os 1 oP : I eS FTE aye Os & * wy ee ~ ee ~ 7,OREM 2 RES M VEY BMfete 13 Laughter Is Good Medicine For Kids (NAPSA)—Early results from a five-year study seem to indicate an ability for children and teens to withstand painful medical procedures better while they watch classic and contemporary television comedy shows. Margaret Stuber, M.D., a researcher with UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Mattel UCLA Children’s Hospital, and her colleagues, are testing how laughter can improve immune function, reduce pain and ease children through the trauma of medical procedures such as injections and bone marrow aspirations, and minimize the traumatic effects that the children experience. The program, the brainchild of former TV executive Sherry Dunay Hilber, is a unique collaboration between the entertainment industry, pediatrics, and psychiatry. “Laughter seems to induce a relaxation response in the part of the nervous system that controls involuntary functions of the body,” says Dr. Stuber. “In the future, watching humorous videos could become a standard component of some medical procedures.” Rx Laughter is looking at laughter in medicine in several different ways, including how amused children are, how much they laugh, and their physiological and psychological responses to laughter. At a recent briefing before the American Medical Association on pain management, Dr. Stuber discussed the relationships between humor, laughter, pain perception, and pain tolerance as seen in an initial study group of children. Rx Laughter is now working on an application of this work. The group is setting up a system for children in medical isolation to communicate with each other while watching funny videos. “The potential benefit is not only from having the children laugh- It appears that laughter can help sick children cope better with medical procedures, according to a recent UCLA preliminary study. ing, but in being able to laugh together,” says Dr. Stuber, who recommends that parents try to learn from their child’s innate coping skills. “Try to laugh with your child,” she offers. “It will makeboth of you feel better.” Dr. Stuber has received a grant from Comedy Central to support the pilot phase of her work with Rx Laughter. The network’s campaign has also created grassroots programs with children’s hospitals and the Big Apple Circus Clown Care unit. Comedy Central, which reaches 80 million cable and satellite homes, offers a diverse range of comedy programmingincluding the flagship satire, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” exclusive movies such as “Man on the Moon” (an Andy Kaufmanprofile) and a host of high-profile comedians such as Drew Cary, Kevin James and Martin Short. For more information about Rx Laughter, go to www.rxlaughter. org. To find out about adding Comedy Central to your local cable system, go to www.comedycentral.com andclick on “Get Comedy Central.”
