Cost-effectiveness of specialized psychological programs for reducing hospital stays and outpatient visits.

Four naturalistic time-series studies contrasted adult male patients' use of hospital and clinic resources before and after their involvement in psychologist-directed programs of stress management, pain control, vocational rehabilitation, and coping skill training. Six months after biofeedback training, utilization rates for hospital days and clinic visits dropped 72% and 63%, respectively. One-year follow-ups showed that graduates of two vocational rehabilitation programs had reduced hospital days by 81 to 89% and clinic visits by 23 to 41%.

Evidence that pulsed electromagnetic fields inhibit coupling of adenylate cyclase by parathyroid hormone in bone cells.

To investigate the biochemical effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) on bone in particular and on cell membrane-associated activity in general, we have studied the modification by PEMF of cAMP metabolism in primary calvarial bone cells. We report that PEMF inhibited cAMP accumulation stimulated by bovine PTH(1-34) peptide. After a 1-hr PEMF exposure, the cAMP response to PTH (2-7 min) was decreased in exposed cells to 48-70% (p less than 0.

Detection of 60-hertz vertical electric fields by rats.

Rats were trained to press levers to indicate the presence or absence of 60-Hz vertical electric fields at intensities from 0 to 27 kV/m (rms). The probability of detecting the field increased as the strength of the field increased. The shape of the detection curve (psychometric function) for most subjects (Ss) was similar whether the discriminative stimulus was the electric field or a tone.

Prostaglandin synthesis and response to alcoholism treatment.

Serum prostaglandin F2 (PGF2) was assayed in 27 alcoholic patients and in 18 control subjects. No significant difference was observed in mean basal PGF2 titers of patients and controls. However, patients who completed four months of alcoholism treatment had a mean titer that was significantly higher than that of treatment dropouts.