The objective of the study was to establish the prevalence rate of depression among the elderly population (those 60 and older) who frequent community centers. From February to July of 2001, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with elderly people from community centers in Taguatinga, Brasilia, FD (Federal District). The sample included 118 elderly people, distributed in five-year age brackets, who responded to a simplified version of the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale with 15 questions. Anova and the Tukey test were performed to analyze differences between the age groups with 95% confidence intervals. The sample was predominantly female (90%) with the majority reporting being in the age bracket of 60 to 64 years old (31%). Depression was reported by 36 respondents (31%) and severe depression was reported by 4% of those interviewed, all of whom were in the age bracket of 60 to 64 (representing 14% of this group). National programs should be developed in community centers focused on decreasing depression among the elderly population.
[Purpose] This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of
intraoral application of low-level laser therapy (660 nm) to control pain, swelling and
interincisal opening following the extraction of mandibular third molars. [Subjects and
Methods] Ten patients underwent removal of lower third molars using the same surgical
protocol and pharmacological approach. In the postoperative period, all patients received
four consecutive daily sessions of low-level laser therapy, beginning 24 hours after the
surgery. Intraoral applications using the diode laser with 660 nm wavelength in the
continuous scan mode were performed covering the entire surgical area, which was divided
into four quadrants, each of 1 cm2 area at a distance of 1 cm. The energy
applied at each point was 5 J/cm2 during 8 seconds. [Results] The swelling and
interincisal opening returned to normal 24 hours after the first low-level laser therapy
application (Friedman test). Moreover, the pain intensity was reduced on the third
postoperative day, according to the Friedman test. [Conclusion] Low-level laser therapy
(660 nm), at the dosimetry used in this study, was effective in reducing postoperative
pain and swelling following oral surgery.
The effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the healing of skin lesions has been evaluated in many studies; however, the molecular mechanisms involved in the biostimulatory effects resulting from this treatment need to be better understood. The paper aims to analyze the effects of LLLT (660 nm) at doses of 1 and 5 J/cm on cell viability and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin (IL6) genes in L929 fibroblast cells. The dose-response curve was performed with the GaInAlAs (660 nm) laser-treated cells at energy rates of 1 and 5 J/cm. Cell viability was quantified at 24, 48, and 72 h after irradiation and the effects of TLBP on the cytoskeleton and endoplasmic reticulum were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and the RT-qPCR method was used for the analysis of gene expression. It was observed that the 72 h group had a statistically significant increase in cell viability compared to the 48 h group (p < 0.01) and when compared to the 72 h control (p = 0.03). In 72 h, a greater distribution of the cytoskeleton filaments and the more evident endoplasmatic reticulum was verified, indicating an increase in the protein synthesis when compared with the control group. In the expression of the VEGF gene, a significant increase of 1.98 times (p < 0.05) in the number of transcripts was observed; whereas for the IL6 gene, a decrease of the transcripts was 4.05 times (p < 0.05), both occurring within 72 h after irradiation at 5 J/cm. The LLLT (660 nm) at the dose of 5 J/cm should modulate cellular viability, upregulated VEGF, and downregulated IL6 expression of messenger RNA in culture of L929 fibroblast cells.
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