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The purpose of this study was to pilot-test a mind-body intervention called Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) as an adjunct to buprenorphine for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). MABT, a manualized 8 week protocol, teaches interoceptive awareness skills to promote self-care and emotion regulation. A small study was designed to assess MABT recruitment and retention feasibility, and intervention acceptability, among this population. Individuals were recruited from two office-based programs providing buprenorphine treatment within a large urban community medical center. Participants were randomized to receive either treatment as usual (TAU), or TAU plus MABT. Assessments administered at baseline and 10-week follow-up included validated self-report health questionnaires and a process measure, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, to examine interoceptive awareness skills. An additional survey and exit interview for those in the MABT study arm were administered to assess intervention satisfaction. Results showed the ability to recruit and enroll 10 participants within two-weeks, and no loss to follow-up. The MABT study group showed an increase in interoceptive awareness skills from baseline to follow-up, whereas the control group did not. Responses to the satisfaction questionnaire and exit interview were positive, indicating skills learned, satisfaction with the interventionists, and overall perceived benefit of the intervention. In summary, study results demonstrated recruitment and retention feasibility, and high intervention acceptability. This pilot study suggests preliminary feasibility of successfully implementing a larger study of MABT as an adjunct to office-based medication treatment for opioid use disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Training in interoceptive awareness is a promising behavioral approach for improving substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. This study examined the longitudinal effects of Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) as an adjunct to women's SUD treatment. MABT teaches interoceptive awareness skills to promote self-care and emotion regulation.Methods: Women in intensive outpatient treatment for SUD at three community clinics were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three study conditions Treatment as Usual (TAU) + MABT, TAU + Women's Health Education (WHE), and TAU only. Four assessments were delivered over one year (N = 187) baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months to examine primary outcome of percent days abstinent from substance use, and secondary outcomes of emotion dysregulation, craving, psychological distress, mindfulness and interoceptive awareness. Changes in outcomes across time were assessed using multilevel mixed effects linear regression.Results: Substance use improved significantly for MABT vs. TAU at 6 months and 12 months. Positive longitudinal effects on secondary outcomes for MABT were evident on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a physiological index of emotion regulation; on craving; and on interoceptive awareness skills. Analyses based on participants who completed >75% of the intervention sessions revealed additional immediate significant improvements for MABT vs. TAU and WHE on depressive symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties and longitudinal improvement on mindfulness skills.Conclusions: Results show MABT to be efficacious for longitudinal health outcomes to support women's recovery as an adjunct to community-based SUD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study examined mindful awareness in body-oriented therapy (MABT) feasibility as a novel adjunct to women''s substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. As an individual therapy, MABT combines manual and mind–body approaches to develop interoception and self-care tools for emotion regulation. A 2-group randomized controlled trial repeated-measures design was used, comparing MABT to treatment as usual (TAU) on relapse to substance use and related health outcomes. Sixty-one women were screened for eligibility, and 46 enrolled. Participants randomized to MABT received 8 weekly MABT sessions. Results showed moderate to large effects, including significantly fewer days on substance use, the primary outcome, for MABT compared with TAU at posttest. Secondary outcomes showed improved eating disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, dissociation, perceived stress, physical symptom frequency, and bodily dissociation for MABT compared with TAU at the 9-month follow-up. In conclusion, it is feasible to implement MABT in women''s SUD treatment, and results suggest that MABT is worthy of further efficacy testing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In recent years there has been considerable research on body awareness, which is believed to arise from interoceptive and from exteroceptive signals. In addition, body awareness may be related to empathetic disposition during social interaction. In this paper we assess the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Scale of Body Connection (SBC). We also examine SBC correlations with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, a measure of empathy. An Italian sample (N = 576) aged from 17 to 72 years old (M = 30.43; sd 9.41) completed these surveys online. The SBC Italian translation was validated by confirmatory factor analysis showing a good model fit. The two-scale SBC factor structure was confirmed. The SBC was positively associated with the Iterpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), demonstrating convergent validity between these two scales. Specifically SBC-Bodily Dissociation was positively correlated with IRI-Personal Distress subscale and SBC-Body Awareness was positively correlated with IRI-Emotional Concerns, -Fantasy and -Perspective Taking subscales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 14-year old girl who was born with diffuse blisters of her skin and oral mucous membrane. She also suffered from localized palmoplantar keratoderma and exhibited specific features of the hair and teeth. As reported, she died in her sleep at age 14, probably from an arrhythmia. Upon autopsy, it was found that she had left and right ventricular cardiomyopathy, and her heart weighed 50% more than a normal healthy heart.

The article presents a study on the association of mastocytosis in children with c-KIT mutations. Researchers analyzed the skin biopsies of patients for mutation in c-KIT mutation and codon 816. The study showed that 42% of mutation were in D816V and 44% were discovered outside exon 17. The study revealed that half of the mutations were converted in an unanticipated location, and all the mutations distinguished were somatic.

Interoceptive pathways may be manipulated at various levels to develop interventions to improve symptoms in a range of disorders. Primarily through the lens of the respiratory system, we outline various pathways that can be manipulated at neural, behavioral, and psychological levels to change the representation of and attention to interoceptive signals, which can alter interconnected physiological systems and improve functioning and adaptive behavior. Interventions can alter interoception via neuromodulation of the vagus nerve, slow breathing to change respiratory rate and depth, or awareness processes such as mindfulness-based interventions. Aspects of this framework may be applied to other physiological systems and future research may integrate interventions across multiple levels of manipulation or bodily systems. Neuromodulation can tap into known interoceptive pathways for clinical benefit. Meditation with sustained interoceptive focus on breath sensations increases the neural activation of interoception networks (including insula) and decreases engagement of the default mode network, which supports self-referential processing. While sympatholytic medications often have intolerable side effects, interoceptive interventions may be a safe and well-tolerated modality to improve sympathetic regulation and thereby reduce the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Recent findings highlight possible underlying mechanisms of improved interoceptive awareness skills and emotion regulation in mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of physical and mental health conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]