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PurposeTo investigate the effects of music therapy on depressive mood and anxiety in post-stroke patients and evaluate satisfaction levels of patients and caregivers.Materials and MethodsEighteen post-stroke patients, within six months of onset and mini mental status examination score of over 20, participated in this study. Patients were divided into music and control groups. The experimental group participated in the music therapy program for four weeks. Psychological status was evaluated with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) before and after music therapy. Satisfaction with music therapy was evaluated by a questionnaire.ResultsBAI and BDI scores showed a greater decrease in the music group than the control group after music therapy, but only the decrease of BDI scores were statistically significant (p=0.048). Music therapy satisfaction in patients and caregivers was affirmative.ConclusionMusic therapy has a positive effect on mood in post-stroke patients and may be beneficial for mood improvement with stroke. These results are encouraging, but further studies are needed in this field.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on the affected hemisphere can enhance motor performance of the hemiparetic hand transiently, outlasting the stimulation session.

Background: Online haemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) may improve middle molecular clearance in contrast to conventional haemodialysis (HD). However, OL-HDF requires higher convective flows and cannot sufficiently remove large middle molecules. This study evaluated the efficacy of a medium cutoff (MCO) dialyser in removing large middle molecular uraemic toxins and compared it with that of conventional high-flux (HF) dialysers in HD and predilution OL-HDF. Methods: Six clinically stable HD patients without residual renal function were investigated. Dialyser and treatment efficacies were examined during a single midweek treatment in three consecutive periods: 1) conventional HD using an HF dialyser, 2) OL-HDF using the same HF dialyser, and 3) conventional HD using an MCO dialyser. Treatment efficacy was assessed by calculating the reduction ratio (RR) for β2-microglobulin (β2M), myoglobin, κ and λ free light chains (FLCs), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23 and measuring clearance for FLCs. Results: All three treatments showed comparable RRs for urea, phosphate, creatinine, and uric acid. MCO HD showed greater RRs for myoglobin and λFLC than did HF HD and predilution OL-HDF (myoglobin: 63.1 ± 5.3% vs. 43.5 ± 8.9% and 49.8 ± 7.3%; λFLC: 43.2 ± 5.6% vs. 26.8 ± 4.4% and 33.0 ± 9.2%, respectively; P < 0.001). Conversely, predilution OL-HDF showed the greatest RR for β2M, whereas MCO HD and HF HD showed comparable RRs for β2M (predilution OL-HDF vs.