Neurasthenia

The discovery of electromagnetism, the enthusiasm for electricity and electrotherapy, and the interest in Beard s concept of neurasthenia already resulted in the first electromagnetic treatments in the late 19th and

NotesCite this as: BMJ 2012;344:e3454

Apocynum venetum L. (Apocynaceae, Luobuma ) has a long history as a Chinese traditional medicine with uses to calm the liver, soothe the nerves, dissipate heat, and promote diuresis. Recently, Luobuma tea has been commercialized as a sedative and anti-aging supplement that has become increasingly popular in North American and East Asian health food markets. AIMS OF THE REVIEW: The aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the botany, chemical constituents, traditional uses, pharmacological activities and safety aspects of Apocynum venetum in order to assess its ethnopharmacological use and to explore its therapeutic potentials and future opportunities for research.|The accessible literature on Apocynum venetum written in English, Chinese and Japanese were collected and analyzed. The literatures included ancient Chinese herbal classics, pharmacopoeias and articles that included in Pubmed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Wanfang.|Modern

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There are no current psychiatric epidemiological studies examining prevalence estimates of neurasthenia across different racial and ethnic groups in the US. This study compares prevalence rates of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) lifetime and 12-month neurasthenia across racial/ethnic groups in the US (Asians, African Americans, Latinos, and non-Latino Whites) and by levels of acculturation. We examine comorbidity of neurasthenia with DSM-IV psychiatric disorders and the association between neurasthenia and impairment.|We used a pooled sample (N = 10, 118) from two nationally representative household surveys of adults ages 18 years and older: the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R) and the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS).|Among the total sample, the adjusted prevalence rates of lifetime and 12-month neurasthenia with exclusionary criteria were 2.22 and 1.19%. The adjusted prevalence rates for lifetime and 12-month neurasthenia without

Silexan, a novel lavender oil preparation for oral use, has been authorized in Germany for the treatment of states of restlessness during anxious mood. An open-label, exploratory trial was performed to assess the potential of the medicinal product in the treatment of restlessness caused by anxiety as related to several disorders. Outcome measures included the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), von Zerssen's Depression Scale (D-S), the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36), and a sleep diary. 50 male and female patients with neurasthenia (ICD-10 F48.0), post-traumatic stress disorder (PSD; F43.1), or somatization disorder (F45.0, F45.1) were included to receive 1 80 mg/day Silexan over 6 weeks; 47 could be analyzed for efficacy as full analysis set. At baseline, patients suffered from restlessness (96%), depressed mood (98%), sleep disturbances (92%), or anxiety (72%). Of those, resp. 62%, resp. 57%, resp.51%, resp. 62% showed improvements during treatment (p <

Apocynum venetum L. (Apocynaceae, Luobuma ) has a long history as a Chinese traditional medicine with uses to calm the liver, soothe the nerves, dissipate heat, and promote diuresis. Recently, Luobuma tea has been commercialized as a sedative and anti-aging supplement that has become increasingly popular in North American and East Asian health food markets. AIMS OF THE REVIEW: The aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the botany, chemical constituents, traditional uses, pharmacological activities and safety aspects of Apocynum venetum in order to assess its ethnopharmacological use and to explore its therapeutic potentials and future opportunities for research.|The accessible literature on Apocynum venetum written in English, Chinese and Japanese were collected and analyzed. The literatures included ancient Chinese herbal classics, pharmacopoeias and articles that included in Pubmed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Wanfang.|Modern

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important health risk factor for military personnel deployed in modern warfare. In World War I this condition (then known as shell shock or 'neurasthenia') was such a problem that 'forward psychiatry' was begun by French doctors in 1915. Some British doctors tried general anaesthesia as a treatment (ether and chloroform), while others preferred application of electricity. Four British 'forward psychiatric units' were set up in 1917. Hospitals for shell shocked soldiers were also established in Britain, including (for officers) Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh; patients diagnosed to have more serious psychiatric conditions were transferred to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum. Towards the end of 1918 anaesthetic and electrical treatments of shell shock were gradually displaced by modified Freudian methods psychodynamic intervention. The efficacy of 'forward psychiatry' was controversial. In 1922 the War Office produced a report on shell shock

A collection of before and after photographs of female patients treated using Weir Mitchell's Rest Cure for neurasthenia shows how important the anorectic body was to the promotion of this specific method of treatment. The photographs document the inevitable weight gain that resulted from the Rest Cure's prescription of absolute bed rest and the consumption of a high caloric diet requiring the ingestion of several quarts of milk daily. In doing this, the photos served a powerful semiotic function, since the plump individual at the end of the treatment presented a dramatic contrast to the emaciated long-term invalid who had begun it. The after treatment photographs also implied that these women were now capable of discharging their roles as wives and mothers, since an additional benefit of the Rest Cure was that severely underweight patients resumed normal menstrual cycles. However, although the Rest Cure undeniably alleviated some physical symptoms, it did not address underlying