Health Sciences – Page 29 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Health Sciences

Neural Mechanisms Involved in Contextual Processing in PTSD and Fibromyalgia

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition characterized as impairments in fear modulation (e.g., extinction recall and fear renewal). There is a high comorbidity between PTSD and fibromyalgia (FM), a condition that results in chronic pain and memory issues. By better understanding the differences in fear modulation and hippocampal function, treatments that target the underlying mechanisms may be more effective. This study seeks to understand the differences between fear modulation in participants with PTSD, FM, trauma controls, and healthy controls using skin conductance response (SCR) to measure their reactivity to stimuli. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition characterized as impairments in fear modulation (e.g., extinction recall and fear renewal).

Neural Mechanisms Involved in Contextual Processing in PTSD and Fibromyalgia Read More »

The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health among those with pre-existing depression

Background. It has been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began influencing broad social and economic factors, likely taking a toll on the mental health of many individuals. Those with pre-existing symptoms of hopelessness, anhedonia, and suicidal ideation that are characteristic of depression may be especially vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. Previous research has shown that pre-existing psychopathology is a predictor of negative mental health consequences following traumatic events. However, other work indicates that those with depression can be resilient to stressful life events. Objective. The goal of this project was to review existing literature to determine the potential for the COVID-19 pandemic to influence mental health among those with pre-existing depression. Population of interest. Those with depressive symptoms or a depressive disorder prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health among those with pre-existing depression Read More »

Mental Health During COVID-19: The Effects on Suicidality

Objective: Various studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly worsened community and individual well-being around the world. Of these psychological effects, rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, insomnia, and suicidality have been rapidly increasing, according to mental health screeners. This study seeks to further understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has specifically impacted suicidality in adult psychiatric clients. This abstract presents on the impact of COVID-19 on clients with psychosis at risk for suicide in a community mental health setting. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered in surveys among 6 adult clients in Washtenaw County Community Mental Health, Michigan. Findings: Participants reported that COVID-19 has made it harder to access or receive treatment (67%), their mental health has been worse (83%), and thoughts of suicide have increased (n=3, 50%). Qualitative themes related to the desire for support, transportation challenges, and service delivery changes (e.g., no virtual group therapy). Implications: Findings suggest that access to services has been a challenge due to COVID-19 and suicide prevention is a critical concern. Therefore, plans for suicide care and prevention must be examined and implemented to avoid increased suicide rates as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.

Mental Health During COVID-19: The Effects on Suicidality Read More »

The Effect of Parent Education Level on Children’s Knowledge of COVID-19

Children are often told in school to wash their hands or to cover their sneezes to prevent viral transmission. Although children are more compliant with these suggestions when they understand the causal reasoning behind them, these reminders don’t include an explanation of why that action will prevent them from getting sick. Given children’s role in transmitting illness, it is important to identify effective means of educating them on how to prevent viral transmission, especially in the midst of a pandemic. Previous research on children’s understanding of germs have indicated that their knowledge is influenced by a number of factors. Given the amount of time children have spent at home over this past year, this study examines how parent education level affects the accuracy of children’s biological knowledge of COVID-19 transmission. We interviewed 180 children between the ages of 5 and 12 on their understanding of COVID-19 transmission. In particular, children were asked to identify whether a series of behaviors (e.g., singing together) could transmit COVID-19. Parents of these participants also completed a survey about their household and their experiences with COVID-19. Data analyses are ongoing. However, it is predicted that with higher levels of parental education, children will be more likely to identify behaviors that transmit COVID-19 accurately, as parents with higher levels of education may have greater understanding of the causal mechanisms behind transmission and may communicate them to their children more frequently. The results from this study will provide us insight into the extent of parental influence on children’s biological knowledge, which may, in turn, allow us to identify potential sites of intervention in schools and public health campaigns.

The Effect of Parent Education Level on Children’s Knowledge of COVID-19 Read More »

A Qualitative Analysis of Rheumatic Disease Patients’ Experiences with COVID-19

Background: Little is known about how COVID-19 interacts with rheumatic diseases. Although people with autoimmune diseases are thought to be more susceptible to complications of COVID-19, countless Americans with such illnesses still face uncertainty with how to protect themselves and how to seek medical attention. Objectives: This project consists of two subprojects with slightly different aims. The objective of the FORWARD subproject is to understand the experiences of rheumatic disease patients who displayed symptoms of COVID-19. The UofM subproject serves to uncover the long term impacts of COVID-19 among rheumatic disease patients. Methods: Qualitative data was collected from two cohorts. We conducted interviews with rheumatic disease patients from the FORWARD registry who reported testing positive for COVID-19 or antibodies, or received treatment for COVID-19. We reviewed electronic medical records of rheumatic disease patients at Michigan Medicine who tested positive for COVID-19 or antibodies, or were presumed positive and displayed symptoms for one month or more. Qualitative analysis, particularly through open coding, will serve to identify patterns or themes within patients’ experiences. Preliminary Results: One theme that continuously appears is the uncertainty in seeking help. Many patients were misdiagnosed””despite displaying symptoms””and thus received inadequate treatment. These experiences often had an emotional impact, prompting fear in terms of spreading the virus and suffering complications due to their autoimmune disease. We have analyzed data from 12 FORWARD participants, and will continue with the 45 UofM patients, looking for significant themes to shed light on the experiences of rheumatic diseases patients throughout the pandemic.

