Francesca Cirulli

Istituto Superiore di Sanità | ISS · Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health

The long-term consequences of psychosocial and socioeconomic challenges are hardly distinguishable from those of inappropriate nutrition, suggesting the existence of common physiological pathways funnelling the effects of early adversity. Obesity and mood disorders are highly prevalent and co-morbid in adult subjects. In order to unravel such co-mo...

Maternal obesity plays a key role in the health trajectory of the offspring. Although research on this topic has largely focused on the potential of this condition to increase the risk for child obesity, it is becoming more and more evident that it can also significantly impact cognitive function and mental health. The mechanisms underlying these e...

Adverse stressful experiences in utero can redirect fetal brain development, ultimately leading to increased risk for psychiatric disorders. Obesity during pregnancy can have similar effects as maternal stress, affecting mental health outcomes in the offspring. In order to explain how similar outcomes may originate from different prenatal condition...

Maternal obesity has been recognized as a stressor affecting the developing fetal brain, leading to long-term negative outcomes comparable to those resulting from maternal psychological stress, although the mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that adverse prenatal conditions as diverse as maternal...

People with mental disorder experience an increased risk of physical diseases due to the high rate of physical comorbidities, which leads to an overall reduced life expectancy compared to the general population. There is a great potential for physical activity and sport to overcome, at least partially, health inequality experienced by individuals w...

Introduction COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on mental health in the general population. The fear, stress, and uncertainty surrounding that traumatic pe-riod could have contributed to the aggravation or possible new onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Materials and Methods The COvid Mental hEalth Trial (COMET) is a nationwide project or...

Adverse maternal conditions during pregnancy result in an increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders in the offspring, although the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We have recently shown that two distinct insults, maternal psychophysical stress (PNS) or high-fat diet (mHFD), increase inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain of...

Brain health is a pressing global concern. Poor diet quality is a recognized major environmental risk factor for brain disorders and one of the few that is modifiable. There is substantial evidence that nutrition impacts brain development and brain health across the life course. So why then is the full potential of nutrition not utilized to improve...

Background: this study was performed under the umbrella of the Health Extended Alliance for Innovative Therapies, Advanced Lab Research, and Integrated Approaches of Precision Medicine (HEAL ITALIA) partnership and funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, and by the European Union. Objectives: th...

Introduction Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterised by heterogeneous phenotypic manifestations that may affect the achievement of a timely diagnosis delaying its therapeutic management. Increased circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and cortisol (CORT) have been observed in BD patients in addition to decreased levels of Brain-Derived-Ne...

Introduction High-fat diet (HFD) consumption during pregnancy can shape fetal brain development, increasing susceptibility to mental disorders. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying these negative outcomes remain unclear. Objectives We hypothesize that mHFD induces inflammation and oxidative stress (OS) in the fetal brain, disrupting excitatory/...

Introduction The European Alliance for Sport and Mental Health (EASMH) is a partnership of scientific institutions, charity associations and sport organizations, funded by EU-Erasmus+. It aimed at developing good clinical practice in psychiatric rehabilitation through sport-based interventions as an integration of pharmacological and psychological...

Background & aims: Unhealthy lifestyles, such as chronic consumption of a Western Diet (WD), have been associated with increased systemic inflammation and oxidative stress (OS), a condition that may favour cognitive dysfunctions during aging. Polyphenols, such as rosmarinic acid (RA) may buffer lowgrade inflammation and OS, characterizing the aging...

Background Enabling, supporting and promoting positive health-related behaviours is critical in addressing the major public health challenges of our time, and the multifaceted nature of behaviours requires an evidence-based approach. This statement seeks to suggest how a much-needed enhanced use of behavioural and cultural science and insights for...

Background The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic is an unprecedented traumatic event that has severely impacted social, economic, and health well‐being worldwide. The COvid Mental hEalth Trial was specifically designed to evaluate the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and its containment measures on the mental health of the Italian gene...

Our study examined the use of green spaces before and during the pandemic in a large cohort of Italian twins and evaluated its impact on measures of mental health (depressive, anxiety, stress symptoms). Twins were analysed as individuals and as pairs. A twin design approach was applied to minimize confounding by genetic and shared environmental fac...

A growing body of evidence suggests that regular consumption of natural products might promote healthy aging; however, their mechanisms of action are still unclear. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a polyphenol holding anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. The aim of this study was to characterise the efficacy of an oral administrat...

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the status of pandemic due to the COVID-19 infection. The initial phases of the pandemic were characterized by uncertainty and public fears. In order to cope with such unexpected conditions, people adopted different coping strategies, including search for information, accessing Inter...

Introduction The role of the interaction between the serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5HTTLPR) and stressful condition in determining the vulnerability to depression has been widely investigated. Nevertheless, empirical research provides contrasting findings. Recently, the differential susceptibility to environment model proposed a con...

Introduction Stressful experiences in utero can produce physiological changes which become embedded biological traces affecting fetal brain development and ultimately leading to increased vulnerability for psychiatric disorders. Objectives We hypothesized that stressors as diverse as maternal obesity and maternal psychophysical stress might disrup...

