Does transcranial direct current stimulation during writing alleviate upper limb freezing in people with Parkinson’s disease? A pilot study

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) can boost motor performance in Parkinson’s disease (PD) when it is applied at rest. However, the potential supplementary therapeutic effect of the concurrent application of tDCS during the training of motor tasks is largely unknown. The present study examined the effects of tDCS on upper limb motor blocks during a freezing-provoking writing task (the funnel task) requiring up- and down-stroke movements at alternating amplitudes. Ten PD patients and 10 age-matched controls underwent two sessions of writing combined with 20 min of anodal or sham tDCS on the left M1 in a randomized cross-over design. The primary outcome was the number of upper limb freezing episodes during five trials of the funnel task on a touch-sensitive tablet. PD patients showed a significant reduction in freezing episodes during tDCS compared to sham. No effects of tDCS were found for the amplitude, variability and speed of the strokes outside the freezing episodes. However, patients who reported freezing episodes in daily life (N = 6) showed a beneficial effect of tDCS on stroke characteristics. These results indicate a subgroup-dependent variability in response to non-invasive brain stimulation applied during the performance of motor tasks in PD. This warrants future studies to examine tDCS as an adjuvant tool for training programs aimed to reduce motor deficits related to freezing.     

5HT antagonists attenuate MK801-impaired radial arm maze performance in rats

Glutamatergic hypofunction occurs in Alzheimer's disease (AD). MK801, a noncompetitive blocker of glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, was used to disrupt the cognitive performance of rats trained on a delayed nonmatching to sample radial maze task. Drugs which act by blocking serotonin (5-HT) receptors were evaluated for their ability to reduce the cognitive impairment produced by MK801. Specifically, WAY-100635, a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, buspirone, a 5-HT1A partial agonist, ritanserin, a 5-HT2 antagonist, and ondansetron, a 5-HT3 antagonist, were assessed. In addition, the muscarinic agonist arecoline was evaluated for its potential cognitive benefit in this model. It was found that WAY-100635 significantly reduced the cognitive impairment induced by MK801. Treatment with single doses of ritanserin, ondansetron, or arecoline in combination with MK801 did not result in a cognitive impairment, indicating that these drugs attenuated the MK801 impairment. The combination of buspirone and MK801 resulted in an inability of the animals to complete the task. These results suggest that interactions between 5-HT and glutamate may mediate the beneficial effects of reducing cognitive impairment and that 5-HT antagonists, especially selective 5-HT1A antagonists, may be useful in treating AD. Further, it is indicated that the MK801 model of cognitive impairment may add to the armamentarium of tools available to predict treatment efficacy in AD.     

药物经济学在疾病管理中的应用

随着近年来慢性病患者的增多,慢性病防治成本的增加,各国政府急需一种方法来降低慢性病患者医疗保健费用,减少卫生资源的浪费;而疾病管理作为解决上述问题的一种有效模式,本文讲述了其定义以及其实施的动因。同时指出药物经济学作为疾病管理中有效的评价工具及其在改善卫生保健资源利用方面的重大作用,阐述了其定义和评价方法,及其在疾病管理中应用时的选取,然后描述了其应用过程中存在的问题及解决对策。     

门诊性病患者的心理问题、产生原因及对应处置决策研究

研究门诊性病患者因承受巨大心理压力而引起的心理健康问题,剖析产生的原因,制定科学的对应处置决策,因人而异地使用药物种类,给予相应的心理治疗,创造良好的就医环境,使患者病痛解除,心理压力释放,身心恢复健康。     

终末期肾脏疾病治疗的社会问题

终末期肾脏病是一种常见的导致劳动力丧失的疾病,在我国主要靠血液透析、腹膜透析或肾移植等替代治疗,医疗资源的不平衡分布致使只有部分患者能得以治疗,长期的替代治疗给患者的家庭造成巨大的经济负担,使患者对医护人员家庭成员等产生强烈的依赖感,从而使其处于焦虑、抑郁等负面心理状态,影响家庭与社会的稳定。针对这些社会和心理问题制定相关的行业规范是必需和必要的。     

心理咨询和治疗的知情同意原则及其影响因素

随着心理咨询和治疗的发展,患者的知情同意成为临床心理学实践的一个基本伦理观念和原则.首先提出心理咨询和治疗实践中的知情同意问题,介绍心理咨询和治疗知情同意的要素、过程、内容、意义和影响因素,并附心理咨询和治疗提供给患者的知情同意问卷,旨在引起从业者的注意和重视,并在临床实践中自觉地遵守.     

论我国刑法妨害传染病防治罪的完善

认为妨害传染病防治罪的可罚范围有待拓宽,应将一些乙类传染病和其他突发性强、致死率高的传染病纳入本罪规制的范围;行为方式有待明确,运用刑法典与附属刑法相配合的立法模式是一种较为理想的做法;刑罚设置上有待进一步完善,增加罚金刑的适用,对后果特别严重的情形可以结果加重犯来处理。     

Preattentive processing of heart cues and the perception of heart symptoms in congenital heart disease

The present study was aimed at clarifying whether preattentive processing of heart cues results in biased perception of heart sensations in patients with congenital heart disease (ConHD) who are also highly trait anxious. Twenty-six patients with ConHD and 22 healthy participants categorized heart-related (heart rate) or neutral sensations (constant vibration) as either heart or neutral. Both sensations were evoked using a bass speaker that was attached on the chest of the participant. Before each physical sensation, a subliminal heart-related or neutral prime was presented. Biased perception of heart-sensations would become evident by a delayed categorization of the heart-related sensations. In line with the prediction, a combination of high trait anxiety and ConHD resulted in slower responses after a heart-related sensation that was preceded by a subliminal heart cue. Preattentive processing of harmless heart cues may easily elicit overperception of heart symptoms in highly trait anxious patients with ConHD.     

重型肝炎治疗方案的理性选择

针对我国重型肝炎治疗现状,对重型肝炎常用的以及部分有争议的治疗药物和方法进行分析和讨论,就如何选择治疗方案提出医疗原则,认为应采取内科治疗-人工肝-肝移植的综合治疗模式,结合患者的治疗愿望及经济承受力,理性地选择治疗方案,以期达到合理、有效和经济的目的.     

The original risk: overtheologizing ethics and undertheologizing sin.

The project of articulating a theological ethics on the basis of liturgical anthropology is bound to fail if the necessary consequence is that one has to quit the forum of critical modern rationality. The risk of Engelhardt's approach is to limit rationality to a narrow vision of reason. Sin is not to be understood as the negation of human holiness, but as the negation of divine holiness. The only way to renew theological ethics is to understand sin as the anthropological and ethical expression of the biblical message of the justification by faith only. Sin is therefore a secondary category, which can only by interpreted in light of the positive manifestation of liberation, justification, and grace. The central issue of Christian ethics is not ritual purity or morality, but experience, confession and recognition of our own injustice in our dealing with God and men.