Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Jan 2013
ReviewThe role of neurostimulation in the treatment of neuropathic pain.
The treatment of chronic pain syndromes may include pharmacological, physiotherapeutic, and invasive methods. Considerable number of patients do not achieve sufficient pain relief with pharmacotherapy, in these patients with neuropathic pain, electrical neurostimulation may be applied. ⋯ Neurostimulation therapy is also used in addition to the current medical treatment in different neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, refractory pain, epilepsy and migraine. The article provides the physicians the knowledge on different neurostimulation techniques for treatment of chronic neuropathic pain and their effectiveness.
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Jan 2013
ReviewChemical exposure early in life and the neurodevelopment of children--an overview of current epidemiological evidence.
A number of chemicals have been shown to demonstrate neurotoxic effects either in human or laboratory animal studies. This article aims at evaluating the impact of exposure to several chemicals including: organophosphate, organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury and lead on the neurodevelopment of children by reviewing the most recent published literature, and answer the question whether any progress has been made in the epidemiology of the neurodevelopment of children induced by exposure to those chemicals. The result of the presented studies show that exposure to the above-mentioned chemicals may impair the neurodevelopment of children. ⋯ Concerning the covariates and confounders affecting the endpoints in most of the presented studies, confounders were included in data analysis. In order to recognize the early cognitive, motor and language outcomes of chemical exposures, well standardized tools were used for evaluating the neurodevelopmental effects and offer an early and fairly comprehensive measure of child development. Because the neurotoxicants may cross the placenta and the fetal brain, exposure consideration regarding the reduction of exposure to those chemicals should be implemented.
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Jan 2013
Altered tissue electrical properties in women with breast cancer--preliminary observations.
In the United States, breast cancer (BC) is the most common non-skin cancer. In Poland, it is estimated that the number of new breast cancer cases affects about 13,500 women each year. There are many methods for nutritional status assessment. One of them is bioimpedance analysis (BIA). Direct bioimpedance measures (resistance, reactance, phase angle (PA)) determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) detectf changes in tissue electrical properties. The study was conducted to investigate whether there are any tissue electrical differences in patients with breast cancer. ⋯ Pre-surgical patients diagnosed with BC have altered tissue electrical properties. Further observations of a larger patient group would be valuable to calculate survival, validate the prognostic significance of PA, and monitor nutritional and therapeutic interventions in this patient population.
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Jan 2013
Clinical approach to visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome - pathophysiology, symptoms, and treatment.
Visceral pain has been defined as a pain resulting from activation of pain receptors localized in mucous membrane, serous membrane, and smooth muscles of hollow organs. The great majority of these organs are innervated by parasympathetic and sympathetic outflows. Afferent nerve fibres are involved in conduction of both acute and persistent pain and hyperalgesia. ⋯ For example, the complex therapy of pain and other manifestations associated with irritable bowel syndrome include psychotherapy/behavioural therapy, bulk-forming agents, probiotics, laxatives, antidiarrheals, antibacterial agents, antispasmodics, and antidepressants. The current knowledge about the pathogenesis of visceral pain gives a rationale for the development of new, more efficacious drugs with a positive benefit/risk ratio. Unfortunately, experience gained so far with the use of some agents affecting serotoninergic transmission in the gastrointestinal tract have shown a serious danger associated with their administration for patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
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The elderly are more susceptible to feeling pain than young people. Pain is described as a complex, subjective feeling causing significant limitation of physical, psychical and social functioning. In the literature, there are many classifications of pain. ⋯ In the pharmacological treatment of old people there are also non-opioid pain relieving medicine, opioids and supportive medicine. Among non-pharmacological treatments are rehabilitation and psychological therapy. In pain treatment, awareness among the elderly, their families and carers, and medical staff that the pain is not an attribute of old age; thus, it can be correctly diagnosed and treated.