Background: There are many challenges facing old people’s home care services in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, with rates of functional impairment in older populations exceeding those in other parts of the globe. The prevalence of mental illness especially among the elderly has been projected to increase significantly in the years ahead. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with psychiatry disorders among inmates of old people home in Nigeria.
Methods: This study was a cross-sectional design conducted among eighty-five respondents from inmates of old people’s homes, in Yaba, Lagos, selected using a purposive non-probability sampling technique. The instruments used include Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and SCID-II Sociodemographic data were obtained via questionnaire and participation was by informed consent.
Results: Of the total respondents, 38.8% were between the age category of 75-84 years. Only 2(2.4%) still had a spouse, 23(27.1%) were divorced and 58(68.2%) were widowers. Also, only 18(21.2%) had a personal source of income while most 76(89.4%) depend on financial support with the majority 36(42.4%) mainly from family and voluntary donations. It was observed that 75.3% had psychiatric morbidity among which 48.2% had Dementia, 16.5% had Schizophrenia and only 10.6% were diagnosed with Depression.
Conclusion: This study lends credence to the fact that aging brings with it certain health challenges that may affect their well-being, especially in developing countries where socioeconomic ado poses significant setbacks in the care of the elderly. In view of the challenges identified among the residents of the old people’s home in Yaba; it is pertinent that efforts must be geared towards the establishment of qualitative medical facilities, especially for those with recognized physical or mental health challenges and poor socioeconomic status to cushion the effect of Mental illness.
Kluver Bucy Syndrome (KBS) was initially reported by Sanger Brown and Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer. In 1939, a bilateral temporal lobectomy was conducted on a Rhesus monkey named Aurora. Three weeks after this procedure, Aurora began to exhibit behavioral changes. These behavioral changes exhibited by Aurora were observed and recorded by Paul Clancy Bucy, a neurosurgeon, and Heinrich Kluver, a neuropsychiatrist; these behavioral changes were given the name Kluver-Bucy syndrome. The first human Kluver-Bucy case was diagnosed in 1955 in a 22-year-old male patient.
Kluver-Bucy syndrome (KBS) is a complex neuropsychiatric disease that usually occurs after bilateral damage to the medial temporal lobes. The syndrome is mainly seen in adults, male and female equally. However, although the syndrome can also be seen in children, the symptoms in children are slightly different from how the symptoms manifest in adults. There are a plethora of etiologies and manifestations of KBS, but it most commonly manifests as a triad of hypersexuality, hyperorality, and hyperphagia.
The diagnosis of KBS is primarily centered around the identification of damages to the medial lobe of the brain using signs and symptoms, imaging studies, and most importantly, Magnetic Resonant Imaging (MRI). It is also essential to rule out and confirm possible differentials and etiologies during the management of KBS. KBS has no known cure, but the various manifestations can be ameliorated with medications like antidepressants and antipsychotics. The prognosis is generally poor for KBS.
Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder characterized by a bizarre feelings, sensations, and behaviors. Muscle spasms, convulsions, and loss of consciousness occasionally from epileptic seizures. Neuronal dependent on neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. In this review, we discussed epilepsy and its therapies, placing particular emphasis on some medicinal plants and their mechanism of action. The majority of herbal remedies that are both tested for anticonvulsant activity and utilized in ethno medicine to treat epilepsy were reported. The findings demonstrate that active components extracted from medicinal plants can prevent and treat neuronal disorder.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is in clinical use for more than three decades and its indications are ever expanding. Conventionally DBS is used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD), tremor and dystonia, and has been approved by FDA. It has been tried in several other indications with encouraging results. Recently a DBS device has been approved for use in intractable epilepsy. DBS is giving promising results for use in obesity, trigeminal vascular cephalalgias, and Tourette syndrome and post stroke rehabilitation. Many psychiatric conditions like depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, anorexia nervosa and substance abuse can be controlled with DBS when conventional medical treatment fails to relieve the symptoms. Newer techniques in DBS like directional leads, variable frequency stimulation, newer target identifications, Newer MRI compatible devices, remote programming, newer DBS recording electrodes that can be used in finding out the pathophysiology of disease is also discussed.
Nutritional psychiatry advancements are needed in understanding the effects of food nutrients on co-occurring psychiatric conditions particularly bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Food nutrients contribute to the increase and decrease of symptoms in psychiatric conditions. Bipolar disorder and PTSD are frequently co-occurring and significantly impact moods, how the brain processes information, and psychological stressors. Individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD experience increased risks of suicide and are more likely to have unhealthy dietary habits. Understanding the appropriate nutrients to consume and avoid may contribute to promising outcomes for psychiatric conditions. Advancements in awareness of food nutrition are necessary to manage not only psychiatric conditions but also medical conditions. Omega-3 fatty acids, minerals (magnesium and zinc), pro-biotics, B vitamins, vitamins C and D, large neutral amino acids, specifically tryptophan and tyrosine, and branched-chained amino acids, antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, and fatty acids have been linked to improved outcomes in the management of bipolar disorder and PTSD symptoms. Foods associated with poor prognosis have been linked to caffeine, alcohol, sugar, salt, processed foods, and artificial additives. This research contributes to the body of literature by exploring a link between food nutrients and bipolar disorder and PTSD because no known study has explored a co-occurring treatment intervention for such psychiatric conditions, and introduces the Nutritional Psychiatry Integrated Framework (NPIF)with a patient-centered focus which makes this research compelling. Advancements in understanding the effects of nutritional psychiatry associated with symptoms of bipolar disorder and PTSD may introduce innovative dietary and psychological treatment approaches.
