by Patricia L. Gerbarg  , Richard P. Brown  , Chris C. Streeter  , Martin Katzman  and Monica Vermani

Received: 10 April 2019;  Published: 12 July 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1903045

Does compassion itself benefit the healing process or does the activation of neurophysiological processes, from which the experience of compassion arises, trigger a cascade of physical and psychological changes that support health and well-being? Exploration of the neurological substrates of compassion reveals multiple healing pathways that can be activated by mind-body processes. Furthermore, these pathways affect physical health, emotion regulation, and how we perceive and relate to other people. Physiological s [...]

by Christopher Lam

Received: 25 April 2019;  Published: 08 July 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1903044

Compassion and kindness can be cultivated and enhanced. Over the years in medical practice I have witnessed many healthcare workers, after having worked with kind and caring practitioners, become progressively more humane. Those of us who are teachers need to be mindful of that. In educating new physicians, compassion should play a central role and we as practicing doctors are well placed to model a caring and empathetic approach to our patients. There is also a fundamental need to look after ourselves and main [...]

by Birthe Osorio  and Karsten Münstedt

Received: 27 February 2019;  Published: 05 July 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1903043

(1) Background: Especially women with breast cancer look for offers from complementary and alternative medicine for various reasons. Unfortunately, the value of most offer has to be considered unclear. (2) Methods: This review was to identify reasonable strategies for patients with breast cancer based on current literature. (3) Results: The analyses show that there is no evidence that there are methods from alternative medicine which might result in a cure. However, there are several strategies which are likely to [...]

by Sierra Day  and Paul D. Loprinzi

Received: 27 April 2019;  Published: 04 July 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1903042

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on autobiographical episodic memory and semantic memory. A two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled intervention was employed. The experimental group engaged in an acute bout of treadmill exercise for 15 minutes (70% of heart rate max), while the control group will engage in a seated activity. For episodic autobiographical memory, participants recalled as many personal memories of events from two periods in their life [...]

by K. Jason Crandall  , Matthew Shake  and Uta Ziegler

Received: 11 April 2019;  Published: 04 July 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1903041

Background: Older adults’ experience normative age-graded declines in physical and cognitive performance and many must manage one or more chronic conditions. Exercise programs can help to improve both their physical health and their knowledge, skill, and confidence in managing aspects of their own healthcare, yet a significant barrier is motivating them to adhere to such programs. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of a game-centered mobile app (Bingocize®) on older adults’ knowledge, skil [...]

by Lauren Curry  , Meghan Pike  , Dana Marcon  , Mary Lynch  and Jana Sawynok

Received: 01 April 2019;  Published: 28 June 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1902040

Background: Qigong, traditional Chinese mind-body practices, is currently receiving increasing attention with exploration of what it is and what it does. Common elements include postures and movement, attention to breathing, and mental instructions. There is a growing literature on the health benefits of qigong in chronic pain and other conditions, and an intervention that provides benefit in multiple domains is particularly important for clinical practice. In this report, we present a case series of six individual [...]

by Hannah Lewandowski  , Lindsay Crawford  and Paul D. Loprinzi

Received: 13 April 2019;  Published: 25 June 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1902039

Acute exercise may enhance episodic memory recall, or the retrospective recall of an event or episode due to exercise-induced neuronal excitability and ensuing long-term potentiation. Of interest to this paper is the potential effects of acute exercise on memory interference, when the interfering stimuli occurs at the same time as the target stimuli. A three-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled intervention was employed. Participants (N=50) were randomized into one of three groups, including 1) Interference + [...]

by Elio Rossi  , Marco Picchi  , Marialessandra Panozzo  and Linda Nurra

Received: 01 November 2018;  Published: 20 June 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1902038

Aim: To study the effect of homeopathic treatment on adult patients with atopic diseases visited at the Homeopathic Clinic of Lucca (Italy) and long-term evolution of the disease over approximately an 8-year period. Materials and Methods: Data derive from an observational longitudinal study carried out on 563 atopic adult patients who were consecutively visited from 1998 to 2017; 202 (35.9%) suffered from atopic dermatitis, 204 (36.2%) from allergic rhinitis, and 157 (27.9%) from asthma. Moreover, a long-term study [...]

by Ron Dolgin  and Matthew J. Davis

Received: 20 March 2019;  Published: 18 June 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1902037

Integration of behavioral health consultants and specialists into medical settings has accelerated the development of evidenced-based practices for an array of problems and concerns common to behavioral medicine. Though these treatments have shown to be beneficial for those that engage in protocols, attrition remains high. With an emphasis in directed problem solving and skill building, many brief treatments leave little room for compassion, validation, and understanding. This article explores this trend and advoca [...]

by Pras Ramluggun  and Sanj Nathoo

Received: 07 March 2019;  Published: 13 June 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1902036

The evolving, dynamic and challenging healthcare landscape requires that the art and science of nursing equip preregistration nursing students (PNS) with the knowledge and skills to positively respond to these changes. Central to PNS’ ability to demonstrate competence in the fundamentals of nursing care are core nursing attributes to meaningfully engage and attend to patients’ in delivering compassionate care and meeting their needs. The literature identifies the process of delivering compassionate care as a human [...]