiac rehabilitation program should be incorporated within the usual care of breast cancer patients once diagnosed with Breast Cancer and scheduled for treatment with Anthracyclines-containing regimens Abbreviations 6MWD: 6-minute walk distance; 6MWT: 6-minute walk test; BBs: Beta blockers; BC: Breast cancer; BCS: Breast-cancer subscale; BMI: Body-mass index; COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CR: Cardiac rehabilitation; CVD: Cardiovascular disease; DBP: Diastolic blood pressure; DM: Diabetes mellitus; ECG: Electrocardiography; ET: Exercise time; EWB: Emotional well being; FPG: Fasting plasma glucose; FWB: Functional well being; Hb: Hemoglobin; HBA1C: Hemoglobin A1C; HR: Heart rate; HRmax: Maximum heart rate; HRR: Heart rate reserve; HTN: Hypertension; METs: Metabolic equivalents; NYHA: New York heart association; PWB: Physical well being; QoL: Quality of life; SBP: Systolic blood pressure; CRF: Cardiorespiratory fitness; HRrest: Resting Heart rate

A limited number of studies have associated adjuvant chemotherapy with structural brain changes. These studies had small sample sizes and were conducted shortly after cessation of chemotherapy. Results of these studies indicate local gray matter volume decrease and an increase in white matter lesions. Up till now, it is unclear if non-CNS chemotherapy is associated with long-term structural brain changes. We compared focal and total brain volume (TBV) of a large set of non-CNS directed chemotherapy-exposed breast cancer survivors, on average 21 years post-treatment, to that of a population-based sample of women without a history of cancer. Structural MRI (1.5T) was performed in 184 chemotherapy-exposed breast cancer patients, mean age 64.0 (SD = 6.5) years, who had been diagnosed with cancer on average 21.1 (SD = 4.4) years before, and 368 age-matched cancer-free reference subjects from a population-based cohort study. Outcome measures were: TBV and total gray and white matter volume, and hippocampal volume. In addition, voxel based morphometry was performed to analyze differences in focal gray matter. The chemotherapy-exposed breast cancer survivors had significantly smaller TBV (-3.5 ml, P = 0.019) and gray matter volume (-2.9 ml, P = 0.003) than the reference subjects. No significant differences were observed in white matter volume, hippocampal volume, or local gray matter volume. This study shows that adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer is associated with long-term reductions in TBV and overall gray matter volume in the absence of focal reductions. The observed smaller gray matter volume in chemotherapy-exposed survivors was comparable to the effect of almost 4 years of age on gray matter volume reduction. These volume differences might be associated with the slightly worse cognitive performance that we observed previously in this group of breast cancer survivors.