***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Asthma patients pose special problems as far as the medical supervision , danger of symptoms and the course of the disease are concerned . Some 90 asthma patients were registered for the treatment in the Heidelberg Medical Clinic . 31 patients who were interested in taking part were r and omized into 3 groups : two treatment group consisted of the exchange of information , discussion sessions on the illness as well as ' autogenic training ' or ' functional relaxation ' . The third group was the control group . Before and after treatment the patients were su bmi tted to a thorough examination both of lungs and other internal organs as well as from the psychodiagnostical point of view . The average age of the patients was 43.5 years and the average duration of illness 16.8 years . Nevertheless , the treatment group 's sympathomimetics use was significantly reduced by 1 year of treatment ( p less than 0.05 ) ; the use of steroids decreased as well . The number of visits of the general practitioner also decreased . These results support the conclusion that psychosomatic group therapy can make an important contribution to the treatment of asthma patients .  Body therapy practised in ' autogenic training ' and ' functional relaxation ' seems to be another important healing factor for the treatment in addition to the discussion sessions and the exchange of information Stress , unpleasant emotions and autonomic imbalance may play a main role in precipitating asthmatic attacks . In this study two homogeneous groups of asthmatic patients ( N = 24 ) are treated over an eight-month period . The experimental group was treated with autogenic therapy and the control group with supportive group psychotherapy .  Respiratory function parameters measured were Forced Vital Capacity ( FVC ) , Forced Expiratory Volume in the first sec ( FEV1 ) , Forced Expiratory Flow between 25 % and 75 % of the FVC ( FEF25 - 75 % ) , and Mesoexpiratory Flow ( MEF50 % ) . The group under Autogenic Therapy obtained a relevant clinical improvement ( > 15 % of pretreatment values ) in respiratory function . No significant changes were observed in the control group . These results suggest that autogenic therapy could be an effective adjunctive treatment in bronchial asthma One hundred six asthmatic subjects were medically prestabilized , then assigned to eight sessions of progressive relaxation , music , or a waiting-list .  Seventy-two subjects completed treatment , of which 37 were evaluated in the laboratory with measures of forced expiratory flow . Relaxation-group subjects reported feeling the most deeply relaxed and produced the greatest improvement in forced expiratory flow during the last presession assessment period . All groups evidence d decreases in asthma symptoms . All groups showed decreases in pulmonary function immediately after relaxation sessions . None of the changes in pulmonary function reached levels that are accepted in drug trials to be of clinical significance , and the therapeutic changes occurred only in the situation where training was rendered . Listening to music produced greater decreases in peaks of tension than progressive relaxation , and it produced greater compliance with relaxation practice , but it did not produce any specific therapeutic effects on asthma BACKGROUND High levels of stress have been shown to predict the onset of asthma in children genetically at risk , and to correlate with higher asthma morbidity . Our study set out to examine whether stressful experiences actually provoke new exacerbations in children who already have asthma . METHODS A group of child patients with verified chronic asthma were prospect ively followed up for 18 months . We used continuous monitoring of asthma by the use of diaries and daily peak-flow values , accompanied by repeated interview assessment s of life events and long-term psychosocial experiences . The key measures included asthma exacerbations , severely negative life events , and chronic stressors . FINDINGS Severe events , both on their own and in conjunction with high chronic stress , significantly increased the risk of new asthma attacks . The effect of severe events without accompanying chronic stress involved a small delay ; they had no effect within the first 2 weeks , but significantly increased the risk in the subsequent 4 weeks ( odds ratio 1.71 [ 95 % CI 1.04 - 2.82 ] , p < or = 0.05 for weeks 2 - 4 and 2.17 [ 1.32 - 3.57 ] , p < or = 0.01 for weeks 4 - 6 ) . When severe events occurred against the backdrop of high chronic stress , the risk increased sharply and almost immediately within the first fortnight ( 2.98 [ 1.20 - 7.38 ] , p < or = 0.05 ) . The overall attack frequency was affected by several factors , some related to asthma and some to child characteristics . Female sex , higher baseline illness severity , three or more attacks within 6 months , autumn to winter season , and parental smoking were all related to increased risk of new exacerbations ; social class and chronic stress were not . INTERPRETATION Severely negative life events increase the risk of children 's asthma attacks over the coming few weeks . This risk is magnified and brought forward in time if the child 's life situation is also characterised by multiple chronic stressors Abstract To assess the role of the autonomic nervous system in the bronchospasm which occurs in asthmatic children following exercise , β-adrenergic , α-adrenergic , or cholinergic blockade was induced by the intravenous injection of propranolol , phentolamine , or atropine , respectively , with saline as a control . Treatments were given by r and om assignment once to each of 10 asthmatic children on each of four successive afternoons , with each child acting as his own control . Measurement of peak expiratory flow rates ( PEFR ) before injections , 15 minutes later before st and ard treadmill exercise , and 10 minutes after completion of 8 minutes of exercise disclosed a significant decrease in PEFR following injection with propranolol only . Pulse rate alterations were consistent with the various kinds of blockade sought . None of the treatments affected the decrease in PEFR induced by exercise . It seems unlikely , therefore , that exercise-induced bronchospasm is mediated in major fashion by the autonomic nervous system Abstract Twelve patients with chronic bronchial asthma were matched in pairs and r and omly assigned to two treatment groups , one group received mental and muscular relaxation , the second group received muscular relaxation alone . Treatment consisted of 4 weekly treatment sessions . Pre , post and follow-up phases each consisted of 3 weekly sessions . Respiratory function was measured by the forced expiratory volume in 1 second ( FEV 1 ) . Two self-report inventories were used to measure change in the symptoms and signs of the patient 's asthma . Following factor analysis , 3 factors were used — Psychological , Physical and Bronchoconstriction . Results showed that for each of these 3 factors and for FEV 1 , there was no overall mean significant difference between results in either treatment group . In addition , patients showed no significant trend of improvement in respiratory function . No significant difference was shown between respiratory function recorded before and after relaxation treatment in each of the individual treatment sessions . There was a moderate correlation between objective recordings and the patient 's subjective assessment of asthma severity Thirty-two children with asthma ( 16 4- to 8-year-olds and 16 9- to 14-year-olds ) were r and omly assigned to receive either massage therapy or relaxation therapy . The children 's parents were taught to provide one therapy or the other for 20 minutes before bedtime each night for 30 days . The younger children who received massage therapy showed an immediate decrease in behavioral anxiety and cortisol levels after massage . Also , their attitude toward asthma and their peak air flow and other pulmonary functions improved over the course of the study . The older children who received massage therapy reported lower anxiety after the massage . Their attitude toward asthma also improved over the study , but only one measure of pulmonary function ( forced expiratory flow 25 % to 75 % ) improved . The reason for the smaller therapeutic benefit in the older children is unknown ; however , it appears that daily massage improves airway caliber and control of asthma 
    Output:
    
There is a lack of evidence for the efficacy of relaxation therapies in the management of asthma .
There is some evidence that muscular relaxation improves lung function of patients with asthma but no evidence for any other relaxation technique