A high mean number of morbidities (6.1, SD 2.9) was observed. Elderly subjects with higher morbidity had increasing disability and distress. Age, sex, and occupation were important determinants of morbidity. Assessment of the morbidity profile and its determinants will help in the application of interventions, both medical and social, to improve the health status and thus the quality of life of the elderly in Northern India.

Introduction:Care of stroke patient is a matter of enduring stress and leads to considerable amount of burden among caregivers. Little is known about the ways in which families cope while caring for a relative with stroke in developing countries. The aim of the present study was to explore burden and coping strategies in caregivers of stroke survivors and identify the relationships between burden and coping strategies among them.Methods: Caregivers were assessed using Zarit burden interview schedule (ZBIS) and Coping checklist (CCL). A descriptive correlation design was used. The sample comprised 100 caregivers of the stroke survivors from selected community setting and outpatient department of different tertiary care hospitals at Punjab. Results:The result revealed that level of burden reported by caregivers of stroke patient was high. The most coping strategies used by caregivers were acceptance, getting social support, problem solving and seeking help of religious things. However, denial and distracting negatively were used as least common coping strategies by caregivers. Burden was positively and significantly associated with denial or blaming coping strategies. Conclusion:Study concluded that caregivers experienced higher degree of burden. Burden was significantly correlated with coping strategies. The study felt the need of development of psycho educational program to assist caregivers to cope successfully with burden resulting from the care of stroke survivors.

The balance between Th1 and Th2 cytokines is thought to be an important factor in terms of tumour prognosis. Serum samples from 61 newly diagnosed patients with brain tumours and 50 age-and sex-matched non-tumour controls were analysed by ELISA for circulating levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12p70 and p40) and interleukin-10 (IL-10); pivotal Th1 and Th2 cytokines, respectively. Patients were divided into various groups depending on their histological diagnosis: meningioma (n=11), anaplastic astrocytoma (n=4) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM; n=46). Significant reduction in serum IL-12 was seen in all groups as compared with the controls: meningioma, p=0.03; anaplastic astrocytoma, p<0.001; and GBM, p<0.001. Conversely, serum IL-10 was significantly increased in anaplastic astrocytoma, p=0.02, and GBM, p=0.03. The changes in the serum cytokines were not caused by the effects of steroids, as sequential analysis of patients pre-and post-steroid treatment commencement showed no difference. This study shows that patients with advanced primary intracranial malignancies have decreased circulating IL-12 and increased circulating IL-10, demonstrating that brain tumours have a major systemic effect on the immune system.

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