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Biomedical subjects

A R White

Publications and source records attributed to A R White.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

[Acupuncture for back pain: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials and an update with data from the most recent studies].

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture is commonly used to treat back pain. A meta-analysis of clinical trials of acupuncture for this condition came to a positive conclusion whilst a qualitative review was negative. AIM: To compare our meta-analysis of trials of acupuncture for the treatment of back pain with a qualitative review and the most recent studies on the subject. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted to retrieve all randomised controlled trials of any form of acupuncture for any type of back pain in humans. The adequacy of the acupuncture was assessed by consulting six experienced acupuncturists. The main outcome measure for the meta-analysis was numbers of subjects who where improved at the end of treatment. These data are discussed in relation to the qualitative review and the most recent studies. RESULTS: Twelve studies were included of which nine presented data suitable for meta-analysis. The odds ratio of improvement with acupuncture compared with control intervention was 2.30 (95% confidence interval 1.28 to 4.13). For sham-controlled, evaluator-blinded studies, the odds ratio was 1.37 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-2.25). The results from the majority of the most recent studies also support the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of back pain. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these data imply that acupuncture is superior to various control interventions, although there is insufficient evidence to state whether it is superior to placebo.

Acupuncture Analgesia↗
PubMed2002

Relaxation therapies for asthma: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Emotional stress can either precipitate or exacerbate both acute and chronic asthma. There is a large body of literature available on the use of relaxation techniques for the treatment of asthma symptoms. The aim of this systematic review was to determine if there is any evidence for or against the clinical efficacy of such interventions. METHODS: Four independent literature searches were performed on Medline, Cochrane Library, CISCOM, and Embase. Only randomised clinical trials (RCTs) were included. There were no restrictions on the language of publication. The data from trials that statistically compared the treatment group with that of the control were extracted in a standardised predefined manner and assessed critically by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: Fifteen trials were identified, of which nine compared the treatment group with the control group appropriately. Five RCTs tested progressive muscle relaxation or mental and muscular relaxation, two of which showed significant effects of therapy. One RCT investigating hypnotherapy, one of autogenic training, and two of biofeedback techniques revealed no therapeutic effects. Overall, the methodological quality of the studies was poor. CONCLUSIONS: There is a lack of evidence for the efficacy of relaxation therapies in the management of asthma. This deficiency is due to the poor methodology of the studies as well as the inherent problems of conducting such trials. There is some evidence that muscular relaxation improves lung function of patients with asthma but no evidence for any other relaxation technique.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2001

Involvement of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in the neurotoxicity of the prion peptide PrP106-126.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are characterised by the transformation of the normal cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into an abnormal isoform (PrP(TSE)). Previous studies have shown that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists can inhibit glutathione depletion and neurotoxicity induced by PrP(TSE) and a toxic prion protein peptide, PrP106-126, in vitro. NMDA receptor activation is known to increase intracellular accumulation of Ca(2+), resulting in up-regulation of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism. This can stimulate the lipoxygenase pathways that may generate a number of potentially neurotoxic metabolites. Because of the putative relationship between AA breakdown and PrP106-126 neurotoxicity, we investigated AA metabolism in primary cerebellar granule neuron cultures treated with PrP106-126. Our studies revealed that PrP106-126 exposure for 30 min significantly up-regulated AA release from cerebellar granule neurons. PrP106-126 neurotoxicity was mediated through the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) pathway, as shown by abrogation of neuronal death with the 5-LOX inhibitors quinacrine, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, and caffeic acid. These inhibitors also prevented PrP106-126-induced caspase 3 activation and annexin V binding, indicating a central role for the 5-LOX pathway in PrP106-126-mediated proapoptosis. Interestingly, inhibitors of the 12-lipoxygenase pathway had no effect on PrP106-126 neurotoxicity or proapoptosis. These studies clearly demonstrate that AA metabolism through the 5-LOX pathway is an important early event in PrP106-126 neurotoxicity and consequently may have a critical role in PrP(TSE)-mediated cell loss in vivo. If this is so, therapeutic intervention with 5-LOX inhibitors may prove beneficial in the treatment of prion disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Copper and zinc binding modulates the aggregation and neurotoxic properties of the prion peptide PrP106-126.

