ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To analyse the possible presence of reduced cognitive efficiency in family caregivers of patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness (DOC). SUBJECTS: The participants were 27 caregivers of 25 patients with DOC admitted to the severe brain injury units of the ICS Maugeri, Institutes of Telese Terme and Sciacca, Italy. METHODS: We examined cognitive functions such as short- and long-term memory, executive functions and attention by means of standardized tests. We also assessed features of psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, psychophysiological symptoms, prolonged grief disorder, psychological burden and quality of life. All scores on neuropsychological tests were compared with those of the 15 matched control subjects. RESULTS: Enrolled family caregivers showed high frequency of clinically relevant depressive symptoms and anxiety; half of them met the criteria for prolonged grief disorder. Caregivers achieved scores lower than the matched controls on tests for selective attention, verbal fluency and long-term spatial memory. CONCLUSIONS: Family caregivers' burden is associated with a reduced efficiency of selected executive measures and visuospatial learning. These results emphasize the need for appropriate psychological and cognitive supporting therapies for family caregivers of patients with DOC, also considering their delicate involvement in clinical decision-making and in providing care.
Subject(s)
Brain Injuries/complications , Caregivers/psychology , Cognition Disorders/etiology , Consciousness Disorders/etiology , Stress, Psychological/complications , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Adult , Attention/physiology , Executive Function/physiology , Female , Humans , Italy , Male , Memory/physiology , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Quality of Life , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Sea urchins have long been used as a model organism to address questions in cell biology and development. Work utilizing this model has elucidated processes of fertilization, the description of centrosomes, the separation of chromosomes during mitosis, and numerous other landmark discoveries. They have been a favorite among researchers for a variety of reasons: Eggs are large and malleable, making them relatively easy to work with; the embryos have synchronized, rapid divisions; they are easy to microinject and manipulate; and their genome sequence is available. In this Chapter, we focus on methods used to study the membrane dynamics during cytokinesis using sea urchin embryos. The focus of this chapter is to provide methods for live-cell imaging of membrane domains in sea urchin embryos.
