Psychotherapy with somatosensory stimulation as a complementary treatment for women with endometriosis-associated pain - a qualitative study.

Objective: This qualitative study aimed to explore patients' experiences with a novel treatment approach for endometriosis-associated pain, termed 'sinosomatics'. Specifically, it sought to understand women's experiences of the treatment and its components, the effects of the treatment on biological, psychological, and social levels, and how the women interpreted the changes they experienced.

Methods: We conducted ten semi-structured interviews with patients, who had undergone the complementary treatment for endometriosis-associated pain.

Diversity of (Orbiniidae, Annelida) in the North Atlantic and the Arctic.

In this work, the diversity of the genus in the Nordic Seas and the North Atlantic waters south of Iceland is studied based on the analyses of molecular markers (mitochondrial COI, 16S rDNA and nuclear ITS2) and morphological characters. Our results showed the presence of at least five genetic lineages in the studied material which could also be morphologically identified by their segmental annulation patterns, the number and the shape of acicular spines, and the length and the shape of pygidial lobes. The species name is assigned to one of the lineages restricting its geographical and vertical distribution to the deep-sea areas north of Iceland and Jan Mayen, and three lineages are described as new species (i.

Stress reduction through taiji: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: In light of the mounting prevalence of stress in contemporary society and the growing interest in stress reduction methods, this review investigates the potential of taiji as a viable strategy for alleviating stress.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CENTRAL), PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched up to April 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials of taiji. Studies in both patients and healthy populations were considered.

Nurturing Hope: Reproductive Outcomes with Sinosomatics following Unsuccessful in vitro Fertilization Attempts.

Introduction: For women who have experienced failed attempts at in vitro fertilization (IVF) and face medical issues, leading to infertility, the renewed effort to seek fertility treatment, coupled with decreasing likelihood of success, can exert substantial emotional and physical strains. Consequently, many couples opt to discontinue treatment before attaining pregnancy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproductive outcomes in patients with unsuccessful prior IVF attempts who received a complementary treatment designed to alleviate emotional distress and burden.

Mapping expectancy-based appetitive placebo effects onto the brain in women.

Suggestions about hunger can generate placebo effects on hunger experiences. But, the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms are unknown. Here, we show in 255 women that hunger expectancies, induced by suggestion-based placebo interventions, determine hunger sensations and economic food choices.

Placebo effects on nausea and motion sickness are resistant to experimentally-induced stress.

Nausea often occurs in stressful situations, such as chemotherapy or surgery. Clinically relevant placebo effects in nausea have been demonstrated, but it remains unclear whether stress has an impact on these effects. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the interplay between acute stress and placebo effects in nausea.

Exploring Pain, Quality of Life, and Emotional Well-Being in Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Practicing Spiritual Meditation: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: Studies on mind-body approaches in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are rare. We performed a pilot study with follow-up until 1 year to explore changes in pain, quality of life (QoL), stress, and negative emotions in patients with advanced PDAC, who regularly practiced a standardized form of spiritual meditation in addition to standard medical care.

Methods: At baseline and every 2 months for a maximum of 1 year, global pain, QoL (global, SEIQoL, FACT-G), spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp), perceived stress (PSQ-20), anxiety and depression (HADS), and diurnal cortisol secretion (cortisol slope) were assessed.

Changes in Subjective Time and Self during Meditation.

This study examined the effects of meditative states in experienced meditators on present-moment awareness, subjective time, and self-awareness while assessing meditation-induced changes in heart-rate variability and breathing rate. A sample of 22 experienced meditators who practiced meditation techniques stressing awareness of the present moment (average 20 years of practice) filled out subjective scales pertaining to sense of time and the bodily self and accomplished a metronome task as an operationalization of present-moment awareness before and after a 20 min meditation session (experimental condition) and a 20 min reading session (control condition) according to a within-subject design. A mixed pattern of increased sympathetic and parasympathetic activity was found during meditation regarding heart-rate measures.

Open-Label Placebo Administration Decreases Pain in Elderly Patients With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis - A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Recent studies indicate that the administration of open-label placebos (OLP) can improve symptoms in various medical conditions. The primary aim of this 3-week randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of OLP treatments on pain, functional disability, and mobility in patients with arthritic knee pain.

Methods: Sixty patients (55% females; mean age, 66.

The Physical, Psychological, and Social Day-to-Day Experience of Women Living With Endometriosis Compared to Healthy Age-Matched Controls-A Mixed-Methods Study.

