Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Is Pramipexole Safe And Effective In Reducing Depressive Symptoms In Patients With Mild To Moderate Parkinson’S Disease And Depression?, Corinne J. Kern

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not pramipexole (Mirapex) is a safe and effective drug to treat depression in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language primary randomized controlled trials and one randomized prospective, observational study published between 2003-2010.

DATA SOURCES: Three randomized controlled trials and one randomized prospective, observational study comparing the efficacy of pramipexole to placebo, sertraline (an SSRI) and other dopamine agonists (pergolide) in the treatment of PD related depression symptoms were found using PubMed.

OUTCOME(S) MEASURED: Each of the …

Does Laughter Therapy Improve Symptoms Of Depression Among The Elderly Population?, Audrey L. Shaw

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or
not laughter therapy improves symptoms of depression among the elderly population.

STUDY DESIGN: A review of three studies written in the English language published between 2007 and 2011.

DATA SOURCES: Two randomized controlled trials and one pilot study comparing the effect of laughter therapy on depression were found using PubMed, Medline, OVID, and Cochrane databases.

OUTOMES MEASURED: Outcomes measured in the studies included depression, quality of life, and life satisfaction.

RESULTS: Laughter therapy was shown to be beneficial as both an independent …

Race/Ethnicity, Subjective And Objective Sleep Quality, Physical And Psychological Symptoms In Breast Cancer Survivors, Pinky H. Budhrani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is a major health problem and comprises the largest population of cancer survivors in the United States, estimated at 2.9 million women, accounting for 22% of all cancer survivors (National Cancer Institute, 2013). The advances in breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment has increased the importance of survivorship needs. A major concern among breast cancer survivors (BCS) is sleep disturbances. This study used an innovative approach to examine ethnic and racial disparities in sleep disturbances present in BCS. In addition, this study also explored sleep disturbances across different races/ethnicities. This study was a secondary data analysis of baseline …