Medication compliance in elderly people: influencing variables and interventions

This paper describes a study in which 70 elderly patients were assessed for risk factors in their medication regimen They were separated into three study groups, including two levels of teaching intervention focused on the home medication administration system, and a control group The intervention utilizing a follow-up telephone call demonstrated a significant change in risk-related behaviours such as verbalization of the regimen, congruence between instructions and usage of medications, and taking of medicines not currently prescribed or over-the-counter     

Clinical trial of a prevention and treatment protocol for skin breakdown in two nursing homes.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of skin care protocols, including a body wash and skin protectant, on skin breakdown in 2 nursing homes. DESIGN: This was a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design study.Setting and subjects Adult residents (n = 136) of 2 skilled nursing homes consented to participate in this study. Seventy percent were women; the sample average age of 82 years. INSTRUMENTS: A researcher-designed data recording form documented resident demographics, incidence and type of skin breakdown or pressure ulcer, presence of urinary or fecal incontinence, and assessment of the effectiveness of body wash and skin protectant. METHODS: Baseline data on prevalence of pressure ulcers and skin protocol were collected weekly for a 3-month period followed by a week-long educational program by the researchers about skin care and the body wash and skin protectant. During the 3-month trial with the body wash and skin protectant incorporated into routine care, research assistants recorded resident data weekly and researchers again assessed prevalence and incidence of pressure ulcers and skin breakdown weekly. RESULTS: Incorporation of a body wash and skin protectant into a skin care prevention and early intervention protocol in 2 nursing homes documented a decrease in skin breakdowns from 68 pre-intervention to 40 postintervention; the decrease in agency B was statistically significant. There was a statistically significant decrease in stage I and II pressure ulcer incidence overall (pre-intervention = 19.9%, postintervention = 8.1%). Nurses evaluated the body wash and skin protectant as effective for 98% of the time used. CONCLUSION: Implementation of a protocol for skin care along with staff education, including the prophylactic use of a body wash and skin protectant, reduced the incidence of skin breakdown, including pressure ulcers and perineal dermatitis, in 2 long-term care facilities.     

Diagnosis and evaluation of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Although some areas of adult ADHD knowledge remain unclear, there isa strong sense of how to proceed with diagnosis using current DSM-IV criteria as a guide. Thorough clinical interview, aided by the use of rating scales for current symptoms and collateral information about childhood from parents or siblings, forms the backbone of the assessment. The poor psychosocial outcomes of patients with ADHD. often a consequence of unrecognized,untreated disorder manifestation, also can serve as a diagnostic indicator. Diagnostic and symptom assessment scales also can be a significant helpin diagnosing and establishing the symptoms of ADHD in adults. It is important to remember that according to DSM-IV, the cardinal criteria for making the diagnosis are the presence of sufficient current symptoms and impairment in two realms (home, school/work, and social interactions). Accordingly, adult ADHD remains a clinical diagnosis, and the clinician-administered interview remains the cornerstone of diagnostic evaluation.     

Complications associated with maxillary nerve block anaesthesia via the greater palatine canal

This paper documents the type, frequency and duration of complications associated with regional anaesthesia of the maxillary nerve via the greater palatine canal in a series of 101 patients treated in the Oral Surgery Department, United Dental Hospital of Sydney.     

Proteasome inhibitor model of Parkinson's disease in mice is confounded by neurotoxicity of the ethanol vehicle.

Defects in the ubiquitin-proteasome system have been implicated in Parkinson's Disease (PD). Recently, a rat model of PD was developed using a synthetic proteasome inhibitor (PSI), (Z-lle-Glu(OtBu)-Ala-Leu-al). We attempted to transfer this model to mouse studies, where genetics can be more readily investigated due to the availability of genetically modified mice. We treated C57BL/6 (B6) mice with six intraperitoneal injections of 6 mg/kg PSI in 50 mul of 70% ethanol over a 2-week-period. We found significant decreases in nigrostriatal dopamine in PSI-treated mice compared with saline-treated mice. However, we observed similar decreases in the ethanol-treated vehicle control group. Administration of ethanol alone led to significant long-term alterations in dopamine levels. Ethanol significantly eclipses the effects of PSI in the dopamine system, and therefore is a confounding vehicle for this model.     

Effects of food restriction and refeeding on adipocyte glucose metabolism in Zucker rats

Chronic food restriction has been shown to enhance glucose metabolism in adipocytes from lean Zucker rats at 10, 26, and 52 weeks of age compared to ad libitum-fed lean rats. Only adipocytes from food restricted 10-week-old obese rats demonstrated this response. In this study, lean and obese rats were food restricted from 5 until 14 weeks of age to determine the age at which adipocytes from obese rats were no longer affected by this intervention. Effects of 1 week of refeeding were also determined. When the rats were killed, body weights were highest in control rats followed by restricted/refed and then restricted rats within each genotype. Epididymal pad weights of lean rats were resistant to dietary intervention, while those of obese-restricted and obese-restricted/refed rats weighed less than pads of obese-control rats. Retroperitoneal pad weight was lowered by food restriction in both genotypes; but only that of lean-restricted/refed rats totally recovered with refeeding. Adipocytes of lean-restricted rats had the highest conversion of glucose to CO₂. Glyceride-glycerol production was higher in obese compared to lean rats, but restricted rats had elevated conversion of glucose to fatty acids. In general, these results indicate that by 14 weeks of age obese Zucker rats no longer respond to food restriction with an elevated rate of glucose metabolism in adipocytes.     

Parental Perceptions, Early Maladaptive Schemas, and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adults

Cognitive models of depression propose that negative schemas contribute to depressive symptoms. Early experiences, particularly parenting, have been proposed to influence cognitive schemas and have also been shown to correlate with depression. This study explores the concurrent relationship between retrospective reports of parenting, Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs) described by J. E. Young (1994), and symptoms of depression in a sample of undergraduate students (N = 194). The EMSs of defectiveness/shame, insufficient self-control, vulnerability, and incompetence/inferiority were associated with perceptions of parenting and depressive symptomatology. There was evidence that these four EMSs partially mediate the relationship between parental perceptions and depressive symptomatology. Results are discussed in relation to previous findings, theory, and the measurement of EMSs.     

Visual function in Huntington's disease patients and presymptomatic gene carriers.

Disturbances of visual cognition, visuomotor performance, and visual memory have been described frequently in Huntington's disease (HD). Early stage visual abnormalities could contribute to these deficits. We evaluated visual processing in 20 control subjects who were non-gene carriers at risk for HD, nine presymptomatic gene-positive subjects, and eight subjects with a recent diagnosis of Huntington's disease. Visual perceptual tests of contrast sensitivity and motion discrimination were used to probe early stage visual processing. Extraocular movements were evaluated in a neurologic examination, and the Digit Symbol test was used to test visual motor performance. Contrast sensitivity did not differ among the three groups. Motion discrimination was impaired in HD subjects but not in the presymptomatic gene carriers when compared to gene noncarriers. Among gene carriers, impaired motion discrimination performance was associated with poorer Digit Symbol performance and extraocular abnormalities. These findings suggest that the early stages of HD are associated with disturbances of motion perception as well as disruptions of visual motor and ocular motor performance.