The association between inflammation and kynurenine pathway metabolites in electroconvulsive therapy for schizophrenia: Implications for clinical efficacy

Hepatopancreatic metabolic disorders and their implications in the development of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia

Dementia has been faced with significant public health challenges and economic burdens that urges the need to develop safe and effective interventions. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focused on the relationship between dementia and liver and pancreatic metabolic disorders that result in diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Previous reports have shown that there is a plausible correlation between pathologies caused by hepatopancreatic dysfunctions and dementia. Glucose, insulin and IGF-1 metabolized in the liver and pancreas probably have an important influence on the pathophysiology of the most common dementias: Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. This current review highlights recent studies aimed at identifying convergent mechanisms, such as insulin resistance and other diseases, linked to altered hepatic and pancreatic metabolism, which are capable of causing brain changes that ultimately lead to dementia.

The role of immune inflammation in electroconvulsive therapy for schizophrenia: Treatment mechanism, and relationship with clinical efficacy: Immune-inflammation in ECT for schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a devastating psychiatric disorder that has detrimental effects on a significant portion of the global population. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as a safe and effective physical therapy for schizophrenia, has demonstrated the ability to rapidly improve both positive and negative symptoms. Despite being used to treat schizophrenia for over 80 years, the therapeutic mechanisms of ECT are still in the early stages of exploration. Evidence has suggested that immune inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia by interacting with neurotransmitters, neurodevelopment, and neurodegeneration. Given the importance of ECT as a fast-acting physical therapy for schizophrenia, gaining a deeper understanding of the role of immune inflammation may lead to developing innovative therapeutic approaches. This review summarized existing research that examined changes in peripheral inflammation following ECT in schizophrenia patients, and the effects of electroconvulsive stimulation (ECS) on neuroinflammation in animal studies.