The effect of the traditional living arrangement, anpakkori, on depressive symptoms in elderly people residing on jeju island.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the effect of anpakkori, a traditional living arrangement, on depression among elderly people on Jeju Island in Korea. METHODS: A total of 593 subjects were assessed using a sociodemographic questionnaire developed by the authors, the Korean version of Geriatric Depression Scale (KGDS), the Social Support Scale, and the Activities of Daily Living/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scales (ADL/IADL). Subjects were classified into three groups: those residing with their adult children, those living individually, and those living in the traditional Jeju anpakkori living arrangement. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression in this study was 53.1%, and the traditional Jeju living arrangement, anpakkori, was significantly correlated with the presence of depressive symptoms (p=0.005)[odds ratio (OR)=1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.16-3.06]. CONCLUSION: Living in the traditional Jeju way may not be as good for establishing family solidarity as is living with adult children. Moreover, elderly individuals prone to depression tended to live in this anpakkori living arrangement. Careful psychological and social support systems that might prevent the development of depressive symptoms should be provided for those who live in anpakkori living arrangements.

Effects of somatostatin on the responses of rostrally projecting spinal dorsal horn neurons to noxious stimuli in cats.

Somatostatin (SOM) is a widely distributed peptide in the central nervous system and exerts a variety of hormonal and neural actions. Although SOM is assumed to play an important role in spinal nociceptive processing, its exact function remains unclear. In fact, earlier pharmacological studies have provided results that support either a facilitatory or inhibitory role for SOM in nociception. In the current study, the effects of SOM were investigated using anesthetized cats. Specifically, the responses of rostrally projecting spinal dorsal horn neurons (RPSDH neurons) to different kinds of noxious stimuli (i.e., heat, mechanical and cold stimuli) and to the Adelta-and C-fiber activation of the sciatic nerve were studied. Iontophoretically applied SOM suppressed the responses of RPSDH neurons to noxious heat and mechanical stimuli as well as to C-fiber activation. Conversely, it enhanced these responses to noxious cold stimulus and Adelta-fiber activation. In addition, SOM suppressed glutamate-evoked activities of RPSDH neurons. The effects of SOM were blocked by the SOM receptor antagonist cyclo-SOM. These findings suggest that SOM has a dual effect on the activities of RPSDH neurons; that is, facilitation and inhibition, depending on the modality of pain signaled through them and its action site.