Equine-assisted activities (EAAs) are considered a suitable innovative rehabilitative practice for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While standardized scales have been previously used as a tool to evaluate the effects of EAAs on different domains of functioning in ASD children, few studies have c...

Equine Assisted Activities (EAA) are considered a suitable innovative rehabilitative practice for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While standardized scales have been previously used as a tool to evaluate the effects of EAA on different domains of functioning in ASD children, few studies have con...

Maternal obesity affects the developing fetal brain, leading to long-term negative outcomes comparable to those resulting from maternal psychological stress, although the mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. In this study we tested the hypothesis that prenatal adverse conditions as diverse as maternal stress and maternal obesity might af...

Introduction and aims: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and recurring mental illness associated with a significant personal and social burden. It has been recently hypothesized that increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and cortisol, which is also associated with a reduced expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), may i...

Several biogerontology databases exist that focus on genetic or gene expression data linked to health as well as survival, subsequent to compound treatments or genetic manipulations in animal models. However, none of these has yet collected experimental results of compound-related health changes. Since quality of life is often regarded as more valu...

Background Use of social media (SM) has exponentially grown particularly among youths in the past two years, due to COVID-19-related changing lifestyles. Based on the Italian COvid Mental hEalth Trial (COMET), we investigated the association between SM use and depressive symptoms among Italian young adults (aged 18–24). Methods The COMET is a nati...

Introduction Among psychosocial interventions, recent studies have highlighted that sport-based interventions can positively impact on the long-term outcomes of patients with severe mental disorders, in terms of improving their quality of life and promoting social inclusion. Although sport-based interventions should be considered an effective strat...

People with severe mental disorders report significantly poorer physical health and a higher mortality rate compared with the general population. Several interventions have been proposed in order to challenge this mortality gap, the promotion of physical activities represents one of the most important strategies. In fact, in people with severe ment...

COVID-19 is continuing to spread around the world, having a direct impact on people’s daily lives and health. Although the knowledge of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population is now well established, there is less information on its effect on specific and vulnerable populations, such as children with chronic...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted social, economic and health systems worldwide. Necessary confinement measures have, in turn, contributed to the occurrence of several stress-related conditions and deterioration of pre-existing mental conditions, including insomnia. Objective The present study sought to investigate the occurren...

Although issues surrounding diversity and inclusion in science are global, distinctive region-specific socioeconomic factors and operational biases interact to widen the opportunity gap and exacerbate the isolation of specific groups of disadvantaged scientists on the global stage. This commentary reviews the issues currently faced by the Latin Ame...

Obesity is a main risk factor for the onset and the precipitation of many non-communicable diseases. This condition, which is associated with low-grade chronic systemic inflammation, is of main concern during pregnancy leading to very serious consequences for the new generations. In addition to the prominent role played by the adipose tissue, dysbi...

The serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) has been widely investigated as contributing to depression vulnerability. Nevertheless, empirical research provides wide contrasting findings regarding its involvement in the etiopathogenesis of the disorder. Our hypothesis was that such discrepancy can be explained considering time as mod...

Background The mental health of the Italian population declined at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, nationwide population prevalence estimates may not effectively reproduce the heterogeneity in distress responses to the pandemic. In particular, contextual determinants specific to COVID-19 pandemic need to be considered. We thus aimed to...

The natural environment is recognized as an important factor for the prevention and promotion of health, including mental health. Practices and processes taking place in Italy on the theme of social agriculture are reported. By using agricultural resources, such as animals and plants, social farming is able to meet specific social needs, including...

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry is a key metabolomics/metabonomics technology. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) is very widely used as a separation step, but typically has poor retention of highly polar metabolites. Here, we evaluated the combination of two alternative methods for improving retention of polar metabolit...

Background The aim of this study was to explore the psychopathological burden related to COVID-19 together with coping strategies in healthcare workers, focusing on differences between frontline and second-line workers. Methods This is a cross-sectional study part of the COvid Mental hEalth Trial (COMET). Participants' socio-demographic and COVID-...

Curcumin is a pleiotropic compound found in the rhizome of Curcuma longa (turmeric) [...]

Introduction Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are increasingly common in pediatric care settings as a means to promote the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of hospitalized children and adolescents. Objectives The aim of this work was to review published studies implementing AAIs in hospital settings and to assess the effects of AAIs...

Companion animals are purposely included in various therapeutic/activity programmes also known as Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI). These are receiving growing attention in the fields of nursing, medicine and psychotherapy because of their potential to complement classic therapeutical approaches and to foster health and wellbeing in the general...

COVID-19 pandemic and its related containment measures have been associated with increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression in the general population. While the use of digital media has been greatly promoted by national governments and international authorities to maintain social contacts and healthy lifestyle behaviors, its increased acces...

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition that affects the whole family. The gap between childrens' needs and their satisfaction, especially regarding what concerns the presence of social and healthcare services, is still a source of burden, particularly after the transition to adulthood. Our study aimed to ga...

