Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

Swiss Cancer League communication skills training programme for oncology nurses: an evaluation.

J Adv Nurs. 2010 Oct;66(10):2266-77

Authors: Langewitz W, Heydrich L, Nübling M, Szirt L, Weber H, Grossman P

This paper is a report of an evaluation of the effectiveness of a communication skills training programme for oncology nurses.

PMID: 20636470 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Diagnostic correlates of Alzheimer dementia in a U.S. Nationwide inpatient sample.

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 Sep;18(9):821-9

Authors: Preuss UW, Watzke S, Choi JH

Alzheimer dementia (ALZ-D) is among the most frequent diseases in the elderly. Several somatic and psychiatric disorders have been suggested to be related to this diagnosis. The aim of this analysis of a large and representative U.S. nationwide inpatient sample (NIS) was to identify diagnostic correlates of ALZ-D in subjects aged 60 years and older.

PMID: 20220586 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Differential pharmacotherapy for subgroups of fibromyalgia patients with specific consideration of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists.

Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2011 Feb 17;

Authors: Seidel MF, Müller W

Introduction: The fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) has a prevalence of about 2% and is characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain, reduced pain threshold and autonomic and functional symptoms. It is a multifactorial syndrome with four different subgroups exhibiting pathophysiological and psychiatric findings. No precise treatment strategy is currently available for the different FMS subgroups. Areas covered: This article reviews the evidence for treatment options for the different FMS subgroups. Expert opinion: Therapy for the first subgroup of primary FMS, with high levels of pain but no psychopathological alterations, is targeted at nociceptors expressing serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine-3; 5-HT3) receptors with 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. The second and third subgroups are characterized by depressive syndromes with a major indication for antidepressants. The fourth subgroup with psychosomatic syndromes requires psychotherapeutic treatment. Secondary FMS is similar to the primary syndromes but is triggered by a variety of other diseases and frequently responds to 5-HT3 receptor antagonist treatment. Different classes of drug, such as pregabalin, must be tested for efficacy and tolerance. FMS treatment strategies should be tailored after the identification of individual FMS subgroups. Although several groups of drug have been studied extensively, 5-HT3 receptor antagonists are most effective in patients without psychopathological alterations.

PMID: 21323622 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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On psychosomatics: The search for meaning.

Int J Psychoanal. 2011 Feb;92(1):173-95

Authors: Bronstein C

PMID: 21323885 [PubMed - in process]

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Influence of muscle activity on brain oxygenation during verbal fluency assessed with functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Neuroscience. 2010 Dec 1;171(2):434-42

Authors: Schecklmann M, Ehlis AC, Plichta MM, Fallgatter AJ

A large part of the literature of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) deals with overt verbal fluency. It has been claimed that fNIRS has a low susceptibility to movement related artefacts as, for example, associated with overt speech. However, so far, no study has investigated this assumption in an experimental design. Therefore, we examined a group of 16 healthy subjects during performance of two verbal fluency tasks (experiment 1: phonological fluency; experiment 2: semantical fluency, paced answers, pronouncing vs. writing). We measured changes of oxygenated (O(2)Hb) and deoxygenated haemoglobin (HHb) over fronto-temporal (brain) areas via fNIRS, while temporalis muscle activity was simultaneously assessed by means of electromyography (EMG). Statistical analyses indicated comparable word production, higher increases of O(2)Hb and higher decreases of HHb over fronto-temporal areas during word fluency in contrast to the control task weekday reciting. This fNIRS pattern indicates fluency related activation and was found for pronouncing and for writing in both experiments. Regarding the EMG data, fluency related activity was only found for pronouncing, not for writing. Thus, muscle activity cannot account for fluency related fNIRS activity during writing. Additionally, correlation analyses showed no systematic associations of fNIRS and EMG signals. In conclusion, we found arguments that fNIRS actually allows for the measurement of brain activity over fronto-temporal areas during verbal fluency. Nonetheless, further studies should evaluate more direct associations between fNIRS and EMG signals by specific experimental manipulations and data analysing approaches that allow dealing fNIRS and EMG raw data simultaneously.

PMID: 20858532 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Idiosyncratic Heart Rate Response in Men during Sexual Arousal.

J Sex Med. 2011 Feb 16;

Authors: Rowland DL, Crawford SB

Introduction.  Heart rate, sensitive to sympathetic activation, is known to change during sexual arousal and therefore may be a useful tool for investigating psychosomatic differences between sexually functional and dysfunctional men. However, heart rate during arousal also tends to be highly variable across individual men, making its predictability based on group patterns relatively poor. Aim.  We wanted to determine whether individual men show idiosyncratic heart rate patterns during sexual arousal, that is, whether they exhibit consistent patterns across similar (though not identical) stimulus situations. Main Outcome Measure.  Agreement between heart rates under the two conditions, visual sexual stimulation (VSS) and VSS + vibrotactile (VIB), was assessed using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). Methods.  Thirty-eight men, 25 of whom were diagnosed with premature ejaculation (PE), were monitored for penile response and heart rate under two similar (though not identical) conditions: a 9-minute erotic video (VSS), then a 9-minute erotic video combined with vibrotactile penile stimulation (VSS + VIB). Results.  CCC for men with PE was 0.65; for the sexually functional comparison group, CCC was 0.82. For both groups combined, CCC was 0.71. For all groupings, the CCC was relatively high, indicating agreement in heart rate from one session to the next within individual men. Conclusions.  Despite high intersubject variation in heart rate patterns, individual men show signature heart rates across similar sexual stimulus sessions. Such stereotypy helps explain previous inconsistent findings and may also serve as a marker for the effectiveness of treatments designed to improve ejaculatory control in men with PE. Rowland DL and Crawford SB. Idiosyncratic heart rate response in men during sexual arousal. J Sex Med **;**:**-**.