The abnormal form of the prion protein (PrP) is believed to be responsible for the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. A peptide encompassing residues 106-126 of human PrP (PrP106-126) is neurotoxic in vitro due its adoption of an amyloidogenic fibril structure. The Alzheimer's disease amyloid beta peptide (Abeta) also undergoes fibrillogenesis to become neurotoxic. Abeta aggregation and toxicity is highly sensitive to copper, zinc, or iron ions. We show that PrP106-126 aggregation, as assessed by turbidometry, is abolished in Chelex-100-treated buffer. ICP-MS analysis showed that the Chelex-100 treatment had reduced Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) levels approximately 3-fold. Restoring Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) to their original levels restored aggregation. Circular dichroism showed that the Chelex-100 treatment reduced the aggregated beta-sheet content of the peptide. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy identified a 2N1S1O coordination to the Cu(2+) atom, suggesting histidine 111 and methionine 109 or 112 are involved. Nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) binding to His-111 and weaker binding to Met-112. An N-terminally acetylated PrP106-126 peptide did not bind Cu(2+), implicating the free amino group in metal binding. Mutagenesis of either His-111, Met-109, or Met-112 abolished PrP106-126 neurotoxicity and its ability to form fibrils. Therefore, Cu(2+) and/or Zn(2+) binding is critical for PrP106-126 aggregation and neurotoxicity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Prospective studies of the safety of acupuncture: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: The objective of this review was to determine the incidence of adverse events associated with acupuncture. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A search for prospective surveys of the safety of acupuncture was conducted using computerized databases (Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and CISCOM), inquiries to acupuncture organizations, and our own files. Data on sample, size, types of patients duration of study, types of acupuncture, definition of adverse events, method of evaluation, and findings were extracted systematically from the retrieved reports. RESULTS: Nine surveys were located and included in the review. Their results were not uniform. The most common adverse events were needle pain (1% to 45%) from treatments, tiredness (2% to 41%), and bleeding (0.03% to 38%). Feelings of faintness and syncope were uncommon, with an incidence of 0% to 0.3%. Feelings of relaxation were reported by as many as 86% of patients. Pneumothorax was rare, occurring only twice in nearly a quarter of a million treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Although the incidence of minor adverse events associated with acupuncture may be considerable, serious adverse events are rare. Those responsible for establishing competence in acupuncture should consider how to reduce these risks.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2001

Sublethal concentrations of prion peptide PrP106-126 or the amyloid beta peptide of Alzheimer's disease activates expression of proapoptotic markers in primary cortical neurons.

Neurodegenerative disorders such as prion diseases and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are characterized by neuronal dysfunction and accumulation of amyloidogenic protein. In vitro studies have demonstrated that these amyloidogenic proteins can induce cellular oxidative stress and therefore may contribute to the neuronal dysfunction observed in these illnesses. Although the neurotoxic pathways are not fully elucidated, recent studies in AD have demonstrated up-regulation of caspases in neurons treated with amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide, suggesting involvement of apoptotic processes. To examine the role of proapoptotic pathways in prion diseases we treated primary mouse cortical neurons with the toxic prion protein peptide PrP106-126 and measured caspase activation and annexin V binding. We found that PrP106-126 induced a rapid and marked elevation in caspase 3, 6, and 8-like activity in neuronal cultures. Increased annexin V binding was observed predominantly on cortical cell neurites in peptide-treated cultures. Interestingly, these effects were induced by sublethal (5-50 microM) or lethal (100-200 microM) concentrations of PrP106-126. Sublethal concentrations of PrP106-126 maintained elevated caspase activation for at least 10 days with no loss of cell viability. Abeta1-40 also up-regulated caspase 3 activity and annexin V binding at both sublethal (5 microM) and lethal (25 microM) concentrations. There were no changes to proapoptotic marker expression in cultures treated with scrambled PrP106-126 (200 microM) or Abeta1-28 (25 microM) peptides. These studies demonstrate that amyloidogenic peptides can induce prolonged activation of proapoptotic marker expression in cultured neurons even at sublethal concentrations. These effects could contribute to chronic neuronal dysfunction and increase susceptibility to additional metabolic insults in neurodegenerative disorders. If so, targeting of therapeutic strategies against neuronal caspase activation early in the disease course could be beneficial in AD and prion diseases.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2001

