Objective: Currently, fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is emerging as an important issue for long-term breast cancer survivors and is associated with lower quality of life and functional impairment. Given that there is a dearth of research regarding the FCR of Chinese breast cancer survivors, this study investigated whether the short form of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory (FCRI) could detect high FCR and explored the level and characteristics of FCR in breast cancer survivors. Methods: Two hundred forty patients who had undergone successful breast cancer surgery in China submitted their survey through a website. The participants’ demographic and medical data, level of FCR, anxiety, depression, and quality of life were assessed. Results: Two hundred seven patients with ages ranging from 19 to 60 years completed the questionnaires. The mean FCR score of the total sample was 18.39. A cutoff score of 12 or higher on the short form of the FCRI was optimal for the detection of high FCR with a sensitivity of 98.6% and a specificity of 35%, and the PPV (positive predictive values) and NPV (negative predictive values) were 44% and 98%, respectively. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was 83%. A total of 159 breast cancer survivors (76.81%) experienced high FCR levels (FCR score > 12), characterized by lower functional and overall health than survivors with a low FCR ( P < 0.01). Conclusions: The short form of the FCRI is capable of detecting high FCR and is therefore able to assist Chinese breast cancer survivors in receiving appropriate care for reducing FCR.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death with the accumulation of lipid peroxidation and dysfunction of antioxidant systems. As the critical regulator, glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) has been demonstrated to be down-regulated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the mechanism of ferroptosis in ALS remains unclear. In this research, bioinformatics analysis revealed a high correlation between ALS, ferroptosis, and Speedy/RINGO cell cycle regulator family member A (SPY1). Lipid peroxidation of ferroptosis in hSOD1G93A cells and mice was generated by TFR1-imported excess free iron, decreased GSH, mitochondrial membrane dysfunction, upregulated ALOX15, and inactivation of GCH1, GPX4. SPY1 is a “cyclin-like” protein that has been proved to enhance the viability of hSOD1G93A cells by inhibiting DNA damage. In our study, the decreased expression of SPY1 in ALS was resulted from unprecedented ubiquitination degradation mediated by MDM2 (a nuclear-localized E3 ubiquitin ligase). Further, SPY1 was identified as a novel ferroptosis suppressor via alleviating lipid peroxidation produced by dysregulated GCH1/BH4 axis (a resistance axis of ferroptosis) and transferrin receptor protein 1 (TFR1)-induced iron. Additionally, neuron-specific overexpression of SPY1 significantly delayed the occurrence and prolonged the survival in ALS transgenic mice through the above two pathways. These results suggest that SPY1 is a novel target for both ferroptosis and ALS.

Working memory is a limited capacity memory system that involves the short-term storage and processing of information. Neuroscientific studies of working memory have mostly focused on the essential roles of neural oscillations during item encoding from single sensory modalities (e.g., visual and auditory). However, the characteristics of neural oscillations during multisensory encoding in working memory are rarely studied. Our study investigated the oscillation characteristics of neural signals in scalp electrodes and mapped functional brain connectivity while participants encoded complex audiovisual objects in a working memory task. Experimental results showed that theta oscillations (4–8 Hz) were prominent and topographically distributed across multiple cortical regions, including prefrontal (e.g., superior frontal gyrus), parietal (e.g., precuneus), temporal (e.g., inferior temporal gyrus), and occipital (e.g., cuneus) cortices. Furthermore, neural connectivity at the theta oscillation frequency was significant in these cortical regions during audiovisual object encoding compared with single modality object encoding. These results suggest that local oscillations and interregional connectivity via theta activity play an important role during audiovisual object encoding and may contribute to the formation of working memory traces from multisensory items.

Memory reconsolidation has been demonstrated to offer a potential target period during which the fear memories underlying fear disorders can be disrupted. Reconsolidation is a labile stage that consolidated memories re-enter after memories are reactivated. Reactivated memories, induced by cues related to traumatic events, are susceptible to strengthening and weakening. Gene transcription regulation and protein synthesis have been suggested to be required for fear memory reconsolidation. Investigating the transcriptional regulation mechanisms underlying reconsolidation may provide a therapeutic method for the treatment of fear disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the therapeutic effect of treating a fear disorder through interfering with reconsolidation is still contradictory. In this review, we summarize several transcription factors that have been linked to fear memory reconsolidation and propose that transcription factors, as well as related signaling pathways can serve as targets for fear memory interventions. Then, we discuss the application of pharmacological and behavioral interventions during reconsolidation that may or not efficiently treat fear disorders.