Effects of olfactory stimuli on urge reduction in smokers. (1/19)

This study examined the possibility that exposure to olfactory stimuli can reduce self-reported urge to smoke. After an initial assessment of self-reported urge, nicotine-deprived smokers evaluated the pleasantness of a series of 8 odors. Facial expressions during odor presentations were coded with P. Ekman and W. V. Friesen's (1978a) Facial Action Coding System. After odor administration, participants were exposed to smoking cues. Next, participants were administered their most pleasant, least pleasant, or a control odor (water) and reported their urge to smoke. Results indicated that sniffing either a pleasant or unpleasant odor reduced reported urge to smoke relative to the control odor. Reported pleasantness of the odors did not differentially affect urge reduction. Odors eliciting negative-affect-related expressions, however, were less effective than odors that did not elicit negative-affect-related expressions in reducing reported urge. Results of this preliminary investigation provide support for the consideration of odor stimuli as an approach to craving reduction.  (+info)

Aromatherapy: a systematic review. (2/19)

Aromatherapy is becoming increasingly popular; however there are few clear indications for its use. To systematically review the literature on aromatherapy in order to discover whether any clinical indication may be recommended for its use, computerised literature searches were performed to retrieve all randomised controlled trials of aromatherapy from the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, British Nursing Index, CISCOM, and AMED. The methodological quality of the trials was assessed using the Jadad score. All trials were evaluated independently by both authors and data were extracted in a pre-defined, standardised fashion. Twelve trials were located: six of them had no independent replication; six related to the relaxing effects of aromatherapy combined with massage. These studies suggest that aromatherapy massage has a mild, transient anxiolytic effect. Based on a critical assessment of the six studies relating to relaxation, the effects of aromatherapy are probably not strong enough for it to be considered for the treatment of anxiety. The hypothesis that it is effective for any other indication is not supported by the findings of rigorous clinical trials.  (+info)

A randomized trial of aromatherapy to reduce anxiety before abortion. (3/19)

CONTEXT: Interest in the use of alternative therapies to reduce anxiety in patients undergoing medical interventions is increasing. We sought to assess the effectiveness of aromatherapy involving essential oils in reducing preoperative anxiety in women undergoing abortions. SETTING: An urban, free-standing abortion clinic in Vancouver, BC. PATIENTS: 66 women waiting for surgical abortions. DESIGN: A double blind, randomized trial. INTERVENTION: Ten minutes spent sniffing a numbered container with either a mixture of the essential oils vetivert, bergamot, and geranium (treatment arm) or a hair conditioner (placebo). OUTCOME MEASURES: Anxiety was measured before and after the intervention by using a verbal anxiety scale from 0 to 10. RESULTS: The anxiety score was reduced by 1.0 point (5.0 to 4.0) in the aromatherapy group and by 1.1 points (6.1 to 5.0) in the placebo group (P = 0.71). The 95% CI on the 0.1 greater decrease in anxiety for the placebo group extends from 0.55 less (favors aromatherapy) to 0.75 greater (favors placebo). CONCLUSION: Aromatherapy involving essential oils is no more effective than having patients sniff other pleasant odors in reducing preprocedure anxiety.  (+info)

The influence of essential oils on human attention. I: alertness. (4/19)

Scientific research on the effects of essential oils on human behavior lags behind the promises made by popular aromatherapy. Nearly all aspects of human behavior are closely linked to processes of attention, the basic level being that of alertness, which ranges from sleep to wakefulness. In our study we measured the influence of essential oils and components of essential oils [peppermint, jasmine, ylang-ylang, 1,8-cineole (in two different dosages) and menthol] on this core attentional function, which can be experimentally defined as speed of information processing. Substances were administered by inhalation; levels of alertness were assessed by measuring motor and reaction times in a reaction time paradigm. The performances of the six experimental groups receiving substances (n = 20 in four groups, n = 30 in two groups) were compared with those of corresponding control groups receiving water. Between-group analysis, i.e. comparisons between experimental groups and their respective control groups, mainly did not reach statistical significance. However, within-group analysis showed complex correlations between subjective evaluations of substances and objective performance, indicating that effects of essentials oils or their components on basic forms of attentional behavior are mainly psychological.  (+info)

Inhalation aromatherapy during radiotherapy: results of a placebo-controlled double-blind randomized trial. (5/19)

