Archive for the Category » Mental Health «

Dec
20

Narcolepsy, Narcolepsy Symptoms

Narcolepsy Symptoms

what is narcolepsy 150x150 Narcolepsy, Narcolepsy SymptomsNarcolepsy is characterized by spontaneous falling asleep. The first one of the narcolepsy symptoms is usually excessive daytime sleepiness. It is the irresistible desire to sleep when a person wants to be awake. Narcolepsy is associated with cataplexy, sudden weakness or paralysis, often caused by laughing, or other intense feelings, then paralysis in a dream, a very frightening phenomenon in which a man is half awake but cannot move, and hallucinations, that is very vivid and frightening dreams that occur at the beginning or the end of the dream. A person may also show signs of automatic behavior, or perform routine or boring tasks, which are later, not remembered fully.
Narcolepsy treatment is very difficult sometimes. Narcolepsy is treated with behavioral therapy or by using drugs. Behavioral therapy involves avoidance of shift work, avoids eating heavy meals and alcohol, respect for the schedule of night sleep, and strategically deployed daily rest. Medication use should be controlled, their dosage should be individualized, and stimulants that are trying to increase the level of attention are prescribed, and antidepressants which are controlled by the above conditions related to narcolepsy.

What is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a real sleeping sickness, largely genetically marked, but also symptomatic of brain trauma or brain infections. The cause of narcolepsy is not known, although most of the tested patients had a specific HLA haplotype. It occurs in 0.02 to 0.16 percent of adults, alike in both sexes, and in some patients the family history is positive. It is characterized by an irresistible urge to sleep during the day, which is repeated at various intervals, and inevitably ends up with sleep wherever a person is. In this disease, along with bouts of sleep, and Cataplexy occurs, i.e., momentary loss of muscle tone with ousted from the case, kneeling, and in severe cases and fall, all with clear consciousness. Cataplexy is often caused by excitement, more pleasure than fear. Some of these patients had hallucinations before sleep, as if dreaming while they are still awake, or they happen to wake up at night short paralyzed. The disease is rare. Specifically diagnosed, and treatment is complicated.

There are also some other similar condition narcolepsy, which occur in adolescence and persist a short pass spontaneously. In some way, the treatment of narcolepsy and narcolepsy symptoms is similar to treatment of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Category: Mental Health  Tags: , , , , ,  3 Comments
Dec
17

Cataplexy, Cataplexy Definition

Cataplexy, Cataplexy Definition

narcolepsy 150x150 Cataplexy, Cataplexy DefinitionCataplexy is the instantaneous muscle weakness or paralysis without loss of consciousness, which is triggered by emotional reactions such as joy, anger, fear, happiness, or, often, surprise. The weakness may be limited to the extremities (e.g., patients may drop the rod when a fish bites the bait) and can cause sudden drops after laughter or anger. The attacks are the result of reduced muscle tone that occurs during REM sleep. Cataplexy occurs in about 3 / 4 patients. That is the short cataplexy definition. Narcolepsy with cataplexy is common, and cataplexy is one of the narcolepsy symptoms.

Cataplexy Symptoms, Narcolepsy With Cataplexy

Cataplexy is the second most common symptom of narcolepsy, it occurs in 60-90% of people with this disease. Patients describe it as a sudden brief loss of muscle strength, which is always associated with any sudden emotional event (laughter, anger, surprise, grief, disappointment, embarrassment, excitement or sexual arousal). Cataplexy symptoms have many forms: the attack can occur with kneeling, weakness in hands, speech becomes slurred and unclear, but further cataplexy symptoms may weaken the whole body, so that the patient suddenly collapses like a sack. Cataplexy attack lasts a few seconds to several minutes. The patient is always conscious, but unable to speak. Cataplexy is seen in patients aged 15-30 years, usually after the onset of excessive daytime sleepiness. The frequency of attacks can vary from several attacks each day to a few attacks per year (75% of people with cataplexy have at least one attack per day).

Cataplexy Treatment

Cataplexy, though is cause of narcolepsy, must be treated in different way and with different medicines. In past cataplexy treatments were antidepressants such as: imipramine, clomipramine and protriptyline. Due to serious side-effects of these medicines, in recent period they have been replaces with newer medicine such as venlafaxine. For narcolepsy cataplexy syndrome Xyrem (sodium oxybate) is recommended. Those medicines will help your brain to make the best use of good night sleep and therefore prevent cataplexy.

