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Neuronal Hyperexcitability: The Elusive But Modifiable Instigator of Disease
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2022
Pages:
1-7
Received:
23 December 2021
Accepted:
10 January 2022
Published:
20 January 2022
Abstract: Despite enormous strides in medical diagnostics and the ability to analyze and track disease processes, the underlying cause of most psychiatric and medical disorders remains unclear. Consequently, the treatment of these disorders continues to be more palliative than preventive. However, an emerging hypothesis contends that severe and persistent stress is at the root of most psychiatric and general medical conditions. Although this idea is not new, what is new is the identification of a powerful but elusive endogenous driver of the stress. According to the Multi-Circuit Neuronal Hyperexcitability (MCNH) hypothesis, ordinary daily stressors are abnormally amplified by an inherent hyperexcitability of the neurological system. This pathophysiological trait, which appears to be inherited in an autosomal dominant distribution and expressed through the central and peripheral nervous systems, causes shockwaves to be repeatedly sent through the body, keeping it in fight-or-flight mode much or all of the time. The strain that this commonly-occurring trait places on various organs and systems of the body can cause repeated bouts of mental illness and a gradual progression of physical illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and dementia. Although the etiology of most illnesses is thought to be multifactorial, the genealogical distribution in which they occur and the relationship that they have to one another strongly suggests that among the various psychological, biological, and environmental factors that contribute to their development, the trait of neuronal hyperexcitability is the most important. This observation has enormous implications because neuronal hyperexcitability is a highly modifiable risk factor. Any psychological, behavioral, dietary, or medical intervention that quiets the nervous system can potentially prevent or delay the development of the various illnesses that are thought to be fueled by the neuronal hyperexcitability trait. In addition, there is emerging evidence that the trait can be detected through resting vital-sign measurements. The ease of this objective measurement and the power that it has to incentivize affected persons to take control of their health underscores the importance of recognizing the connection between neuronal hyperexcitability and the pathogenesis of disease.
Abstract: Despite enormous strides in medical diagnostics and the ability to analyze and track disease processes, the underlying cause of most psychiatric and medical disorders remains unclear. Consequently, the treatment of these disorders continues to be more palliative than preventive. However, an emerging hypothesis contends that severe and persistent st...
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Appraisal of Therapeutic Impact of One Round of Mass Praziquantel Administration (MPA) on Urinogenital Schistosomiasis in Benue State, Nigeria
Okete James Agada,
Oku Enewan Esien,
Asor Joseph Ele,
Eme Effiong Etta
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2022
Pages:
8-14
Received:
30 June 2021
Accepted:
19 July 2021
Published:
24 January 2022
Abstract: Preventive chemotherapy through mass administration of praziquantel is the current global schistosomiasis control strategy recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). We aimed to assess therapeutic impact of one round of mass praziquantel treatment on prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma haematobium infection. Longitudinal studies were carried out between March and November, 2018 in Katsina-Ala, Benue State, Nigeria following one round of mass praziquantel administration by the NTDs unit of CDC, Benue State in December, 2017. A total of 3,810 pupils, aged 5-19 years old were recruitedat baseline. Prevalence and intensity were determined using standard laboratory procedures for three successive phases (phase 1- three months; phase 2- six months and phase 3- nine months post treatment periods). Overall treatment coverage was 64.86%. Prevalence of infection was recorded in all the 3 phases, with the first phase having the highest prevalence (12.30%) followed by the third phase (9.12%) and the second phase (7.60%), the difference been significant (P < 0.05). The highest intensity of infection (16 ova/ 10 ml urine) was observed in the first phase, followed by the third phase (15.10 ova/10 ml urine) and the second phase (11 ova/ 10 ml urine). More males were infected than females. Prevalence and intensity were higher in untreated pupils than treated pupils in all the survey phases. The studies therefore, call for repeated mass treatment and integrated control measures to be adopted for total elimination of schistosomiasis.
Abstract: Preventive chemotherapy through mass administration of praziquantel is the current global schistosomiasis control strategy recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). We aimed to assess therapeutic impact of one round of mass praziquantel treatment on prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma haematobium infection. Longitudinal studies were c...
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Prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum Submicroscopic Infection and Pregnancy Outcomes in Congolese Women at Delivery
Jean Erick Massamba,
Jean Claude Djontu,
Christevy Jeannhey Vouvoungui,
Nerly Chirere Gampio Gueye,
Charles Kobawila,
Francine Ntoumi
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2022
Pages:
15-22
Received:
22 November 2021
Accepted:
20 December 2021
Published:
28 January 2022
Abstract: Suphodoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) acts by inhibiting P. falciparum replication, therefore, long term use of SP in malarial endemic sittings as intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) during pregnancy might lead to increased risk of submicroscopic parasitaemia. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of submicroscopic P. falciparum infection in women at delivery from southern Brazzaville, where IPT-SP has been implemented since 2004, and investigate the relationship between the submicroscopic parasitaemia and pregnancy outcomes. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2014 to April 2015 with 281 women randomly recruited at delivery at a Health Centre in southern Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Matched peripheral, placental, and cord blood collected from each women with malaria negative thick smears, were used for the diagnostic of P.falciparum submicroscopic infection by nested-polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) targeting the multi-copy 18 S ribosomal ARN gene. The prevalence of P.falciparum submicroscopic infection was 31.7%, 36.37%, and 12.9%, when using the peripheral, placental, and cord blood respectively. The submicroscopic P. falciparum was slightly associated with increased risk of maternal anaemia (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.33, 95% CI 0.82-2.17). No significant association was found between the submicroscopic parasitaemia and low birth weight, or preterm delivery. The data suggest that the prevalence of submicroscopic P. falciparum infection is high in women at delivery in Brazzaville; and might increase the risk for maternal anaemia. The infection had no impact on the prevalence of low birth weight and preterm delivery in this study sitting.
