To analyze the prevalence of dyslipidemia and related influencing factors in patients with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS).

We recruited 289 pediatric and adolescent EOS patients from October 2021 to June 2024 in the Third People's Hospital of Fuyang. Researchers gathered comprehensive demographic and clinical records. Utilizing the 2023 Chinese Guidelines for Lipid Management, they calculated dyslipidemia prevalence and the incidence of irregularities in total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol. Subsequently, differences in dyslipidemia among different genders, body mass index, and antipsychotic medication groups were analyzed. Finally, independent influencing factors of dyslipidemia in EOS patients were explored.

The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia was 24.9% (72/289), with abnormal rates of TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, and non-HDL-C being 15.9%, 6.6%, 6.6%, 4.2%, and 7.3%, respectively. Male patients, those who were overweight or obese, and those taking two antipsychotic drugs had significantly higher rates of dyslipidemia. Regression analysis showed that male gender (OR = 2.04, P = 0.016), overweight/obesity (OR = 4.55, P < 0.001), body roundness index (OR = 1.53, P = 0.005), and the use of two antipsychotic drugs (OR = 1.90, P = 0.030) were risk factors for dyslipidemia in EOS patients.

The prevalence of dyslipidemia in EOS patients is relatively high. When monitoring lipid levels in clinical practice, particular attention should be paid to male patients, those who are overweight or obese, and those receiving combined drug therapy.

Dry eye significantly impacts visual function, productivity, and quality of life. The personal and economic burden of modern dry eye management is substantial. Yoga, known for its physical and mental health benefits, includes practices such as Jyothi Trataka, a visual concentration exercise that may alleviate dry eye symptoms. Given its minimal resource requirements and ease of implementation, Jyothi Trataka may serve as a cost-effective, accessible adjunct to the management of dry eye.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week Jyothi Trataka practice in alleviating the signs and symptoms of dry eye.

A randomized controlled trial with an open-label, parallel-group design was conducted in adults with mild-to-moderate dry eye. A total of 49 participants of both genders, aged 20 to 40 years, with mild-to-moderate dry eye, were randomly assigned to either a yoga group (n = 25) or a control group (n = 24). Three participants discontinued the intervention, including one from the yoga group and two from the control group, resulting in a final sample of 24 participants in the yoga group and 22 in the control group. All participants provided a medical history and underwent ocular surface and symptom evaluation using standardized protocols at baseline and at the end of the 12-week intervention. The yoga group practiced Jyothi Trataka online for 25 min, 3 days per week, for 12 weeks. The control group received no intervention. Dry eye symptoms were assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) score, and the three dry eye signs analyzed were tear breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer's score, and tear meniscus height (TMH).

Between-group comparisons using the Mann-Whitney U-test revealed significant improvements in the OSDI score (p < 0.01) and TBUT (p < 0.01) in the yoga group. No significant changes were observed in Schirmer's score or TMH.

Yoga, specifically Jyothi Trataka, positively affects dry eye symptoms and may be considered a complementary therapy for their management. Longer-duration studies are warranted to explore additional benefits.

https://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/login.php. Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI No. REF/2021/07/045631).

This article describes a detailed, validated protocol for a Thai traditional medicine (TTM) based care program developed for older adults with moderate depressive symptoms. Developed from TTM principles and contemporary evidence, the 7-week program integrates three modalities sequentially in weekly 60-minute sessions: herbal steam therapy (30 min), followed by combined receptive music therapy (slow-tempo, ∼60 bpm) and lavender aromatherapy oil massage (30 min total). The method underwent rigorous validation, including content validity assessment by experts (CVI=0.89), feasibility testing in a community hospital setting (100% completion rate, no serious adverse events), and reliability testing of outcome measures (Cronbach's α > 0.70 the Thai Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS-30) and WHOQOL-BREF). Preliminary application data from a controlled, quasi-experimental application (n = 32) are presented to demonstrate feasibility and methodological performance. Observed improvements in depressive symptoms and quality of life suggest potential utility; however, these findings are not intended to establish clinical efficacy. This work provides a structured and reproducible 7-week integrative intervention combining herbal steam therapy, aromatherapy massage, and music therapy. Detailed materials, herbal formulations, and procedural steps are specified to support implementation in community healthcare settings. The presented data are intended to demonstrate the feasibility and methodological performance of the protocol rather than to establish clinical efficacy.