Category: Mental Health  Tags: , , , ,  3 Comments
Nov
02

Nocebo

Nocebo Effect

placebo nocebo 150x150 NoceboMost people have heard of the placebo effect, but relatively few have heard of the nocebo effect, including the circles of the medical staff. For the first time this phenomenon, which is in fact is the evil twin of placebo effect, was named in the 1961st year. Nocebo effect is the ability of negative beliefs and expectations that cause damage, ie negative effects in the body. While the placebo effect can achieve positive results in treatment which normally should not have any effect (eg, sugar pill), nocebo effect has reverse result in terms of health, due to the worst expectations. What patient expects, unfortunately, the patient usually receives.

The placebo effect is very powerful and regardless of whether the physician and the patient is aware of it or not, it represents a significant part of the healing process to the treatment methods of ancient cultures, as well as in modern medicine. A large number of medical staff is surprisingly indifferent to the positive suggestion, though it goes in their favor. Maybe it’s because treatment would not act scientifically. Medications have their role, but understanding how the human mind processes information is very important. If doctors do not want to know about the placebo effect definition, imagine how just thinking about the nocebo and the idea that what they say can cause the patient to get even sicker! Of course there are always exceptions, and luckily growing number of doctors who think differently.

Nocebo Effect Definition

Placebo and nocebo in particular, are not sufficiently studied, simply because there is still no way to scientifically explain these phenomena, although there are many scientifically proven results of both phenomena. Also, pharmaceutical companies are not financially interested in performing such studies, because there is nothing that can be patented. There is another good reason for the hostility towards the implementation of nocebo experiment – the fact that many people feel the way it is suggested that they will feel. Since these are negative health effects, it is possible that this is the cause of the insufficient number of scientific research.

Nocebo effect can occur in several different situations:

  • The direct interaction of doctor or specialist and a patient, where each party has its own expectations. What the patient trusts the doctor, nocebo effect is greater. For example – when a doctor says negative outlook, sometimes even a “death sentence” to the patient, for example: “You have  another 3 months of life,” and it normally happens, even if the initial diagnosis was not correct!
  • General beliefs and expectations of the patient outside the therapeutic situation.
  • Expectations and beliefs that have emerged in certain groups

The observation of various scientific researches of placebo and nocebo influence, showed that the placebo effect (the belief that something positive will happen) is effective on average 33% -55%. On the other hand, the nocebo effect (the belief that something negative will happen) proved to be effective with a staggering 55% -100%. This means that we are more than twice susceptible to the negative rather than positive suggestion.

I always recall the words of Dr. David Pesek, a recognized world authority on the emotional aspect of iridology: “When a doctor tells us that we can expect a disease because it is in our family, we need to flee from such a physician and seek another.”

“Nocebo effect often causes physical changes, although these effects are not caused by any physical means, “said Irving Kirsch, a psychologist at the University of Connecticut, who studies the ways in which expectations affect the human experience.” What is the cause? In many cases, this question still has no answer. ”

Nocebo Definition – Nocebo Effect Definition

Instead of writing the nocebo effect definition I will state some researches that proved this phenomena:

  • The group of patients in the hospital was given sugar water, for which they thought to have a effect that causes vomiting. 80% of the group  vomited sugar water.
  • Study with aspirin and other medicines that dilute blood was carried out in three medical centers with unexpected results. At two locations, patients were alerted to possible stomach problems that are often side effect in the frequent use of aspirin. At the third location the patients did not receive such a warning. When they worked on the results of the experiment, the researchers were surprised when they saw that the two groups who were warned of the side effects  were three times as frequent, then in the third group.

At the end of this article it is interesting to note the results of research in America which showed that since the Act of hazardous cigarette nicotine warning was introduced (cigarettes harm your health, smoking kills, smoking causes lung cancer …) – the average of the mortality of smokers increased.  Seeing the words “smoking kills” daily, has a very strong influence on every smoker health. Even though the nocebo and the nocebo effect is proven to has a strong influence on every human, we still do not know enough about this phenomena. It may be because it has negative effect, but only by knowing its full potential and definition, we can reverse nocebo into placebo.

Category: Mental Health  Tags:  3 Comments
Oct
12

Brain Aneurysm, Brain Aneurysm Symptoms, Brain Aneurysm Causes

Brain Aneurysm

Brain Aneurysm, Brain Aneurysm Symptoms, Brain Aneurysm CausesAneurysm is an abnormal expansion of blood vessels. Cerebral aneurysm, also referred as Brain aneurysm is an abnormal expansion of blood vessels in the brain. At the base of the brain is a tangle of arteries that make up the so-called Willis circle from which it continues to branch off to the arteries that supply the brain. Crossroads of these arteries are the most common places where cerebral aneurysms arise. They can occur in all, including the children, but is more common in adults aged 35-60 years, more frequently in women.

