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Mental Health Fitness Through a Youth Perspective 

Insights on building and advancing mental health care solutions through collaboration — from the Global Youth Advisory Council at the SNF Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute

Mai El Shoush, Partnerships Campaign Manager, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute

Tatiana P. Claridad, MBA, Director of Board Affairs and Institutional Strategy, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute

Mental health fitness is shaped by lived experience, context, and the systems of care that surround us. During Mental Health Awareness Month, we invited young leaders from the Global Youth Advisory Council (GYAC) at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center at the Child Mind Institute — from Brazil, South Africa, and Greece — to share their unique perspectives.

Their reflections offer insight into how young people define, build, and experience mental fitness globally, highlighting the influence of their environments, communities and everyday realities. Their views are essential to shaping more relevant and effective support for young people everywhere.

From left to right: Delice Lumbu, Mariana Rodrigues Chaves, Spyros Chronis, Fedra Kamperidi, Kayla Coetzer, Denny Oliveira Curini, Jennifer Matibi

From daily habits to systemic change, here’s how young people are reimagining mental health care as mental health fitness:

“By cultivating a practice of self-awareness — through understanding myself and my internal needs better, I’m able to show up for myself in the ways that I need in those moments of struggle.”

Kayla Coetzer, 24, South Africa

“In this fast-paced world, it’s important to take a step back, disconnect from the digital world, and engage with friends…try helping others and don’t be afraid to ask for help if needed.”

Spyros Chronis, 20, Greece

“I honor my journey by normalizing help‑seeking and reminding myself that mental health is an ongoing process that requires care, patience, and the courage to choose growth, even in environments where it is not always encouraged.”

Jennifer Matibi, 24, South Africa

“For me, keeping my mental health fit is about understanding and embracing my talents and weaknesses, and dedicating time to spaces that value my uniqueness.”

Mariana Rodrigues Chaves, 18, Brazil

“I try to find ways to ground myself and do things that people my age typically do. Making mistakes is acceptable and often necessary for personal growth.”

Faidra Kamperidi, 19, Greece

“Young people can build mental health fitness in their everyday lives through self-care, doing things that energize and restore them, practicing self-compassion, and surrounding themselves with supportive people. It’s about creating small, consistent habits that allow you to show up for yourself, even on hard days.”

Delice Lumbu, 20, Director of Youth Engagement, SNF Global Center

These reflections raise a broader question — how can global collaboration strengthen mental health support for children and adolescents?

“Global collaboration in youth mental health means real change to me. When countries unite around one shared goal — safeguarding young people’s mental health — they’re investing in their own future.”

Denny Oliveira Curini, 17, Brazil

“Mental health challenges are deeply influenced by social, economic, and cultural conditions, and real growth happens when solutions are shaped within those contexts. Global collaboration creates opportunities to share lived experiences, exchange practical knowledge, and adapt tools that are both relevant and accessible. It allows us to learn from one another across borders while empowering communities with skills, resources, and frameworks that support mental growth. From my experience, collaboration is not about imposing solutions, but about co‑creating safe, healthy spaces that enable young people to build resilience, develop agency, and flourish even in environments where those opportunities are often limited.”

Jennifer Matibi, 24, South Africa

“To me, global collaboration in youth mental health represents a shift from pockets of innovation to a ‘culture of quality’ that doesn’t stop at a country’s border. It’s the recognition that while mental health struggles are a rising universal problem, the solutions are often trapped in local silos or limited by a country’s wealth. Therefore, global partnership is the bridge that allows solutions to be shaped, shared, adapted, and standardized to ensure that no one is left behind.”

Spyros Chronis, 20, Greece

“Global collaboration in youth mental health means bringing different regions’ perspectives [together] to debate and understand our similarities and differences, to then work on solutions that cross borders and change lives.”

