Compiled by Debra Scherban. Please send items to dscherban@gazettenet.com.
Shingles, a painful nerve disease, results from the same virus that causes chickenpox, the common contagious childhood ailment.
According to the National Institute on Aging, the varicella-zoster virus continues to live in some nerve cells after an individual has recovered from chickenpox and can become active again, usually after the person has turned 50. When it does, it produces shingles.
One in five people who have had chickenpox will get shingles, a disease that can be debilitating. The people most vulnerable are those older than 70 and those with weak immune systems.
Symptoms for shingles include fluid-filled blisters, skin that is sensitive to touch, burning, tingling or numbness of the skin, and chills, fever and headaches.
The NIA reports shingles follows a predictable pattern — a red rash will break out on one’s body, face or neck a few days after the tingling or burning sensation begins. A few days later, the rash will turn into fluid-filled blisters. Most cases last three to five weeks.
There are medications to fight the virus and relieve pain.
But now there is also a vaccine which doctors are recommending for people 60 and older. Some insurance plans cover it, others do not.
More information is available by contacting the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 301-496-5717, www.niaid.nih.gov; the American Chronic Pain Association, 800-533-3231, www.theacpa.org and the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain, 713-862-9332, www.paincare.org.
—Domenic Poli
With the help of its customers, Cedar Chest, a linen shop in Northampton, has donated $2,720 to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton to help make emergency room visits less frightening for children.
The money will go toward the development of pediatric pods that will provide a more discrete, less stressful, setting for kids.
During the month of June, the store offered its customers the chance to make donations to the cause and delivered a check to the hospital last week.
“We depend on community businesses to be involved in initiatives that support health in a way that works for them,” said Diane Dukette, Cooley Dickinson’s chief development officer. “Cedar Chest is doing just that. We are so grateful they are partnering with us to make our great community even better.”
UMASS involved in
mental health study
A research team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst clinical psychology professor Michael Constantino is involved in research to enhance mental health care by scientifically matching patient needs to clinical providers’ strengths.
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a federal agency, recently approved just over $1.7 million in funding for the plan.
Constantino will collaborate with researchers and clinicians at the University at Albany, SUNY, Outcome Referrals, Inc., and Atrius Health. They will compare the scientific matching approach with the more traditional method based on a provider’s availability, convenience or the therapist’s self-reported specialty.
“For too long, mental health care has relied on non-personalized approaches to matching patient with provider, which often leads to substandard or even harmful mental health services,” Constantino said.
He points out that research shows providers differ significantly in their ability to help patients and they have different patterns of effectiveness. For example, some providers are reliably effective in treating depression and substance abuse, yet appear to struggle in other areas such as treating anxiety and social functioning.
The researchers will randomly assign study participants either to a group matched to providers using effectiveness and appropriateness criteria or to a group assigned by the traditional pragmatic method.