Over time, the artery wall becomes weaker in one spot and then the pressure of blood against the wall “blows up” like a balloon and creates an extension that may be in the form of bags (then called saccular aneurysms and represents the most common form) or spindle-shaped (fusiform aneurysms). As expansion increases so does the “bag” and creates a wider neck, which is connected to an artery. When brain aneurysms are small, they don’t pose a greater threat, but as they grow and become larger, so does the risk of rupture (rupture) and spilling blood in the area between the brain and the membrane that separates it from the skull. This situation is especially dangerous to life.

Brain Aneurysm Symptoms

In a number of cases, people with brain aneurysm have absolutely no symptoms.
Since by its growth aneurysm may compress surrounding tissue from which it is situated, the symptoms may occur. Brain aneurysm symptoms are:

  • Headache
  • Double vision
  • Lowered eyelids of one eye
  • Nerve palsy
  • Pain behind or above the eye, trigeminal neuralgia
  • Unequal pupils

And symptoms of ruptured brain aneurysm are:

  • Sudden, very (as never before) severe headache
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Neck stiffness (not immediately)
  • Changes of consciousness to coma

Aspirin is a good way for headache relief.

Brain Aneurysm Causes

  • Smoking
  • Head injuries
  • Alcohol and some drugs and oral contraceptives
  • If someone in family had aneurysm
  • Some genetic and hereditary diseases (poly-cystic kidneys, Marfan syndrome, AV malformations, etc.)

Brain Aneurysm Recovery

There are several methods of brain imaging that can show or suggest the existence of an cerebral aneurysm, that is bleeding after rupture:

  • CT of brain: can show bleeding into the sub-arachnoid space or originated from a ruptured brain aneurysm, and larger, calcified aneurysm.
  • MRI and MRA brain aneurysm (angiography) can display the detailed structure of the brain and blood vessels of the brain, and the larger aneurysm.

Whether it is a ruptured brain aneurysm or not, the therapy is the same.

  1. Micro-vascular

It is a neurosurgical procedure in which a neurosurgeon enters inside of the skull and places a thin metal clip near the “gates” of aneurysm that squeezes pitcher neck aneurysm and prevents the supply of blood inside.

  1. Endovascular embolization

A procedure similar to angiography where the catheter reaches the aneurysm and inserts small metal coil or latex balloon inside of aneurysm, which stops the circulation of blood and thrombus occurs, which closes it.

In cases where it is discovered that a person has a small, non-symptomatic aneurysm it depends on size, location, growth of the aneurysm, the patient’s age, will some of these methods be applied, or they will be monitored regularly, since at a small brain aneurysms the risk is low, and the risk of surgery may be higher. In either way if you notice any of the symptoms of brain aneurysm mentioned above, you should talk to your doctor immediately.

Category: Mental Health  Tags: , , , , , ,  2 Comments
Oct
09

Placebo Effect, Placebo Effect Definition

Placebo Effect, Placebo Effect Definition

placebo effect 150x124 Placebo Effect, Placebo Effect DefinitionThe placebo effect is one of the most exploited concepts in medicine. Many use it for various purposes, and each defines it differently. So, many people handle the black box of placebo effect concept while at the same time do not know its full content. There are many hypotheses, below are listed three: “the model expectations,” “opiate model” and “model of conditional reflexes.”

But first, placebo effect is used:

 

  • By the opponents of the alternatives when you want to say that something is not scientific, ie that it is “fraud”.
  • When someone want to prove that something is effective.
  • By researchers in a double-blind clinical experiments in order to aid their scientific evidence.

It is absurd that what is accepted as scientific proof, is correlated with the placebo, where at the same time there is no clear and unique scientific evidence of placebo effect psychology.

Most researches indicate that 30-40% of patients experienced a positive placebo effect. Friedman and Benson found the placebo to improve symptoms in 60 to 90% of the disease. We should be aware that there is no healing without a placebo effect.

All medications in addition to its pharmacological effects also have a placebo effect, and it is difficult to separate these two effects. Placebo effect examples should be used more consciously.  It is very helpful in conventional and unconventional medicine, because it can greatly increase the percentage of positive effects of any therapy. It is important to note that with the current knowledge, we still cannot fully explain the mechanism of the placebo effect and the many “alternative healings”. There are no clear boundaries between what we believe placebo effect is and other mechanisms of healing.

The concept of placebo, “we invented” that it can be classified in those mechanisms with self-healing forces of nature, which are not fully understood. As science and our knowledge progress in disclosing the secrets of nature, there will be fewer unknowns, so the black box of placebo effect will be reduced and we will explain how it works, along with some other “alternative therapies”. We stated before in some previous articles that our state of mind is very important, and in order to get the full placebo effect psychology we have to think positive. What we know is that auto-suggestion is the key of applying placebo effect on you. You have to believe that the medicine you are using will be helpful for you and help you with your problem, i.e. losing stress, fighting depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.