Effectiveness of acupuncture for stroke: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture has been suggested as a treatment for stroke rehabilitation, but the question whether it is effective has not been answered satisfactorily. PURPOSE: To summarise and critically review all randomised controlled trials of the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for stroke. METHODS: Four independent computerised literature searches (in MEDLINE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Embase, and CISCOM data bases) were conducted in June 1999. All randomised-controlled trials that compared any form of needle insertion acupuncture to any form of non-acupuncture control intervention in the treatment of human stroke patients were included. Data were extracted independently by two authors and arbitrated by a third. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Jadad score. RESULTS: Nine randomised controlled trials with a total sample size of 538 patients were included. Two studies were assessor blind, one was subject blind, and one was assessor and subject blind. Two studies exclusively used manual acupuncture, five only electroacupuncture, and two used both. Outcome measures used were Scandinavian Stroke Scale, Chinese Stroke Scale or Recovery Scale, Barthel index, Nottingham Health Profile, Motor function, balance, and days in hospital. Of the nine studies, six yielded a positive result suggesting that acupuncture is effective, and three produced a negative finding implying that acupuncture is not superior to control treatment. Only two studies obtained a Jadad score of more than 3. These methodologically best trials showed no significant effect of acupuncture. CONCLUSION: Based on the evidence of rigorous randomised controlled trials, there is no compelling evidence to show that acupuncture is effective in stroke rehabilitation. Further, better-designed studies are warranted.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2001

Cue dependency of nicotine self-administration and smoking.

A paradox exists regarding the reinforcing properties of nicotine. The abuse liability associated with smoking equals or exceeds that of other addictive drugs, yet the euphoric, reinforcing and other psychological effects of nicotine, compared to these other drugs, are more subtle, are manifest under more restricted conditions, and do not readily predict the difficulty most smokers experience in achieving abstinence. One possible resolution to this apparent inconsistency is that environmental cues associated with drug delivery become conditioned reinforcers and take on powerful incentive properties that are critically important for sustaining smoking in humans and nicotine self-administration in animals. We tested this hypothesis by using a widely employed self-administration paradigm in which rats press a lever at high rates for 1 h/day to obtain intravenous infusions of nicotine that are paired with two types of visual stimuli: a chamber light that when turned on signals drug availability and a 1-s cue light that signals drug delivery. We show that these visual cues are at least as important as nicotine in sustaining a high rate of responding once self-administration has been established, in the degree to which withdrawing nicotine extinguishes the behavior, and in the reinstatement of lever pressing after extinction. Additional studies demonstrated that the importance of these cues was manifest under both fixed ratio and progressive ratio (PR) schedules of reinforcement. The possibility that nicotine-paired cues are as important as nicotine in smoking behavior should refocus our attention on the psychology and neurobiology of conditioned reinforcers in order to stimulate the development of more effective treatment programs for smoking cessation.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Homocysteine potentiates copper- and amyloid beta peptide-mediated toxicity in primary neuronal cultures: possible risk factors in the Alzheimer's-type neurodegenerative pathways.

