Biomedical subjects

M A Diego

Publications and source records attributed to M A Diego.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Massage therapy effects on depressed pregnant women.

Eighty-four depressed pregnant women were recruited during the second trimester of pregnancy and randomly assigned to a massage therapy group, a progressive muscle relaxation group or a control group that received standard prenatal care alone. These groups were compared to each other and to a non-depressed group at the end of pregnancy. The massage therapy group participants received two 20 min therapy sessions by their significant others each week for 16 weeks of pregnancy, starting during the second trimester. The relaxation group provided themselves with progressive muscle relaxation sessions on the same time schedule. Immediately after the massage therapy sessions on the first and last days of the 16-week period the women reported lower levels of anxiety and depressed mood and less leg and back pain. By the end of the study the massage group had higher dopamine and serotonin levels and lower levels of cortisol and norepinephrine. These changes may have contributed to the reduced fetal activity and the better neonatal outcome for the massage group (i.e. lesser incidence of prematurity and low birthweight), as well as their better performance on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment. The data suggest that depressed pregnant women and their offspring can benefit from massage therapy.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

HIV adolescents show improved immune function following massage therapy.

HIV+adolescents (M CD4=466 mm3) recruited from a large urban university hospital's outpatient clinic were randomly assigned to receive massage therapy (n=12) or progressive muscle relaxation (n=12) two-times per week for 12 weeks. To assess treatment effects, participants were assessed for depression, anxiety and immune changes before and after treatment the 12 weeks treatment period. Adolescents who received massage therapy versus those who experienced relaxation therapy reported feeling less anxious and they were less depressed, and showed enhanced immune function by the end of the 12 week study. Immune changes included increased Natural Killer cell number (CD56) and CD56+CD3-. In addition, the HIV disease progression markers CD4/CD8 ratio and CD4 number showed an increase for the massage therapy group only.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

CES-D depression scores are correlated with frontal EEG alpha asymmetry.

In order to evaluate the relationship between frontal EEG asymmetry and depressive symptomology, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale [CES-D; Radloff, 1977] was given to 163 women, and their EEG was recorded from the mid frontal (F3 and F4) and parietal (P3 and P4) regions during a 3 min baseline recording. As expected from previous research on depression, CES-D scores were negatively correlated with frontal EEG alpha asymmetry scores and positively correlated with left frontal EEG alpha power. Analyses of variance further revealed that mothers scoring above the cut-off for depression (CES-D > or = 16) had significantly lower frontal EEG asymmetry scores than mothers with 0-2 and 3-12 CES-D scores but not lower scores than mothers with 13-15 CES-D scores.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Adolescents' academic expectations and achievement.

Previous research has indicated that adolescents' relationships with their mother influence their academic expectations and achievement. Substance use has also been found to have a strong influence on academic expectations and achievement. In the present study, 80 high school seniors from middle to upper socioeconomic status families completed questionnaires on behavioral and psychological aspects of adolescent life. Academic expectations were found to be highly correlated with academic achievement (r = .60). A stepwise regression analysis revealed that relationship with mother, academic achievement, and alcohol use accounted for 56% of the total variance in academic expectations. Stepwise regression on academic achievement revealed that cocaine use, marijuana use, and academic expectations accounted for 48% of the total variance.

Achievement↗

PubMed1998

Aromatherapy positively affects mood, EEG patterns of alertness and math computations.

EEG activity, alertness, and mood were assessed in 40 adults given 3 minutes of aromatherapy using two aromas, lavender (considered a relaxing odor) or rosemary (considered a stimulating odor). Participants were also given simple math computations before and after the therapy. The lavender group showed increased beta power, suggesting increased drowsiness, they had less depressed mood (POMS) and reported feeling more relaxed and performed the math computations faster and more accurately following aromatherapy. The rosemary group, on the other hand, showed decreased frontal alpha and beta power, suggesting increased alertness. They also had lower state anxiety scores, reported feeling more relaxed and alert and they were only faster, not more accurate, at completing the math computations after the aromatherapy session.

Adult↗