Australian Doctor Australian Doctor 3rd November 2017 | Page 31

This Week
QUOTES OF
THE WEEK
PIC
OF THE
WEEK
POLAND Medical students
march in the streets of
Katowice in support of a junior
doctors’ hunger strike in the
country’s capital. About 26
resident doctors at the Medical
University Children’s Hospital
in Warsaw are protesting over
poor funding of the city’s
healthcare system. Their
hunger strike, which is taking
place in the hospital foyer,
has garnered support among
doctors nationwide.
Photo: AAP
Music hits the right notes for some patients
ONE of my favourite lines from the 1980s
comedy The Young Ones is “Only music
can save us now”, as uttered by the
smarmy Rick when faced with a vampire:
(cut to the Damned who somehow appear
in the living room to perform Nasty).
It may be a nonsense show but the
idea of music being a last resort has some
merit, particularly when it comes to mental
health and cognitive function.
The military has long recognised that
music is “good for morale” when in a tight
spot, that’s why they had Scottish pipers
playing Highland Laddie when going in to
battle. So it’s encouraging to see more
neuroscientists recognising the therapeutic
effects of a good tune.
In the latest JAMA Neurology, Dr Victoria
Leavitt (PhD), a clinical neuropsychologist
at New York’s Columbia University,
describes the case of a patient with
multiple sclerosis who gained relief from
depression and fatigue by playing a guitar.
This was no ordinary patient, but a
Journal
Talk
Michael Woodhead
cardiologist devastated at being robbed of
his talent, identity and purpose by MS.
Despite trying all the evidence-based
treatments for MS, such as cognitive
and physical training, the former doctor
remained withdrawn and depressed due to
his disabling impairment.
The breakthrough came when his
therapist discovered that he had also been
a technically accomplished guitarist in
his spare time. A cello player herself, she
asked her patient to bring his guitar along
to their next weekly appointment, at which
they started jamming “an unconventional
mix of the Beatles and George Gershwin”.
Each week they tackled a new tune, and
little by little, over a three-year period, her
patient showed progress in mental health
and engagement, if not in his musical
ability.
“He could no longer play the elaborate
and technically demanding chord-melody
arrangements he loved,” notes Dr Leavitt.
“[But] with encouragement, we found a
new way for Paul to play: simple, single-
line melodies supported by a slow, low,
walking cello line.
“Paul had never played duets; he was
a solo player. But now he is forced into a
partnership, to listen and respond, to rely
on another player to lay the foundation,
and to trust someone else to support him.”
While he still had cognitive impairment
and physical limitations, he said that where
all else had failed, music had given him one
important thing, “relief”.
Dr Leavitt notes that music is now also
being used as therapy for neuroplasticity in
stroke rehabilitation, as rhythm training for
Parkinson’s disease and — as ensemble
playing — to encourage prosocial
behaviour in children with autism.
“As medical practitioners who pride
ourselves for being empiricists and
sceptics, Paul and I continue playing
together on the basis of a decidedly
unscientific drive to fill a void,” she says.
JAMA Neurology 2017; online.
THE SMOKING SITUATION
About 12% of Australians smoked daily in 2016. Of those who attempted to quit,
the motivation behind the move was more often related to money than health.
67 % Wanted to quit
36 % Smoked roll-your-own cigarettes
5.5 % Bought illicit cigarettes
4.4 % Smoked e-cigarettes
AVERAGE AGE OF FIRST CIGARETTE
16.3 YEARS OLD
AVERAGE
NUMBER OF
CIGARETTES
PER DAY
“The guild
respectfully
requests that
doctor groups
stop hurling
abuse and
playing political
games.”
The Pharmacy Guild of
Australia reject claims
by medical groups that
their financial donations to
political parties amount to
“policy by chequebook” on
codeine rescheduling.
Lancet editor Richard
Horton comments on social
media after finding unread
journals in the café of an
Australian medical research
institute.
Of the 3 million who smoked either daily, weekly or less often:
Smoked a pack a day or more
Albany GP Dr Philip Brown
carries a tourniquet when
surfing off the WA coast.
“Does anybody
read print
journals
anymore?”
SNAPSHOT
37 %
“There are a
lot of logistical
difficulties
putting it
on yourself,
particularly if
you have just
been attacked by
a shark.”
14
“The major
medical
practitioners are
turning away 23
people a day.”
MP Bob Katter describes
the rural doctor shortage in
his electorate of Kennedy in
Queensland.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2016
www.australiandoctor.com.au
3 November 2017 | Australian Doctor |
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