items of interest

with contributions from Sara Solovitch, Larry Witham, Daniel Schorr, George Soros, Brett Hoffman

Cardiac Patients Who Received intercessory prayer in addition to coronary stenting appeared to have better clinical outcomes than those treated with standard stenting therapy alone, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Their results further suggest that using rigorous scientific methods to study the therapeutic value of prayer and other noetic interventions appears feasible and warrants larger-scale, more definitive investigations. Noetic interventions are defined as "a healing influence performed without the use of a drug device or surgical procedure," said the researchers. . . .

"This is an important study because it provides preliminary information suggestive of a positive effect that needs further study in a larger study sample," said Dr. Harold G. Koenig, associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, and one of the study authors. "Some of the greatest scientific achievements have come from those who step outside the box, and I believe that is what this study does. The results tend to lean toward prayer helping people, but more study is needed."

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