The Influence of Psychological Interventions Upon Disease Progression in HIV-infected Patients Receiving no Medication

The Effects of Two Psychological Intervention Techniques, Self-hypnosis and Johrei Healing Method, on Quality of Life, Psychological Well-being, EEG Measures and Various Immunological Measures Including CD4+ Counts in Early HIV: a Randomly Controlled Pilot Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00180700

Enrollment

Registered

2005-09-16

Start date

2003-06-01

Completion date

2003-12-01

Last updated

2019-07-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

HIV Infected Individuals

Keywords

HIV, Stress, Psychoneuroimmunology, stress management, hypnosis, Johrei, psychological intervention

Brief summary

This study examines the hypothesis that psychological interventions have beneficial effects on quality of life including psychological well-being and disease progression in early HIV patients recieving no medication.

Detailed description

Hypothesis: This investigation is based upon the hypothesis that psychological intervention may counteract the detrimental effects of stress both on psychological well-being and on general health. Background: HIV infection may be considered to be a life-long biological and psychological stressor leading to detrimental outcomes associated with disease progression. Stress reduction in these patients may have beneficial effects through delaying disease progression via the proposed interactive psycho-neuro-endocrine-immune network. Inclusion Criteria: HIV infected individuals CD4 T-cell counts above 200 cells/mcl Receiving no anti-retroviral drugs Individuals who signed the informed consent form Investigative approach: Self-hypnosis and a Japanese non-touching, laying-on-of hands-like technique, called Johrei, were used to investigate the effects of psychological intervention upon immune parameters (especially in CD4 counts) associated with disease progression along with phenomenological associations between stress perception and stress hormone levels in HIV-infected patients receiving no medication.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALHypnosis

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Masking description

Single blinded

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

20 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* HIV infected * CD4 T-cell counts above 200 cells/mcl * Signed the informed consent form

Exclusion criteria

* receiving anti-retroviral drugs

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
CD4 T-cell counts	4 weeks	Lab test

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Other immunological parameters (Viral load levels, NK cell counts)	4 weeks
Psychological questionnaires (Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), STAI, Beck depression Inventory (BDI))	4 weeks
Endogenous hormone levels (cortisol, DHEA-S and melatonin)	4 weeks

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026