Mariana Rodrigues Chaves, 18, Brazil

“Nowadays, young people tend to feel overwhelmed by the excessive pace of technological evolution. The constant stimuli and the pervasive flow of information put us in a position where we constantly compare ourselves to others, feeling that our efforts are never enough compared to what we see online. Together, let’s set a human example: Progress can be gradual, and it is perfectly okay to feel like you are falling behind.”

Faidra Kamperidi, 19, Greece

“Global collaboration in youth mental health means looking at shared challenges and pooling resources to tackle them together, while keeping cultural uniqueness at the forefront of country-specific solutions and care.”

Kayla Coetzer, 24, South Africa

While these insights from the GYAC members highlight the importance of collaboration, they also reflect a new paradigm of youth leadership.

What continues to inspire you as a young leader about the ideas and perspectives shared through the Global Youth Advisory Council, and what does it say about the future of mental health care?

“What continues to inspire me most is the diversity of perspectives across different countries, yet the shared commitment to improving youth mental health. There is something powerful about young people coming together across contexts, bridging gaps through a global lens while staying rooted in their lived experiences. It reminds me that the future of mental health care will be more inclusive, shaped by real voices, and focused on breaking stigma in ways that feel authentic and meaningful.”

Delice Lumbu, 20, Director of Youth Engagement, SNF Global Center

Contributors: Delice Lumbu, Director of Youth Engagement, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute

The post Mental Health Fitness Through a Youth Perspective  appeared first on Child Mind Institute.

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STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Replimune drug getting third try at FDA approval, a Pfizer deal in China, and more

And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda, so far, is very low-key. We hope to catch up on our reading, promenade with the official mascots, and take a few naps. We may also manicure the Pharmalot grounds. And of course, we hope to hold still another listening party, where the rotation will likely include this, this, this, this and this. And what about you? The choices are endless this time of year. In particular, the great outdoors are beckoning — trails can be hiked, streets can be walked, country roads can be driven. If this fails, there is always the great indoors. You could cook a fabulous meal, shop for something that looks spiffy, or binge watch on the telly. Or you could be totally zen and do absolutely nothing. Well, whatever you prefer, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon…

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended updating this fall’s Covid shots to target the XFG variant, a fast-growing strain nicknamed “stratus,” NBC News tells us. The recommendation — from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee — is meant to help vaccine makers prepare shots for the fall and winter, when Covid infections typically rise. The meeting was the agency’s first since FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned. His resignation did not play a role; the meeting was already on the calendar before he resigned. Makary drew criticism last year after the agency imposed stricter requirements on who could get Covid shots.

Pfizer and China’s Innovent Biologics agreed to a global licensing and collaboration deal worth up to $10.5 billion to develop 12 early-stage cancer medicines, as global drugmakers race ​to tap China’s booming biotech pipeline, Reuters says. The deal also includes a $650 million upfront payment ​to Innovent and up to $9.85 billion in potential development, regulatory and ⁠commercial milestone payments. The value of such deals in the greater China region rose nearly tenfold from 2021 to an unprecedented $137.7 billion last year. The partnership spans a portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates ​with novel differentiated payloads and multi-specific antibodies, comprising eight Innovent-originated early-stage assets and four Pfizer-proposed discovery ‌programs.

The World Health Organization identified drugs from Regeneron Pharmaceutical, Mapp Bio, and Gilead Sciences that should be fast-tracked through clinical testing to respond to the current Ebola outbreak, Pharmaphorum notes. The WHO’s independent experts have said Regeneron’s maftivimab, Mapp’s MBP134, and Gilead’s remdesivir should be studied in patients infected with the Bundibugyo form of Ebola currently infecting more than 1,000 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in neighbouring Uganda. At last count, the Bundibugyo outbreak had led to 10 confirmed deaths, with another 223 suspected, although the WHO has said it could be much larger as the virus is thought to have circulated undetected for some time.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

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STAT+: Allogene CEO David Chang stepping down

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Hiya. In this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” biotech vet Jeremy Levin talks about how scientific progress is outpacing the institutions that support it. Also, WHO experts are recommending the use of an antiviral and two monoclonal antibodies in the response to the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, and Allogene CEO David Chang is stepping down.

