Exploring the Role of Negative Expectations and Emotions in Primary Dysmenorrhea: Insights from a Case-Control Study
Thomann, Verena; Gomaa, Nadya; Stang, Marina; Funke, Susanne A.; Meißner, Karin (2025)
BMC Women's Health, accepted.
Peer Reviewed
Traditional Chinese medicine for post-COVID: A retrospective cohort study
Kraft, Jana; Hardy, Anne; Baustädter, Verena; Bögel-Witt, Martina; Krassnig, Katharina; Ziegler, Birgit; Waibl, Paula; Meißner, Karin (2025)
Kraft, Jana; Hardy, Anne; Baustädter, Verena; Bögel-Witt, Martina; Krassnig, Katharina...
Medicine 104 (18), e42275.
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Post-COVID syndrome affects at least 10% of individuals recovering from COVID-19. Currently, there is no causal treatment. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in treating post-COVID symptoms. TCM physicians in Germany and Austria completed online questionnaires to retrospectively record symptoms, treatment approaches, and outcomes for patients diagnosed with post-COVID. Nine physicians collected data from 79 patients (65% female, 47 ± 16 SD). The most common TCM treatments for post-COVID were acupuncture (n = 66; 85%), Chinese pharmacological therapy (n = 61; 77%), and Chinese dietary counseling (n = 32; 41%). After an average of 7 ± 4 TCM consultations, physicians rated global symptom improvement as 62% ± 29%. Significant alleviation from the start of TCM treatment was observed in major symptoms, such as fatigue (P < .001), impaired physical performance (P < .001), and exertional dyspnea (P < .001). TCM treatment was associated with significant improvements in post-COVID symptoms, warranting further evaluation through randomized controlled studies.
Predicting placebo analgesia responses in clinical trials: where to look next? A meta-analysis of individual patient data
Lunde, Sigrid Juhl; Vase, Lene; Hall, Kathryn T.; Meißner, Karin; Hohenschurz-Schmidt, David; Kaptchuk, Ted J.; Maier, Christoph; Vollert, Jan (2025)
Lunde, Sigrid Juhl; Vase, Lene; Hall, Kathryn T.; Meißner, Karin...
Pain online ahead of print, 1-8.
DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003615
Peer Reviewed
Estimating the magnitude of placebo responses across pharmacological and nonpharmacological trials is important for understanding their influence on trial outcomes. Yet, the extent to which more intense placebo interventions like sham acupuncture yield larger analgesic responses than placebo pills, and the factors predicting these responses, remain unclear. This meta-analysis investigated the magnitude and predictors of placebo analgesia responses in pharmacological vs acupuncture trials. Analyses included individual patient data from the placebo arm of 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs): 9 pharmacological RCTs using placebo pills (N = 2021) and 2 acupuncture RCTs using sham acupuncture (N = 747). All trials were conducted in patients with chronic nociceptive pain (osteoarthritis, N = 2068; low back pain, N = 700). The placebo response was calculated as the change in pain intensity (0-100) between baseline and week 12. A random effects model demonstrated that placebo pills and patients with osteoarthritis exhibited smaller placebo responses than sham acupuncture and patients with low back pain (both P < 0.001, marginal effects). A mixed effects model showed that route of administration interacted significantly with baseline pain, premature termination, and the presence of adverse events. Together, predictors explained 20% to 25% of the individual variance in placebo responses, whereas 75% to 80% remained unaccounted for. In summary, sham acupuncture accounted for slightly larger placebo responses than placebo pills. Since basic trial and patient parameters explained only a small portion of this variability, we might need to start considering the patient's perception of the treatment—including cognition and emotions—to better predict placebo analgesia responses.
How do patient and practitioner characteristics influence empathy in healthcare? Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
White, Cleo; Khunti , Kamlesh ; Gillies , Clare ; Meißner, Karin; Palipana , Dinesh ; Nockels , Keith ; Howick, J. (2025)
White, Cleo; Khunti , Kamlesh ; Gillies , Clare ; Meißner, Karin; Palipana , Dinesh ...
BMJ open.
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Psychotherapy with somatosensory stimulation as a complementary treatment for women with endometriosis-associated pain – a qualitative study
Limmer, A.; Weber, Annemarie; Olliges, Elisabeth; Kraft, Jana; Beissner, F.; Preibisch, C.; Meißner, Karin (2024)
Limmer, A.; Weber, Annemarie; Olliges, Elisabeth; Kraft, Jana; Beissner, F....
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 24, 426 | 1-9.
DOI: 10.1186/s12906-024-04731-8
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Was ist dran am Placebo-Effekt?
