Increasing observational and experimental trial data have shown that mental stress can lead to an increase in adverse clinical cardiovascular events. Mental stress affects the heart by inducing ischaemia and precipitating myocardial infarction (MI) or direct myocardial injury. Mental stress leads to systemic inflammation. Inflammation is known to cause rapid atheromatous plaque progression, instability and thrombosis—the classic type 1 MI. Inflammation can also lead to type 2 MI or myocarditis and injury. The published data linking systemic inflammation, mental stress and cardiovascular disease will be reviewed to establish the linkage between mind and heart, thereby highlighting the importance of holistically managing the patient, not only addressing separate organ systems. Finally, recent trial evidence showing the value of anti-inflammatory drugs in cardiovascular and mental conditions will be briefly considered.

Sports clubs have the potential to provide a profound and positive impact on the mental health of their younger members, but the whole club must be engaged to make a real difference. 

A new study by Flinders University shows that while coaches are often the focus of mental health efforts in sport, real and sustainable change relies on recognising the role of all club stakeholders including parents, committee members, trainers and volunteers.  

Dr. Stephen Ross, co-director of NYU's Center for Psychedelic Medicine, has helped resurrect psychedelic research in psychiatry through landmark clinical trials showing that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy produces rapid, substantial, and sustained improvements in conditions previously resistant to conventional treatments.

IRCCS San Raffaele researcher Sara Poletti, PhD, demonstrates how childhood trauma fundamentally alters brain-immune interactions throughout life, contributing to mood disorders including depression and bipolar disorder. Her pioneering work combines neuroimaging, genetic analysis, and immunological assessments to map trauma's enduring neurobiological fingerprint, offering new therapeutic targets for psychiatric treatment.