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


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


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


METHODS
Participants were individuals with SCD who received treatments at CMMASS.


METHODS
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.


METHODS
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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Tite Mikobi
TM
Minga
Fridolin Kodondi Kule
FK
Koto
Hillaire
H
Egboki
Kiyoshi
K
Suzuki
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies; D011446:Prospective Studies