PMID: 21324088 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Alexithymia in chronic urticaria patients.

Psychol Health Med. 2011 Mar;16(2):215-24

Authors: Barbosa F, Freitas J, Barbosa A

Alexithymia has been described as an important dimension in several medical and psychiatric diseases. Chronic urticaria (CU) is a chronic condition, in which treatment is difficult. Our aim is to determine the prevalence of alexithymia traits in patients with CU, and to identify the relationships between alexithymia and psychological variables and quality-of-life dimensions. Fifty-five sequential CU patients in a faculty ambulatory specialized consultation, with an average age of 44.92, were compared with 31 healthy volunteers. Both groups were studied by means of validated scales for alexithymia (Toronto Alexythimia Scale [TAS-20]), attachment (Adult Attachment Scale-R [AAS-R]), psychopathology (Brief Symptom Inventory [BSI]), personality dimensions (The NEO Five-Factor inventory [NEO-FFI]) and quality of life (Short Form-36 [SF-36]). The classification of CU reactions was obtained from the patient’s history, physical examination, laboratory assessment and histopathologic findings. All the patients were under treatment with sedating H1-antihistamines, non-sedating H1-antihistamines combination of H1 and H2 blocker, 2 H1-antihistamines and 3 H1-antihistamines. High traits of alexithymia were found on CU patients (56.9%) as well as high symptom rates of anxiety. Alexithymia traits were significantly positively correlated with insecure attachment styles, with psychopathological symptoms, and with the defense mechanism turn against self. We also reported a significant negative correlation between alexithymia traits and the dimensions of quality of life. Insecure attachment styles were positively correlated with psychopathological symptoms and negatively correlated with quality of life. We did not find significant statistical correlations between alexithymia and clinical variables. CU patients present serious difficulty in dealing with emotion arousal. There is strong evidence of a psychosomatic specificity in CU, with marked alexithymic traits.

PMID: 21328149 [PubMed - in process]

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Stress among Croatian physicians: comparison between physicians working in emergency medical service and health centers - pilot study.

Croat Med J. 2011 Feb 15;52(1):8-15

Authors: Gregov L, Kovacevic A, Sliskovc A

Aim. To determine the sources of stress, its intensity, frequency, and psychophysical and behavioral reactions in physicians working in emergency medical service and those working in health centers. Methods. To a convenience sample of primary care physicians employed in emergency medical service (n=79) and health centers (n=81), we administered the list of demographic questions, Scale of Sources of Stress, Scale of Intentions of Leaving the Job, and Scale of Psychosomatic Symptoms. Results. Emergency medicine physicians experienced significantly more intense and more frequent uncontrollable working situations, conflict between work and family roles, and unfavorable relationships with coworkers than physicians working in health centers. They were also more likely to leave the job during the next few years and/or change jobs within the profession (scores 2.2±0.9 vs 1.7±0.9 out of maximum 5.0, F=12.2, P=0.001) and they had a poorer physical health status (scores 1.8±0.5 vs 1.7±0.5 out of maximum 4.0, F=5.3, P=0.023). Conclusion. Physicians working in emergency medical service experience more stress in almost all aspects of their work than physicians working in health centers. They also have a stronger intention of leaving the job, which decreases with years of experience.

PMID: 21328715 [PubMed - in process]

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Influencing Factors of the Place of Death in Germany.

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2011 Feb 16;

Authors: Escobar Pinzón LC, Weber M, Claus M, Fischbeck S, Unrath M, Martini T, Münster E

CONTEXT: Knowledge about factors influencing the place of death may be very useful for the planning of public health strategies to improve the situation of terminally ill patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to determine where people died in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 2008. We further wanted to detect which factors had an influence on the place of death. METHODS: Our cross-sectional survey was based on a random sample of 5000 inhabitants of Rhineland-Palatinate who had died between May 25, 2008 and August 24, 2008. Relatives of these randomly drawn deceased persons were interviewed by means of a written survey. RESULTS: After removing duplicates, 4967 questionnaires were sent out. In total, 3832 questionnaires were delivered and 1378 completed, leading to a response rate of 36.0%. Of this group, 38.2% of the deceased died at home, 39.3% in a hospital, 13.4% in a nursing home, 7.5% in a palliative care facility, and 1.6% elsewhere. Suffering from cancer (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.68), social support (AOR being married: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.04-1.70; AOR having a nonworking relative: 1.71; 95% CI: 1.28-2.29), a high care level (AOR Care Level II: 2.79; 95% CI: 2.06-3.79, AOR Care Level III: 4.96; 95% CI: 3.40-7.24), and living in a rural municipality (AOR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.01-1.84) were major factors favoring home death compared with institutional death. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with other European countries, home death is still a frequent event in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Regional health policy should consider the actual distribution of place of death and corresponding predicting factors when establishing specialized palliative care home services as designed by recent German health legislation.

PMID: 21330098 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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[Probiotic therapy of the irritable bowel syndrome.]

Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2011 Feb;136(8):371-375

Authors: Enck P, Klosterhalfen S, Martens U

The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is among the most common disorders in gastroenterological practice with a prevalence of approx. 12 % in Germany, and it is characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort, altered stool frequency and consistency, and meteorism and bloating. There is currently no agreement between those seeing patients with IBS (general practitioner, gastroenterologist, psychosomatics) on the criteria for clinical diagnosis. Metaanalyses of treatment studies in IBS have shown that probiotics have a high clinical efficacy in IBS, especially since development of novel pharmaceutical compounds have not reached the market or have been withdrawn. In addition to the actual status of probiotic efficacy in IBS studies conducted worldwide, we present 3 German clinical studies with probiotic E.COLI preparations that have proven their efficacy in IBS in adults and in children.

PMID: 21332036 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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