[Factors affecting psychological reserves in the patients presenting with chronic somatic diseases].

The present study included 105 patients suffering chronic somatic diseases (CSD). Their health status was estimated based on the brief multifactor questionnaire for personality (BMQP) analysis; Spielberg state trait anxiety inventory (STAI); the Beck depression scale with the use of the "patient's quality of life" method; the well-being, activity, and mood (WAM) self-assessment test, and the stress-tolerance self-assistance test. The impairment of psychological reserve was documented in 85.7% of the patients with CSD. The degree of CSD deterioration was shown to be related to the frequency of exacerbation of clinical conditions, the severity of pain syndrome, the level of anxiety, depression, and hypochondriac mood. The impairment of psychological reserve was accompanied by the deterioration of the quality of life due to constraints imposed by the necessity to undergo medical treatment, avoid situations of emotional stress, restrict the scope of physical and social activities.

[Complex treatment of elderly patients with pain reflectory manifestations of lumbosacral osteochondrosis and peripheral circulation disorder]. / Kompleksne likuvannia khvorykh starshykh vikovykh hrup z bol'ovymy reflektornymy proiavamy poperekovoho osteokhondrozu ta porushenniamy periferiinoho krovoobihu.

Involutional age makes difficult the treatment of pain syndromes of vertebra origin. Concomitant diseases, age stress syndrome, hormone disbalance constrain the management of the disease. Combination of laser stimulation, reflexotherapy, psychodiagnostics and psychocorrection enhances the efficiency of the treatment of pain syndromes in patients with lumbo-sacral radiculitis and peripheral circulation disorder.

[Effect of combined psychocorrection on dynamics of pain syndrome and psychological status of patients with spinal osteochondrosis]. / Vliianie kompleksnoi psikhokorrektsii na dinamiku bolevogo sindroma i psikhologicheskii status bol'nykh osteokhondrozom pozvonochnika.

AIM: To study effectiveness of a new psychocorrection method (combined use of neuroleptic trifluoperasine and psychorelaxation therapy using biological feedback) in rehabilitation of patients with long-term pain syndrome provoked by spinal osteochondrosis (SOC) to determine predictors of response to this method of psychocorrection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 132 patients with SOC and associated pain syndrome were examined using pain assessing methods and psychological tests. RESULTS: Psychocorrection including neuroleptic significantly raises the efficacy of SOC treatment and relieves pain, hypochondric fixations and depressive disorders. The reduction of pain syndrome intensity in the course of psychocorrection correlates with attenuation of hypochondric disorders and inclination to fixation. As to predictors of the treatment effect, the strongest relief of pain in psychocorrection was achieved in patients with hypochondric and anxiodepressive disorders. CONCLUSION: Combined psychocorrection comprising minimal doses of neuroleptic trifluoperasine and psychorelaxation is effective in the treatment of SOC patients with long-term pain syndrome.

[Maintenance and improvement of quality of life among elderly patients using a pet-type robot].

There have been reports of cases in which quality of life and loneliness of elderly people have been affected by interaction with the pet-type robot AIBO. In the present comparison between first and 20th sessions of activity with the pet-type robot, statistically significant improvements were observed in speech, emotional words and satisfaction index. The AKO loneliness scale value was 3.33 at the first session, and was 1.00 at the 20th session (statistically significant decrease). In a comparison of health-related QOL before and after interaction with AIBO, using the SF-36 survey, role function (RP) was statistically higher at the 20th session than at the first session. Evaluation by CgA, a mental stress index, showed a statistically significant decrease as the number of AIBO sessions increased. Case 1: The patient was a 68-year-old woman with chronic rheumatoid arthritis. Her AKO loneliness scale value was 4 on the first session and 1 on the 20th session. She said, "I do not think about anything while playing with the pet-type robot. It heals my mind." Case 2: The patient was a 74-year-old woman with cervical osteochondrosis. Her AKO loneliness scale value was 5 on the first session and 2 on the 20th session. She said, "The first time, I didn't like playing with the robot because I was depressed. After I had played with the robot several times, I felt good." Case 3: The patient was an 84-year-old man with cerebral apoplexy sequelae. His AKO loneliness scale value was 6 on the first session and 1 on the 20th session. He sang with the robot occasionally. The amount of conversation between him and his children greatly increased. Unlike animals, a pet robot does not carry the risk of bacterial infection. The present results suggest the possibility of using robots as a substitute for animal-assisted therapy and other psychosocial therapy in aseptic rooms, ICUs, children's wards, and special care wards for patients with dementia.

[Pain perception and psychological status of patients suffering from spinal osteochondrosis with pain syndrome]. / Osobennosti vospriiatiia boli i psikhologicheskii status bol'nykh osteokhondrozom pozvonochnika s bolevym sindromom.

132 patients suffering from spinal osteochondrosis with pain syndrome were examined for pain perception and psychological status. Pain intensity in such patients showed association with hypochondriac and anxiodepressive disorders combination with rigidity and development of fixations. Deterioration of life quality correlated with severity of pain syndrome and such features as unsatisfaction, tension, anxiety, rigidity, fixation of attention on personal feelings, pessimistic outlook, low stress resistance. Psychological characteristics and quality of life depended on gender and location of vertebrogenic pain syndrome.

[Characteristics of psychological features in patients with spinal pains, cerebrovascular pathology and fibromyalgia]. / Kharakteristika psikhologicheskikh osobennostei bol'nykh s khronicheskimi boliami v spine, tserebrovaskuliarnoi patologiei i fibromialgiei.

