ABSTRACT
Learning and memory being highly specialized process of human brain involves complex interaction between neurotransmitters and cellular events. Over the years, the understandings of these processes have been evolving from psychological, neurophysiological, and pharmacological perspectives. The most widely appraised model of learning and memory involves attention, acquisition, storage and retrieval. Each of these events involve interplay of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, N-methyl-d-aspartic acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, though preponderance of specific neurotransmitter have been documented. The formation of long-term memory involves cellular events with neuroplasticity. Further, dopamine is documented to play crucial role in the process of forgetting. Understanding of the processes of learning and memory not only facilitates drug discovery, but also helps to understand actions of several existing drugs. In addition, it would also help to enhance psychological interventions in children with learning disabilities. Thus, the review intends to summarize role of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators during different phases of learning and memory.
ABSTRACT
Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There are various detrimental symptoms experienced by a cancer patient due to the disease and the undergoing treatment which adversely affects the Quality of Life (QOL) in these patients. Therefore, QOL and its evaluation have turned out to be progressively vital in the health care system. Hence, the aim of our study was to develop a predictor model to predict the QOL in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The study was carried out in the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Kasturba hospital, Manipal, a tertiary care hospital. Predictor model was developed to predict the Quality of Life Scores (QOLS) using multivariate regression analysis. A total of 387 patients participated in the study. Mean age of the patients was 50.85 ± 11.82 years (95% CI, 49.66-52.03). In our study, 16.54% had poor global health status/QOL, 72.35% had average and 11.11% had a high global health status/QOL. A significant difference was found in the QOLS based on the age group, site of cancer, drugs used in treatment of cancer, age as a predisposing factor and organ system affected due to ADRs (respiratory system, sensory system, skin and appendages). In the predictor model, the Coefficient of determination R-square (R2) was found to be 0.3267 indicating that 32.67% of the variation in the ‘quality of life score’ is explained by the independent variables included in the model. The F (45, 341) = 3.67, p < 0.001 indicating the overall significance of the regression model. Thus, the study showed that there are various predictors that can assess the QOL in cancer patients which can further serve as a guide to implement timely interventions to improve patients QOL.
ABSTRACT
Depression is common in patients with HIV/AIDS, and its identification and treatment are critically important in disease management. Despite depression's high prevalence and major impact on patient's quality of life, questions remain regarding its epidemiology and preferred treatment. The authors of this paper summarize available information on the epidemiology of depression in HIV/AIDS, review treatment options, and discuss possible interactions between antidepressants and other agents. This may be useful in the better management of HIV/AIDS patients