Endometriosis is characterized by lesions of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Chronic pain is considered as main symptom, but challenges can relate to various physical, mental, and social aspects of the women's lives. The aim of our study was to gain a holistic understanding of the everyday reality of women with endometriosis compared to healthy controls.

School start times and academic achievement - A systematic review on grades and test scores.

Early school times clash with the late sleep of adolescents, leading to wide-spread sleep restriction in students. Evidence suggests that delaying school starts is beneficial for sleep and recent studies investigated whether this also translates into improved academic achievement. We thus conducted a systematic review of the literature on school start times, grades and test scores in middle and high-school students.

New species of the genus (Annelida, Spionidae) from the southern and western coasts of Korea.

A new spionid polychaete, , is described from the southern and western coasts of Korea. This new species differs from its congeners by the combination of the following morphological characteristics: the presence of orange-brown pigmentation on the anterior part of the prostomium, black pigmentation on the peristomium and along the body, U-shaped nuchal organs, a comparatively long extension of metameric dorsal ciliated organs, three pairs of white dots per chaetiger, two to three posterior abranchiate chaetigers, and the presence of tridentate neuropodial hooded hooks. The partial 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and nuclear 18S rDNA sequences of the new species and sp.

Shared Decision Making - A Key Competence of All Health Care Professionals. Evaluation and Adaptation of a Digitally Enhanced Learning and Teaching Unit.

The Covid-19 pandemic induced a radical shift towards digitally enhanced learning and teaching (DELT). Success of this adaptation depended on how much DELT had been provided before. The Bavarian Virtual University (BVU) is a university network to fund, promote and support DELT.

Reduced frequency of perforin-positive CD8+ T cells in menstrual effluent of endometriosis patients.

Endometriosis is a widespread disease and commonly reduces the life quality of those affected. Scientific literature indicates different underlying immunological changes. Frequently examined tissues are peripheral blood, endometrial tissue and peritoneal fluid.

Annelids of the eastern Australian abyss collected by the 2017 RV 'Investigator' voyage.

In Australia, the deep-water (bathyal and abyssal) benthic invertebrate fauna is poorly known in comparison with that of shallow (subtidal and shelf) habitats. Benthic fauna from the deep eastern Australian margin was sampled systematically for the first time during 2017 RV 'Investigator' voyage 'Sampling the Abyss'. Box core, Brenke sledge, and beam trawl samples were collected at one-degree intervals from Tasmania, 42°S, to southern Queensland, 24°S, from 900 to 4800 m depth.

What Should Clinicians Tell Patients about Placebo and Nocebo Effects? Practical Considerations Based on Expert Consensus.

Introduction: Clinical and laboratory studies demonstrate that placebo and nocebo effects influence various symptoms and conditions after the administration of both inert and active treatments.

Objective: There is an increasing need for up-to-date recommendations on how to inform patients about placebo and nocebo effects in clinical practice and train clinicians how to disclose this information.

Methods: Based on previous clinical recommendations concerning placebo and nocebo effects, a 3-step, invitation-only Delphi study was conducted among an interdisciplinary group of internationally recognized experts.

Molecular classification of the placebo effect in nausea.

In this proof-of-concept study, we tested whether placebo effects can be monitored and predicted by plasma proteins. In a randomized controlled design, 90 participants were exposed to a nauseating stimulus on two separate days and were randomly allocated to placebo treatment or no treatment on the second day. Significant placebo effects on nausea, motion sickness, and (in females) gastric activity could be verified.

The Role of Tactile Stimulation for Expectation, Perceived Treatment Assignment and the Placebo Effect in an Experimental Nausea Paradigm.

Introduction: Tactile stimulation during a placebo treatment could enhance its credibility and thereby boost positive treatment expectations and the placebo effect. This experimental study aimed to investigate the interplay between tactile stimulation, expectation, and treatment credibility for the placebo effect in nausea.

Methods: Ninety healthy participants were exposed to a 20-min vection stimulus on two separate days and were randomly allocated to one of three groups on the second day after the baseline period: Placebo transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) with tactile stimulation ( = 30), placebo TENS without tactile stimulation ( = 30), or no intervention ( = 30).

Placebo Economics: A Systematic Review About the Economic Potential of Utilizing the Placebo Effect.

Recent research shows that placebo mechanisms can be utilized in ethical and legal ways such as in open-label conditions, when patients know that they receive placebos, and through psychological interventions aiming to optimize patients' expectations. Showing that placebo interventions are also cost-efficient could improve their acceptability. To review studies that performed health economic evaluations (HEEs) of intentional placebo interventions and to review studies that intentionally applied placebo interventions and reported outcomes eligible for HEEs.