Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2010 Jun 18;10:28. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-10-28.
The number of dementia patients has increased worldwide, with an estimated 13.7 million dementia patients in the Asia Pacific region alone. This number is expected to increase to 64.6 million by the year 2050.
As a result of advances in research, there several pharmacological therapies available for the treatment of dementia patients. However, current treatments do not suppress the disease process and cannot prevent dementia, and it will be some time before these goals are realized. In the meantime, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is an important aspect in the treatment of dementia patients to improve their quality of life throughout the long course of the disease. Considering the individuality of dementia patients, applicability of laughter and humor therapy is discussed. Even though there are many things that need to be elucidated regarding the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of laughter and humor, both may be good CAM for dementia patients if they are applied carefully and properly.
In this debate article, the physiological basis and actual application of laughter and humor in the treatment of dementia patients are presented for discussion on the applicability to dementia patients.
全球痴呆症患者人数不断增加，仅亚太地区就有估计 1370 万痴呆症患者。这一数字预计到 2050 年将增加到 6460 万。
随着研究的进展，有几种用于治疗痴呆症患者的药物治疗方法。然而，目前的治疗方法并不能抑制疾病进程，也不能预防痴呆症，这些目标还需要一段时间才能实现。在此期间，补充和替代医学（CAM）是治疗痴呆症患者的一个重要方面，可以改善他们在疾病漫长过程中的生活质量。考虑到痴呆症患者的个体差异，探讨了笑声和幽默疗法的适用性。尽管笑声和幽默的有益作用的机制还有很多需要阐明，但如果谨慎和适当地应用，它们可能是痴呆症患者的良好 CAM。
在这篇辩论文章中，提出了笑声和幽默在治疗痴呆症患者中的生理基础和实际应用，以供讨论其对痴呆症患者的适用性。
