الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Back ground and purpose: Aerobic training and Phoenix dactylifera (dates) for elderly patients with mild depression can alter the level of serum serotonin either by increasing its synthesis or increasing its uptake by the serotonergic receptors. This alteration of the serum serotonin level can improve the patient’s depression symptoms. Patients and methods: One hundred patients (50 men and 50 women) with mild depression aged 60-70 years old were participated in the present study. They were randomly assigned into two groups equal in number, group (I) consisted of 25 men and 25 women participated in a specialized program of date consumption in form of eating three dates daily one before each meal by one hour for 24 weeks, group (II) consisted of 25 men and 25 women participated in a program of aerobic exercise in form of walking on a computerized treadmill for about 30-40 min ( 5-10 min warming up, 5-10 min cooling down and 20 min active phase) three times per week for 24 weeks. The study was conducted at PT department of elobour medical center in Kaliobia in the period from January till June 2015. Patients were referred from the out clinic of Psychiatry. The serum serotonin levels and patients scores on the geriatric depression scale were measured for all patients in the two groups at the beginning of the study and after twenty four weeks. The results: The results of this study concerning serum serotonin level revealed a significant increase in group (I) by 75.77% and significant decrease in group (II) by 38.9%. For geriatric depression scale the patients’ scores showed a significant decrease in both group with no significant difference. Conclusion: It can be concluded that both aerobic exercise and Phoenix dactylifera can produce a significant improvement for patients with mild depression |