science At thishospital in Lille experts in pain relief are taking the rather unconventional approach of using hypnosis And the hushed comforting words delivered in a calm monotone voice are proving effective in soothing this expectant mother after a traumatic first labor Anne Sophie Jourdan opted for hypnotherapy the second time round so what does she think hearing only positive words really helps my first childbirth didn’t go very well so I made the conscious decision to make sure that this one went better It was much less stressful this time around At first she didn’t know if it would work and she worried something might go wrong but she was really calm hypnosis hasn’t replaced epidurals on the maternity ward but it has proved useful in emergencies especially when drugs just aren’t enough Epidurals don’t remove stress where as hypnosis works to reassure and calm patients this is particularly useful in childbirth This method of hypnosis was launched in the 1920’s On the left we see an un-stimulated brain on the right a brain under hypnosis where more areas are activated including the areas where stress registers these zones correspond to stress management the body concentrates all the pain in these areas which are found deep inside the brain coaching through hypnosis has allowed this couple to experience the birth of their second son in a more serene environment and no for a different take on drugs for anti-cholesterol medication to be truly effective it should be taken at 9 :00pm for sleeping pills the optimum hour is 10 :00pm this precise method is called chronotherapy but the strict time constraints are proving difficult for some patients In chronic cases nearly thirty percent of patients regularly forget to take their treatments and the more they forget the more complicated the patterns become Realizing this scientist have made more sophisticated time sensitive drugs We have drugs that dissolve very quickly in the body and others that act over twenty-four hours and diffuse at a slower rate we can see them disintegrate but they don’t dissolve as quick Work is currently underway to produce drugs that could be activated by pumps or remote controls Scientist are also looking at ways in which light and ultrasound can trigger the affects of medication today the only area in which chronotherapy has shown proven results is in the fight against cancer anita has cancer of the digestive tract Her chemotherapy starts promptly at 10 :00pm and thanks to the help of this pump and backpack she doesn’t even have to leave the comfort of her own home I only have to press valid and that’s it for the chemo to work Anita must first get a pump inserted into her skin this allows the device to be autonomous and is scheduled to meet her biological rhythm it then releases drugs at the exact time Anita’s body can tolerate them best many are now hoping this technology could revolutionize the treatment of cancer for millions of sufferers