Three hundred thirty-seven patients with neurological symptoms of lumbar osteochondritis (163 patients, mean age 40.3 +/- 0.51 years), fibromyalgia (32 patients, mean age 45.3 +/- 1.15 years), initial forms of cerebrovascular pathology (142 patients, mean age 46.8 +/- 0.56 years) and 40 healthy controls (mean age 43.2 +/- 1.07 years) have been examined using cliniconeurological and psychological diagnostic methods. Higher frequency of emotional tension was found in patients of all the groups (53.4, 65.6 and 61.3% respectively). Similar personality characteristics predominated both in patients with chronic back pain and in those with cerebrovascular pathology. Along with reaction to disease, other factors (chronic psycho-traumatizing influences, interpersonal conflicts of needs and personal reactivity deficit) promoted psychic dysadaptation.

[The role of personality aspects in patients with chronic neurological symptoms of vertebral osteochondrosis and psychological rehabilitation methods]. / Rol' lichnostnykh osobennostei bol'nykh v khronizatsii nevrologicheskikh proiavlenii osteokhondroza pozvonochnika i puti psikhokorrektsii.

The aim of the study is to define mechanisms of influence of the most typical personal traits on chronization of vertebroneurological signs. 100 chronic patients with vertebroneurologic pathology were examined. Early signs of psychic dysadaptation, hypostenic or mixed types of psychological reactivity, low lability of intellectual processes and nonspecific signs were found in the most of the patients. It is suggested that insufficiency of psychological defence might contribute to the development of psychic dysadaptation. Both mechanisms of psychological defence and attitude toward disease were conditioned by predominant personal peculiarities. It is personal characteristics that cause predisposition to development of psychic dysadaptation and to unfavourable attitude toward disease. That in turn contribute to the development of the disorders of motor stereotype. Psychocorrection of such patients is discussed.

[The psychological characteristics of patients with neurological manifestations of lumbar osteochondrosis]. / Psikhologicheskaia kharakteristika bol'nykh s nevrologicheskimi proiavleniiami poiasnichnogo osteokhondroza.

Both clinical-neurological and psychological examinations of 42 patients with neurological manifestations of lumbar osteochondrosis with chronic or chronic recurring course were carried out. The main features of personality in most cases were anxiety, hypochondria, passivity and demonstrativity. The clinical signs of nonspecific psycho-emotional tension was found in 70% of cases. Its level correlated negatively with the effectiveness of the treatment. It was established that the negative influence of personality on the course of disease and on the effectiveness of its therapy was connected with the predisposition of such individuals to unfavourable type of reaction toward disease and to development of psychic adaptation disorders.

[The vertebroneurological problems of pain]. / Vertebronevrologicheskie problemy boli.

The following aspects of pain theory essential for clinical vertebroneurology were examined in article, namely: vertebral receptors irritation as the source of vertebral pains, multitude of vertebroneurological syndromes factors, psychogenic factors of pain experience, diagnostic estimation of pain and effectiveness of medical influences on ache. Unpunctuality and deontological unjustification of disease definition by pain sign as well as estimation of treatment results according to direct analgetic effect were emphasized.

[Psychoautonomic disorders in painful vertebrogenic syndromes]. / Psikhovegetativnye rasstroistva pri bolevykh vertebrogennykh sindromakh.

Compression spectral analysis of EEG and electropolygraphic registration (EMG, SGR, ECG), psychological and clinical investigations were used to examine patients with right and left vertebrogenic pain syndrome, patients with psychogenic neurotic syndrome and control group of healthy subjects. It was found that vertebrogenic syndrome frequently combined with psychogenic disorders. The latter were more evident in the left-side syndromes, occurred in more severe EEG abnormality. The role of the right hemisphere in the genesis of the above disorders in the patients and the problem of the center-periphery relations in pain vertebrogenic syndromes are discussed.

[Pathogenetic mechanisms of sex disorders in the clinical picture of vertebrogenic pain syndromes]. / Patogeneticheskie mekhanizmy seksual'nykh rasstroistv v klinike vertebrogennykh bolevykh sindromov.

Vertebro-sexual correlations were studied in 120 men with low back pain. The weakness of sexual constitution in patients with radicular syndromes indicates a correlation between vertebrogenic and sexual insufficiency. Sexual disorders in this group (27% of cases) are, probably, the result of strongly pronounced asthenia. High occurrence of sexual disorders (41%) in the group of patients with reflex syndromes depends on the main vascular mechanisms.

[Incongruous pain in patients with spinal osteochondrosis]. / Nekongruéntnye boli u bol'nykh s osteokhondrozom pozvonochnika.

The article is devoted to the investigation of actual at present problem of incongruent pain in patients with spine osteochondrosis. 26 patients with congruent and 24 patients with incongruent pain, intensity and localization of which did not correspond to organic disturbances, have been examined. The results of comparison of two groups demonstrated involvement of central mechanisms, namely physiologic, in the pain syndrome formation in patients with incongruent pain. They demonstrate the necessity of differentiated approach in the treatment of the patients of the mentioned group, including psychotherapeutic measures.

[Neurohumoral correlations in lumbar pain syndromes]. / Neirogumoral'nye sootnosheniia pri poiasnichnykh bolevykh sindromakh.

The hemostasis system, activity of opioid peptides, hormonal status, vegetative and emotional parameters were studied in patients with lumbar pains of a vertebrogenic nature. The results obtained revealed a whole series of generalized shifts determining the reaction of the body to a local pain syndrome. These shifts were shown to exert an unfavourable effect on the course of a local pathological process. It is suggested that the generalized neurohumoral changes should be corrected by anti- and deaggregation agents, vasodilators, and a combination of psychotropic drugs.