Study : Laughter Good Medicine for Dementia Patients

LAUGHTER may be good medicine for elderly dementia patients - and best of all, it does not have side effects.

Australian humour therapist, Jean Paul Bell was originally a clown doctor working with sick children, but now he makes the elderly laughs as well through a programme called Play-Up.

Bell was also the key humour therapist in a Sydney-based study into the impact of humour therapy on mood, agitation, behavioural disturbances and social engagement in dementia patients, a study that showed those who took part seemed happier.

"The whole idea behind the Play-Up Programme and what we're doing at the Arts Health Institute is encouraging them to play more because we believe that they've got the potential to keep playing right until they take their breath," Bell said.

He set up the Arts Health Institute to train aged-care staff in fostering playful relationships with their patients, particularly those with dementia.

The study, called the SMILE Study, took place over three years, involving 36 nursing homes and 400 residents.

Dressed in a bright blue jacket with brass buttons and shoulder tabs, Bell uses a combination of games, jokes and songs - accompanying himself on a ukulele - to get the elderly to laugh.

In addition to seeming more content, the dementia patients involved in the study seemd less agitated by 20%, said lead researcher Low Lee-Fay at the University of New South Wales' School of Psychiatry.

"The percentage may sound like a small effect but it's about the same amount, the same effect as you would get if you gave them an antipsychotic medication - medication you would use to treat schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder," Low said.

Best of all, the dementia patients were not the only ones who benefited from the study.

"The staff were invigorated, they felt that their jobs were enhanced," said therapist, Joanne Rodrigues.

"They were part of something that they could see the real benefits (of)."

(Source: Reuters, 29 September 2011)