Gelotology as an example of a therapeutic method for children, adolescents and adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 601 (7) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
Amanda Błaszczak

Currently, the use of laughter as a form of treatment and support is not very popular. The purpose of this article is to try to discuss gelotology as an example of a therapeutic method that can be used not only for adults, but also for children and adolescents. This paper presents the most important issues related to laughter therapy. Research shows that humour plays an important role in the healing process. Its positive effects contribute to the reduction of symptoms of many different diseases and disorders that are often associated with pain and suffering. Laughter becomes an important therapeutic tool, the use of which contributes to the improvement of the mental and physical condition of an individual, which is why it is worth learning more about it.

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1589-1594
Author(s):  
Yvonne van Zaalen ◽  
Isabella Reichel

Purpose Among the best strategies to address inadequate speech monitoring skills and other parameters of communication in people with cluttering (PWC) is the relatively new but very promising auditory–visual feedback (AVF) training ( van Zaalen & Reichel, 2015 ). This study examines the effects of AVF training on articulatory accuracy, pause duration, frequency, and type of disfluencies of PWC, as well as on the emotional and cognitive aspects that may be present in clients with this communication disorder ( Reichel, 2010 ; van Zaalen & Reichel, 2015 ). Methods In this study, 12 male adolescents and adults—6 with phonological and 6 with syntactic cluttering—were provided with weekly AVF training for 12 weeks, with a 3-month follow-up. Data was gathered on baseline (T0), Week 6 (T1), Week 12 (T2), and after follow-up (T3). Spontaneous speech was recorded and analyzed by using digital audio-recording and speech analysis software known as Praat ( Boersma & Weenink, 2017 ). Results The results of this study indicated that PWC demonstrated significant improvements in articulatory rate measurements and in pause duration following the AVF training. In addition, the PWC in the study reported positive effects on their ability to retell a story and to speak in more complete sentences. PWC felt better about formulating their ideas and were more satisfied with their interactions with people around them. Conclusions The AVF training was found to be an effective approach for improving monitoring skills of PWC with both quantitative and qualitative benefits in the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social domains of communication.


2021 ◽  
pp. 014556132110624
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Wierzchowska ◽  
Paulina Kalińczak-Górna ◽  
Błażej Grześkowiak ◽  
Kamil Radajewski ◽  
Jakub Burduk ◽  
...  

Background In addition to its hemostatic and stabilization role, biodegradable nasal packing can be used as a carrier for drugs after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). The aim of this study was to compare the influence of biodegradable synthetic polyurethane foam (NasoPore) soaked with ciprofloxacin, or betamethasone, or both to the same foam soaked with saline after FESS. Methods 120 adults with chronic rhinosinusitis, with and without polyps, directed for bilateral full-house FESS were enrolled for the study. The patients were randomized and blinded into 3 groups, depending on the type of postoperative procedure applied. Thus, NasoPore soaked with antibiotic was provided to the first group; in the second group, the steroid was used; and the combination of both, in the third group. In each case, the aforementioned procedure was administered on one side of the nose, while NasoPore was soaked in saline on the other, at the end of the surgery, respectively. The patients were requested to complete a questionnaire during their postoperative visits at 2, 10, 30, 90, and 180 days, scoring the level of complaints on the VAS scale, separately for each side. The evaluation of the healing process was performed at each visit using rigid endoscopy and subsequently rated on numerical scales. Results Decreased mucosal edema and secretion; reduced Lund-Kennedy score; and favorable influences on facial pressure, nasal blockage, and smell were most evidently seen in the group receiving the antibioticsteroid combination. Conclusions The application of biodegradable nasal packing with betamethasone and ciprofloxacin in sino-nasal surgery has positive effects not only on the healing process but also impacts patient’s comfort. To optimize it, however, further research is needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 435-439
Author(s):  
Evgeni Rozenfeld ◽  
Eleanora Sapoznikov Sebakhutu ◽  
Yuval Krieger ◽  
Leonid Kalichman

Objective: To review current scientific knowledge as to the efficacy of dry needling of scars on pain and other related symptoms and explore the possible physiological mechanisms of action. Methods: A narrative review of scientific literature published in English. Results: Two randomized controlled trials found that dry needling of scars (using the classic “surrounding the dragon” technique in one study and intradermal needling in a second study) was more effective than sham or control interventions with respect to scar appearance and pain. Two case reports have suggested that scar needling generates a rapid decrease in pain and improvement of mobility in scarred tissues. Another two case reports have reported positive effects of scar needling on the wound healing process. These findings are supported by an animal study examining the effect of needling on the wound healing process and the physiological mechanisms of action underlying the technique. Conclusion: There is preliminary evidence that the “surrounding the dragon” needling technique is a beneficial treatment for patients suffering from scar pain and other scar-related symptoms and can facilitate wound healing and make this process less painful. Further high-quality studies should be conducted to verify/quantify the efficacy of this method, to better understand the underlying mechanisms of action underlying the effects of scar needling and to establish an effective intervention protocol.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadi Eftekhari ◽  
Alireza Jahandideh ◽  
Ahmad Asghari ◽  
Abolfazl Akbarzadeh ◽  
Saeed Hesaraki