A Qualitative Analysis of Rheumatic Disease Patients’ Experiences with COVID-19 Read More »

You’ve Got Mail: Assessing the Usefulness of Mail-Based Suicide Prevention and Wellness Tools within Alaskan Native Communities

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people (10-14, 14-24, and 25-34-year olds) and disproportionately affects Indigenous communities. Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES) is a community-based participatory research project that is committed to developing relationships within Alaskan Native (AN) communities that supports using “upstream” prevention methods of suicide. This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of PC CARES At Home, which involves direct mailings and social media interactions to maintain a connection with community members who started with the first cohort (N=140) that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to establish new connections with school staff who were nominated as influential people in students’ lives. To continue building local capacity to support youth wellness and suicide prevention throughout a remote setting, we will send information and material resources that introduce and reinforce the PC CARES curriculum for AN families at home. This involves PC CARES Care Package mailings every couple of months, along with the option for a consistent exchanging of ideas and support through a private Facebook page. We estimate that 100 people will “opt-in” to receive more packages after receiving their first 1-2 packages. Our research will examine satisfaction, perceived benefits, and feasibility of this approach. Our analysis will assess recipient reactions to each package via feedback surveys, opt-in rates for future deliveries, and phone interview transcript summaries. In addition, we will track social media engagement in response to posts themed on the package contents and information. In conducting this study, we expect to gain a better understanding of the usefulness, appeal, and recipient satisfaction with mail and social media-based suicide prevention and wellness tools. These results will be especially beneficial for understanding socially-distanced suicide prevention and wellness education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will also act as a guide for practitioners to understand mail and social media-based suicide prevention programs.

You’ve Got Mail: Assessing the Usefulness of Mail-Based Suicide Prevention and Wellness Tools within Alaskan Native Communities Read More »

Alaska Native Health Research

Compared to the lower 48 states, Alaska faces unproportional rates of suicide related death and injuries, especially among the Alaskan Native (AN) youth. From the effects of colonialism to social changes, there are numerous issues plaguing Native youth today, putting them at higher risk of suicide compared to their White counterparts. Another aspect of life that puts youth at higher risk is access to firearms, which are commonly found within rural Alaskan homes. Research is being done to learn about safe firearm storage practices within people’s homes in order to increase safety and reduce the risk of firearm related accidents and suicide. The short intervention we are developing uses motivational interviewing to increase adult family members’ safe firearm storage practices in their households. Building on information generated through local household surveys about home firearm storage practices, communications, responsibilities and preferences, we will develop motivational Interviewing guides. This project will identify key motivations and ways of engaging adults in a universal intervention to improve safety practices related to firearm storage. This project integrates previous motivational interviewing research and guides to be used to adapt our brief intervention–the family safety net–to the local priorities, motivations, values and local language use and norms.

Alaska Native Health Research Read More »

Connections Between Cell Signaling, Neutrophils, and Tumor Metastasis

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a type of breast cancer that is defined by the absence of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and the low expression of HER2. The combined absence of these markers, historically, led to TNBCs having poorer prognosis due to the lack of therapeutic targets. Recent research reported by the Egeblad group (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) was able to identify that neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), a pathogen trapping structure comprised of DNA, histones, and various other neutrophil-associated proteins, typically produced in the presence of a pathogenic infection, are prompted to form by metastatic breast cancer cells in the absence of an active infection. By studying the effect of inhibiting neutrophil infiltration, NET production, and of breaking down NETs within a short time through the use of DNase I treatment in vivo; the Egeblad group demonstrated that metastasis of the traditionally-metastatic 4T1 cell line could be prevented/delayed simply by targeting the interaction between tumors and NETs – thereby establishing NETs as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of TNBC. Using the same 4T1 and 4T07 cell lines examined by the Egeblad group, we have recently demonstrated that these two cell lines constitutively produce different levels of CXCR-2 ligands in vitro when grown in control/untreated conditions; but produce similar levels when cultured in the presence of a NET-like biomaterial we have developed that we refer to as DNA-histone mesostructures (DHMs). Because 4T1 and 4T07 cells are derived from the same spontaneously-occurring parental tumor, this difference in constitutive expression poses interesting questions: what mutational differences may be present in 4T1 cells (but not in the 4T07 cells) that contributes to their constitutive production of CXCR-2 ligands (which act as neutrophil chemoattractants and induce the production of NETs by infiltrating neutrophils), and what similarities exist between these cells that may underlie their shared response to DHMs in vitro. To address these questions, we have chosen to take a multi-faceted approach that examines transcriptomic data from 4T1 and 4T07 cells grown in vitro (+/- DHMs) and in vivo (+/- DHMs), conducting comprehensive literature reviews on cancer-related intracellular signaling pathways to see what genes and intracellular factors may shed light upon the source of the intrinsic difference between these cell lines.

Connections Between Cell Signaling, Neutrophils, and Tumor Metastasis Read More »

Connections Between Cell Signaling, Neutrophils, and Tumor Metastasis

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a type of breast cancer that is defined by the absence of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and the low expression of HER2. The combined absence of these markers, historically, led to TNBCs having poorer prognosis due to the lack of therapeutic targets. Recent research reported by the Egeblad group (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) was able to identify that neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), a pathogen trapping structure comprised of DNA, histones, and various other neutrophil-associated proteins, typically produced in the presence of a pathogenic infection, are prompted to form by metastatic breast cancer cells in the absence of an active infection. By studying the effect of inhibiting neutrophil infiltration, NET production, and of breaking down NETs within a short time through the use of DNase I treatment in vivo; the Egeblad group demonstrated that metastasis of the traditionally-metastatic 4T1 cell line could be prevented/delayed simply by targeting the interaction between tumors and NETs – thereby establishing NETs as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of TNBC.

Connections Between Cell Signaling, Neutrophils, and Tumor Metastasis Read More »

lsa logoum logo