Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jul 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialTreatment of somatoform disorders with St. John's wort: a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial.
To investigate efficacy and safety of St. John's wort (SJW) LI 160 in somatoform disorders. ⋯ Administration of 600 mg of SJW extract LI 160 daily is effective and safe in the treatment of somatoform disorders, thereby confirming results from a previous study.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Mar 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialFor whom does it work? Moderators of the effects of written emotional disclosure in a randomized trial among women with chronic pelvic pain.
Although written emotional disclosure has potential as a stress management intervention for people with health problems, the main (group) effects of disclosure in medical populations are limited. This study sought to identify individual difference moderators of the effects of written disclosure among women with chronic pelvic pain. ⋯ Although the main effects of writing about the stress of pelvic pain are limited, women with higher baseline ambivalence about emotional expression or negative affect appear to respond more positively to this intervention.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jan 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialImpact of pain on depression treatment response in primary care.
Pain commonly coexists with depression, but its impact on treatment outcomes has not been well studied. Therefore, we prospectively evaluated the impact of comorbid pain on depression treatment response and health-related quality of life. ⋯ Pain is present in two thirds of depressed primary care patients begun on antidepressant therapy, and the severity of pain is a strong predictor of poor depression and health-related quality of life outcomes at 3 months. Better recognition, assessment, and treatment of comorbid pain may enhance outcomes of depression therapy.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jan 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of the effect of exogenous melatonin on delayed sleep phase syndrome.
The effects of exogenous melatonin on sleep, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and alertness were investigated in 22 patients with delayed sleep phase syndrome whose nocturnal sleep was restricted to the interval from 24:00 to 08:00 hours. This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Subjects received either placebo or melatonin (5 mg) daily for 4 weeks, underwent a 1-week washout period, and then were given the other treatment for an additional 4 weeks. Patients could take the melatonin between 19:00 and 21:00 hours, which allowed them to select the time they felt to be most beneficial for the phase-setting effects of the medication. ⋯ Melatonin ameliorated some symptoms of delayed sleep phase syndrome, as confirmed by both objective and subjective measures. No adverse effects of melatonin were noted during the 4-week treatment period.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jan 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPain and emotion: effects of affective picture modulation.
Two experiments examined the impact of viewing unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral photographic slides on cold-pain perception in healthy men and women. In each experiment, participants viewed one of three slide shows (experiment 1 = fear, disgust, or neutral; experiment 2 = erotic, nurturant, or neutral) immediately before a cold-pressor task. Skin conductance and heart rate were recorded during the slide shows, whereas visual analog scale ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness thresholds and pain tolerance were recorded during the cold-pressor task. ⋯ These results are consistent with a motivational priming model that predicts that unpleasant affective states should enhance pain and that pleasant affective states should attenuate it.