Does Music Therapy Improve Anxiety and Depression in Alzheimer's Patients?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of a short protocol of music therapy as a tool to reduce stress and improve the emotional state in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: A sample of 25 patients with mild Alzheimer's received therapy based on the application of a music therapy session lasting 60 min. Before and after the therapy, patient saliva was collected to quantify the level of salivary cortisol using the Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) immunoassay technique and a questionnaire was completed to measure anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). RESULTS: The results show that the application of this therapy lowers the level of stress and decreases significantly depression and anxiety, establishing a linear correlation between the variation of these variables and the variation of cortisol. CONCLUSIONS: A short protocol of music therapy can be an alternative medicine to improve emotional variables in Alzheimer patients.

Lesões cutâneas malignas e pré-malignas: conhecimentos, hábitos e campanhas de prevenção solar / Malignant and premalignant skin lesions: knowledge, habits and sun protection campaigns

Objetivo determinar a morbilidade de lesões malignas e pré-malignas da pele e o conhecimento da população sobre prevenção solar e hábitos perigosos. Métodos aplica-se um estudo longitudinal retrospetivo e outro descritivo transversal a uma população de 25.956 habitantes utilizando o programa Abucasis® e realizando 201 inquéritos a doentes do serviço de urgências; posteriormente utiliza-se o programa SPSS 15.0 para Windows. Resultados em seis anos registaram-se 228 casos de queratose actínica, 26 de melanoma e 32 de neoplasias malignas da pele. Encontramos que 63,7% da população crê que não se realizam suficientes campanhas de prevenção solar, 50,2% desconhece os sinais de alarme do cancro de pele e a medida de proteção mais utilizada é a utilização de filtros solares. Conclusão A morbilidade de lesões malignas e pré-malignas da pele na população de Manises quadruplicou e o conhecimento acerca da prevenção solar é insuficiente...

Objective To determine the morbidity of malignant and pre-malignant skin lesions and people’s knowledge about preventing sun exposure and dangerous habits. Methods A retrospective longitudinal study and one descriptive transversal study were conducted with a population of 25,956 inhabitants using the Abucasis® program, and 201 questionnaires were administered to patients in an emergency department; SPSS 15.0 for Windows program was then used. Results In six years there were 228 cases of actinic keratosis, 26 melanoma and 32 malignant neoplasms of the skin. It was found that 63.7% of the population believed that sufficient solar prevention campaigns were not performed, 50.2% were unaware of the warning signs of skin cancer, and the most widely used measure used for protection was the use of sunscreens. Conclusion The morbidity of malignant and premalignant skin lesions in the Manises population quadrupled and the knowledge about preventing sun exposure is insufficient...