The Use of Non-Drug Therapy Methods in the Complex Treatment of Asthenic Syndrome in Persons Exposed to Emergency Radiation

Abstract

Background: eccording to numerous medical observations, asthenic syndrome (AS) in persons exposed to emergency radiation is one of the early manifestations of disorders of the central nervous system. The combination of standard drug therapy with non-drug therapy in its treatment to increase the effectiveness of therapeutic measures is very relevant. The objective of the research is to study the effectiveness of non-drug therapy (a combination of Beta training and breathing exercises) in the complex treatment of AS in persons exposed to emergency radiation. Patients and methods: а retrospective analysis of the treatment was carried out. The study involved 80 people born from 1950 to 1957, residing in the coastal villages of the Techa River, who were diagnosed with AS. Participants of the study were divided into two groups comparable in different parameters. In the main group, in addition to standard drug treatment, Beta training was conducted in combination with breathing exercises, in the control group (40 people) standard medical treatment was carried out. To assess the effectiveness of intervention the following methods were used: clinical and psychological methods (Asthenic state scale, MFI-20, simple visual and motor reaction) and statistical processing of materials. Results and conclusion: according to the results of repeated diagnostics in the main group, there is a tendency to improve performance indicators, a statistically significant increase of persons with «low asthenia» (p = 0.039), a low overall score (decrease in asthenic manifestations) according to the MFI-20 method (p = 0.036) compared with the control group, whereas there are statistically significantly more subjects with a high overall score according to the MFI-20 method (p = 0.036). According to the results of Beta training in the main group, there is a statistically significant increase in the power index of the user range (UR) of the beta rhythm (16-20 Hz) at the start of the first and last session (p = 0.002) and the finish of the first and last one (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The use of an integrated approach in the treatment of AS in persons exposed to emergency radiation increases the overall effectiveness of therapeutic measures.