Amit Sood

..This narrative review presents a mechanistic understanding of meditation in the context of recent advances in neurosciences about mind wandering, attention, and the brain networks...

..In Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) research, a pertinent yet understudied question is the attitude of potential participants toward clinical trials that test CAM interventions...

..The aim of STOPIT-2 is to determine the magnitude and determinants of possible bias introduced by stopping RCTs early for benefit...

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..To assess attitudes of patients about participation in clinical trials...

..To assess the presence of publication bias and its relation to geographical bias in clinical trials involving complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) published in the highest impact factor general medicine journals...

..Our results suggest that gabapentin may increase smoking abstinence. An adequately powered randomized clinical trial assessing different doses of this drug against a placebo would be the reasonable next step...

..To review the available literature on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments for cancer-related fatigue with an aim to develop directions for future research...

..The high level of interest in CAM among tobacco users underscores the need to conduct further research in this field...

..Psychostimulants seem promising based on early studies. Several complementary medicine treatments that showed efficacy in preliminary studies merit further testing...

..Results from these trials have been synthesized in systematic reviews. A well-designed systematic review provides the highest level of evidence for establishing the efficacy of a clinical intervention...

..Varenicline is the most effective medication for smoking cessation but does not prevent weight gain. Combining sibutramine and varenicline may facilitate smoking abstinence if weight gain is attenuated...

..Patients indicated a strong preference for having CAM approaches incorporated into their treatment recommendations and believed in the value of clinical studies to further refine the role of CAM...

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..SAMe facilitates dopamine and norepinephrine synthesis in the central nervous system. This study investigated the efficacy of SAMe for increasing tobacco abstinence among cigarette smokers...

..We conducted a preliminary proof-of-concept study evaluating gabapentin for the treatment of tobacco dependence...

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..Combination pharmacotherapy with these agents may increase long-term smoking abstinence rates above what is observed with single-agent therapy...

..Women with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSA) are less likely to be assessed or to receive a diagnosis, and they may have poorer survival rates...

..To assess the proportion of patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) reporting previous or current use and interest in future use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies...

..St. John's wort (SJW) is a widely used herbal supplement. The predominant mechanism(s) accounting for the activity of SJW in vivo are, however, unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of SJW for smoking cessation...

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..Increased standardization of outcome measurement in CAM studies will allow for more cross-study comparisons and facilitate the statistical pooling of results, ultimately leading to a more informative evidence base...

..Future indexing of all CAM clinical trials with a common medical subject heading term complementary medicine would enhance efficient retrieval of relevant citations...

..Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms experienced by patients with cancer. This trial was developed to evaluate the efficacy of long-acting methylphenidate for improving cancer-related fatigue and to assess its toxicities...

..The study also assessed the most preferred duration of meditation and the effect of the meditation program on perceived stress, anxiety, and overall quality of life (QOL)...

..This article briefly reviews the major updates and recommendations from the new guideline and highlights its practical clinical applications...

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..To determine if exogenous S-adenosyl-l-methionine (AdoMet), a commonly used nutritional supplement, increases the level of plasma homocysteine (Hcy), a potential cardiovascular risk factor, in healthy human subjects...

..The present study was designed to assess the feasibility of and to obtain initial efficacy estimates of two paced-breathing programs, compared with usual breathing, for the frequency and severity of hot flashes...

..Resilience, perceived stress, anxiety, and quality of life improved at 12 weeks in the active but not the control arm. A brief training in the SMART program can enhance resilience and quality of life and decrease stress and anxiety...

..Well-designed and adequately powered studies can be implemented, and large numbers of patients can be accrued. The resulting research evaluations can be published in peer-reviewed medical journals...

..As the newest agent approved for smoking cessation, the mechanism of action, efficacy, and safety of varenicline...

..The objective of this study was to assess the frequency of clinically significant interactions caused by concurrent use of dietary supplements and prescription medication...

..We review the currently available pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of tobacco dependence...

..In conclusion, research directed with an integrative approach to cardiovascular care might prove beneficial when designing future studies...

..Separation between the effects of soy and casein (control) shakes did not favor the intervention. Therefore, large-sample studies using soy for patients with fibromyalgia are probably not indicated...

..In this article, we build on this foundation and present advanced search tools designed to assist clinicians in performing efficient and focused literature searches...

..These findings suggest clinicians should view the results of such trials with skepticism...

..This study is anticipated to provide the data needed to develop a larger randomized controlled clinical trial submitted through the R01 funding mechanism to NCCAM. ..

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..This study is anticipated to provide the data needed to develop a larger randomized controlled clinical trial submitted through the R01 funding mechanism, if the results appear promising. ..