Oxidative stress may have an important role in the progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and prion diseases. Oxidative damage could result from interactions between highly reactive transition metals such as copper (Cu) and endogenous reducing and/or oxidizing molecules in the brain. One such molecule, homocysteine, a thiol-containing amino acid, has previously been shown to modulate Cu toxicity in HeLa and endothelial cells in vitro. Due to a possible link between hyperhomocysteinemia and AD, we examined whether interaction between homocysteine and Cu could potentiate Cu neurotoxicity. Primary mouse neuronal cultures were treated with homocysteine and either Cu (II), Fe (II or III) or Zn (II). Homocysteine was shown to selectively potentiate toxicity from low micromolar concentrations of Cu. The toxicity of homocysteine/Cu coincubation was dependent on the ability of homocysteine to reduce Cu (II) as reflected by the inhibition of toxicity with the Cu (I)-specific chelator, bathocuproine disulphonate. This was supported by data showing that homocysteine reduced Cu (II) more effectively than cysteine or methionine but did not reduce Fe (III) to Fe (II). Homocysteine also generated high levels of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of Cu (II) and promoted Abeta/Cu-mediated hydrogen peroxide production and neurotoxicity. The potentiation of metal toxicity did not involve excitotoxicity as ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists had no effect on neurotoxicity. Homocysteine alone also had no effect on neuronal glutathione levels. These studies suggest that increased copper and/or homocysteine levels in the elderly could promote significant oxidant damage to neurons and may represent additional risk factor pathways which conspire to produce AD or related neurodegenerative conditions.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2001

Needling therapies in the management of myofascial trigger point pain: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To establish whether there is evidence for or against the efficacy of needling as a treatment approach for myofascial trigger point pain. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, AMED, and CISCOM databases, searched from inception to July 999. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized, controlled trials in which some form of needling therapy was used to treat myofascial pain. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently extracted data concerning trial methods, quality, and outcomes. DATA SYNTHESIS: Twenty-three papers were included. No trials were of sufficient quality or design to test the efficacy of any needling technique beyond placebo in the treatment of myofascial pain. Eight of the 10 trials comparing injection of different substances and all 7 higher quality trials found that the effect was independent of the injected substance. All 3 trials that compared dry needling with injection found no difference in effect. CONCLUSIONS: Direct needling of myofascial trigger points appears to be an effective treatment, but the hypothesis that needling therapies have efficacy beyond placebo is neither supported nor refuted by the evidence from clinical trials. Any effect of these therapies is likely because of the needle or placebo rather than the injection of either saline or active drug. Controlled trials are needed to investigate whether needling has an effect beyond placebo on myofascial trigger point pain.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2001

Systematic review of adverse events following acupuncture: the Japanese literature.

CONTEXT: Many Japanese cases of adverse events after acupuncture are not listed in medical databases such as Medline. Therefore, they are not easily accessible to researchers outside Japan. OBJECTIVE: To complement existing reviews of adverse events after acupuncture in the West and to provide more detailed discussion and analysis. DATA SOURCES: Literature search using 'Igaku Chuo Zasshi (Japana Centra Revuo Medicina) CD-ROM version' covering the period of 1987-1999. STUDY SELECTION: Case reports of adverse events, which were suspected to be due to acupuncture treatment, were included. Experimental studies, surveys, and news articles were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION: Two independent reviewers extracted data from located articles in a pre-defined structured way, and assessed likelihood of causality in each individual case. DATA SYNTHESIS: 89 articles which reported 124 cases were located. The most frequent adverse events were: pneumothorax (25 cases), spinal cord injury (18 cases), acute hepatitis B (11 cases), and localized argyria (10 cases). There were two fatalities from infections. Forty-eight events were caused by needle breakage including 26 cases of intentionally embedded needle and 16 cases of accidental breakage. There were also 10 cases of injury from self-treatment. CONCLUSION: Although it has already been demonstrated that severe adverse events seem to be uncommon in standard practice, many serious cases of negligence have been found in the present review, suggesting that training system for acupuncturists (including medical doctors) should be improved and that unsupervised self-treatment should be discouraged.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2001

Clinical trials of acupuncture: consensus recommendations for optimal treatment, sham controls and blinding.

