The Institute For Neurosciences of Montpellier

A low-cost, prenatal intervention benefits mothers' mental health up to eight years later, a new study finds. A low-cost, prenatal intervention benefits mothers' mental health up to eight years later, a new UC San Francisco study finds. In the study, one of the first to look at outcomes so far into the future, pregnant women who participated in a group wellness class that met weekly for eight weeks were half as likely to be depressed eight years later compared to women who received standard care, according to the study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Previous research on the same group of women found the intervention also cut their short-term risk of depression and diabetes, and supported healthier stress responses in their children. "Given the economic and social burden of maternal depression and its potential impact on offspring, our findings suggest a meaningful benefit of a modest investment during pregnancy that supports well-being across two generations," said Danielle Roubinov, PhD, UCSF assistant professor of psychiatry and first author of the study. The eight-week class intervention, led by Elissa Epel, PhD, UCSF professor of psychiatry and her team, involved groups of eight to 10 pregnant women who met for two hours a week to practice mindfulness-based stress reduction exercises, focusing especially on mindful eating, breathing and movement. They were led through group lessons and activities by a master's degree-level health professional. The women also received two phone sessions and a postpartum "booster" group session with their infants. BIPOC Study Participants Were Priority Historically, most studies on prenatal depression have comprised primarily white women -- but not this one, noted Nicki Bush, PhD, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and senior author on the study. "Our participants were lower-income, racially and ethnically diverse women who are systemically exposed to factors that put them at risk for depression, such as racism and economic hardship," Bush said. "Also, the final years of the study were during the COVID-19 pandemic, when depression rates were higher for everyone, and the burden placed on communities of color was even greater. Even so, the treatment effects held up." In the study, 162 women were assigned to either the intervention group or standard care group. The women's depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) before the wellness intervention classes, after the wellness classes, and 1, 2, 3-4, 5, 6 and 8 years later. Though both groups of women had equal symptoms of depression before the class, 12 percent of the women who were part of the wellness class reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms at the eight-year mark compared to 25 percent of the women who received standard care, which was a consistent pattern throughout the years. "Mindfulness practice is known to help alleviate stress in many situations and can meaningfully affect coping and health, and it seems here that it was particularly powerful during pregnancy, with enduring effects," Bush said. "Our sense is that the community connections and social support involved with the (wellness class) group were therapeutic as well." Stress Management, Nutrition and Exercise During Pregnancy The researchers are currently collecting additional data to better understand how the intervention had such a long-term effect. Potential mechanisms include long-term changes in coping and stress reactivity, nutrition, and exercise. Up to 27 percent of pregnant women suffer prenatal depression, which is predictive of postnatal depression. Maternal depression is also associated with social, emotional and cognitive deficits in offspring. "This dramatic demonstration of both short-term reduction of depressive symptoms and long-term prevention of more severe maternal depression, even during the pandemic, is remarkable, even to us researchers," Epel said. "It's likely that the effects of increased stress resilience in these women is having pervasive effects on their own health and their children. We would never have known about the durability of these changes if Dr. Bush and her team had not followed them for eight years. We already know pregnancy is a critical period and the lesson here is that we need to heavily invest in pregnancy wellness interventions." The researchers hope the low cost and relatively short time commitment of the intervention class will make it easy to scale up to larger groups of pregnant women -- especially women of color and those with lower incomes. "It's critical to have interventions that meet the needs of lower-income, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, who are especially likely to experience the stress of social inequities," said Roubinov. "We're excited to see how these results can be scaled to reach more women, and a more diverse pool of women."

HOPEWELL, N.J., April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Health's Center for Neuro-Oncology, part of Capital Institute for Neurosciences and the Capital Health Cancer Center, continues to demonstrate nationally the program's leadership and commitment to clinical excellence. Over the last month, the center's neurosurgical director, Navid Redjal, MD, FAANS, led publication of guidelines for the treatment of brain tumors, in addition to announcing the participation of Capital Health in two new immunotherapy trials for glioblastoma patients. "Our commitment to our patients is to provide exceptional care with treatment plans specifically developed to meet each individual patient's needs," said Dr. Navid Redjal, director, Neurosurgical Oncology. "To offer this, we have to stay at the forefront of new options, and provide leadership in the broader medical community on what we offer patients with brain tumors. This allows us to consider what will best meet the needs of our patients, and be involved in taking care to the next level." Dr. Redjal, who runs the program's multi-disciplinary Brain Tumor Clinic, as well as the program's weekly brain tumor board where patient's care plans are all reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team of experts, was lead author on a recently published paper discussing updated evidence-based guidelines for treating brain tumors in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology. The new paper can be found here: "Guidelines in the Management of CNS Tumors" The paper, which includes co-authors from Massachusetts General Hospital, Case Western, Mount Sinai, and Emory, was part of his work with the Joint Section on Tumors of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). Capital Health also recently added two new immunotherapy trials, being run by the National Cancer Institute to its clinical trial research program. Both trials involve immunotherapy drugs ipilimumab and nivulomab in treating glioblastoma. Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the immune system to help fight diseases, such as cancer. New approaches using immunotherapy are being tested to see how it works as part of different treatment plans. Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive cancer that is very difficult to treat. "Immunotherapy has shown itself to be effective in treating many cancers. Glioblastoma, however has not responded to traditional immunotherapy approaches because it is what is referred to as a 'cold' tumor. Unlike 'hot' tumors, cold tumors are not recognized by, and do not provoke a response by, the immune system," said Dr. Neel Gandhi, Medical Director, Hematologic and Oncologic Diseases, and a principal co-investigator of one of the immunotherapy trials. "In a cancer like glioblastoma, new research is focusing on turning this 'cold' tumor 'hot,' to then stimulate the immune system to respond and attack the tumor. This can be tested by combining immunotherapy with surgery and radiation therapy. The hope is that future immunotherapy protocols will be successful in treating glioblastoma using this approach." The Center for Neuro-Oncology participates in, and develops, numerous research studies and clinical trials. The goal is to help provide greater understanding, develop new methods to detect and diagnose those diseases, and focus on innovative treatments that are not broadly available to patients. Clinical trials offer patients some of the very latest in care while giving physicians and researchers the opportunity to study the safety and effectiveness of new treatments. Participation is voluntary. Our experienced neuro-oncology team, carefully review study criteria, potential benefits, risks, and other considerations with eligible patients for enrollment into a clinical study. Once enrolled, our clinical research staff carefully monitors patients throughout the research trial and is available to answer questions. Over the last decade, Capital Health and its Institute for Neurosciences have been trusted providers of advanced neuroscience care for patients in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. Some of the most complicated patients we treat are those who are diagnosed with brain tumors. For those patients, access to advanced care must be coupled with access to clinical trials and supportive services. Learn more about our Center for Neuro-Oncology at