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Stroke is an acute cerebrovascular disease characterized by a high incidence, disability rate, recurrence rate, and mortality rate. Depression, as one of the main types of mood disorders, can manifest as symptoms such as a loss of interest in daily activities, reduced energy, diminished self-esteem, insomnia, and decreased appetite. There exists a significant relationship between these two conditions in terms of their pathogenesis. To delve deeper into the factors associated with the occurrence of both diseases, particularly examining the influence of depression on stroke risk, the authors conducted a large-scale investigation and data collection in the population of Shanghai, obtained 5599 valid data points, including information on hypertension, abnormal blood lipid levels, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, body mass index (BMI), a history of stroke, family history of stroke, previous transient ischemic attacks, smoking history, and exercise habits. Ultimately, the authors employed the decision tree C4.5 algorithm to construct a risk analysis model for both stroke and depression, analyzing the risk factors contributing to their occurrence and inferring the correlation between depression and stroke. The results revealed a close association between depression and a history of stroke, BMI, gender, and physical activity. Additionally, in the nonelderly population, psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and stress were found to be closely linked to stroke onset. In many instances, regular exercise may mitigate the adverse effects of depression on stroke risk.

Post-surgical pain is commonly experienced by patients, and traditional pain medication has limitations and side effects. Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated technology that simulates realistic environments, which distracts the patient’s attention and emotions, reduces pain, and improves rehabilitation by creating an immersive experience. The increasing affordability and quality of portable VR headsets, as well as the increasing utility of pain management, bode well for the exciting future of using VR for analgesia. VR was found to be effective as a complementary adjunct or alternative nonpharmacological analgesic to a range of acute and chronic pain treatments. The application of VR to post-surgical pain management can significantly reduce patients’ dependence on medications, as well as decrease the intensity and duration of pain. In this paper, a thorough literature review was conducted to systematically evaluate the use of VR in post-surgical pain management.

Si-Shen decoction is a mild medicinal dietary material composed of lotus seeds, gorgon, poria and yam. In vitro studies have proved the biological activity of four individual medicinal materials, but the effects of the combination prescription have yet to be evaluated in vivo in the past. This study prepared the Si-Shen extracts (SSE) by heating reflux with 50% alcohol. The prepared extracts contained functional components, including $8.30\pm 0.01$mg of QE/g of flavonoids and $2.32\pm 0.58$mg of GAE/g of polyphenols. The antioxidant activity of SSE was verified by the DPPH and FRAP assays. Moreover, the prepared SSE is not cytotoxic below the concentration of 2mg/mL according to the ISO10993-5 test method. Feeding the SSE for 28 days is sufficient to prevent lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced spatial memory impairment and anxiety symptoms, and SSE improves physical fitness. Further experiments demonstrated that SSE elevated the level of acetylcholine in the brain and serum superoxide dismutase activity. This research demonstrated the apparent efficacy and safety of the SSE, which will be further developed into innovative health products related to disease prevention.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for screening of depressive disorders and anxiety disorders in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Hong Kong.

Methods: Consecutive RA patients in the outpatient clinic of Pok Oi Hospital were invited to complete the validated Chinese-Cantonese version of the HADS questionnaire before clinical assessment by a psychiatrist for depressive disorders and anxiety disorders using the Chinese-bilingual Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders, patient research version. Psychometric properties of the HADS were analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results: For the HADS full scale, sensitivity and specificity at the optimal cut-off score of 16 for any psychiatric disorders were 83.0% and 81.0%, respectively (area under ROC curve [AUC] 0.91). For the depression subscale (HADS-D), sensitivity and specificity at the optimal cut-off score of 10 for any depressive disorders were 89.7% and 84.8%, respectively (AUC 0.93). For the anxiety subscale (HADS-A), sensitivity and specificity at the optimal cut-off score of 8 for any anxiety disorders were 88.5% and 74.1%, respectively (AUC 0.87). The HADS-D showed better screening properties for any depressive disorders than major depressive disorder. The HADS-A showed better screening properties for generalized anxiety disorder than any anxiety disorders.

Conclusion: The HADS had good performance to screen for any psychiatric disorders and the HADS-D had good performance to screen for any depressive disorders. On the other hand, the HADS-A performed better for generalized anxiety disorder than for any anxiety disorders.