The need-to-know this morning

  • Replimune Group said it had reached an agreement with the FDA to resubmit its experimental melanoma drug for approval, after the therapy was twice rejected by the agency.

Albert Bourla loves China 

We are referring, of course, to the Pfizer CEO, who is once again putting billions of dollars of Pfizer cash on the table to buy drugs invented in China. 

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

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Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1) knock-down is protective against hypoxia, Aβ1-42 oligomer and Aβ1-42 fibril -induced neuronal cell death: implications in AD pathogenesis

IntroductionRecent transcriptome analysis has demonstrated increased expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1/FLT1) and in AD brain. Increased expression of VEGFR1 and its ligand VEGFB were associated with a more rapid rate of cognitive decline, providing evidence of a potential link between increased VEGFR-1 expression in AD pathogenesis. In this study, we explored the potential role of VEGFR-1 expression in neurons on AD pathology.MethodsTo confirm VEGFR1 expression in AD brains, we first performed immunostaining in AD brain sections (AD – Braak stage V-VI, and normal controls – Braak 0-II). And to determine a potential detrimental role of neuronal VEGFR1 expression on AD associated pathologies, we exposed SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells and mouse primary neurons to either hypoxia conditions (1%O2) or 5 μ Aβ1-42 oligomers or fibrils for 24, 28 and 72hrs.ResultsIn this study, we found preferential staining of VEGFR-1 in the neuropil and neuronal cell bodies both in AD and Control hippocampus and increased VEGFR-1 immunoreactivity in dystrophic neuritic processes in the vicinity of Thio-S positive amyloid plaques in AD brains. And treatment of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell line and mouse primary neurons, with either hypoxia conditions or Aβ1-42 oligomers, resulted in increased VEGFR-1 expression and cleaved caspase 3 activation, leading to neuronal toxicities/cell death. Similarly, treatment with Aβ1-42 fibrils also increased VEGFR-1 and cleaved caspase 3 protein levels in the SH-SY5Y cells whereas treatment with Aβ1-42 monomers had no effect on VEGFR-1 expression. In addition, we show that over-expression of VEGFR-1 intracellular domains in SH-SY5Y cells directly induced neuronal toxicities and importantly, siRNA-mediated knockdown of VEGFR-1 in neurons prevented the hypoxia, Aβ1-42 oligomer and Aβ1-42 fibril-induced toxicities and cell death phenotypes. Treatment with either hypoxia or Aβ1-42 oligomers also reduced expression of cell survival genes including VEGFR-2 and Hippo pathway YAP1 and siRNA-mediated VEGFR-1 knockdown in the neurons normalized expression of both VEGFR-2 and YAP1. Using differential gene expression analysis, we demonstrated upregulation of several inflammatory/interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) as well as increased expression of genes involved in activation of oxidative stress and cell death pathways in response to Aβ1-42 oligomers treatment in mouse primary neurons. And siRNA-mediated VEGFR-1 knockdown in the mouse primary neurons, reduced gene expression of both the ISGs and oxidative stress/cell death pathways in response to Aβ1-42 oligomer treatment.DiscussionIn summary, these results show that siRNA-mediated knockdown of VEGFR-1 in neurons significantly prevented hypoxia, Aβ1-42 oligomer and Aβ1-42 fibril-induced cellular toxicities and cell death phenotypes, indicating a potential detrimental role of aberrant VEGFR-1 expression and signaling in response to AD associated pathologies.
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Pain-side-specific alteration of structural networks in trigeminal neuralgia: a connectome analysis

