Background The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in social isolation, which has a potential negative impact on the educational routines (eg, the suspension of face-to-face appointments) and mental health of medical students. The Mario Pinotti II (MPII) study is a 24-week observational study that conducted scheduled telephone calls every 2 weeks to verify the occurrence of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic diseases on chronic hydroxychloroquine therapy (from March 29, 2020, to September 30, 2020). The effects of voluntarily participating in a research project (ie, one that involves interactions via telephone contact with patients, professors, rheumatologists, and colleagues) on the daily lives and mental health of medical students requires evaluation. Objective As medical students are professionals in training and have a high level of responsibility in terms of handling the emotional and physical aspects of several diseases, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and participation in the MPII study on the educational routines and mental health of medical students. Methods A web-based survey was carried out to perform a cross-sectional comparative assessment of medical students who participated in the MPII study and their colleagues who were not involved in the MPII study. Participants from both groups were matched based on sex, age, and medical school. The web questionnaire was developed by a panel composed of graduate medical students, rheumatologists, medical school professors, and a psychology professor. The questionnaire included details on demographic and life habits data and evaluated participants' impressions of the MPII study and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their educational routines and medical training. In addition, depression, anxiety, and stress were evaluated using the Brazilian version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS)-21, and currently, the DASS-21 scores are grouped as those that indicate a low, moderate, or high risk of mental distress. This project was approved by the Federal University of São Paulo Ethics Committee (CAAE: 34034620.0.0000.5505). Results Data were collected from both medical student groups from July 20 to August 31, 2020. Data extraction was completed in September 2020. The data analysis is ongoing. We expect the results to be published in the first semester of 2021. Conclusions This study will provide insight into the effects of participating in a research project on depression, anxiety, and stress, which will be determined by applying the DASS-21 to a large sample of Brazilian undergraduate medical students. We will also evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students’ educational routines and medical training. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/24617

As patologias neurodegenerativas cursam com depleção progressiva e irreversível dos neurônios existentes em regiões específicas do cérebro. A Doença de Parkinson (DP) é um protótipo, na qual o extravio neuronal do hipocampo e do córtex resulta em déficit de memória e disfunção cognitiva. O seguinte artigo objetivou descrever de modo narrativo as considerações clínicas da doença de Parkinson que justifiquem a ação farmacológica dos fármacos empregados em sua terapêutica. Atualmente, a intervenção farmacológica e a cirúrgica não são capazes de reverter o quadro clínico, mas evitam a progressão da morbimortalidade da DP. O tratamento é individual, baseado na reação específica, o quadro clínico, resposta farmacológica e aspectos socioeconômicos, ocupacionais e emocionais. A finalidade se baseia em perpetuar a autonomia e funcionalidade, o máximo de tempo possível. A escolha dos fármacos mais apropriados para cada paciente e o início do tratamento e o acompanhamento ao longo da evolução são etapas difíceis. Devido a cronicidade, o tratamento deve continuar por toda a vida, considerando que os fármacos e suas doses mudam com o tempo, o surgimento de efeitos adversos.

Background:Mental health was widely affected during the new coronavirus pandemic. In addition, some measures adopted by most countries in order to contain the virus spread, such as isolation and social distancing, leading to the interruption of routine activities, including partial or complete interruption of face-to-face classes may be associated with increased stress, depression and anxiety among undergraduate medical students (1). From March to September, 2020, the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology carried out the Mario Pinotti II Project (MPII), a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study designed to monitor the COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic disease on hydroxychloroquine, using periodic telephone calls performed by undergraduate medical students (2).Objectives:To compare the mental health status of medical students who were participating from the MPII with theirs colleagues not involved in this project.Methods:A web-based survey via google forms platform was developed by a panel composed of undergraduate medical students, rheumatologists, medical school professors, and a psychology professor. It included details on demographic and life habits data and domains regarding depression, anxiety and stress, using the DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety & Stress Scale), Brazilian version. Data collection occurred from July 20th to August 31st, 2020. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS version 20.0. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis were performed to verify associations with the DASS-21, defined as dependent variable. A p-value < 0.05 was deemed as significant. This study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee.Results:A total of 684 undergraduate medical students were included in this study, of whom 228 as MPII volunteers (VG) and 456 as control group (CG). Median age was 23 years (IQ 21-24) and the CG was older than the VG (p<0.03). Most of them were white (68.8%) and women (63%). There were no significant differences regarding comorbidities, ethnicity, smoking status, alcohol intake and physical activity. Older age, male gender, participation of MPII study, absence of a worsening in sleep pattern during the pandemic and a lower number of prior comorbidities were associated with lower DASS21 scores, suggesting a better mental health (Table 1).Conclusion:Several aspects may be involved with mental health, including increased emotional maturity, gender and sleep pattern. Although with marginal independent association, medical students with participation in the MPII study had better mental health than their student colleagues not engaged with this research. Our data pointed out that voluntary participation in a research project which foresees interaction by telephone contact with rheumatic patients, professors, rheumatologists, and colleagues is associated with better mental health.References:[1]Meo SA, Abukhalaf AA, Alomar AA, Sattar K, Klonoff DC. Covid-19 pandemic: Impact of quarantine on medical students’ mental wellbeing and learning behaviors. Pakistan J Med Sci 2020;36(COVID19-S4):S43–8.[2]Gomides A, Ferreira G, Kakehas A, Lacerda M, Marques C, Paiva E et al. Impact of chronic use of antimalarials on SARS-COV-2 infection in patients with immune-mediated rheumatic diseases: protocol design for a multicentric observational cohort in Brazil. JMIR Research Protocols, 2020.PreprintTable 1.Univariate and multivariate analysis of predictors associated to the DASS-21 in undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemicUnivariate analysisMultivariate analysisVariableB95%CIp-ValueB95%CIp-ValueAge-0.32-0.61 to -0.030.03-0.47-0.81 to -0.130.008Female gender4.883.021 to 6.76<0.001---Stable love relationship-2.49-4.35 to -0.640.008-2.5-4.4 to -0.590.01Number of previous comorbidities reported4.693.71 to 5.68<0.0014.823.73 to 5.92<0.001MP-II volunteering-2.81-4.74 to -0.860.005---Worsening in sleep pattern6.414.62 to 8.20<0.0015.013.07 to 6.96<0.001Disclosure of Interests:None declared

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BACKGROUNDThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused restrictive measures, including suspension of face-to-face lectures, clerkship and internship in medical schools. Additionally, medical students were invited to participate on the front-lines against the COVID-19, which may have had negative impacts on students' mental health. The Mario Pinotti II study (MPII) is a multicenter study carried out to evaluate if hydroxychloroquine could have some protective role regarding moderate-severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with rheumatic diseases. Medical students were trained as voluntary evaluators to collect patient data during 24 weeks of follow-up. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of participation in MPII on medical students' mental health.