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Gabriella True

There is HOPE for Healing
There is HOPE for Healing

  My name is Kyra Dugan. I’m 23 now, and five years ago, I would never have been able to guess what was about to happen. Life as I knew...

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The human VGLUT3-pT8I mutation elicits uneven striatal DA signaling, food or drug maladaptive consumption in male mice
Favier M, Martin Garcia E, Icick R, de Almeida C, Jehl J, Desplanque M, Zimmermann J, Henrion A, Mansouri-Guilani N, Mounier C, Ribeiro S, Henderson F, Geoffroy A, Mella S, Poirel O, Bernard V, Fabre V, Li Y, Rosenmund C, Jamain S, Vorspan F, Mourot A, Duriez P, Pinhas L, Maldonado R, Pietrancosta N, Daumas S, El Mestikawy S. The human VGLUT3-pT8I mutation elicits uneven striatal DA signaling, food or drug maladaptive consumption in male mice. Nat Commun. 2024 Jul 7;15(1):5691. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49371-1. PMID: 38971801; PMCID: PMC11227582.
Read article in McGill Newsroom
“Working with mice, the researchers discovered that a deficit in the acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter in an area of the brain called the striatum, which is associated with the reward system, can lead to excessive habit formation and precipitate the compulsive self-starvation seen in people who suffer from anorexia nervosa.”

They investigated whether, “donepezil, a medication which is known to increase the presence of acetylcholine in the brain, could have an effect on these compulsive self-destructive behaviours.

““We found that it fully reversed the anorexia-like behaviour in mice, and we believe that it could potentially offer the first mechanism-based treatment of anorexia nervosa. In fact, we are already seeing its effects on some patients with the disease.”

PANDAS: Twenty-Five Years Later

Cardelle-Pérez, Federico & Greciano, María. (2024). PANDAS: Twenty-Five Years Later. Adolescent Psychiatry. 14. 10.2174/0122106766298492240320044542.

Discussion: A comprehensive approach, including interdisciplinary management and urgent evaluation of potential organic causes, is crucial for effective treatment. Treatment decisions should consider severity, symptoms, and available evidence. Collaboration with neuropediatric or neurological services is needed. ASLO/anti-DNase B and 25-OH-Vitamin D tests are valuable for atypical OCD/Tic presentations, always maintaining a broader organic screening.

Development of Autoimmune Diseases Among Children With Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome
Ma M, Masterson EE, Gao J, Karpel H, Chan A, Pooni R, Sandberg J, Rubesova E, Farhadian B, Willet T, Xie Y, Tran P, Silverman M, Thienemann M, Mellins E, Frankovich J. Development of Autoimmune Diseases Among Children With Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 1;7(7):e2421688. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.21688. PMID: 39078633; PMCID: PMC11289697.

Conclusions and relevance: This study found that patients with PANS show signs of immune activation and vasculopathy during psychiatric symptom flares and have an increased risk of developing arthritis and other autoimmune diseases compared with the general pediatric population. The most common arthritis subtype was enthesitis-related arthritis. These findings suggest that PANS may be part of a multisystem inflammatory condition rather than an isolated psychiatric or neuroinflammatory disorder.

Long Neuro-COVID-19: Current Mechanistic Views and Therapeutic Options

Slama Schwok A, et al. Long Neuro-COVID-19: Current Mechanistic Views and Therapeutic Options. Biomolecules. 2024;14(9):1081. doi:10.3390/biom14091081.

  • Comprehensive review of proposed mechanisms underlying neurological Long COVID.

  • Describes neuroimmune activation, endothelial dysfunction, blood–brain barrier disruption, and microglial priming.

  • Emphasizes that neurological symptoms can persist without detectable viral RNA in the CNS.

  • Supports reframing Long COVID brain symptoms as a disorder of immune and vascular regulation.

Antipsychotic medications associated with increased length of hospital stay in autoimmune encephalitis and multiple sclerosis: A retrospective study

Stephen Sai Folmsbee, Gavin Hui, Ye Yuan, Saurabh Gombar, May Han, Scheherazade Le,
Antipsychotic medications associated with increased length of hospital stay in autoimmune encephalitis and multiple sclerosis: A retrospective study, Journal of Clinical Neuroscience,
Volume 124, 2024, Pages 87-93, ISSN 0967-5868, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2024.04.021.

Two Cases of Montelukast-Associated Psychosis in Children
Jumaili WA, Gburi NA, Chaudhary N, Brown K, Jain S. Two Cases of Montelukast-Associated Psychosis in Children. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2024 May 28;26(3):23cr03694. doi: 10.4088/PCC.23cr03694. PMID: 38815271.
In 2020, the FDA issued a black box warning of severe mental health complications in children associated with montelukast use.1,2 Montelukast-induced dose dependent neuropsychiatric symptoms in children include depression, anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbance, nightmares, agitation, suicidal behavior, auditory/visual hallucinations, and/or full psychosis.1 Stopping montelukast treatment abruptly can have varying effects on underlying neuropsychiatric symptoms and may increase the likelihood of recurrence after restarting montelukast.1
Montelukast treatment has been linked to an increased risk of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS).5 The correlation between montelukast therapy and PANDAS is not fully understood, but many streptococcal infections have occurred after discontinuing montelukast treatment.5