An increasing number of studies are currently focusing on "personality neuroscience," a term denoting the research aimed at neuroimaging correlates of inter-individual temperament and character variability. Among other methods, a graph theoretical analysis of the functional connectivity in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data was applied in a study by, reporting novel functional connectivity correlates of personality traits. The current paper presents a conceptual replication of the results of this study and discusses the related challenges, including an extension of the original statistical methods in order to illustrate the effect of the multiple comparison problem. Five personality dimensions were obtained using the revised "Big Five" Personality Inventory, including scores of Extraversion and Neuroticism covered in the original paper. Using a larger sample (84 subjects) with adequate statistical power (ranging from 0.75 to 0.95 across analyses), we failed to replicate any of the nine specific neuroimaging correlates of personality presented by Gao et al. While acknowledging differences in the experimental procedures, we discuss that the lack of replication might be caused by the relatively liberal control of false positives in the original study. Indeed, the original testing scheme leads to an expected count of about 10 false positive observations among all tests; applying this scheme to our data we observed a similar number of positive tests, albeit for different relations. No significant correlations were found in our data when standard family-wise error control was applied. These results illustrate the importance of combining exploration with independent validation, use of large datasets, as well as appropriate control of multiple comparison problem in order to prevent false alarms in research into neural substrates of personality differences. Importantly, our findings do not disprove the existence of a link between personality and the brain's intrinsic functional architecture; but rather suggest that such a link might be even more subtle and elusive than previously reported.

Qigong is an ancient Chinese psychosomatic system with a fascinating holistic approach to health, which exerts remarkable physical and mental benefits. Nevertheless, this method has been scarcely investigated in fibromyalgia, and although a significant amount of research has focused on the immune effects of qigong, its action on immune parameters of individuals with fibromyalgia has never been studied to date. Thus, the aim of the present study was, therefore, to explore the effects of a qigong programme on white blood cells and other immune parameters in individuals with this syndrome.

39 individuals participated in the study, 16 in the experimental group and 23 in the control. Experimental individuals participated in a 4-week qigong programme. Blood samples for the quantification of immune parameters (leukocyte count, number and percentage of specific leukocyte and lymphocyte subsets, as well as concentrations of immunoglobulins and complement) were drawn from all participants before the experiment commenced and after it concluded.

The experimental group displayed a significantly lower value in the number of specific lymphocytes subsets such as CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16, CD45, as well as in the percentage of total lymphocytes. In addition, the experimental group exhibited a greater percentage of CD19 and a higher concentration of C3.

The practice of qigong for a short period of 1 month was associated with significant changes of diverse immunological biomarkers in individuals with fibromyalgia. These changes were characterized by a higher number of numerous lymphocyte subsets, while at the same time a lower concentration of C3 and of the percentage of some lymphocyte subtype in these individuals. While it is tempting to speculate the implications of the broad immunomodulation associated with qigong practice in fibromyalgia syndrome, further research into the immune effects of this Taoist mind-body practice is needed.

Health anxiety can be common for health professions students and was elevated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Differences in clinical exposures between dental and medical students can influence post-pandemic hypochondriasis. This study aimed to compare the levels of hypochondriasis among medical and dental students in the post-COVID-19 era.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among medical (MBBS) and dental (BDS) students at different colleges in Karachi, Pakistan. A questionnaire (S1) was constructed and distributed among students. Hypochondriasis of the participants was evaluated using the Short Health Anxiety Inventory-18 (SHAI-18) scale. Independent t-tests were used to compare the SHAI-18 scores. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

A sample of 350 participants was recruited, with 220 (62.9%) MBBS students and 130 (37.1%) BDS students. About 120 (54.4%) MBBS and 75 (57.4%) BDS students considered themselves to be hypochondriacs in the pre-COVID era. In the post-COVID era, 135 (61.3%) MBBS and 85 (65.3%) BDS students were reportedly hypochondriacs. No differences between SHAI-18 scores were found between medical and dental students (p = 0.16). Anxiety levels increased from pre-clinical to clinical years by dental students (p < 0.001) as compared to medical students, who showed no such increase (p = 0.61).

Both medical and dental students demonstrated measurable levels of health anxiety in the post-COVID-19 era, with no statistically significant difference in overall SHAI-18 scores between the two groups. Dental students showed significantly higher health anxiety during clinical years compared to pre-clinical years, whereas no such difference was observed among medical students. These findings highlight the need for targeted mental health support, particularly during clinical training.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) constitutes a significant global mental health concern. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-line treatment, their effectiveness may be limited by adverse effects including anhedonia, emotional blunting, sleep disturbances, and sexual dysfunction. Trazodone, a serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor, offers a more favorable tolerability profile, particularly in its extended-release (XR) formulation. Previous studies within the trazodone effectiveness in depression (TED) project demonstrated more pronounced improvements with trazodone XR compared to SSRIs in reducing depressive, anxiety, and insomnia symptoms. The present analysis extends these findings by comparing trazodone XR with SSRIs and quantifying the extent and clinical importance of treatment outcomes through effect size estimates.

This single-center, non-randomized, open-label, 12-week naturalistic study-conducted as part of the TED project-included adults aged 18-65 diagnosed with MDD. Symptom severity and outcomes were assessed at baseline and weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12 using validated clinician- and self-rated scales. Cohen's d quantified the magnitude and clinical relevance of differences between trazodone XR and SSRIs.

Effect-size analyses demonstrated consistently greater and earlier improvements with trazodone XR versus SSRIs across all measures. In both self-rated (QIDS-SR) and clinician-rated (QIDS-CR; MADRS) scales assessing depressive symptoms, trazodone XR showed larger effect sizes from week 4, with further increases through week 12. Similar patterns were observed for anhedonia (SHAPS), anxiety (HAM-A) and insomnia (AIS), where trazodone XR produced greater and progressively increasing effect sizes, while SSRIs reached a plateau. These findings indicate a more robust and sustained therapeutic impact of trazodone XR, reflected by consistently higher effect-size magnitudes across domains.