Evidence of effectiveness is increasingly used to determine which health technologies are incorporated into public health provision. Acupuncture is a popular therapy that has been shown to be superior to placebo in the treatment of nausea and dental pain, and promising for migraine and osteoarthritis of the knee. For many other conditions, such as chronic pain, in which acupuncture is often used, the evidence is either insufficient or negative. Misleading results may occur for a number of reasons. False negative results may arise from inadequate treatment schedules and inappropriate control interventions. This consensus document considers these issues with the aim of improving the design of efficacy trials of acupuncture in order that they are more likely to be conclusive and more meaningfully interpreted. Clinical trials of acupuncture must use an optimal form of treatment; this can be defined by examining standard texts, by surveying and consulting experts. There are a great many variables in treatment (such as point selection, form of stimulation) all of which need to be addressed in designing and reporting clinical trials. The control procedure is determined by the precise research question that is being addressed. For efficacy studies, in which the question is whether acupuncture has specific effects (i.e. is superior to placebo), sham forms of acupuncture appear the most appropriate method of controlling for needle penetration. A recent development of blunted, telescopic needles may represent a major advance. Such procedures may produce a therapeutic response so should preferably be recorded as 'sham' procedures rather than true 'placebo' controls. Blinding in clinical trials is an accepted means of reducing bias. Patient blinding in acupuncture studies can be achieved by sham procedures and its success should be measured. While practitioner blinding is difficult, though not impossible, blinding of the observer and the analyst should be considered as the ideal for all studies. A number of recommendations are made which aim to improve the quality of sham-controlled acupuncture studies.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMed2000

Amyloidogenicity and neurotoxicity of peptides corresponding to the helical regions of PrP(C).

An alpha-helical to beta-sheet conformational change in the prion protein, PrP(C), is believed to be causative in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Recent nuclear magnetic resonance structures of PrP(C) have identified three helical regions in the normal full-length protein. We have synthesised peptides corresponding to these helical regions (PrP144-154, helical region one; PrP178-193, helical region two; and PrP198-218, helical region three). Circular dichroism results show that the peptide corresponding to helical region one is unstructured, while peptides corresponding to the second and third helical regions have a high propensity to form beta-sheet structure in a pH-dependent manner in aqueous solutions. Peptides corresponding to the second helical region, PrP180-193 and PrP178-193, are the only ones that form amyloid by electron microscopy and congo red birefringence. PrP178-193 and the amyloidogenic Alzheimer's disease Abeta25-25 peptide were found to promote Cu (II)-induced lipid peroxidation and cytotoxicity in primary neuronal cultures, while PrP144-154, PrP198-218 and the nonamyloidogenic Abeta1-28 had no effect on Cu (II) toxicity. There was no increase in toxicity induced by PrP178-193 in cultures treated with Fe (II) or hydrogen peroxide, indicating a preferential modulatory effect on Cu (II) toxicity by PrP178-193. The data suggest that the PrP178-193 peptide has both structural and bioactive properties in common with Abeta25-35 and that the second putative helical region of PrP could be involved in modulation of Cu (II)-mediated toxicity in neurons during prion disease.