AbstractIntroductionIn recent years, the use of bone scaffolds as bone tissue substitutes, especially the use of such as hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate, has been very popular. Today, the use of modern engineering techniques and advances in nanotechnology have expanded the use of nanomaterials as bone scaffolds for bone tissue applications.Material and MethodsThis study was performed on 60 adult male New Zealand rabbits divided into four experimental groups: the control group without any treatment, the second group receiving hydroxyapatite, the third group treated with β-tricalcium phosphate, and the fourth group receiving nanocomposite polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold. In a surgical procedure, a defect 6 mm in diameter was made in a hind limb femur. Four indexes were used to assess histopathology, which were union index, spongiosa index, cortex index, and bone marrow.ResultsThe results showed that nanocomposite PCL and control groups always had the respective highest and lowest values among all the groups at all time intervals. The histopathological assessment demonstrated that the quantity of newly formed lamellar bone in the nanocomposite PCL group was higher than in other groups.ConclusionAll these data suggest that PCL had positive effects on the bone healing process, which could have great potential in tissue engineering and clinical applications.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 4982
Author(s):  
Julianderson Carmo ◽  
Polliane Cavalcante-Araújo ◽  
Juliane Silva ◽  
Jamylle Ferro ◽  
Ana Carolina Correia ◽  
...  

Uvaol is a natural pentacyclic triterpene that is widely found in olives and virgin olive oil, exerting various pharmacological properties. However, information remains limited about how it affects fibroblasts and endothelial cells in events associated with wound healing. Here, we report the effect of uvaol in the in vitro and in vivo healing process. We show the positive effects of uvaol on migration of fibroblasts and endothelial cells in the scratch assay. Protein synthesis of fibronectin and laminin (but not collagen type I) was improved in uvaol-treated fibroblasts. In comparison, tube formation by endothelial cells was enhanced after uvaol treatment. Mechanistically, the effects of uvaol on cell migration involved the PKA and p38-MAPK signaling pathway in endothelial cells but not in fibroblasts. Thus, the uvaol-induced migratory response was dependent on the PKA pathway. Finally, topical treatment with uvaol caused wounds to close faster than in the control treatment using experimental cutaneous wounds model in mice. In conclusion, uvaol positively affects the behavior of fibroblasts and endothelial cells, potentially promoting cutaneous healing.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Abdulmoein E. Al-Agha ◽  
Talal A. Shaikhain ◽  
Abdullah A. Ashour

<p class="NormalWeb"><strong>BACKGROUND/AIM:</strong> Osteoporosis is a systemic disease characterized by decreased bone density and increased tendency to develop fractures. Osteoporosis in children and adolescents is a rare disease usually secondary to Medical conditions or medications given to children. The condition affects normal bone growth and development and carries with it multiple morbidities (physical and psychological) if not corrected promptly. This study aims to share our experience with Zoledronic Acid Therapy in Pediatric patients with secondary osteoporosis.</p><p class="NormalWeb"><strong>METHOD:</strong> A retrospective study which included 46 patients aged 3 to 18 years. All patients received specific doses of Zoledronic acid and were followed up at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Clinical and laboratory data were collected for each patient from their files. Adverse events were also recorded.</p><p class="NormalWeb"><strong>RESULTS:</strong> The use of Zoledronic Acid in children and adolescents appears to be statically significant reduce fracture rate (p=0.005), bone turnover markers (Osteocalcin p= 0.003, CTX p= 0.008) and pain frequency in symptomatic individuals (p=0.000). Careful selection of cases is required to provide maximum benefits compared to risks associated with therapy.</p><p class="NormalWeb"><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> This study demonstrates that Zoledronic acid has positive effects on clinical outcome and bone marker level as well as quality of life for Pediatric patients with Osteoporosis and their families, with no long-term side effects.</p>


1996 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Signorella ◽  
Irene Hanson Frieze ◽  
Susanne W. Hershey

Positive effects for women and girls of all-female schools have been proposed, although there is relatively little clear empirical support for these beneficial results. Much of the cited research is based on elite all-female institutions or on parochial schools. This study takes advantage of the change of a private, nonparochial school from all girls to both sexes. Longitudinal data from grades 2 through 12 were collected over the course of the academic year to study the results of this transition. Stereotyping declined with age and over time in both types of classrooms. Girls in single-sex classrooms showed some tendency to be more stereotyped in their perceptions of mixed-sex classrooms than did the girls who were actually in that setting. Thus, none of the measures showed any significant increase over time in stereotyping among girls in mixed-sex classes. Implications of these findings are discussed.


