Effectiveness of biofield therapy for individuals with sickle cell disease in Africa.

CONTEXT

Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) in Africa have to manage most of their painful episodes at home, mainly due to insufficient medical services. In the past, the research team had observed that some individuals with SCD had experienced symptomatic improvement after administration of biofield therapy.

OBJECTIVE

The research team intended to evaluate the influence of repeated administration of biofield therapy on clinical outcomes for individuals with SCD in Africa.

DESIGN

The research team designed a prospective, open label, nonrandomized, case-control study.

SETTING

This study was performed at Le Centre de Médecine Mixte d'Anémie SS (CMMASS) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were individuals with SCD who received treatments at CMMASS.

INTERVENTION

Twenty participants aged 3-36 y underwent Okada purifying therapy (OPT), a form of biofield therapy, every weekday for 1 y (OPT group). OPT was administered by certified practitioners approved by the MOA International Corporation. The research team also constructed an age- and gender-matched control group (n = 20) from regular patients at the clinic.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Participants in both groups received blood tests at baseline, after 6 mo, and at end of the 1-y intervention period. A follow-up survey was also conducted 33 mo after the 1-y administration of OPT.

RESULTS

The OPT group showed a significant improvement in its blood data, including hemoglobin, total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine, and white blood cell (WBC) count (P < .001). The control group had less improvement in hemoglobin (P < .001) and total bilirubin (P < .001) than the OPT group. Its creatinine level increased significantly (P < .001), and ALT and WBC count remained at the same level after 1 y. For the OPT group, SCD-related episodes, such as painful crises, blood transfusions, and hospitalizations, decreased more significantly than for the control group (P < .001). The follow-up survey revealed that those who continued using OPT regularly had remained in better condition for approximately 3 y after the intervention period than those who did not (P = .0014).

CONCLUSION

Repeated administration of biofield therapy is considered effective for individuals with SCD who have various symptoms, although the care given by the practitioners may have had some influence on the clinical outcomes.