Influence of Dinner Music on Food Intake and Symptoms Common in Dementia

The influence of dinner music on food intake and symptoms common in dementia such as depressed mood, irritability and restlessness was studied. The study was carried out in a nursing-home ward in Sweden. Soothing music was played as dinner music for two weeks, Swedish tunes from the 1920s and 1930s for two weeks and pop music for two weeks. Prior to these periods, there was one week without music, and at the end of the intervention there was a two-week control period. The effects of the intervention were assessed by psychological ratings and by weighing the food helpings. It was found that during all three music periods the patients ate more in total. The difference was particularly significant for the dessert. The staff were thought to be influenced by the music, as they served the patients more food, both main course and dessert, whenever music was played. The patients were less irritable, anxious and depressed during the music periods. The results of the study suggest that dinner music, particularly soothing music, can reduce irritability, fear-panic and depressed mood and can stimulate demented patients in a nursing-home ward into eating more.     

Arthrodesis of the trapeziometacarpal joint

Because degenerative changes in the trapeziometacarpal joint are a common cause of pain and weakness of the thumb, particularly in postmenopausal women, we have evaluated the functional and radiological results of arthrodesis in 43 patients. Arthrodesis is a safe and effective way of treating isolated painful arthritis in the trapeziometacarpal joint; solid fusion occurred in 39 cases, and four patients had fibrous union. All but four patients were satisfied with the operation including three of the four patients with fibrous union. Thirty-one of the patients had no functional restrictions (decreased range of movement), 34 were free of pain at rest, and 25 were free of pain all the time.     

Integrity-promoting care of demented nursing home patients: Psychological and biochemical changes

The effects of integrity-promoting care in a nursing home with demented patients were studied. In one ward the staff were given special training. The results showed that the treatment induced a reduction of distractability, confusion, anxiety and depressed mood, and improvement in motor performance. At the same time the cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of somatostatin increased.     

Structural and functional aspects of cells in the nasal mucociliary system

The regulation of the fluid balance of the mucus is important for a good function of the mucociliary system in the nose. The nasal glands and the goblet cells have been proposed to be the main source of fluid. Microvilli-equipped epithelial cells, ciliated and nonciliated, constituting 70% to 90% of the cells on the turbinates in the nose, are of importance for the regulation of the hydration of the mucus. These cells have the same characteristics as other fluid-secreting cells elsewhere in the body. They have microvilli, a terminal web, folding of the basolateral membrane, and numerous cell organelles. Blockage of the energy supply strongly reduces the fluid secretion.     

An interregional comparative study of headache clinic populations

We present a comparative study between headache clinic populations from 2 inherently different regions of the United States. Using standardized methods, 1 of us (JFR) prospectively evaluated 578 new patients attending the headache clinic at the University of California in San Diego. In a similar manner, we subsequently evaluated 115 new patients presenting to the headache clinic at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. We found few differences between the 2 populations. These differences more likely reflect regional variations in healthcare delivery or methodologic artifact than intrinsic dissimilarities.     

Abnormalities of growth in 7- to 18-year-old psychiatric patients

The growth curves of all nonimmigrant school-age children living in one district of Malm?, Sweden and treated at the Department of Child and Youth Psychiatry during 1983 were investigated. The study group consisted of 40 children. Twenty-five of these children (63%) showed abnormal growth compared to 6 children (15%) with abnormal growth in an age-and sex-matched nonpsychiatric control population (p less than 0.001). A majority of the children with abnormal growth exhibited deviant growth within the first 4 years of life, usually several years before showing any psychiatric symptoms. These results, if borne out by additional studies, may have important clinical applications in the fields of developmental medicine and child psychiatry.     

Lack of correlation between NADPH-oxidase priming and elevated alkaline phosphatase activity in cord blood neutrophils

Human neutrophils were isolated from cord blood drawn after Caesarean section deliveries without labour and from peripheral blood from healthy adults. The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in the cell populations was compared with the release of respiratory burst products after activation with the chemoattractant n-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). In contrast to cord blood neutrophils obtained from babies after normal vaginal deliveries, the Caesarean section neutrophils were not metabolically primed. However, like the neutrophils from vaginally delivered babies, the Caesarean section neutrophils showed an increased ALP activity compared to adult control neutrophils. These findings indicate that priming of cord blood neutrophils appears to be induced by labour and can be dissociated from increased ALP activity.