Author(s):  
Christoph Buck ◽  
◽  
Gabriele Eiben ◽  
Fabio Lauria ◽  
Kenn Konstabel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Physical activity (PA) is one of the major protective behaviours to prevent non-communicable diseases. Positive effects of the built environment on PA are well investigated, although evidence of this association is mostly based on cross-sectional studies. The present study aims to investigate the longitudinal effects of built environment characteristics in terms of a moveability index on PA of children in their transition phase to adolescence using data of the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort. Methods We used data on 3394 accelerometer measurements of 2488 children and adolescents aged 3 to 15 years old from survey centres of three countries, Germany, Italy, and Sweden, who participated in up to three surveys over 6 years. In network-dependent home neighbourhoods, a moveability index was calculated based on residential density, land use mix, street connectivity, availability of public transport and public open spaces such as green spaces and public playgrounds in order to quantify opportunities for PA of children and adolescents. Linear trajectories of light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were estimated using linear mixed models accounting for repeated measurements nested within individuals. Least squares means were estimated to quantify differences in trajectories over age. Results LPA and MVPA declined annually with age by approximately 20 min/day and 2 min/day respectively. In girls, the moveability index showed a consistent significantly positive effect on MVPA ($$ \hat{\beta} $$β̂ = 2.14, 95% CI: (0.11; 4.16)) for all ages, while in boys the index significantly lessened the decline in LPA with age for each year. ($$ \hat{\beta} $$β̂ = 2.68, 95% CI: (0.46; 4.90)). Availability of public open spaces was more relevant for MVPA in girls and LPA in boys during childhood, whereas in adolescence, residential density and intersection density became more important. Conclusion Built environment characteristics are important determinants of PA and were found to have a supportive effect that ameliorates the decline in PA during the transition phase from childhood to adolescence. In childhood environmental support for leisure time PA through public open spaces was found to be the most protective factor whereas in adolescence the positive influence of street connectivity and residential density was most supportive of physical activity.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzy Lai Wong ◽  
Rachel Colley ◽  
Sarah Connor Gorber ◽  
Mark Tremblay

Background:Actical accelerometer thresholds have been derived to enable objective measurement of time spent performing sedentary activity in children and adolescents, but not adults. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine Actical accelerometer sedentary activity thresholds for adults.Methods:Data were available from 3187 participants aged 6 to 79 years from a preliminary partial dataset of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, who wore an Actical for 7 days. Step count data were used to evaluate the use of 50, 100, and 800 counts per min (cpm) as sedentary activity thresholds. Minutes when no steps were recorded were considered minutes of sedentary activity.Results:The use of higher cpm thresholds resulted in a greater percentage of sedentary minutes being correctly classified as sedentary. The percentage of minutes that were incorrectly classified as sedentary was substantially higher when using a threshold of 800 cpm compared with 50 or 100 cpm. Results were similar for children, adolescents, and adults.Conclusions:These findings suggest that a threshold of 100 cpm is appropriate for classifying sedentary activity of adults when using the Actical. As such, wear periods with minutes registering less than 100 cpm would be classified as time spent performing sedentary activity.


2016 ◽  
pp. 917-929
Author(s):  
Ana Pesikan

Media has one of the most important and under-recognized influence on health, development and behavior of children and adolescents. Television is still the most popular form of media among children and adolescents. In the last 50 years, more than a thousand researches have been carried out in the world showing the great impact of television on children and adolescents. Television shapes the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of children and adolescents and strongly influences their perception of reality. The high impact of television is neither recognized by children nor adults; they estimate that the media affect all others except themselves. Television can positively influence a child?s prosocial behavior and acquisition of certain types of knowledge. However, the positive effects have been much less common and usually obtained at a younger age (3-5 years). Most of the studies provide a persistent and robust findings indicating the correlation between exposure to television and a variety of health problems (such as obesity, low physical activity, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) and an increased risk of certain types of behavior (like poor dietary habits, less sleep, smoking, violent behavior, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.). The research results show that the potentials of television with beneficial effects on children have not been realized; the list of negative effects is much longer and much more diverse; and strategies to reduce the negative effects of television do not apply. The documented findings on the impact of television should elicit serious concern, not just from parents and educators but from many others such as physicians, public health advocates, entertainment industry, politicians, and government.


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