Towards culturally inclusive healthcare in Peru: Mapping epistemic concepts in contemporary Indigenous Amazonian medicine-Traditional healers' perspectives.

Peru is among Latin American countries with the largest Indigenous population, yet ethnical health disparities persist, particularly in the Amazon region which comprises 60% of the national territory. Healthcare models that include Indigenous medicine and traditional healers present an important avenue for addressing such inequalities, as they increase cultural adequacy of services, healthcare access, and acknowledge Indigenous Rights for their perspectives to be represented in public healthcare. Understanding the underlying epistemologies of Indigenous medicine is a prerequisite for this purpose.

Individual Pharmacotherapy Management (IPM-II) for Patient and Drug Safety in Polypharmacy via Clinical Electronic Health Record Is Associated with Significant Fall Prevention.

Background/objectives: Falls and fractures are emerging as a near-pandemic and major global health concern, placing an enormous burden on ageing patients and public health economies. Despite the high risk of polypharmacy in the elderly patients, falls are usually attributed to age-related changes. For the "Individual Pharmacotherapy Management (IPM)" established at the University Hospital Halle, the IPM medication adjustments and their association with in-hospital fall prevention were analysed.

Creative music therapy in preterm infants effects cerebrovascular oxygenation and perfusion.

Creative music therapy (CMT) has been shown to promote the development of brain function and structure in preterm infants. We aimed to investigate the effect of CMT on cerebral oxygenation and perfusion to examine how the brain reacts to CMT. Absolute levels of cerebrovascular oxygen saturation (StO) were measured in clinically stable preterm-born neonates (n = 20, gestational age: ≥30 weeks and < 37 weeks) using two near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-based tissue oximeters over the right prefrontal cortex and left auditory cortex.

Activity-based mindfulness: large-scale assessment of an online program on perceived stress and mindfulness.

Background And Objective: Mindfulness has emerged as key construct in mental health over past decades. While current mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are usually rooted in Asian contemplative traditions, mindfulness practices can equally be found in other knowledge systems, including integrative medicine systems such as anthroposophic medicine (AM). The (ABSR) program incorporates the latter as part of an 8-week-long online intervention combining mindfulness exercises, behavioral self-observation, and mindful movement practices derived from this integrative medicine frame.

Dependence of Cerebral Oxygenation and Task Performance on Coloured Light Exposure and Chronotype: Blue and Red Do Not Have the Same Effects on the Prefrontal Cortex.

Background: In our previous studies, we investigated the right-left asymmetry (RLA) of cerebral tissue oxygenation (StO) at rest in humans and the influence of the individual chronotype (i.e. individual chronobiological disposition) on StO.

Online eurythmy therapy for cancer-related fatigue: a prospective repeated-measures observational study exploring fatigue, stress, and mindfulness.

Introduction: Cancer is a debilitating disease with an often chronic course. One of the most taxing and prevalent sequelae in this context is cancer-related fatigue (CRF) resulting from the disease and/or associated treatments. Over the last years mindfulness-based interventions such as eurythmy therapy (ERYT), a mindful-movement therapy from anthroposophic medicine, have emerged as promising adjunct therapies in oncology.

Traditional Indigenous-Amazonian Therapy Involving Ceremonial Tobacco Drinking as Medicine: A Transdisciplinary Multi-Epistemic Observational Study.

Although the tobacco plant has been employed as a medicinal and sacred herb by Indigenous cultures across the Americas, its usage drastically changed after the 15th-century colonial arrival; its large-scale commodification and global marketing once brought to Europe lead to hedonic and addictive uses harmful to health. As a consequence, tobacco smoking is now one of the largest public health problems worldwide. However, in the Peruvian Amazon, a region of origin of tobacco species, Indigenous healers still know how to use the plant for therapeutic purposes.

Proton Pump Inhibitor Prescription in Nursing Home Residents: Prevalence, Appropriateness, and Associated Factors-A Secondary Data Analysis from Three German Regions and the Impact of Guideline Recommendations.

Despite reliable evidence of adverse drug effects, the substantially increased prescription rates of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) remain at a high level. This study analyzed the appropriateness of PPI prescriptions among residents of nursing homes in three regions of Germany. Baseline data of a cluster-randomized controlled trial were used to determine the prevalence of PPI prescriptions, the validity of indications, and the adequacy of the prescribed dosages according to 1.

Efficacy and Safety of Phytotherapy and Anthroposophic Medicine in Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) is a common health condition that is associated with an increased risk for bronchial asthma. Besides conventional medicine, treatments from traditional, complementary and integrative medicine are widely used by individuals with SAR. This review aims to systematically summarize evidence on the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of European/Western phytotherapy (PT) and medications from anthroposophic medicine (AM) in individuals with SAR.

A Drug Safety Briefing (II) in Transplantation from Real-World Individual Pharmacotherapy Management to Prevent Patient and Graft from Polypharmacy Risks at the Very Earliest Stage.

For early and long-term patient and graft survival, drug therapy in solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation inevitably involves polypharmacy in patients with widely varying and even abruptly changing conditions. In this second part, relevant medication briefing is provided, in addition to the scores defined in the previously published first part on the design of the Individual Pharmacotherapy Management (IPM). The focus is on the growing spectrum of contemporary polypharmacy in transplant patients, including early and long-term follow-up medications.

