Visualizing Monocarboxylates and Other Relevant Metabolites in the <em>Ex Vivo Drosophila</em> Larval Brain Using Genetically Encoded Sensors

The high energy requirements of brains due to electrical activity are one of their most distinguishing features. These requirements are met by the ...

Universidad de Chile

Smoking continues to be one of the most important health burdens worldwide.

[Tobacco smoking and mental health].

Depression is common and can have devastating effects on the life of adolescents. Psychological interventions are the first-line for treating or preventing depression among adolescents. This proposal aims to evaluate a school-based, universal psychological intervention to reduce depressive symptoms among student's aged 13-14 attending municipal state secondary schools in Santiago, Chile.

School-based intervention to improve the mental health of low-income, secondary school students in Santiago, Chile (YPSA): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

The presence of emotional problems may trigger drug abuse.

[Association between drug consumption and depression among high school students].

Depression is a disabling condition affecting people of all ages, but generally starting during adolescence. Schools seem to be an excellent setting where preventive interventions may be delivered. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of an indicated school-based intervention to reduce depressive symptoms among at-risk adolescents from low-income families.

Indicated school-based intervention to improve depressive symptoms among at risk Chilean adolescents: a randomized controlled trial.

Substance use among adolescents is a major problem worldwide, producing many health and economic consequences. Even though there are well-known personal, familial, and social factors associated with drug use, less is known about the effect of school-related factors. School membership is a recognized variable affecting academic performance among students; however, its effect on substance use is less understood.

Association between School Membership and Substance Use among Adolescents.

 Evidence from developed countries shows the efficacy of computer-assisted cognitive-behavioral therapy (cCBT) in addressing adolescent depression in home and/or school settings. This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a brief therapist-guided cCBT intervention for adolescent depression in resource-constrained primary health care (PHC) settings.  A multicenter, two-arm parallel-group, individually RCT with a 1:1 allocation ratio assigned 216 depressed adolescents (aged 15-19) attending four PHC centers in a low-income municipality of Santiago, Chile, to receive eight weekly face-to-face therapist-guided cCBT sessions by study therapists (N = 108), or to receive an enhanced usual care (EUC) intervention by trained PHC psychologists, encouraged to adhere to the national clinical guidelines for the management of depression (N = 108). Both groups received pharmacotherapy concordant with these guidelines. The primary outcome was the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) at 4 months post-randomization, to assess depressive symptoms. BDI at 6 months post-randomization was a secondary outcome. Additional measures included patients' compliance, and satisfaction with different treatment components, at 6 months post-randomization.  The adjusted difference in mean BDI score between groups was -3.75 (95% CI -6.23 to -1.28; p = 0.003) at 4 months post-randomization. At 6 months post-randomization, the adjusted difference in mean BDI score between groups was -2.31 (95% CI -4.89 to 0.27; p = 0.078). The effect size was small-to-medium at 4 months post-randomization, d = 0.39 (0.12 to 0.67), and small and non-significant at 6 months post-randomization d = 0.29 (-0.00 to 0.59). Adolescents in the experimental treatment group were significantly more satisfied with treatment, with the PHC centers' facilities, with the psychological care received, and with non-professional staff than those in the comparator treatment group.  A brief therapist-guided cCBT eight-session intervention improves the response of depressed adolescents attending PHC centers at 4 months post-randomization. At 6 months post-randomization, the differences of between groups were not significant. Future research may focus on exploring strategies to sustain and increase response.  www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT01862913 and URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01862913.

Computer-Assisted Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to Treat Adolescents With Depression in Primary Health Care Centers in Santiago, Chile: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The aims of this study were twofold. First, to provide evidence of the validity and reliability of the Adolescent Lifestyle Profile-Revised 2 (ALP-R2) among adolescents in Chile; and second, to examine the relationship between the health-promoting behaviors measured by this scale and several demographic variables.

Adolescent Lifestyle Profile-Revised 2: validity and reliability among adolescents in Chile.

Bullying is a phenomenon that affects children and adolescents worldwide, and it has major consequences for all participants involved in these situations. In Chile, researchers have validated several instruments used to investigate aggression between peers and school violence, but there is a lack of validation of instruments to investigate bullying. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of the validity and reliability of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire-Revised version (OBVQ-R) in the Chilean context. The participants were 2,775 students from schools of low, medium, and high socioeconomic status. OBVQ-R is a self-report questionnaire with 42 items, which has been used in different countries, and has adequate psychometric properties to assess the prevalence of victimization and aggression and various forms of bullying worldwide. Results confirmed the two-factor structure of the OBVQ-R (victimization and perpetration subscales) and good reliability (ω = 0.81 and ω = 0.75, respectively). These dimensions seem to be correlated. Comparison between OBVQ-R with the School Violence between Peers Questionnaire and the Internet Experiences Questionnaire showed some degree of agreement. The Item Response Theory analysis showed that the item about verbal bullying, in both subscales, had the lowest-severity parameters, meaning that these forms of bullying were the most prevalent. The higher-severity parameter in the victimization scale was the cyberbullying item, and the sexual bullying item showed higher severity in the perpetration subscale. The differential item functioning analysis by gender showed a trend in which boys responded with lower-severity parameters than girls. In the victimization scale, the exception was the item about spreading rumors, and in the perpetration subscale, it was the item about racial bullying. We have provided evidence of the validation of OBVQ-R among school-age children and adolescents in Chile. This study is part of a trial registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02898324.

Validation of the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ-R) Among Adolescents in Chile.

Substance use is highly prevalent among Chilean adolescents, and the damage it causes at the neurobiological, psychological, and social levels is known. However, there are no validated screening instruments that also assess risk and protective factors for this population in Chile, which is essential for evaluating future prevention interventions.

Validation of the European Drug Addiction Prevention Trial Questionnaire (EU-Dap) for substance use screening and to assess risk and protective factors among early adolescents in Chile.

The high prevalence of mental disorders in early adolescents, and their consequences, encourage the need for validated instruments to identify and assess psychosocial problems.

Validation of the Spanish version of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) to identify and assess psychosocial problems among early adolescents in Chile.

Adolescent alcohol and cannabis use are common in Chile. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between perceived parenting practices and alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents in a Latin American context.

Jorge Gaete

Biomedical Neuroscience Institute

Universidad de Chile

Visualizing Monocarboxylates and Other Relevant Metabolites in the Ex Vivo Drosophila Larval Brain Using Genetically Encoded Sensors

Jorge Gaete

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Biomedical Neuroscience Institute

Universidad de Chile

Visualizing Monocarboxylates and Other Relevant Metabolites in the Ex Vivo Drosophila Larval Brain Using Genetically Encoded Sensors

Biomedical Neuroscience Institute