Public health interventions at general population level are imperative in order to decrease the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but they may contribute to widespread emotional distress and increased risk for psychiatric illnesses. We report on the results of an investigation into the occurrence and determinants of psychiatric symptoms among the Brazilian general population (N = 1996). We assessed sociodemographic variables and general mental health (DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure), depression (PROMIS depression v.8a), anxiety (PROMIS anxiety v.8a), and post-traumatic stress symptoms (Impact of Event Scale-IES-R scale) using an online web-based survey. Anxiety (81.9%), depression (68%), anger (64.5%), somatic symptoms (62.6%) and sleep problems (55.3%) were the most common psychiatric symptoms. Younger age, female gender, low income, lower level of education, longer period of social distancing, and self-reported history of previous psychiatric illness were strongly associated with higher severity of symptoms. Our results support the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the Brazilian population. The high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms observed in our sample indicates that the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered a public health problem in Brazil. The health systems and individual clinicians must be prepared to offer and implement specific interventions in order to identify and treat psychiatric issues.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) induced by monocrotaline (MCT) is an experimental protocol of right heart failure. We analyzed the role of exercise training on the right ventricle structure and function, pulmonary artery remodeling, and GSK-3β expression. Rats were divided among the following groups: sedentary control (SC), sedentary monocrotaline (SM), trained control (TC), and trained monocrotaline (TM). Rats underwent exercise training for a period of 5 weeks, with 3 weeks post-MCT injection. Rats in the SM and TM groups presented with an increase in right ventricle hypertrophy indexes and lung congestion. The right ventricular end diastolic pressure (RVEDP), right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), and its minimum and maximal pressure derivates were increased in the SM and TM groups. The right ventricle interstitial volume pulmonary artery thickness and p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β were increased in the MCT groups as compared with the control groups. The TM group had a reduction in interstitial volume, p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β ratio, pulmonary artery thickness, RVEDP, and an increase in intramyocardial vessels volume as compared with the SM group. The overall results have shown that the exercise protocol used promoted positive changes in right ventricle and pulmonary artery remodeling. These observations also suggest that structural remodeling may be influenced by signaling proteins, such as GSK-3β.

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders has increased in recent years. Among existing mental disorders, major depressive disorder (MDD) has emerged as one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, affecting individuals throughout their lives. Currently, MDD affects 15% of adults in the Americas. Over the past 50 years, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and brain stimulation have been used to treat MDD. The most common approach is still pharmacotherapy; however, studies show that about 40% of patients are refractory to existing treatments. Although the monoamine hypothesis has been widely accepted as a molecular mechanism to explain the etiology of depression, its relationship with other biochemical phenomena remains only partially understood. This is the case of the link between MDD and inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. Studies have found that depressive patients usually exhibit altered inflammatory markers, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, oxidized mitochondrial DNA, and thus high levels of both central and peripheral reactive oxygen species (ROS). The effect of antidepressants on these events remains unclear. Nevertheless, the effects of ROS on the brain are well known, including lipid peroxidation of neuronal membranes, accumulation of peroxidation products in neurons, protein and DNA damage, reduced antioxidant defenses, apoptosis induction, and neuroinflammation. Antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, tocopherols, and coenzyme Q have shown promise in some depressive patients, but without consensus on their efficacy. Hence, this paper provides a review of MDD and its association with inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress and is aimed at thoroughly discussing the putative links between these events, which may contribute to the design and development of new therapeutic approaches for patients.