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Abstract To investigate changes of nitric oxide (NO) productions and zonisamide (ZNS) concentrations in the brain of seizure-susceptible EL mice given caffeine orally, mice were given caffeine (600 μg/mL) solution ad libitum as a drinking fluid for 1–3 weeks. Nitric oxide production in the brain was determined by measuring levels of nitrite plus nitrate (NOx). The brain NOx levels of mice treated with caffeine for 3 weeks were significantly higher than the control. Seizures in mice treated with caffeine for 2 and 3 weeks were not suppressed by ZNS at a dose of 75 mg/kg. Serum ZNS concentrations of mice with caffeine intake for 1–3 weeks were higher than in untreated mice. Conversely, brain ZNS concentrations of mice with caffeine intake for the same periods were significantly lower than in untreated mice. These results suggested that caffeine influenced brain NO production and ZNS concentrations in the seizure susceptibility of EL mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The effects of phenobarbital (PB; doses, 5, 10, and 25 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.)) and zonisamide (ZNS; doses, 30, 75, and 150 mg/kg, i.p.) on nitric oxide (NO) production, and those of coadministration of PB (5 mg/kg, i.p.) and ZNS (75 mg/kg, i.p.) on monoamines in the brain of the seizure-susceptible EL mouse were investigated. Nitric oxide production was obtained by measuring the combined level of nitrite plus nitrate (NOx). Zonisamide and PB dose-dependently suppressed the seizure of the EL mouse, and coadministration of PB (5 mg/kg) and ZNS (75 mg/kg) induced a greater degree of seizure suppression than treatment with ZNS or PB alone. Although PB (5 mg/kg) had no effect on brain NOx levels, ZNS (150 mg/kg) and coadministration of ZNS (75 mg/kg) and PB (5 mg/kg) decreased NOx levels significantly. Phenobarbital (5 mg/kg) did not influence monoamines, while coadministration of PB (5 mg/kg) and ZNS (75 mg/kg) decreased dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and increased 5-HT concentrations. The effect of the coadministration of two drugs on monoamines were similar to that of ZNS alone. These results suggest that one of the anticonvulsant effects of coadministration of PB and ZNS may be caused by changes in NOx levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To survey the burden and psychological problems of family caregivers of demented people. Design All scores were compared according to gender of the demented patients and which family members were the caregivers. Setting Outpatients clinic at the university hospital and the day service system for the elderly. Patients Sixty-two demented patients living at home and family members acting as caregivers. Measures Cognitive function, activities of daily living (ADL) and behaviour of demented patients were rated using the Hasegawa scale, the ADL scale and the dementia behaviour disturbance (DBD) scale. Caregiver's burden and mental fatigue were rated using a burden scale and a general health questionnaire (GHQ). Results Caregiver burden correlated negatively with the Hasegawa score and positively with the GHQ and DBD scores. Caregiver burden, GHQ and DBD for male patients were significantly higher than for females. Little difference was evident for caregiver burden scale or patient DBD between spouses and offspring as caregiver, but the GHQ score for spouses was significantly worse than that for offspring. Conclusions The difficulty of caregivers in supporting the daily life of demented family members correlated with patients' cognitive impairment, abnormal behaviour and ADL status, and caregivers' difficulty resulted in mental fatigue. Caregivers' relative isolation from friends, attributable to their caregiving responsibility, did not correlate with the demented person's cognitive impairment or ADL status. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study factors which influence the quality of life (QOL) in the elderly, we investigated the relationship between scores on the modified Philadelphia Geriatric Center (JPGC) Morale Scale and various other psychological tests in 51 elderly people residing in a long-term care facility. The JPGC Morale Scale score correlated with the scores for all sections of the Japanese version of the Cornell Medical Index (JCMI), but not with those for the Mini Mental State Examination, the Kohs block design test, the Bender Gestalt test and the activities of daily living (ADL). Both somatic and psychotic symptoms on the JCMI were correlated with the dementia behaviour disturbance scale score and walking ability according to the ADL. Subjects were further divided into four groups according to Fukamachi's neurotic discriminative diagram based on the JCMI. Scores for most sections of somatic and psychotic symptoms on the JCMI were elevated in proportion to the degree of neurotic tendencies in the elderly. These results indicate that the QOL of the elderly is influenced by subjective symptoms, but not by the degree of cognitive impairment or the ADL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty residents of a special nursing home in Japan were categorized as low or high anxiety according to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Using a Japanese version of the Self-Rating Depression Scale by Zung (SDS) and the Quality of Life (QOL) rating scale designed by Iida et al. (QOL scale), we compared the QOL and depressive states of the two groups. Although scores in all categories of the modified Stockton Geriatric Rating Scale (a behavioural rating scale) of the two groups. as rated by a skilled nursing staff, did not differ significantly. scores in all categories of the QOL scale and the SDS were significantly higher in the group with high anxiety. Such higher scores indicated a greater impairment. Our results suggest that the QOL in residents with high anxiety was lower than in those with low anxiety, and the QOL of residents of special nursing homes could not be measured by a behavioural rating scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the common carotid arterial blood blow in 70 patients of advanced age (80 and older) in a nursing home using an ultrasonic quantitative blood flow measurement system. Systolic and end-diastolic velocities were obtained from the waveform, and using these two velocities, subjects were classified into three groups according to increasing severity. We then determined mortality rates and changes in the modified Stockton Geriatric Rating Scale (SGRS) over a 1-year period. The mortality of group 1 was significantly lower than that of group 3. the groups with more severely impaired carotid blood flow also demonstrated as groups change in the sequence 1→2→3 a worsening on some subscales of the modified SGRS over the year. These results suggest that carotid arterial blood flow velocity waveform can serve to predict some aspects of clinical outcome in very old age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and nine nursing home residents were examined by the modified Stockton Geriatric Rating Scale (modified SGRS) and the Hasegawa Dementia Rating Scale in April 1987. Twenty-eight residents died during the three-year period. The 64 survivors remaining at the nursing home were re-examined in April 1990 and were divided into two groups according to whether they had been admitted to hospital or not during the follow-up period. Physical ability as measured by the modified SGRS and the Hasegawa Dementia Rating Scale had deteriorated in both groups, and communication failure and apathy on the modified SGRS were aggravated in the admitted group. It is considered that not only the physical care of all nursing home residents but also the psychogeriatric care of residents with sever physical impairment is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and ninety elderly people receiving home health service were investigated. The intellectual levels, depressive state evaluated by the Cornell scale for depression in dementia (CSDD) scale, abnormal behaviors evaluated by the dementia behavior disturbance (DBD) scale, and activities of daily living (ADL) were examined. These assessments were performed by 72 skilled home helpers who also assessed the severity of their own level of stress using the Burnout scale. The intellectual level and mood-related signs, based on the CSDD scale, of the elderly living with families or with a spouse were diminished significantly as compared to the elderly living alone. The elderly living with families also performed worse on all ADL categories except for visual acuity as compared to the elderly living with a spouse or living alone. There was no significant correlation between the Burnout scale score and age or frequency of working as a home helper. These results suggest that elderly people living with families as compared to the elderly living with a spouse or living alone have greater mental health needs as well as more profound physical limitations. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]