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry is a key metabolomics technology. Reversed-phase liquid chromatog-raphy (RPLC) is very widely used as a separation step, possessing excellent characteristics with respect to reproducibility and reliability, but typically has poor retention of highly polar metabolites. Here, we evaluated the combina...

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry is a key metabolomics technology. Reversed-phase liquid chromatog-raphy (RPLC) is very widely used as a separation step, possessing excellent characteristics with respect to reproducibility and reliability, but typically has poor retention of highly polar metabolites. Here, we evaluated the combina...

Background: When facing a traumatic event, some people may experience positive changes, defined as posttraumatic growth (PTG). Methods: Understanding the possible positive consequences of the pandemic on the individual level is crucial for the development of supportive psychosocial interventions. The present paper aims to: 1) evaluate the levels...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental and physical health of the general population at any age, but it is expected to have a protracted and severe consequences for younger populations. The pandemic has had several consequences on mental health including anger and irritability, depressive symptoms and somatic complaints, insomnia, lack of mo...

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry is a key metabolomics technology. Reversed-phase liquid chromatog-raphy (RPLC) is very widely used as a separation step, possessing excellent characteristics with respect to reproducibility and reliability, but typically has poor retention of highly polar metabolites. Here, we evaluated the combina...

Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry is a key metabolomics technology. Reversed-phase liquid chromatog-raphy (RPLC) is very widely used as a separation step, possessing excellent characteristics with respect to reproducibility and reliability, but typically has poor retention of highly polar metabolites. Here, we evaluated the combina...

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented public health emergency, with consequences at the political, social, and economic levels. Mental health services have been called to play a key role in facing the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the general population. In the period March–May 2020, an online survey was implemented as...

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health are now well documented, however, few studies have been focused on the role of coping strategies and resilience in counterbalancing these detrimental effects. Data are derived from the COvid Mental hEalth Trial (COMET), a national multicentric trial carried out in the Italian general population....

Background: Severe psychological and psychosocial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected, especially for people already vulnerable to biological or psychosocial stressors, including those with mental health problems. The study aimed to investigate factors associated with the loss of jobs and unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic. I...

Little is known about the impact of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on equids’ perception of humans. In this study 172 equids, living in 12 riding centres, were submitted to a standardised human–horse relationship test: the motionless person test. Age, sex, type (horse/pony), housing, and feeding conditions of subjects were recorded. Overall, 1...

Social isolation is a powerful stressor capable of affecting brain plasticity and function. In the case of breast cancer, previous data indicate that stressful experiences may contribute to a worse prognosis, activating neuroendocrine and metabolism pathways, although the mechanisms underlying these effects are still poorly understood. In this stud...

Equine-assisted interventions (EAIs) are well-known complementary practices combining physical activity with emotional/cognitive stimulation. They are especially suited for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who need a high degree of physical and psychological enrichment. Even though EAIs have become a common practice, stress responses i...

Due to the global increase in lifespan, the proportion of people showing cognitive impairment is expected to grow exponentially. As target-specific drugs capable of tackling dementia are lagging behind, the focus of preclinical and clinical research has recently shifted towards natural products. Curcumin, one of the best investigated botanical cons...

Introduction Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are increasingly introduced in pediatric care settings as a mean to promote the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of hospitalized children and adolescents and the humanization of the hospital environment. Objectives The aim of this work was to review published studies implementing AAIs in...

Introduction Anorexia is a disorder associated with severe disturbances in eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions (distorted weight perception, body dissatisfaction). Multidimensional integrative treatment approaches are needed to act both on intrapersonal (e.g. nutritional and psychological) and interpersonal (e.g. behavioral and affec...

Introduction Maternal obesity may affect foetal programming representing a risk for adult mental health. Oxidative stress and inflammation associated with maternal obesity can alter the maturation of neuronal circuits affecting behaviour and mood. Objectives We investigated the emotional phenotype of male and female mouse offspring born from a hig...

Several biogerontology databases exist that focus on genetic or gene expression data linked to health as well as survival, subsequent to compound treatments or genetic manipulations in animal models. However, none of these has yet collected experimental results of compound-related health changes. Since quality of life is often regarded as more valu...

Prenatal stress (PNS) affects foetal programming and, through an interaction with subsequent challenges, can increase vulnerability to mood and metabolic disorders. We have previously shown that, following PNS, adult male rats are characterised by increased vulnerability to a metabolic stressor experienced at adulthood (8‐week‐high‐fat diet ‐ HFD)....

Early stressful experiences can hinder brain maturation and increase individual vulnerability for psychopathology. Epigenetic “embedding” of early life adversity could represent a fundamental mechanism promoting the short and long-term changes in biomarkers and health determinants that characterize exposure to early adversity, since epigenetic chan...

Breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, adjuvant therapies and survivorship can all be extremely stressful. In women, concerns about body image are common as a result of the disease and can affect interpersonal relationships, possibly leading to social isolation, increasing the likelihood for mood disorders. This is particularly relevant as women are at...