Amyloid beta-Peptides↗
PubMed2000

Efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for tinnitus: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Tinnitus is a prevalent condition for which patients may seek treatment with acupuncture since no conventional treatment has been shown to be effective. OBJECTIVE: To summarize and critically review all randomized controlled trials on the efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for tinnitus. DATA SOURCES: Four independent computerized literature searches (MEDLINE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Embase, and CISCOM) were conducted in December 1998 using the key words acupuncture and tinnitus. STUDY SELECTION: All randomized controlled trials that compared any form of acupuncture with any control intervention in the treatment of tinnitus were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted by 2 authors independently. The methodological quality of the included randomized controlled trials was assessed using the Jadad score. DATA SYNTHESIS: Six randomized controlled trials were included in the review, 4 of which used crossover design. Four studies used manual acupuncture and 2 used electroacupuncture. Five of 6 studies used inconsistent acupoints. Three studies scored 3 points or more on the Jadad scale. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measurements were visual analog scale scores for loudness, annoyance, and awareness of tinnitus; subjective severity scale scores for tinnitus; or Nottingham Health Profile scores. RESULTS: Two unblinded studies showed a positive result, whereas 4 blinded studies showed no significant effect of acupuncture. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture has not been demonstrated to be efficacious as a treatment for tinnitus on the evidence of rigorous randomized controlled trials.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2000

Acupuncture for smoking cessation.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture is promoted as a treatment for smoking cessation, and is believed to reduce withdrawal symptoms. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review is to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in smoking cessation in comparison with: a) sham acupuncture b) other interventions c) no intervention. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register, Medline, PsycLit, Dissertation Abstracts, Health Planning and Administration, Social SciSearch, Smoking & Health, Embase, Biological Abstracts and DRUG. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials comparing a form of acupuncture with either sham acupuncture, another intervention or no intervention for smoking cessation. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We extracted data in duplicate on the type of subjects, the nature of the acupuncture and control procedures, the outcome measures, method of randomisation, and completeness of follow-up. We assessed abstinence from smoking at the earliest time-point (before 6 weeks), at six months and at one year follow-up in patients smoking at baseline. We used the most rigorous definition of abstinence for each trial, and biochemically validated rates if available. Those lost to follow-up were counted as continuing to smoke. Where appropriate, we performed meta-analysis using a fixed effects model. MAIN RESULTS: We identified 18 publications involving 20 comparisons. Acupuncture was not superior to sham acupuncture in smoking cessation at any time point. The odds ratio (OR) for early outcomes was 1.22 (95% confidence interval 0.99 to 1.49); the OR after 6 months was 1.38 (95% confidence interval 0.90 to 2.11) and after 12 months 1.02 (95% confidence interval 0.72 to 1.43). Similarly, when acupuncture was compared with other anti-smoking interventions, there were no differences in outcome at any time point. Acupuncture appeared to be superior to no intervention in the early results, but this difference was not sustained. The results with different acupuncture techniques do not show any one particular method (i.e. auricular acupuncture or non-auricular acupuncture) to be superior to control intervention. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: There is no clear evidence that acupuncture is effective for smoking cessation.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2000

Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation.

BACKGROUND: Hypnotherapy is widely promoted as a method for aiding smoking cessation. It is proposed to act on underlying impulses to weaken the desire to smoke or strengthen the will to stop. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to evaluate the effects of hypnotherapy for smoking cessation. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register. SELECTION CRITERIA: We considered randomised trials of hypnotherapy which reported smoking cessation rates at least six months after the beginning of treatment. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers extracted data on the type of subjects, the type and duration of the hypnotherapy, the nature of the control group,the outcome measures, method of randomisation, and completeness of follow-up. The main outcome measure was abstinence from smoking after at least six months follow-up in patients smoking at baseline. We used the most rigorous definition of abstinence in each trial, and biochemically validated rates where available. Subjects lost to follow-up were counted as smokers. Where possible, we performed meta-analysis using a fixed effects model. MAIN RESULTS: Nine studies compared hypnotherapy with 14 different control interventions. There was significant heterogeneity between the results of the individual studies, with conflicting results for the effectiveness of hypnotherapy compared to no treatment or to advice. We therefore did not attempt to calculate pooled odds ratios for the overall effect of hypnotherapy. There was no evidence of an effect of hypnotherapy compared to rapid smoking or psychological treatment. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: We have not shown that hypnotherapy has a greater effect on six month quit rates than other interventions or no treatment. The effects of hypnotherapy on smoking cessation claimed by uncontrolled studies were not confirmed by analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Humans↗