by Heidrun Männle  , Birthe Osorio  and Karsten Münstedt

Received: 09 March 2020;  Published: 28 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002024

Palliative care is a steadily growing component of medicine that focuses on treating individuals with life-limiting diseases such as cancer. It aims at improving the quality of life and alleviating cancer-related symptoms, including anxiety, pain, dyspnea, cough, nausea/vomiting, and constipation, which could result in significant physical and mental impairment. Integrative palliative care (IPC), as a subspecialty of palliative care, includes complementary approaches to treat patients holistically in their biopsych [...]

by Giuseppe De Benedittis

Received: 18 February 2020;  Published: 24 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002023

There is increasing evidence demonstrating that hypnosis could be effective in the down-modulation of pain sensation in both acute and chronic pain states. In the neurophysiological context, recent evidence has deciphered, to a certain extent, the mystery of pain relief upon hypnosis. It is probable that hypnotic suggestions of analgesia are able to modulate pain processing at multiple levels and sites within the central nervous system (CNS). At the peripheral level, hypnosis may modulate the nociceptive input thro [...]

by Valérie Morin-Alain  , Eddy Larouche  , Anne-Marie Chouinard  , Marie-Claude Audet  , Sonia Goulet  , Louis-Simon Rousseau  and Carol Hudon

Received: 23 November 2019;  Published: 17 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002022

Peripheral inflammation plays an important role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dysregulations in circulating levels of different inflammatory mediators are detectable as early as the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage towards AD. Depressive symptoms, another risk factor of AD, are often found in individuals with MCI and associated with heightened levels of peripheral inflammatory mediators. Diminution in depressive symptoms and alterations of peripheral inflammation profiles have been obs [...]

by Paulo Henrique Fernandes de Oliveira  and Reginaldo de Carvalho Silva Filho

Received: 29 December 2019;  Published: 15 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002021

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin characterized by facial papules, pustules, erythema, and telangiectasia. Emotional factors such as stress and anxiety may induce and aggravate the symptoms of rosacea. It is hypothesized that tongue acupuncture, a technique that has been used successfully in the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric diseases, could be beneficial in relieving rosacea symptoms. This study evaluated the immediate effect of tongue acupuncture at specific anatomical point [...]

by Lisa Vogelgesang  , Damien Moore  and Paul D. Loprinzi

Received: 12 April 2020;  Published: 15 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002020

by Ronald J. Pekala  and Kevin Creegan

Received: 20 January 2020;  Published: 13 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002019

Noetic analysis is a methodology to quantify the mind during hypnosis, meditation, or other stimulus conditions/states of consciousness in a reliable and valid manner. The methodology uses retrospective phenomenological assessment (RPA) to comprehensively assess subjective experience. By having the participant complete a first person, self-report questionnaire, the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI), in reference to a short stimulus condition, the researcher can generate a “snapshot” of the mind, and it [...]

by Fernando Cabo  and Isaac Aguaristi

Received: 01 April 2020;  Published: 02 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002018

by Krisztian Kasos  , Luca Csirmaz  , Fanni Vikor  , Szabolcs Zimonyi  , Katalin Varga  and Anna Szekely

Received: 07 February 2020;  Published: 01 April 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002017

Hypnosis has proven to be an effective treatment in disorders that affect the autonomic nervous system (ANS). However, the studies investigating the nature of its effect on the ANS have reported contradictory results. Measurement of electrodermal activity (EDA) is an objective way to assess the activity of the sympathetic branch of the ANS. We aim to elucidate the effects of hypnosis on EDA. Here, we report the results of two studies, both investigating the psychophysiological effects of hypnosis.In the first exper [...]

by Cynthia M.A. Geppert  and Ronald W. Pies

Received: 17 March 2020;  Published: 23 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2001016

Cultural and religious competence is an essential component of palliative and end-of-life care. Because religious, ethnic and racial groups often differ in their values and preferences, including their attitudes toward palliative and end-of-life care, clinicians must maintain an open and respectful attitude toward these differences. Cultural and religious competence can improve palliative and end-of-life care, and strengthen the therapeutic alliance with patients and their families.

by Yan Yang  , Gerhard Litscher  , Zemin Sheng  and Lu Wang

Received: 12 February 2020;  Published: 20 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2001015

Pain could be directly related to autonomous imbalance. To date, only one scientific work examining heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) as the important parameters of autonomous nervous system (ANS) in the context of clinical routine acupuncture treatments for lumbosacral pain conditions is available in the listed databases. The present study aimed to investigate the short-term effects of HRV and HR, during and after the acupuncture needle stimulation in patients with lower back pain. Eighteen patients [...]