RECENT RESEARCH
responsible for distributing anonymized questionnaires . In total , we recovered 97 questionnaires , 63 of which met full inclusion criteria ( 24 males and 39 females ).
Results : Of the included participants , more than half had a currently active disease . Of all patients , 58.7 % stated that they had used CAM at least once . Women were more likely to use CAM , whereas age and education showed no association to CAM use . The main motives for using CAM were “ doing something for oneself ” and “ opportunity to contribute to treatment ” ( 38.1 % each ). The internet ( 23.8 %) was the most common source of information , and vitamins were the most frequently used therapy ( 49.2 %).
Conclusion : Our results provide new insights into the demand for CAM within this rare disease patient group . Physicians should be aware of these methods to meet patient needs but also be able to identify potential barriers such as risks and interactions .
Penberthy JK , Chhabra D , Avitabile N , Penberthy JM , Le N , Xu YR , Mainor S , Schiavone N , Katzenstein P , Lewis JE , Hubbard L . Mindfulness based therapies for autoimmune diseases and related symptoms . OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine . 2018 ; 3 ( 4 ): 039 ; doi : 10.21926 / obm . icm . 1804039 .
Over the past few decades , there have been minimal advances in effective new behavioral or psychotherapeutic interventions for people living with autoimmune diseases such as systematic lupus erythematosus . This is problematic due to the severe , debilitating and potentially life-threatening nature of these diseases . Mindfulness based interventions , such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction , have demonstrated effectiveness in a wide range of patient populations and we hypothesize such treatment would also benefit patients with autoimmune disorders and related symptoms . We further hypothesize that these therapies will work by impacting physiological mechanisms , such as inflammatory markers , associated with such disease symptoms . We present our findings below .
Shetty GB , Shetty P , Shetty B . Effect of integrated naturopathy interventions on systemic inflammatory markers and quality of life in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis : A randomized controlled trial . Cureus . 2024 ; 16 ( 4 ): e57764 . doi : 10.7759 / cureus . 57764
Background : Rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) is a chronic , systemic , polyarticular autoimmune inflammatory disease that destroys the capsule and synovial lining of joints . Antirheumatic treatment reduces disease activity and inflammation , but not all patients respond to treatment . Naturopathy , a research-based complementary and alternative medicine , may be useful in these patients , but there is little data on the effect of Naturopathy interventions on inflammation and disease activity in RA .
Objective : To explore the effect of 12 weeks of integrated naturopathy interventions on disease-specific inflammatory markers and quality of life in RA patients .
Methods : A total of 100 RA patients were randomized into two groups : the naturopathy group ( integrated naturopathy interventions with routine medical therapy ) and the control group ( only with routine medical therapy ). Blood samples were collected pre- and post-intervention for primary outcome measurements of systemic inflammatory markers ( ESR , CRP , and IL-6 ). Disease activity score ( DAS-28 ) and quality of life were used to assess disease activity and functional status using SF-36 , respectively , at pre- and post-intervention time points .
Results : The results of the present study show a notable decrease in disease activity after 12 weeks of naturopathy intervention . As such , a significant decrease was found in levels of systemic inflammatory markers such as ESR ( p = 0.003 ) and IL-6 ( p < 0.001 ), RA disease activity score ( DAS-28 ) ( p = 0.02 ), and most of the components of health-related quality of life ( SF 36 scores ) ( p < 0.05 ) except in vitality ( p = 0.06 ).
Conclusions : The findings of the present study suggest that integrated naturopathy treatments may have the ability to control persistent inflammation , maintain immune homeostasis , and lower disease activity .
Couillard F , Parreau S , Dumonteil S , Ratti N , Palat S , Bezanahary H , Liozon E , Ly KH , Fauchais AL , Gondran G . Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients treated for systemic lupus erythematosus , primary Sjögren ’ s syndrome , or systemic sclerosis in a French rural region . Complementary Medicine Research . 2024 ; 31 ( 3 ): 234-240 . doi : 10.1159 / 000536580
Background : Complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM ) is composed of a wide range of interventions and frequently used in parallel with conventional medicine . The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence , modalities , and association factors of CAM utilization in patients treated for systemic lupus erythematosus , primary Sjögren ’ s syndrome , or systemic sclerosis .
Patients and Methods : This was a prospective single-center observational study conducted in a French university hospital center . Inclusion criteria were patients followed for systemic lupus erythematosus , primary Sjögren ’ s syndrome , or systemic sclerosis . Data were collected with a survey which assessed sociodemographic , disease characteristics , CAM use details , life quality , and anxiety score .
Results : A total of 121 patients were included , mostly women ( 87 %), with an average age of 56 years . Proportion of patients seeking CAM was 55 %. A total of 186 CAM interventions were recorded : most common were osteopathy , homeopathy , and acupuncture . Patients were looking for well-being ( 22 %), reducing their fatigue ( 18 %) and pain ( 33 %). Concerning physical and mental feeling after CAM use , a subjective
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