Meißner, Karin (2024)
Interview in Ö1, Sendung Dimensionen, 23.12.2024.
Open Access
Satiety-enhancing placebo intervention decreases selective attention to food cues
Lanz, Marina; Hoffmann, Verena; Meißner, Karin (2024)
Frontiers in Psychiatry 15, 1472532 | 1-11.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1472532
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Stressfrei durch die Wechseljahre: Bewältigungsstrategien für ein gesundes und aktives Leben
Meißner, Karin (2024)
Vortrag auf dem Menopausenfachtag des Landratsamts Lichtenfels.
Leichter leben mit Endometriose: Ganzheitliche Behandlungsansätze
Meißner, Karin (2024)
Vortrag am Landratsamt Kronach.
4you - das Hochschulmagazin: Forschungsprojekte rund um die Ernährung
Meißner, Karin (2024)
TV Oberfranken.
12-monatiges Taiji-Programm reduziert den systolischen Blutdruck bei Prähypertonie stärker als körperliches Training
Meißner, Karin (2024)
Chinesische Medizin / Chinese Medicine 39 (2).
DOI: 10.1007/s00052-024-00130-x
Open Access
Jörg Zittlau: Täuschend heilsam
Meißner, Karin (2024)
Welt am Sonntag (Interview).
Neuroenhancement unter Studierenden im ländlichen Raum–eine Querschnittstudie zu Prävalenz, Genderunterschieden und Beweggründen
Engel, Katharina; Meißner, Karin (2024)
Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung.
DOI: 10.1007/s11553-024-01139-7
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Stress reduction through taiji: a systematic review and meta‑analysis
Kraft, Jana; Waibl, Paula; Meißner, Karin (2024)
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 24, 210 | 1-14.
DOI: 10.1186/s12906-024-04493-3
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Nurturing Hope: Reproductive Outcomes with Sinosomatics Following Unsuccessful IVF Attempts
Pfeiffer, Antonia; Popovici, R. M.; Vogel, A.; von Hasselbach, Yumiko; Beissner, F.; Meißner, Karin (2024)
Pfeiffer, Antonia; Popovici, R. M.; Vogel, A.; von Hasselbach, Yumiko; Beissner, F....
Complementary Medicine Research.
DOI: 10.1159/000539408
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Explaining jet lag symptom dynamics by mathematical estimates of circadian phase post-flight
Aschl, Franz; Müller, Johannes ; Hammad, Grégory ; Oexle, Konrad ; Engelmann, Maximilian ; Meißner, Karin; Winnebeck, E. (2024)
Aschl, Franz; Müller, Johannes ; Hammad, Grégory ; Oexle, Konrad ...
Conference "Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) Biennial Meeting", San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 18-22, 2024.
Peer Reviewed
Lebensqualität und Schmerzen von Patienten mit symptomatischer CMD – eine Fragebogenerhebung
Pampel, M.; Herrmann, Sarah; Kohls, Niko; Meißner, Karin (2024)
Journal of Craniomandibular Function 16 (2), 133-144.
Peer Reviewed
(AI4Coping)
Meißner, Karin; Grubert, Jens (2024)
Interview im TV Oberfranken, Sendung xxx, 31.01.2024.
Mapping expectancy-based appetitive placebo effects onto the brain in women
Khalid, Iraj ; Rodrigues, Belina ; Dreyfus, Hippolyte ; Frileux, Solène ; Meißner, Karin; Fossati, Philippe ; Hare, Todd Anthony ; Schmidt, Liane (2024)
Khalid, Iraj ; Rodrigues, Belina ; Dreyfus, Hippolyte ; Frileux, Solène ...
Nature Communications 15, 248 | 1-16.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44569-1
Open Access Peer Reviewed
Physicians’ experiences of treating long COVID with traditional Chinese medicine ‐ a cross‐sectional survey
Kraft, Jana; Hardy, Anne; Baustädter, Verena; Bögel-Witt, Martina; Krassnig, Katharina; Ziegler, Birgit; Meißner, Karin (2023)
Kraft, Jana; Hardy, Anne; Baustädter, Verena; Bögel-Witt, Martina; Krassnig, Katharina...
Vortrag und Posterpräsentation auf 22. Deutschen Kongresses für Versorgungsforschung 2023, 4.-6.10.2023, Berlin.
Peer Reviewed
Prof. Dr. Karin Meißner
Hochschule Coburg
Fakultät Angewandte Naturwissenschaften und Gesundheit (FNG)
Friedrich-Streib-Str. 2
96450 Coburg
T +49 9561 317 8030 / 8086 Karin.Meissner[at]hs-coburg.de