The ADAPP trial: a two-year longitudinal multidisciplinary intervention study for prostate cancer frail patients on androgen deprivation associated to curative radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Androgen deprivation (AD) therapy combined to radiotherapy (RT) is a curative therapeutic option for patients with non-metastatic locally advanced or aggressive intermediate prostate cancer (PC), though with a range of nutritional, physical, and psychological side effects. A multidisciplinary care program was created to help frail patients to prevent and manage those side effects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal interventional study in frail patients, presenting either cardiovascular/pulmonary comorbidities, old age (≥75 years), vulnerability ratings, or balance impairment. Patients were treated by AD and RT and, benefited from nutritional coaching, supervised biweekly 45 minute physical training, and psychological counseling for two years. Treatment outcomes included PC-related quality of life (QoL), body mass index, fat mass index, and fat-free mass index derived from bioelectrical impedance analysis, Six-Minute Walk Test, Timed Up&Go, handgrip strength, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, Mini Mental State Examination. Measures were repeated after zero, three, six, nine, 12, 18, 24 months, and 12-months post-study follow-up. A prospective mixed-model design was used to assess longitudinal outcome. RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed no significant change over the two years, including post-study follow-up. Means of QoL, nutritional, physical, as well as psychological variables remained stable over more than two years in the 35 men aged 74 (range 68-76) years. CONCLUSION: The expected side effects of AD and RT were not observed in frail PC patients who followed this multidisciplinary care program.

[When hands are speaking: sandplay therapy]. / Ouand les mains parlent: le jeu de sable.

Sandplay therapy is a technique conceived by Dora Kalff and inspired by the analytical psychology of C.G.Jung. This psychotherapeutic approach is used in a treatment program for eating disorders (ESCAL) offered by the University Hospitals of Geneva. Sandplay offers patients the possibility to express their emotions by a creative mean and facilitates the verbal expression of their personal life history within a protected setting, individual or in groups. Sandplay gives access to psychotherapeutic processes by a creative and playful approach. This article describes the technique, illustrated by a clinical case history.

Abandonment Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Functioning Among Suicidal Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder: A 3-Year Naturalistic Follow-Up.

The authors present the results from a 3-year follow-up among 170 patients who had participated in the original randomized study, which consisted of three treatment conditions: (a) 3-month abandonment psychotherapy (AP) delivered by certified psychotherapists, (b) AP delivered by nurses, and (c) treatment as usual in a psychiatric crisis center. All subjects were recruited at the emergency room after a suicide attempt and met diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder and major depression. Psychotic symptoms, bipolar disorder, and mental retardation were exclusion criteria. At 3-year follow-up, 134 (78.8%) subjects had blind, reliable assessment by clinical psychologists. The intent-to-treat analysis indicated that those patients who had received AP during acute treatment had better global functioning, improved work adjustment, and less unemployment/disability at 3-year follow-up. No differences were found as a function of type of therapist delivering AP. The data confirm that short-term AP gains in psychosocial functioning are sustained over the longer term.