Trazodone XR demonstrated greater and progressively increasing effect sizes compared with SSRIs, indicating a more sustained antidepressant response over 12 weeks. This trajectory, marked by continued symptom reduction without a linear response pattern, suggests a cumulative therapeutic effect potentially attributable to trazodone's multimodal serotonergic mechanism and favorable pharmacokinetics. By concurrently addressing mood, anxiety, and sleep-related domains, trazodone XR appears to facilitate both symptomatic improvement and broader functional stabilization. These findings highlight the need for randomized, controlled investigations to further elucidate its comparative efficacy and real-world relevance.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with self-selected recovery can promote positive emotional responses. This study aimed to verify the acute responses to HIIT with fixed recovery and to select high scorers on the state of affect, enjoyment, and mood in healthy young people.

Nineteen participants took part in the study (19.0±1.0 years, 64.0±9.2 kg, 169.1±8.5, and 22.0±2.0 BMI). They performed 10 x 30 s (95% V_peak) with 1 min recovery (HIIT_RecA - active - 40% V_peak) and self-selected (HIIT_Rec-B). Affect, enjoyment, and mood were assessed before and after HIIT (both conditions).

In both conditions, for time 1 and 2 were positive in positive (p=.170, EF: .102) and negative (p=.0.90, EF: .151) affect, pleasure (p=.010, EF: .315), and mood domains (tension: p<.001, EF: .673; depression: p=.015, EF: .286), anger: p=.033, EF: .230, and mental confusion: p<.001, EF: .451). In contrast, there was a reduction in the vigor domain and an increase in fatigue, with no differences in all emotional variables for condition and time*condition (p>.05).

Thus, selected self-recovery may be a strategy in prescribing HIIT with possibilities of not interfering with the emotional aspects, researched here.

Psychological wellbeing among young adults has declined globally, along with rising levels of depression, creating an educational and societal crisis and highlighting the urgent need for school-based mental health interventions. In response, the Body-Mind Axial Awareness (BMAA) method-an embodied body-mind enhancement program rooted in East Asian self-cultivation traditions-was developed at National Taiwan University to promote students' mental resilience and wellbeing.

This study examined the effects and mechanisms of a 10-week BMAA course on depressive tendencies (measured by the Beck Depression Inventory), interoceptive sensibility [measured by the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA)], and sense of agency (measured by the Sense of Agency Scale) in university students. To test these aims, a pre-post design with an active control group was used (BMAA: n = 50; control: n = 21).

The findings showed that BMAA participants experienced significant reductions in depressive tendencies, improvements across all dimensions of interoceptive sensibility, and decreases in negative sense of agency (SoNA) compared with the control group. Mediation analyses further revealed a serial pathway in which enhancements in the Not-Distracting, Attention Regulation, and Trusting dimension of interoception led to reductions in SoNA, which in turn contributed to decreased depressive tendencies. Additionally, independent mediation pathways involving the Not-Worrying dimension and SoNA alone were also significant.

To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that interoception and the sense of agency play crucial, sequential roles in how embodied practices like 2 BMAA support emotion regulation. BMAA not only offers a feasible method for promoting students' mental health and resilience but also shows promising potential for broader clinical use in the future.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) presents with complex neurodevelopmental challenges, including emotional, behavioral, and social difficulties. Dog-Assisted Therapy (DAT) has shown potential benefits, but optimal duration for maximal efficacy remains unclear.

The present randomised controlled trial aimed to compare the therapeutic impact of a short version (8 weekly sessions) versus a long version (16 sessions) of a manualised DAT protocol on clinical, functional, and family outcomes in children and adolescents with FASD.

Sixty-four participants were randomised to the short or long DAT version, with 55 completing treatment. Primary outcomes included social skills, internalizing and externalizing symptom profiles, quality of life, clinical severity, and parental anxiety and depression.

Both groups showed significant improvements across externalizing symptoms, social skills, FASD severity, and quality of life. However, the long-version DAT group exhibited greater reductions in externalizing symptoms (CBCL Inattention: F(1, 54) = 4.68, p = 0.035, ηp² = 0.083), problem behaviors (SSIS-P: F(1, 54) = 7.80, p = 0.007, ηp² = 0.13), and lower clinician- and parent-rated FASD severity scores (CGI-S Clinician: F(1, 54) = 6.54, p = 0.014, ηp² = 0.112; CGI-S Parent: F(1, 54) = 4.94, p = 0.031, ηp² = 0.087). Enhanced quality of life was also observed (KIDSCREEN-27 Peers and Social Support: F(1, 54) = 4.39, p = 0.041, ηp² = 0.078). Additionally, caregivers in the long-version group reported significant reductions in depressive symptoms (BDI-II: F(1, 54) = 14.03, p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.212). Both versions improved anxiety metrics comparably.

clinicaltrials.gov, NCT06763614.