Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a mood disorder that affects millions worldwide.Up to half of the diagnosed patients are reported to not receive adequate treatment.This study aims to assess the relationship between the gut-brain axis and BD and to discuss and compare the efficacy of varying methods of balancing gut microbiotas in BD.Methods: Using PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar from November 2021 to February 2022, we found 5310 studies on gut microbiota and its relation to BD. Using our inclusion criteria, 5283 studies were excluded. A total of 27 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Also, 12 articles that met our criteria and eligibility criteria reported on 613 BD patients.Results: Most studies analyzed found an overall difference in gut microbiota composition in bipolar patients compared to healthy controls, though the alterations found were not consistent. Differences in Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium, and Ruminococcus abundance in BD compared to controls were found to be the most consistent across a few of the studies, but their effects on the gut-brain axis conflicted. Probiotic supplementation was found to lower patient rehospitalizations and significantly improve depressive symptoms and cognitive impairments among patients with BD. Conclusions:Multiple studies included in this review point toward a possible link between BD and the gut microbiota. Probiotic supplements and other gut-balancing therapies could serve as effective adjunctive methods for the treatment of BD. Notable limitations of the studies included for analysis were small sample sizes and majority observational study designs. Furthermore, the microbiota aberrations found in patients with BD were not consistent across multiple studies. Despite these limitations, our findings demonstrate the need for further research regarding the relationship between aberrant gut microbiota profiles and BD, as well as the effectiveness of gut balancing methods as adjunctive treatments.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Dietary modifications in the form of a vegetarian diet can perhaps be the key to the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases. The aims of this review are to determine the association between a vegetarian diet and CHD, to compare the risk of CHD in different types of vegetarian diets, and to assess variability in the biochemical predictors of CHD in the various vegetarian diets. Our study inferred that adherence to a plantbased diet was inversely related to the incidence of heart failure risk. Our research further supports the idea that a vegetarian diet is advantageous for the secondary prevention of CHD since it alters lipid profiles, lowers body mass index (BMI), and increases plasma antioxidant micronutrient concentrations. Additionally, eating a plant-based diet starting in adolescence is linked to a decreased risk of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) by middle age. An increase in sensitization and education efforts is imperative to ensure that people are appropriately informed about this option to significantly improve their quality of life.

Aims: This study aims to identify the risk factors of eating disorders, evaluate the impact of the pandemic on those with or without pre-existing eating disorders and compare the impact of COVID-19 on the various eating disorders. Methodology: We searched Public/Publisher MEDLINE (PubMed) and Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE) databases from January 2019 to May 2021, 11 observational studies were selected out of 81 initially identified articles. The sample size ranged from 15 to 22,374 participants, with a total of 31,404 participants. Results: Individuals, especially females aged 18-25 years and 30-45 years were shown to be more susceptible to eating disorder risks and symptoms.  Depression and anxiety were shown to be the most prevalent risk factors among all subjects. Exacerbation of symptoms was observed in subjects with the eating disorders except for the anorexia nervosa subgroup which showed minimal changes. Conclusion: This study established the fact that COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the eating habits of people with or without pre-existing eating disorders (ED). This study also highlights the need for efforts to specifically identify evidence-based measures to support patients with ED during and after a pandemic.

Background: Social media use has become widely popularized in modern society and because of that, human interactions have drastically changed. In parallel, depression and anxiety have reached unprecedented levels among the youth, and concerns have emerged on social media use compromising mental health. The objectives of our review are to explore if there is a relation between social media and the development of those two disorders among youth, to highlight the patterns that could lead to them, and to give recommendations for future research. Methods: Based on the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) Criteria, the authors performed a search of all-time articles published in the Medline database using terms such as social media, social media use, problematic social media use, depression, anxiety, suicidality, self-harm, fear of missing out, cyberchondria, cyberbullying, sexting, and online shopping. The initial search yielded 184 924 articles. After review, 77 articles were included for discussion. Results: Social media use is often associated with depression and anxiety. Different patterns are thought to predict poorer mental health outcomes like multitasking, emotional investment, appearance-based activities, passive media use, problematic social media use, cyberbullying, sexting, and disaster awareness. Conclusion: Specific patterns of engagement with social media appear to be associated with poor mental health outcomes in youth. It is important for physicians to address social networks exposure in well-visits and for parents to communicate about it openly. However, more in-depth research needs to be done to determine a relation of causality.

Neuromyelitis Optica, also known as Devic's disease, is a central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune inflammatory disease that primarily affects the optic nerve and spinal cord. The mechanism of the disease is given by the generation of IgG antibodies, whose major target is the aquaporin channel 4 (AQP4), causing an inflammatory and demyelinating process in the aforementioned tissues. In this study, we discussed extensively this disease entity by describing the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, management, and prognosis.