This study examined the joint impact of chronic pain and primary caregiving on older people.
Methods. Data came from the New South Wales (NSW) Older People’s Health Survey 1999, a state-wide general health survey of over 9000 NSW residents 65 years old or older. Using survey logistic regression modeling, we examined the relationship between chronic pain with different levels
of disability, caregiving status, self-reported Milciclib in vivo physical functioning, and two dependent variables-poor/fair self-rated health and psychological distress.
Results. Caregivers with chronic pain reported more psychological distress and poorer self-rated health than caregivers without pain, when both were compared to noncaregivers without pain (age-adjusted and sex-adjusted odds ratios [ORs] for caregivers with pain were 3.4 and 2.8, respectively, both p <.001). Caregivers with pain and noncaregivers with pain had
similar patterns of results. Physical function significantly declined for both TPCA-1 research buy caregivers and noncaregivers with pain when compared with noncaregivers without pain.
Conclusions. Older people coping with caregiving and chronic pain are a potentially vulnerable group. Chronic pain status should be ascertained in older people who are caregivers, with particular attention to the issue of caregiver psychological distress and physical well-being.”
“The present study is the first report on the bioactivity of venom from the Australian theraphosid spider Selenotholus foelschei. Venom from female specimens was used in all experiments. Adult spiders yielded an average
of 2.2 mg dried venom per milking with a maximum yield of 7.2 mg. To evaluate NU7441 purchase the activity of pooled S. foelschei venom in invertebrates, a toxicity test in crickets (Acheta domesticus) was used. The results suggest the presence of several insecticidal toxins with different but synergistic modes of action, leading to a fast onset of paralysis as well as persistent paralysis and lethal effects (starting at 4 h after injection) in crickets. Vertebrate activity of S. foelschei venom was tested by using the isolated chick biventer cervicis nerve-muscle preparation. The venom produced a significant reduction in baseline tension (at a concentration of 10 mu g/mL) and twitch height (at 0.2-10 mu g/mL). Twitches were not restored after repeated washing. The response of the muscle to exogenous acetylcholine (1 mM) and carbachol (0.02 mM) was not reduced by the venom. These results indicate the presence of a vertebrate-active neurotoxin in S. foelschei that irreversibly blocks muscle twitches by acting either on voltage-activated Na+-channels or on other pre-synaptically located receptors. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Background. Little is known about the impact of extrinsic factors on pressure ulcer risk.