Expressive writing and wound healing in older adults: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate whether expressive writing could speed wound reepithelialization in healthy, older adults.

Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 49 healthy older adults aged 64 to 97 years were assigned to write for 20 minutes a day either about upsetting life events (Expressive Writing) or about daily activities (Time Management) for 3 consecutive days. Two weeks postwriting, 4-mm punch biopsy wounds were created on the inner, upper arm.

Expectation and the placebo effect in inflammatory skin reactions: a randomised-controlled trial.

Objective: This study investigated the placebo effect on experimentally induced skin reactions via the manipulation of expectation.

Methods: Fifty-eight healthy volunteers were randomised into either expectancy or control groups. All participants received a baseline administration of histamine on one arm (Time 1), then a second administration on the other arm, approximately 30 minutes later (Time 2).

Immunosuppressant nonadherence in heart, liver, and lung transplant patients: associations with medication beliefs and illness perceptions.

Background: Nonadherence to immunosuppressant medication is a significant problem among solid organ transplant recipients. Previous research suggests that patients' perceptions about their medications may be a better predictor of nonadherence than demographic factors. This study aimed to further investigate the role of patients' perceptions about their transplant and medication beliefs in nonadherence.

The psychology of wound healing.

Purpose Of Review: Research into the effects of psychological factors on wound healing represents an ideal research model for psychoneuroimmunology, as both the impact on clinically relevant health outcomes and the underlying biological mechanisms can be examined. Mounting interest in this topic from biological scientists, psychologists, and medical specialists has resulted in new findings that are discussed in this review.

Recent Findings: Known psychological influences on wound healing include stress as well as coping styles, positive affect, environmental enrichment, and social support.

The use of wound healing assessment methods in psychological studies: a review and recommendations.

Purpose: To provide a critical review of methods used to assess human wound healing in psychological research and related disciplines, in order to guide future research into psychological influences on wound healing.

Methods: Acute wound models (skin blister, tape stripping, skin biopsy, oral palate biopsy, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene tubing), surgical wound healing assessment methods (wound drains, wound scoring), and chronic wound assessment techniques (surface area, volumetric measurements, wound composition, and assessment tools/scoring systems) are summarized, including merits, limitations, and recommendations.

Results: Several dermal and mucosal tissue acute wound models have been established to assess the effects of psychological stress on the inflammatory, proliferative, and repair phases of wound healing in humans, including material-based models developed to evaluate factors influencing post-surgical recovery.

Percutaneous window chamber method for chronic intravital microscopy of sensor-tissue interactions.

Background: A dorsal, two-sided skin-fold window chamber model was employed previously by Gough in glucose sensor research to characterize poorly understood physiological factors affecting sensor performance. We have extended this work by developing a percutaneous one-sided window chamber model for the rodent dorsum that offers both a larger subcutaneous area and a less restrictive tissue space than previous animal models.

Method: A surgical procedure for implanting a sensor into the subcutis beneath an acrylic window (15 mm diameter) is presented.

In vitro, in vivo and post explantation testing of glucose-detecting biosensors: current methods and recommendations.

To date, there have been a number of cases where glucose sensors have performed well over long periods of implantation; however, it remains difficult to predict whether a given sensor will perform reliably, will exhibit gradual degradation of performance, or will fail outright soon after implantation. Typically, the literature emphasizes the sensor that performed well, while only briefly (if at all) mentioning the failed devices. This leaves open the question of whether current sensor designs are adequate for the hostile in vivo environment, and whether these sensors have been assessed by the proper regimen of testing protocols.