Behavioral Medicine

The Buffalo News reports on the COVID-19 pandemic and various approaches to boosting U.S. vaccination rates. “Hopefully the decreased recommendation for masking will give further incentive for vaccine-hesitant individuals to vax up. That’s more of a carrot than a stick approach,” says Alan J. Lesse, MD, associate professor of medicine and senior associate dean for medical curriculum. More than half of states have dropped virus-prevention mandates. Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine, visited Nashville two weekends ago for his son’s graduation, a Tennessee city where pandemic restrictions have ended. “We went down Broadway and 20 rooftop bars were filled to the brim,” says Lackner. “No one’s wearing a mask. I felt at the end of my time there like I was being gaslighted.” Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, says: “The unvaccinated pose a risk to themselves, other unvaccinated individuals, and to a subset of the fully vaccinated that are immunocompromised.”

Several Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences faculty members are quoted in a story on what kinds of messages resonate most with people still hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine, said: “It would be great if everyone struggled with the same kind of health information deficit and we could have a one-size-fits all approach, but this is a really complicated health problem. There are no magic words to change behavior.” The story also quotes Alan J. Lesse, MD, senior associate dean for medical curriculum and associate professor of medicine, and Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases.

An article about new ways to deal with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) quotes Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine. “By changing how we respond to stress, we can affect IBS symptoms,” said Lackner, who conducted a trial that showed that simple strategies like muscle relaxation and controlling excessive worry significantly improved symptoms in 80 percent of patients.

The role of stress in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) relates to the gut-brain axis, a sort of information highway connecting the nervous system in the brain to the one in the gut. This is especially true for women. In most Western countries, women are about twice as likely to have IBS as men. But it’s not just any stress that’s to blame — it’s a specific kind called cognitive stress. “It’s the stress that arises in how we process information, it’s sort of our mental soundtrack,” explains Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine, chief of behavioral medicine and director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic. 

A new study suggests that teens with painful chronic illnesses may find YouTube can provide a support network. Young people with chronic pain “feel they cannot engage in the activities they previously enjoyed, or do not want to hold others back knowing they will need to do things more slowly or carefully,” said Alison M. Vargovich, PhD, clinical assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Behavioral Medicine, who was not associated with the study. “As they turn down requests to participate in activities and outings, they become more isolated.” 

Alison M. Vargovich, PhD, clinical assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Behavioral Medicine, is interviewed for a report on a new study that suggests that teens with painful chronic illnesses may find YouTube can provide a support network. Young people with chronic pain “feel they cannot engage in the activities they previously enjoyed, or do not want to hold others back knowing they will need to do things more slowly or carefully,” said Vargovich, who was not associated with the study. “As they turn down requests to participate in activities and outings, they become more isolated.”

An article on research that showed that using cognitive-behavioral therapy delivered by phone or online leads to improvements in patient-reported outcomes in irritable bowel syndrome interviews Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine, chief of behavioral medicine and director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic. “Patients with some of the most challenging, complex GI symptoms can achieve very real improvements in IBS symptoms that do not respond to standard conventional treatments,” he said.

Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine, discussed recently published results of a landmark NIH clinical trial that evaluated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a method for relieving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, common misconceptions of CBT, and how a gastroenterologist can approach patients who are candidates for CBT.

A study of patients with irritable bowel syndrome showed that many factors that contribute to patient satisfaction are beyond the doctor’s control. "Patient satisfaction is a significant metric that impacts reimbursement as health care emphasizes the value of care not the volume of care," said Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine.

Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine, is leading a pilot study to determine whether behavioral self-management of irritable bowel syndrome may lead to fundamental changes in the digestive system’s bacterial ecosystem. 

Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine and director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic, is the author of a self-help book titled “Controlling IBS the Drug-Free Way.”

Behavioral medicine expert Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, associate professor of medicine, says constipation significantly affects people’s quality of life, functioning and digestive health.

According to a study led by Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine, men with irritable bowel syndrome feel cold, detached and a need to dominate relationships.

A study led by Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine, found that patients’ fears about how irritable bowel symptoms will affect their quality of life may exceed the impact of gastrointestinal symptoms alone.

A treatment developed by University at Buffalo researchers will help people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. “Between 60 and 70 percent of people who go through our treatment seem to benefit. That compares very favorably with medications, dietary treatments, for which treatment is often times unsatisfactory,” says Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, professor of medicine.