Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with systemic manifestation, in which psychological factors play an important role. The etiology of psoriasis is complex and multifactorial, including genetic background and environmental factors such as emotional or physical stress. Psychological stress may also play a role in exacerbation of psoriasis, by dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, sympathetic–adrenal–medullary axis, peripheral nervous system, and immune system. Skin cells also express various neuropeptides and hormones in response to stress, including the fully functional analog of the HPA axis. The deterioration of psoriatic lesions is accompanied by increased production of inflammatory mediators, which could contribute to the imbalance of neurotransmitters and the development of symptoms of depression and anxiety. Therefore, deregulation of the crosstalk between endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine stress signaling pathways contributes to clinical manifestations of psoriasis, which requires multidisciplinary approaches.

The aim of this study was to assess cognitive functions in 30 non-depressed patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), compared with 30 age-, gender- and education-matched patients with acute depressive episode, and with 30 healthy subjects. Neuropsychological assessment included the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), memory tests as well as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the N-back test. Patients with MCI obtained significantly worse results on all domains of the WCST and the N-back test compared to both depressed and healthy subjects. Depressed patients showed significantly worse performance than controls on most scores. In the MCI group, no association with MMSE was found with any of WCST domains, or with reaction time in the N-back test. Three tests, WCST-P, N-back %CORR and WCST 1st CAT obtained highest ranks (>90) as predictors for differentiating between groups. The results suggest a usefulness of employing WCST and N-back tests for a neuropsychological evaluation of patients with MCI.

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in developed countries. Both PC and treatment for PC have an adverse impact on physical and mental well-being, and are associated with decreased quality of life. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between neuropsychological symptoms and clinical course in PC patients undergoing radical prostatectomy with or without adjunct therapy. Methods: The cohort comprised 100 patients aged 50–77 years who underwent radical, laparoscopic prostatectomy for PC. Twenty-three patients with a more advanced clinical stage also received adjuvant therapy (radiotherapy and hormonotherapy). Clinical evaluation included self-report assessment, physical examination, and biochemical tests (testosterone and prostate-specific antigen). In addition, the presence and intensity of sexual dysfunction, urinary dysfunction, anxiety-depressive symptoms, and cognitive dysfunction were assessed. Results: The group of patients undergoing complex therapy was characterized by a significantly worse result of deferred memory (p=0.04). A significant correlation was found between post-surgery erectile function and scores for the visual working memory test (correct answers; VWMT-C; p=0.006) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression (p=0.045) and anxiety scores (p=0.02). A trend toward significance was also observed for simple reaction time (correct answers; p=0.09). A significant correlation was found between results for the delayed verbal memory test and all physical symptoms (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-total, p=0.02; International Index of Erectile Function-5, p=0.006). Similarly, a significant correlation was found between the VWMT-C and score for sexual dysfunction (p=0.003). Conclusion: Patients undergoing both surgical and adjunct therapy for PC are at risk for psychological burden and cognitive disorders. In the present cohort, physical complications of therapy were associated with depression, anxiety, and delayed memory dysfunction. Furthermore, this study has proven that fewer complications after surgery are associated with better psychological and cognitive functioning. Appropriate neuropsychological and psychiatric care can improve compliance and quality of life among patients after prostatectomy.

Postoperative recovery can be impaired by many conditions, some of which are difficult to diagnose clinically. These include type 2 neurological complications such as hypoactive subtype of postoperative delirium (PD) and early postoperative cognitive dysfunction (ePOCD). Hope for their timely detection may lie with novel biomarkers. Plasma concentrations of microRNA-1-3p, microRNA-21-5p, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neuroserpin (NSP), phosphorylated axonal neurofilament subunit H (pNfH) and visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1) were investigated in 30 patients undergoing elective off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. Blood samples were collected at the start and end of a surgery as well as 24 h postoperatively. Associations between the studied biomarkers’ perioperative expression and type 2 neurological complications were analyzed. PD was associated with postoperative expression of GFAP; ePOCD was associated with postoperative expression of microRNA-21-5p and GFAP as well as intraoperative expression of NSP. The predictive accuracy of these molecules was found acceptable, with all their areas under the curve (AUC) values above 0.7. Multivariable regression indicated that microRNA-21-5p, GFAP and NSP were the only significant predictors of ePOCD. Evaluation of a multi-marker model including these three molecules revealed its outstanding predictive accuracy for ePOCD (AUC = 0.95). The use of microRNA-21-5p, GFAP and NSP for monitoring postoperative recovery warrants further research considering their potential to predict PD and ePOCD.

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common malignancies in men. The population of PC survivors is growing, and understanding the roles of different factors that affect quality of life (QoL) is important. We investigated the effects of affective temperament on the QoL of PC patients. Patients and Methods: All subjects (n=100) underwent medical evaluation [including demographic data, medical history, physical examination, biochemical tests, and assessment of urinary incontinence (ICIQ-UI SF scale) and erectile dysfunction (ED) (IIEF-5 and subjective ED scale)] and psychological evaluation [including assessment of affective temperament using the TEMPS-A scale, depression and anxiety (using HADS), and QoL (EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC-PR25)]. The relationships between individual variables were examined. Results: Erection quality after treatment was associated with better QoL in most parameters. Similar strong relationships were observed between the urinary incontinence scale and QoL. Depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperaments were associated with decreased QoL. On the EORTC-PR25 scale, associations were observed between a depressive temperament and worse sexual function and urinary symptoms, between a cyclothymic temperament and worse urinary symptoms, and between an irritable temperament and worse sexual functioning. Multivariate analysis identified the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms measured by HADS as the most important psychological factors affecting QoL. Conclusion: QoL in PC survivors depends on many factors, including age, interval since diagnosis, tumor stage, treatment, complications, and affective temperament profile. Depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperaments were associated with poorer QoL in selected domains, which was not observed for a hyperthymic temperament. The temperament profile of patients was associated with mood and anxiety level, which were important determinants of a poorer QoL.