Establishing an Integrative Oncology Service: Essential Aspects of Program Development.

Purpose Of Review: Over the last 2 decades, integrative oncology (IO) has seen exponential growth within cancer care. It aims to combine evidence-based complementary therapies with conventional treatments to improve the well-being and quality of life for individuals dealing with cancer. The proliferation of integrative medicine programs in major cancer centers globally reflects varying approaches shaped by cultural, demographic, and resource-based factors.

Cerebral, systemic physiological and behavioral responses to colored light exposure during a cognitive task: A SPA-fNIRS study.

Colored light has important implications for human health and well-being, as well as for the aesthetics and function of various environments. In addition to its effects on visual function, colored light has significant effects on cognitive performance, behavior and systemic physiology. The aim of the current study was to comprehensively investigate how colored light exposure (CLE) combined with a cognitive task (2-back) affects performance, cerebral hemodynamics, oxygenation, and systemic physiology as assessed by systemic physiology augmented functional near-infrared spectroscopy (SPA-fNIRS).

Successful implementation of online educational lectures of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO).

Purpose: Modern digital teaching formats have become increasingly important in recent years, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, an online-based webinar series was established by the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO) and the young DEGRO (yDEGRO) working group. In the monthly 120-minute courses, selected lecturers teach curricular content as preparation for the board certification exam for radiation oncology.

A Prospective Observational Pilot Study on the Effects of the Activity-Based Stress Release Program on the Mental State and Autonomic Nervous System in Psychiatric Patients.

Background: In our pilot study, we investigated the psychological (well-being and personal coping strategies) and physiological (assessed by heart rate variability (HRV)) effects of the newly developed activity-based stress release (ABSR) program for people with depressive disorders, also in combination with burnout symptoms and/or anxiety disorders.

Methods: A single-arm prospective observational study was carried out. Twenty participants diagnosed with depression and burnout or anxiety disorders were invited to participate in the 8-week ABSR program.

Accuracy of Tissue Oxygen Saturation Measurements of a Textile-Based NIRS Sensor.

Pressure injuries (PI) are dangerous tissue lesions that heal very slowly and pose a high risk of serious infections. They are caused by pressure applied to the tissue, which stops blood circulation and therefore induces hypoxia, i.e.

Differences Between Good, Moderate and Poor Performers of a Verbal Fluency Task under Blue Light Exposure: An SPA-fNIRS Study.

Individuals have different performance levels for cognitive tasks. Are these performance levels reflected in physiological parameters? The aim of this study was to address this question by systemic physiology augmented functional near-infrared spectroscopy (SPA-fNIRS). We aimed to investigate whether different verbal fluency task (VFT) performances under blue light exposure were associated with different changes in cerebrovascular oxygenation and systemic physiological activity.

Infradian Rhythms in Cerebrovascular Oxygenation and Blood Volume in Humans at Rest: A 5-Year Study.

Background: All parameters of human physiology show chronobiological variability. While circadian (cycle length ~ 24 h) rhythms of the neuronal, hemodynamic and metabolic aspects of human brain activity are increasingly being explored, infradian (cycle length > 24 h) rhythms are largely unexplored.

Aim: We investigated if cerebrovascular oxygen saturation (StO) and blood volume ([tHb]) values measured over many years in many subjects during resting show infradian rhythmicity.

A Drug Safety Concept (I) to Avoid Polypharmacy Risks in Transplantation by Individual Pharmacotherapy Management in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Immunosuppressants.

For several, also vital medications, such as immunosuppressants in solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) remains the only strategy for fine-tuning the dosage to the individual patient. Especially in severe clinical complications, the intraindividual condition of the patient changes abruptly, and in addition, drug-drug interactions (DDIs) can significantly impact exposure, due to concomitant medication alterations. Therefore, a single TDM value can hardly be the sole basis for optimal timely dose adjustment.

Spiritual and religious aspects influence mental health and viral load: a quantitative study among young people living with HIV in Zimbabwe.

Introduction: The role of religion and spirituality as social determinants of health has been widely discussed. Studies among people living with HIV describe positive and negative influences of religion and spirituality on health outcomes. With a HIV prevalence of 14.

Underdiagnosed CKD in Geriatric Trauma Patients and Potent Prevention of Renal Impairment from Polypharmacy Risks through Individual Pharmacotherapy Management (IPM-III).

The aging global patient population with multimorbidity and concomitant polypharmacy is at increased risk for acute and chronic kidney disease, particularly with severe additional disease states or invasive surgical procedures. Because from the expertise of more than 58,600 self-reviewed medications, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, inadequate dosing, and contraindications all proved to cause or exacerbate the worsening of renal function, we analyzed the association of an electronic patient record- and Summaries of Product Characteristics (SmPCs)-based comprehensive individual pharmacotherapy management (IPM) in the setting of 14 daily interdisciplinary patient visits with the outcome: further renal impairment with reduction of eGFR ≥ 20 mL/min (redGFR) in hospitalized trauma patients ≥ 70 years of age. The retrospective clinical study of 404 trauma patients comparing the historical control group (CG) before IPM with the IPM intervention group (IG) revealed a group-match in terms of potential confounders such as age, sex, BMI, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and injury patterns.