Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Ultrasound-Guided Pulsed Radiofrequency for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Study.
We assessed the therapeutic efficiency of ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment of the median nerve in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). ⋯ Our study shows that ultrasound-guided PRF serves as a better approach for pain relief in patients with CTS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Approach-Avoidance Training on the Extinction and Return of Fear Responses.
Exposure therapy for anxiety involves confronting a patient with fear-evoking stimuli, a procedure based partially on Pavlovian extinction. Exposure and other extinction-based therapies usually lead to (partial) reduction of fear symptoms, but a substantial number of patients experience a return of fear after treatment. Here we tested whether the combination of fear extinction with modification of approach-avoidance tendencies using an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) would result in the further reduction of conditioned fear and/or help prevent return of fear after extinction. ⋯ Our results suggest that approach training may be of limited value for enhancing the short- and long-term effects of extinction-based interventions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of Chinese Traditional Exercise-Baduanjin on Physical and Psychological Well-Being of College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
The physical and mental health of college students tends to continuously decline around the world, therefore, it is important to improve their health during college period. Baduanjin, a traditional Chinese exercise which combines movements with breath and mind, may be one of the selectable effective exercises. However, the effect of Baduanjin exercise on college students has not been established. In this study, we systematically assessed the effectiveness and safety of Baduanjin exercise on physical and mental health of college students by a rigorous randomized, parallel-controlled design. ⋯ Regular Baduanjin exercise had an advantage for college students on improvement of lower limb proprioception, enhance of cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, explosive force of lower limb and attention, compared with usual exercise.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation over Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulates Processing of Social Cognitive and Affective Information.
Recent neurofunctional studies suggested that lateral prefrontal cortex is a domain-general cognitive control area modulating computation of social information. Neuropsychological evidence reported dissociations between cognitive and affective components of social cognition. Here, we tested whether performance on social cognitive and affective tasks can be modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). ⋯ In the visual perspective taking task, instead, anodal right/cathodal left stimulation negatively affected both male and female participants' tendency to adopt another's point of view. These findings demonstrated that concurrent facilitation of right and inhibition of left lateral prefrontal cortex can speed-up males' responses to threatening faces whereas it interferes with the ability to adopt another's viewpoint independently from gender. Thus, stimulation of cognitive control areas can lead to different effects on social cognitive skills depending on the affective vs. cognitive nature of the task, and on the gender-related differences in neural organization of emotion processing.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Different Placebos, Different Mechanisms, Different Outcomes: Lessons for Clinical Trials.
Clinical trials use placebos with the assumption that they are inert, thus all placebos are considered to be equal. Here we show that this assumption is wrong and that different placebo procedures are associated to different therapeutic rituals which, in turn, trigger different mechanisms and produce different therapeutic outcomes. We studied high altitude, or hypobaric hypoxia, headache, in which two different placebos were administered. ⋯ The analgesic effect following placebo oxygen was superior to placebo aspirin. These findings show that different placebos may use different mechanisms to reduce high altitude headache, depending on the therapeutic ritual and the route of administration. In clinical trials, placebos and outcome measures should be selected very carefully in order not to incur in wrong interpretations.