Quality Of Life Through Listening Music Among Elderly People In Semi-Urban Area, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Aging is one of the biggest problems in Southeast Asia due to their rapidly growing population of the older person. Old aging population is usually confined to their homes resulting in poor quality of life (QOL). Music has been found to be the great activity for older peoples with physical, emotional and social disorders hence, it affects on quality of their life. This study explored the music preference among elderly people and their quality of life in the semi-urban of Thailand. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewing 353 elderly individuals living in the semi-urban area of Thailand. A validated, reliable world health organization quality of life (WHOQOL-OLD) tool was adapted for this study. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with QOL and its six domains with adjusted covariates, and the potential factors including chronic disease, community participation, traditional event participation, the experiences of music listening, and the types of music preference were entered in the model. RESULTS: Findings revealed that more than half of respondents were married female with an average age of 68.92±6.99. Around (80.7%) suffered from chronic diseases and the hypertension was found the highest (66.32%). The quality of life among the elderly was found at the moderate level with the total QOL score of 83.41±SD=10.32. Respondents with chronic diseases have the total QOL score (OR=0.95, 95% CI 0.93-0.98). Respondents who preferred to listen to Look Krung (Thai popular classic music) type have the total QOL score (OR=1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05), Autonomy Facet(AUT) score (OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.02-1.21), and Intimacy facet(INT) score (OR=1.14, 95% CI 1.05-1.24) as compared to those who did not listen the music. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the relationship between the QOL among aging people and the listening of music in the semi-urban area of Thailand.

Effects of traditional Thai self-massage using a Wilai massage stick(TM) versus ibuprofen in patients with upper back pain associated with myofascial trigger points: a randomized controlled trial.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to examine the effects of traditional Thai self-massage using a Wilai massage stick(TM) versus ibuprofen on reducing upper back pain associated with myofascial trigger points. [Subjects and Methods] Sixty patients who were diagnosed as having upper back pain associated with myofascial trigger points were randomly allocated to either a massage group using a Wilai massage stick(TM) or a medication group taking ibuprofen for 5 days. Both groups were advised to perform the same daily stretching exercise program. Pain intensity, pressure pain threshold, tissue hardness, and cervical range of motion were assessed at baseline, immediately after the first treatment session, and on the fifth day after the last treatment session. [Results] The massage group had significant improvement in all parameters at all assessment time points. Similar changes were observed in the medication group except for the pressure pain threshold and tissue hardness. The adjusted post-test mean values for each assessment time point were significantly better in the massage group than in the medication group. [Conclusion] Tradition Thai self-massage using a Wilai massage stick(TM) provides better results than taking ibuprofen for patients who have upper back pain associated with myofascial trigger points. It could be an alternative treatment for this patient population.

Low monocyte to neutrophil ratio in peripheral blood associated with disease complication in primary Plasmodium falciparum infection.

Immunity to malaria can be acquired but only after repeat exposures to polymorphic Plasmodium. However, the development of clinical outcomes during P. falciparum infection is not clearly understood. This study elucidated whether monocytes, neutrophils and pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines were associated with clinical outcomes in single infection and prior repeated malaria infections. Two hundred and seventy-nine patients with complicated and uncomplicated malaria were investigated. Peripheral blood IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and IL-10 levels were measured by ELISA, and monocytes and neutrophils by an automated cell counter. On admission, in patients with uncomplicated malaria prior repeated infections, absolute neutrophil counts were positively and monocyte to neutrophil ratio negatively correlated significantly with parasitemia (r = 0.358, p = 0.000; r = -0.356, p = 0.000, respectively), while those with single infection absolute monocyte counts and monocyte to neutrophil ratio were significantly correlated negatively with IFN-gamma (r = -0.381, p = 0.001; r = -0.393, p = 0.000, respectively), and positively with TNF-alpha levels (r = 0.310, p = 0.007; r = 0.227, p = 0.017, respectively). In sharp contrast, in complicated malaria with single infection extremely high IFN-gamma and IL-10 levels but significantly low percent monocyte counts and monocyte to neutrophil ratio were seen. After 7 days of treatment, absolute monocyte counts and monocyte to neutrophil ratio were significantly increased, while absolute neutrophil counts significantly decreased (p = 0.000, 0.000, and 0.001, respectively), similarly after 28 days of treatment (p = 0.008, 0.000 and 0.000, respectively). These results suggest different functions of monocytes, neutrophils and pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines in complicated and uncomplicated malaria with single P. falciparum infection or prior repeated infections in the context of disease severity. Low monocyte to neutrophil ratio may be regarded as a risk factor in developing complication in primary malaria infection.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Plasmodium falciparum in Thailand, a low transmission country.

