Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

The psychophysiological effects of music therapy in intensive care units.

Paediatr Nurs. 2010 Apr;22(3):14-20

Authors: Austin D

This article reviews the evidence for using music therapy with young people who are supported by mechanical ventilation. The author argues that music therapy is essential for developing a holistic approach focusing on the developmental level of a child or young person, as well as being an inexpensive, non-pharmacological, non-invasive therapy, with significant physiological and psychological benefits. She argues that more research is needed in this area to develop a sound evidence base on which guidelines to inform practice could be based.

PMID: 20426353 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Star treatment.

Ment Health Today. 2010 Mar;:18-20

Authors: Motune V

PMID: 20429105 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Outside the box. Crisis houses.

Ment Health Today. 2010 Mar;:25

Authors: Faulkner A

PMID: 20429107 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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It’s a one man show.

Ment Health Today. 2010 Mar;:32-3

Authors: Ward M, Chander A, Robinson S, Farquharson Y, Carson J

PMID: 20429113 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Managing complaints in health and social care.

Nurs Manag (Harrow). 2010 Apr;17(1):12-5

Authors: Holmes-Bonney K

An important aspect of allowing patients to take control of their health care is the introduction of new procedures for dealing with complaints. This article examines the concepts that underpin the new Department of Health regulations on complaints management and what they will mean for health and social care professionals. It also explains why these regulations focus on restorative justice rather than blame when adverse events occur.

PMID: 20432639 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Accurately diagnosing and treating borderline personality disorder: a psychotherapeutic case.

Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010 Apr;7(4):21-30

Authors: Johnson AB, Gentile JP, Correll TL

The high prevalence of comorbid bipolar and borderline personality disorders and some diagnostic criteria similar to both conditions present both diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. This article delineates certain symptoms which, by careful history taking, may be attributed more closely to one of these two disorders. Making the correct primary diagnosis along with comorbid psychiatric conditions and choosing the appropriate type of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are critical steps to a patient’s recovery. In this article, we will use a case example to illustrate some of the challenges the psychiatrist may face in diagnosing and treating borderline personality disorder. In addition, we will explore treatment strategies, including various types of therapy modalities and medication classes, which may prove effective in stabilizing or reducing a broad range of symptomotology associated with borderline personality disorder.

PMID: 20508805 [PubMed - in process]

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S100b counteracts neurodegeneration of rat cholinergic neurons in brain slices after oxygen-glucose deprivation.

Cardiovasc Psychiatry Neurol. 2010;2010:106123

Authors: Serbinek D, Ullrich C, Pirchl M, Hochstrasser T, Schmidt-Kastner R, Humpel C

Alzheimer’s disease is a severe chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by beta-amyloid plaques, tau pathology, cerebrovascular damage, inflammation, reactive gliosis, and cell death of cholinergic neurons. The aim of the present study is to test whether the glia-derived molecule S100b can counteract neurodegeneration of cholinergic neurons after oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in organotypic brain slices of basal nucleus of Meynert. Our data showed that 3 days of OGD induced a marked decrease of cholinergic neurons (60% of control), which could be counteracted by 50 mug/mL recombinant S100b. The effect was dose and time dependent. Application of nerve growth factor or fibroblast growth factor-2 was less protective. C-fos-like immunoreactivity was enhanced 3 hours after OGD indicating metabolic stress. We conclude that S100b is a potent neuroprotective factor for cholinergic neurons during ischemic events.

PMID: 20508809 [PubMed - in process]

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Quality of life in patients suffering from thyroid orbitopathy.

Pediatr Endocrinol Rev. 2010 Mar;7 Suppl 2:245-9

Authors: Ponto KA, Kahaly GJ

The goal of medical care for most patients today is to obtain a more effective life and to preserve functioning and well-being. Scoring standardized responses to standardized questions is an efficient way to measure health status and individual health-related quality of life. Compared to a general population, patients with thyroid orbitopathy (TO) show a poor quality of life both in physical as well as in psychosocial dimensions. A large section of TO patients is not only physically ill, they also exhibit psychic illness. Consequently, among the majority of the TO patients, psychic and social factors in addition to physical ones play a role in their experience of their illness and essentially characterize their quality of life. According to these results, accompanying psychosomatic treatment would be indicated among roughly half of all TO patients.

PMID: 20467371 [PubMed - in process]

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[Acne vulgaris–psychosomatic aspects]

J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2010 Mar;8 Suppl 1:S95-104

Authors: Niemeier V, Kupfer J, Gieler U

More than a cosmetic nuisance, acne can produce anxiety, depression, and other psychological problems that affect patients’ lives in ways comparable to life-threatening or disabling diseases. Emotional problems due to the disease should be taken seriously and included in the treatment plan. A purely dermatological therapy by itself may not achieve its purpose. Even mild to moderate disease can be associated with significant depression and suicidal ideation, and psychologic change does not necessarily correlate with disease severity. Acne patients suffer particularly under social limitations and reduced quality of life. Psychological comorbidities in acne are probably greater than generally assumed. Attention should be paid to psychosomatic aspects especially if depressive-anxious disorders are suspected, particularly with evidence of suicidal tendencies, body dysmorphic disorders, or also in disrupted compliance. Therefore, patients who report particularly high emotional distress or dysmorphic tendencies due to the disease should be treated, if possible, by interdisciplinary therapy. The dermatologist should have some knowledge of the basics of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology, which sometimes must be combined with systemic and topical treatment of acne in conjunction with basic psychosomatic treatment.

PMID: 20482698 [PubMed - in process]

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Work-related stress and psychosomatic medicine.

Biopsychosoc Med. 2010 May 26;4(1):4

Authors: Nakao M

ABSTRACT: This article introduces key concepts of work-related stress relevant to the clinical and research fields of psychosomatic medicine. Stress is a term used to describe the body’s physiological and/or psychological reaction to circumstances that require behavioral adjustment. According to the Japanese National Survey of Health, the most frequent stressors are work-related problems, followed by health-related and then financial problems. Conceptually, work-related stress includes a variety of conditions, such as overwork, unemployment or job insecurity, and lack of work-family balance. Job stress has been linked to a range of adverse physical and mental health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Stressful working conditions can also impact employee well-being indirectly by directly contributing to negative health behaviors or by limiting an individual’s ability to make positive changes to lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking and sedentary behavior. Over the past two decades, two major job stress models have dominated the occupational health literature: the job demand-control-support model and the effort-reward imbalance model. In both models, standardized questionnaires have been developed and frequently used to assess job stress. Unemployment has also been reported to be associated with increased mortality and morbidity, such as by cardiovascular disease, stroke, and suicide. During the past two decades, a trend toward more flexible labor markets has emerged in the private and public sectors of developed countries, and temporary employment arrangements have increased. Temporary workers often complain that they are more productive but receive less compensation than permanent workers. A significant body of research reveals that temporary workers have reported chronic work-related stress for years. The Japanese government has urged all employers to implement four approaches to comprehensive mind/body health care for stress management in the workplace: focusing on individuals, utilizing supervisory lines, enlisting company health care staff, and referring to medical resources outside the company. Good communications between occupational health practitioners and physicians in charge in hospitals/clinics help employees with psychosomatic distress to return to work, and it is critical for psychosomatic practitioners and researchers to understand the basic ideas of work-related stress from the viewpoint of occupational health.

PMID: 20504368 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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