RECENT RESEARCH
Massage , myotherapy and other bodywork
Klaus M , Kutschan S , Männle H . et al . Reflexology in oncological treatment – a systematic review . BMC Complement Med Ther . 2024 ; 24 , 32 . https :// doi . org / 10.1186 / s12906-023-04220-4
Background : As cancer and its therapy comes with a wide range of negative effects , people look for options to mitigate these effects . Reflexology is among the options of complementary medicine .
Method : In March 2022 a systematic search was conducted searching five electronic databases ( Embase , Cochrane , PsychInfo , CINAHL and Medline ) to find studies concerning the use , effectiveness and potential harm of reflexology on cancer patients .
Results : From all 821 search results , 29 publications concerning 26 studies with 2465 patients were included in this systematic review . The patients treated with reflexology were mainly diagnosed with breast , lung , gastrointestinal and hematological cancer . Outcomes were mainly pain , quality of life , anxiety , depression , fatigue . The studies had moderate to low quality and reported heterogeneous results : Some studies reported significant improvements in above mentioned outcomes while other studies did not find any changes concerning these endpoints .
Conclusion : Due to the very heterogeneous results and methodical limitations of the included studies , a clear statement regarding the effectiveness of reflexology on cancer patients is not possible . The current evidence indicates that reflexology is superior to passive control groups for pain , quality of life and fatigue , however , more studies with comparable active control groups are needed .
Simon A , Nizard JJ , Chevalier P . et al . Impact of the practice of touch-massage ® by a nurse on the anxiety of patients with hematological disorders hospitalized in a sterile environment , a randomized , controlled study . BMC Complement Med Ther . 2024 ; 24 , 1 . https :// doi . org / 10.1186 / s12906-023-04302-3
Context : In addition to curative care , supportive care is beneficial in managing the anxiety symptoms common in patients in sterile hematology unit . We hypothesize that personal massage can help the patient , particularly in this isolated setting where physical contact is extremely limited . The main objective of this study was to show that anxiety could be reduced after a touch-massage ® performed by a nurse trained in this therapy .
Methods : A single-center , randomized , unblinded controlled study in the sterile hematology unit of a French university hospital , validated by an ethics committee . The patients , aged between 18 and 65 years old , and suffering from a serious and progressive hematological pathology , were hospitalized in sterile hematology unit for a minimum of three weeks , patients were randomized into either a group receiving 15-minute touch-massage ® sessions or a control group receiving an equivalent amount of quiet time once a week for three weeks . In the treated group , anxiety was assessed before and after each touch-massage ® session , using the State- Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire with subscale state ( STAI-State ). In the control group , anxiety was assessed before and after a 15-minute quiet period . For each patient , the difference in the STAI- State score before and after each session ( or period ) was calculated , the primary endpoint was based on the average of these three differences . Each patient completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire before the first session and after the last session .
Results : Sixty-two patients were randomized . Touch-massage ® significantly decreased patient anxiety : a mean decrease in STAI-State scale score of 10.6 [ 7.65 – 13.54 ] was obtained for the massage group ( p ≤ 0.001 ) compared with the control group . The improvement in self-esteem score was not significant .
Conclusion : This study provides convincing evidence for integrating touchmassage ® in the treatment of patients in sterile hematology unit .
Naturopathy
Chakrovorty A , Bhattacharjee B , Saxena A , Samadder A , Nandi S . Current Naturopathy to Combat Alzheimer ’ s Disease . Curr Neuropharmacol . 2023 ; 21 ( 4 ): 808 – 841 . doi : 10.217 4 / 1570159X20666220927121022
Neurodegeneration is the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons , which may ultimately involve cell death . The most common neurodegenerative disorder in the brain happens with Alzheimer ' s disease ( AD ), the most common cause of dementia . It ultimately leads to neuronal death , thereby impairing the normal functionality of the central or peripheral nervous system . The onset and prevalence of AD involve heterogeneous etiology , either in terms of genetic predisposition , neuro-metabolomic malfunctioning , or lifestyle . The worldwide relevancies are estimated to be over 45 million people . The rapid increase in AD has led to a concomitant increase in the research work directed towards discovering a lucrative cure for AD . The neuropathology of AD comprises the deficiency in the availability of neurotransmitters and important neurotrophic factors in the brain , extracellular betaamyloid plaque depositions , and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein . Current pharmaceutical interventions utilizing synthetic drugs have manifested resistance and toxicity problems . This has led to the quest for new pharmacotherapeutic candidates naturally prevalent in phytochemicals . This review aims to provide an elaborative description of promising Phyto component entities having activities against various potential AD targets . Therefore , naturopathy may combine with synthetic chemotherapeutics to longer the survival of the patients .
Leach M , Veziari Y . Evidence J . Leach *, Veziari Y . Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice . 2023 ; 52 , 101777 . https :// doi . org / 10.1016 / j . ctcp . 2023.101777
Background and Purpose : Evidence implementation refers to the application of appropriate enabling strategies to improve clinician engagement with the best
48 | vol30 | no1 | JATMS