ObjectivesTrigeminal neuralgia (TN) involves disruption in the integrity of the white matter, the side-specific pain topology of these alterations at the network has yet to be defined. In this study, we investigated the lateralization of structural network architecture and nodal characteristics in TN patients.MethodsWhole-brain structural networks (90 × 90 connectivity matrices) were reconstructed from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography data of 30 TN patients and 20 matched controls. We applied Network-Based Statistics (NBS) to detect altered connectivity sub-networks, and graph theoretical analysis to profile global and nodal properties. Our analysis aimed to delineate changes that were specific to the painful side.ResultsNBS analysis revealed that structural connectivity formed subnetworks involving multiple functional networks. A subnetwork involving the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) and postcentral gyrus (S1) was identified on the painful side, indicating that TN stimulation may enhance structural connectivity between regions related to salience and somatosensory processing, thereby facilitating the acceleration of pain perception and response. On the non-pain side, we observed enhanced structural connections between visual and attention-related regions. The third subnetwork was characterized by widespread and non-focal reductions in fiber tract connectivity. However, despite these localized alterations, the global network properties of the brain in TN patients remained stable, with node-specific properties undergoing alterations in multiple brain regions, including the cuneus, inferior parietal lobule, and superior frontal gyrus.ConclusionHerein, we applied NBS and graph theoretical analysis to investigate changes in the structural brain networks of patients with TN. Analysis revealed that specific subnetworks and key nodes can be affected by TN. We also confirmed obvious differences in the involved subnetworks between pain and non-pain sides in TN patients. These findings suggest that these specific subnetworks and nodes could represent valuable biomarkers for clinical evaluation and intervention in TN patients.
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Emotion recognition based on the temporal patterns of electroencephalogram signals and electrodermal response signals using the TRANSFORMER network

IntroductionEmotion recognition using physiological signals plays an important role in affective neuroscience and human-centered artificial intelligence. Current methods still face challenges in long-range temporal dependency modeling and explicit central–autonomic coupling representation, while generalization under subject-independent protocols needs further improvement.MethodsThis study proposes a Transformer-based multimodal framework for four-class discrete emotion recognition (neutral, happiness, sadness, and fear) by jointly modeling EEG and GSR signals. The architecture integrates temporal self-attention and bidirectional cross-modal attention. Experiments were conducted on 42 neurologically healthy adults with a controlled audiovisual emotion elicitation paradigm, evaluated using subject-independent five-fold cross-validation.ResultsThe model achieved a mean classification accuracy of 87.42% ± 2.13%, with precision of 87.6%, recall of 87.4%, and F1-score of 87.5%. It outperformed CNN and Bi-LSTM baselines by 4.91% and 6.38%, respectively. Multimodal fusion significantly boosted high-arousal emotion recognition, with fear accuracy increasing from 82.11% (EEG-only) to 88.63% (p = 0.004).DiscussionThese findings confirm that long-range temporal modeling and explicit cross-modal interaction can substantially improve multimodal physiological emotion recognition. The proposed framework is scalable and interpretable, advances central–autonomic coupling modeling, enhances generalization via strict subject-independent validation, and supports physiological interpretability through attention visualization and modality sensitivity analysis.
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Leveraging Synchrosqueezing Transform (SST)-based representations in a dual-stream attention framework to enhance sleep apnea detection and subtyping

IntroductionSleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) is a prevalent disorder with profound adverse effects on health and overall quality of life, thereby necessitating the development of accurate and accessible screening tools. Electrocardiogram (ECG)-based analysis, being non-invasive and readily deployable in low-cost hardware, offers a particularly convenient approach for SAHS screening and preliminary diagnosis. However, conventional time-frequency analysis often fails to capture the subtle yet critical patterns in ECG signals due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, leading to limited resolution and information loss.MethodsTo overcome these limitations, this study proposes a Dual Stream Cross Attention Fusion Network (DSCAFNet) based on the uncertainty-mitigated time-frequency representations generated via Synchrosqueezing Transform (SST). The framework uniquely constructs two complementary, high-fidelity SST-based representations, which are strategically designed to provide distinct yet synergistic perspectives on the complex, non-stationary dynamics of SAHS. A dedicated cross-attention fusion module then harnesses these complementary views, enabling the model to discriminatively integrate multi-resolution features for significantly enhanced pattern recognition.ResultsExtensively evaluated on the public Apnea-ECG dataset, DSCAFNet achieves an accuracy of 0.9572, a sensitivity of 0.9575, a specificity of 0.9584, and an F1-score of 0.9557, performing on par with state-of-the-art methods. More importantly, rigorous validation on a private Huashan-apnea dataset yields an accuracy of 0.9003 for binary classification and 0.7564 for four-class subtyping, demonstrating strong effectiveness and generalization.ConclusionThese consistent results across datasets highlight DSCAFNet as a promising framework for intelligent and accessible SAHS screening, with potential for integration into portable data acquisition systems combined with cloud-based analysis.
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The Sentinel Phenotype: a theoretical bioenergetic and neurobiological framework for high-fidelity predictive systems (HEPOE Theory)