Placebo Effect Definition

According to Wolman, Dictionary of behavioral science, placebo effect definition is:

  •  A placebo is a substance that has no medical effect, but leads to the patient’s condition improvement because of his belief that the substance was effective.
  • A substance that has no medical effect, and absorbed by the control group in experiment, while the experimental group receive active ingredient. This eliminates the impact of the act of substance absorption. (experimentally)

The word “placebo” comes from the Latin word “placer”, which means “I will pleasure.” In 19th century “placebo” gets the meaning of the drug, more so with the intent to satisfy the patient, but to heal him.
Today’s doctors do the same when they give an antibiotic for some viral infections, so the patient would not have had the feeling that the doctor did nothing.

  1. “Model expectations”

Studies show that expectations strongly influence how people react to taking a placebo, chemically active drug or treatment.
Psychological theory explains how our thoughts, beliefs and positive thoughts can have an effect on improving health status. Sensory experience and thoughts of people have an impact on neurochemical reaction that leads to other changes in the biochemical system (response to hormonal and immune system). A new scientific discipline psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) studies the impact of various psychological states and behavior changes in the immune response and can provide many answers about the mechanism of action of the placebo effect. PNI is the study of two-way communication between the nervous, endocrine and immune systems. The same mechanism of many psychosomatic diseases due to negative attitudes and behaviors can be reversed with positive suggestions as a result of the placebo effect. Thus, we see how our thinking and mental life have an effect on neuro-immune biochemical changes, which affect the whole physical body and can lead to organic changes. This leads to the disease, but also in the opposite direction and healing. PNI provides answers to a placebo effect, but also many other positive results in healing that are the result of alternative therapies, because there are no clear boundaries between them.
Negative expectations lead to so-called Nocebo effect, or deterioration. It is known that some patients in the experiment of the placebo group got medicamentous rash, or an allergic reaction, which was observed at the same time as a side effect in people who have really got biochemically active substances (Dodes). 80% of patients which instead of emetic (substance that causes vomiting) received fresh water, reacted by vomiting. There are even reports of addiction for some people on placebo. The expectations of the therapist and his faith in the efficacy of treatment, and physiological response to reducing the anxiety of the patient are important elements of the placebo effect.

  1. “The model of conditional reflex”

It is a learned response to medical intervention. Previous experience improvement from taking the pill, act as a conditioned stimulus (compare with the stimulus of a bell in Pavlov’s famous experiment). This means that every next contact with the doctor or taking a new pill triggers a reflex process improvement that is the placebo effect.

Experiment:
The dog was with the ring tone receiving injections of acetylcholine, which has the effect of lowering blood pressure. Successive repetition of the sound and injection of acetylcholine has created a conditioned response: the dog lowered blood pressure when he heard the bell, even when did not receive injections. Interesting is the further course of the experiment. To a dog, who developed the conditional reflex to the sound of bells was given an injection of adrenalin, which has a function to raise the pressure. The outcome was unexpected. With the sound of bells, a dog’s pressure fell, instead of raising the adrenaline, since it was the primary function of adrenaline injection. So the placebo effect was stronger than the pharmacological action of adrenaline injection. New neuron connection were created that led to different internal neurochemicals response, which has prevailed over substance which was initiated externally.

  1. “Opiate model»

In the placebo stimulus endorphins are released in order to reduce pain. Donald Price and his colleagues showed that the effects of placebo-induced analgesia (insensitivity to pain), can disappear if given naloxsone, antagonist of opiates (endorphins).

Define Placebo Effect

“Everyone knows what is placebo, until the moment they have to answer.” (Shapiro, Brodi)

The term placebo is used in science, often as a final argument to persuade or deny whether an alternative treatment works or not, while no one knows how to define placebo effect. It is often said that one effect is only a result of auto-suggestions and on this the discussion ends, and in fact no one asks about the placebo effect psychology.
We should be aware that there is no healing without placebo. The placebo effect is present in every process of healing, whether it is driven by a warm conversation, acupuncture, homeopathic medicine, allopathic medicine or surgical treatment. Therefore when someone comes for help, starts taking the medicine or accepts treatment, the patient carries some degree of positive beliefs that the problem will be cured. The belief, expectation drives the placebo effect, or how we say often “self-healing”. Big positive expectation make placebo effect bigger, therefore a patient increases his chances of self healing. Placebo effect is a medicine that works!

Category: Mental Health  Tags: , ,  7 Comments
« Previous Entries

Page optimized by WP Minify WordPress Plugin