PURPOSE: To determine whether the inhalation of aromatherapy during radiotherapy reduces anxiety. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred thirteen patients undergoing radiotherapy were randomly assigned to receive either carrier oil with fractionated oils, carrier oil only, or pure essential oils of lavender, bergamot, and cedarwood administered by inhalation concurrently with radiation treatment. Patients underwent assessment by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Somatic and Psychological Health Report (SPHERE) at baseline and at treatment completion. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in HADS depression or SPHERE scores between the randomly assigned groups. However, HADS anxiety scores were significantly lower at treatment completion in the carrier oil only group compared with either of the fragrant arms (P =.04). CONCLUSION: Aromatherapy, as administered in this study, is not beneficial.  (+info)

Use of aromatherapy (with or without hypnosis) in the treatment of intractable epilepsy--a two-year follow-up study. (6/19)

We have been trying the effect of aromatherapy (with or without hypnosis) in patients with intractable epilepsy who ask for it. This is a report of the first 100 patients to try the treatment, followed up for at least two years after the treatment ended. It is important to remember that this was a treatment for people who had asked for it and for whom time and a therapist was available. It was not a controlled trial but was carried out when we could and at a time when we were experimenting with the best way of using it. Results must therefore be treated with caution and with due regard to other therapeutic factors that may be implicated in the results, both good and bad. We assume that the result (with over a third of the patients using aromatherapy with or without hypnosis becoming seizure free for at least a year) as being the best that could be achieved and likely to be less in a properly controlled trial. Of the three treatments tried (aromatherapy on its own, aromatherapy plus hypnosis and hypnosis without aromatherapy), aromatherapy plus hypnosis seems to have had the best and most lasting effect (a third of patients still seizure free at two years), but was the most labour intensive and needed medical therapist input. Aromatherapy itself might be best reserved as a short-term treatment for people going through a bad time with their seizures. A fuller and more lasting effect may be obtained with aromatherapy plus hypnosis, but this needs a patient who is prepared to put much time and personal effort into the treatment.  (+info)

The essential oil from Angelica gigas NAKAI suppresses nicotine sensitization. (7/19)

Behavioral sensitization, as evidenced by the progressive enhanced locomotor response to a subsequent injection of the drug, is the major behavioral outcome produced by repeated injections of nicotine, and a model for studying drug addiction. It is putatively regarded that the alteration of extracellular dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens is closely associated with nicotine-induced behavioral sensitization. The present study was performed to evaluate the effects of the essential oil from Angelica gigas NAKAI (on fragrance inhalation) on repeated nicotine-induced locomotor activity and extracellular dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens of rats using in vivo microdialysis. Rats were given repeated injections of saline or nicotine (0.4 mg/kg s.c., twice a day for 7 d), followed by one challenge injection on the 4th day after the last daily injection. Systemic challenge with nicotine (0.4 mg/kg s.c.) produced a larger increase in locomotor activity in nicotine-pretreated rats than in saline-pretreated rats. A direct local challenge of 3 mM nicotine via a microdialysis probe also induced a larger increase in dopamine release in nicotine-pretreated rats than in saline-pretreated rats. Most importantly, our results showed that inhalation of the essential oils from Angelica gigas NAKAI significantly decreased both dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and locomotor activity induced by a nicotine challenge. These results suggest that the essential oils from Angelica gigas NAKAI inhibit nicotine-induced behavioral and neurochemical sensitization, and imply that the essential oil from Angelica gigas NAKAI may be effective in treating nicotine addiction, possibly by modulating dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens.  (+info)

Effectiveness of aromatherapy massage in the management of anxiety and depression in patients with cancer: a multicenter randomized controlled trial. (8/19)

PURPOSE: To test the effectiveness of supplementing usual supportive care with aromatherapy massage in the management of anxiety and depression in cancer patients through a pragmatic two-arm randomized controlled trial in four United Kingdom cancer centers and a hospice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred eighty-eight cancer patients, referred to complementary therapy services with clinical anxiety and/or depression, were allocated randomly to a course of aromatherapy massage or usual supportive care alone. RESULTS: Patients who received aromatherapy massage had no significant improvement in clinical anxiety and/or depression compared with those receiving usual care at 10 weeks postrandomization (odds ratio [OR], 1.3; 95% CI, 0.9 to 1.7; P = .1), but did at 6 weeks postrandomization (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.9; P = .01). Patients receiving aromatherapy massage also described greater improvement in self-reported anxiety at both 6 and 10 weeks postrandomization (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 0.2 to 6.7; P = .04 and OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 0.2 to 6.6; P = .04), respectively. CONCLUSION: Aromatherapy massage does not appear to confer benefit on cancer patients' anxiety and/or depression in the long-term, but is associated with clinically important benefit up to 2 weeks after the intervention.  (+info)

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