The healing power of music has been recognized since ancient times. The use of music has been documented in diverse cultures worldwide, for ailments ranging from pain and cancer to depression and posttraumati stress disorder. The various models of music therapy are based on different theoretical traditions, including behaviorist, humanist, and psychodynamic approache This article describes the music therapy approach known as the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) therapy, reviews its research base, and presents a first-person account of the experience of GIM treatment.

J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2009 Jan;47(1):29-33. Beebe LH, Wyatt TH. University of Tennessee College of Nursing, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA. lbeebe1@utk.edu

Fibromyalgia is a pain syndrome which is not due to tissue damage or inflammation and is thus fundamentally different from rheumatic disorders and many other pain conditions. In addition to widespread pain it is associated with a range of other symptoms such as sleep disturbance, fatigue, cognitive disturbance, stiffness and depressive symptoms. A number of multidisciplinary therapeutic programmes involving education, exercise and cognitive therapy have been shown to be effective in bringing relief. The various medications that are currently being developed for the treatment of fibromyalgia are based on different mechanistic approaches. In particular, serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) such as duloxetine and milnacipran and alpha2-delta receptor ligands such as pregabalin have been shown, in a variety of placebo-controlled studies, to bring significant relief from pain and other symptoms. The complex symptomatology of fibromyalgia will, however, continue to require a multidisciplinary approach including education and exercise in addition to drug therapy to achieve the most efficient management of fibromyalgia. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hum Psychopharmacol. 2009 Jun;24 Suppl 1:S3-10. Spaeth M, Briley M. Rheumatologische Schwerpunktpraxis, Gräfelfing/München, Germany. dr.spaeth@mac.com

In this article, we studied how meditation affects the characteristics of the cardiovascular system, mainly based on blood pressure waveforms (BPW). Four parameters derived from BPW include the rising slope (h(1)/t(1)), normalized height of T wave (h(3)/h(1)), normalized height of V(3) valley (h(4)/h(1)) and normalized height of D wave (h(5)/h(1)), where t(1) and h(i), i = 1, ... ,5 are quantitative features of the BPW waveform pattern. A larger value of h(1)/t(1) reflects better heart ejection ability and aorta compliance. A larger value of h(3)/h(1) may infer an arterial system with good elasticity. The decrease (increase) of h(4)/h(1) parameter indicates the decrease (increase) of peripheral resistance of vessels. A larger value of h(5)/h(1) indicates better artery elasticity and aortic valve function. In comparison with the control group, Zen-meditation practitioners have more after-meditation h(1)/t(1), h(3)/h(1) and h(5)/h(1) increase, with more h(4)/h(1) decrease, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). The observation allows us to infer that Zen meditation may effectively improve relevant characteristics of the cardiovascular system.

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Mar;6(1):107-12. Liu CY, Wei CC, Lo PC. Department of Electrical and Control Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 Ta-Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan, R.O.C. pclo@faculty.nctu.edu.tw.