The HEPOE Theory (High Entropy Predictive Organization Efficiency) proposes a novel conceptual framework for understanding Giftedness (HA/G), moving beyond academic performance-based models toward a biophysical and neuroscientific foundation. Through a theoretical synthesis grounded in the Free Energy Principle and Biological Thermodynamics, the gifted individual is redefined as a “Sentinel”: a high-fidelity sampling system specialized in the early detection of isomorphy and the reduction of systemic entropy. This framework reinterprets Charles Spearman’s general intelligence (g) as a macroscopic manifestation of hardware efficiency, where reasoning ability is proposed to be fundamentally constrained by working-memory capacity and the metabolic economy of ATP resynthesis. We hypothesize that the hardware operates under an “open sensory gating” regime and low latent inhibition, leading to high metabolic costs and chronic allostatic load. The paper introduces the original concept of Predictive Moral Injury to conceptualize the potential somatic damage resulting from the early perception of ethical-systemic collapses within low-resolution environments. The HEPOE Unification Matrix integrates decades of classical literature and proposes a rigorous differential diagnosis against the pathologization of ASD, ADHD, and PTSD. It hypothesizes that the Sentinel’s exhaustion is not a dysfunction, but a logistical byproduct of high predictive performance under entropy-saturated conditions.
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Perceptions of mental health services among informal caregivers in Sardinia, Italy, during the post-pandemic crisis of the national health system: a comparative study between 2024 and 2025

BackgroundItaly’s community-based mental health model, grounded in Law 180, has long been regarded as a global example of rights-oriented psychiatric reform. However, recent years have witnessed a crisis in the national health system, marked by chronic and progressively accumulating underfunding, workforce shortages, and organizational strain, rather than a single acute disruption. This s/tudy compares two samples of informal caregivers of individuals receiving mental health care in Sardinia (2024 vs. 2025) to explore differences in their perceptions of service quality, organizational well-being, and respect for human rights.MethodsA cross-sectional design was used to compare independent caregiver samples (2024: n = 100; 2025: n = 74). Participants completed the Well-Being at Work and Respect for Human Rights Questionnaire (WWRR), which assesses satisfaction with care, perceptions of organizational quality, and respect for users’ and staff’s rights. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and chi-square tests.ResultsCaregivers in 2025 reported significantly higher satisfaction than those in 2024 regarding the quality of services (p = 0.007), organizational aspects (p = 0.007), and respect for the human rights of both users (p < 0.001) and staff (p = 0.037). No differences emerged in perceived user satisfaction or resource adequacy, with both cohorts expressing persistent concern about staffing and infrastructure. The perceived need for additional nurses, doctors, and support staff increased in 2025, which may indicate growing awareness of workforce fragility.ConclusionsThese differences in satisfaction should be interpreted within a context of prolonged systemic strain, which may foster adaptive or resilience-based perceptions among informal caregivers. Despite ongoing structural difficulties, informal caregivers maintain high confidence in Italy’s community mental health services and perceive them as respectful of human rights. However, their increasing concern about resource shortages highlights the urgent need for investment to preserve the ethical and organizational strengths of the Italian model.