BACKGROUND: The population structure of the causative agents of human malaria, Plasmodium sp., including the most serious agent Plasmodium falciparum, depends on the local epidemiological and demographic situations, such as the incidence of infected people, the vector transmission intensity and migration of inhabitants (i.e. exchange between sites). Analysing the structure of P. falciparum populations at a large scale, such as continents, or with markers that are subject to non-neutral selection, can lead to a masking and misunderstanding of the effective process of transmission. Thus, knowledge of the genetic structure and organization of P. falciparum populations in a particular area with neutral genetic markers is needed to understand which epidemiological factors should be targeted for disease control. Limited reports are available on the population genetic diversity and structure of P. falciparum in Thailand, and this is of particular concern at the Thai-Myanmar and Thai-Cambodian borders, where there is a reported high resistance to anti-malarial drugs, for example mefloquine, with little understanding of its potential gene flow. METHODS: The diversity and genetic differentiation of P. falciparum populations were analysed using 12 polymorphic apparently neutral microsatellite loci distributed on eight of the 14 different chromosomes. Samples were collected from seven provinces in the western, eastern and southern parts of Thailand. RESULTS: A strong difference in the nuclear genetic structure was observed between most of the assayed populations. The genetic diversity was comparable to the intermediate level observed in low P. falciparum transmission areas (average HS = 0.65 +/- 0.17), where the lowest is observed in South America and the highest in Africa. However, uniquely the Yala province, had only a single multilocus genotype present in all samples, leading to a strong geographic differentiation when compared to the other Thai populations during this study. Comparison of the genetic structure of P. falciparum populations in Thailand with those in the French Guyana, Congo and Cameroon revealed a significant genetic differentiation between all of them, except the two African countries, whilst the genetic variability of P. falciparum amongst countries showed overlapping distributions. CONCLUSION: Plasmodium falciparum shows genetically structured populations across local areas of Thailand. Although Thailand is considered to be a low transmission area, a relatively high level of genetic diversity and no linkage disequilibrium was found in five of the studied areas, the exception being the Yala province (Southern peninsular Thailand), where a clonal population structure was revealed and in Kanchanaburi province (Western Thailand). This finding is particularly relevant in the context of malaria control, because it could help in understanding the special dynamics of parasite populations in areas with different histories of, and exposure to, drug regimens.

A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effectiveness of Court-Type Traditional Thai Massage versus Amitriptyline in Patients with Chronic Tension-Type Headache.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the court-type traditional Thai massage (CTTM) to treat patients with chronic tension-type headaches (CTTHs) comparing with amitriptyline taking. A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Sixty patients diagnosed with CTTH were equally divided into a treatment and a control group. The treatment group received a 45-minute course of CTTM twice per week lasting 4 weeks while the control group was prescribed 25 mg of amitriptyline once a day before bedtime lasting 4 weeks. Outcome measures were evaluated in week 2, week 4 and followed up in week 6 consisting of visual analog scale (VAS), tissue hardness, pressure pain threshold (PPT), and heart rate variability (HRV). The results demonstrated a significant decrease in VAS pain intensity for the CTTM group at different assessment time points while a significant difference occurred in within-group and between-group comparison (P < 0.05) for each evaluated measure. Moreover, the tissue hardness of the CTTM group was significantly lower than the control group at week 4 (P < 0.05). The PPT and HRV of the CTTM group were significantly increased (P < 0.05). CTTM could be an alternative therapy for treatment of patients with CTTHs.