Abstract: Suphodoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) acts by inhibiting P. falciparum replication, therefore, long term use of SP in malarial endemic sittings as intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) during pregnancy might lead to increased risk of submicroscopic parasitaemia. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of submicroscopic P. falciparum infectio...
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New Hypothesis Unifies Previous Theories of Psychopathology and Identifies Core Biological Abnormality in Psychiatric Disorders
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2022
Pages:
23-37
Received:
4 January 2022
Accepted:
20 January 2022
Published:
28 January 2022
Abstract: Despite millennia of philosophical debate and the enormous strides that have been made in neuroscience over the last century, the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders remains unclear. Although the monoamine hypothesis has, for more than fifty years, provided a strong basis of support for the use of antidepressants in the treatment of depression, the overall success rate with antidepressants has been disappointingly low. Coincidingly, the monoamine hypothesis has come under increasing scrutiny for failing to explain all of the phenomena that characterize mood disorders. Consequently, mental health researchers, in an effort to find new molecular targets for treatment, have been searching for a more comprehensive explanation of the means by which psychiatric symptoms develop. Recently, several new models of depression have been proposed, including the immune, the endocrine, the glutamatergic, the GABAergic, the mitochondrial, and the neuroplastic; but none of them integrate the workings of the mind with the workings of the brain, and none of them explain how abnormalities in brain function actually translate into abnormalities in thought and emotion. However, an emerging hypothesis—one that reconceptualizes the anatomy of the cognitive-emotional system and unifies previous psychological and biological theories of psychopathology—posits that psychiatric symptoms are induced by a vicious cycle of mutual overstimulation between the mind and the brain. According to the Multi-Circuit Neuronal Hyperexcitability Hypothesis of Psychiatric Disorders, the mind, when under stress, overstimulates the associated neurons and circuits. The associated neurons and circuits, in turn, overstimulate the mind, particularly if the neurological system is inherently hyperexcitable. The result is an abnormal increase in the intensity and the duration of the associated thoughts and emotions, a change that distinguishes functionally abnormal thoughts and emotions from normal ones. A more detailed understanding of the mechanism by which psychiatric symptoms develop and perpetuate has important implications for treatment, as it would allow psychotherapists to better visualize what is happening in the cognitive-emotional system; it would allow psychiatrists to better visualize the target for medical interventions; and, by reducing the stigma of mental illness, it would allow patients to be more willing to seek and follow through with mental health care.
Abstract: Despite millennia of philosophical debate and the enormous strides that have been made in neuroscience over the last century, the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders remains unclear. Although the monoamine hypothesis has, for more than fifty years, provided a strong basis of support for the use of antidepressants in the treatment of depression...
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New Hypothesis on the Pathophysiology of Psychiatric Disorders Illuminates Shared Mechanism of Past and Emergent Treatment Strategies
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2022
Pages:
38-48
Received:
31 January 2022
Accepted:
18 February 2022
Published:
28 February 2022
Abstract: Although psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy continue to be first-line treatments for a wide range of mental and emotional disorders, a high percentage of patients are ultimately considered to be treatment-resistant. For more than half a century, electroconvulsive therapy had been the gold-standard for such patients. However, in recent years a variety of alternative treatment modalities have been developed for these patients, including deep brain stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, stellate ganglion block, and sub-anesthetic doses of the dissociative drug ketamine. Although these alternative treatments have offered new hope for many patients, there is a great deal of individual variability in their degree of effectiveness, and their mechanisms of action, like standard treatments, remain unclear. However, an emerging hypothesis contends that psychiatric symptoms are driven by pathological hyperactivity in symptom-related circuits in the brain. According to the Multi-Circuit Neuronal Hyperexcitability (MCNH) Hypothesis of Psychiatric Disorders, persistent firing in anxiety circuits causes persistent feelings of anxiety; persistent firing in depressive circuits causes persistent feelings of depression; persistent firing in cognitive circuits causes ruminative and obsessive thoughts; etc... The aim of this review is twofold: the first is to discuss the new hypothesis in relation to the aforementioned treatment strategies; and the second is to tease out the shared neurophysiological effects of past and present treatment strategies to determine whether they support or refute the new hypothesis. Clarifying the cause of mental illness is of critical importance to curbing the escalating mental health crisis, as new medications and emergent treatment strategies are failing to keep up with the steady rise in domestic disputes, suicides, homicides, and mass shootings that are driving the disintegration of individuals, families, and communities.
Abstract: Although psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy continue to be first-line treatments for a wide range of mental and emotional disorders, a high percentage of patients are ultimately considered to be treatment-resistant. For more than half a century, electroconvulsive therapy had been the gold-standard for such patients. However, in recent years a variet...
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