1 2664 119 YOGA IN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. CONTEXT: MAJORITY OF EPILEPSY BEGINS IN CHILDHOOD. TWENTY TO THIRTY PERCENT OF PATIENTS MAY NOT RESPOND TO ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS. YOGA AS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE BENEFICIAL IN ADULTS, BUT HAS NOT YET BEEN STUDIED IN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY. AIM: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON SEIZURE AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) OUTCOME IN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY. SETTING AND DESIGN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED IN THE PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWENTY CHILDREN AGED 8-12 YEARS WITH AN UNEQUIVOCAL DIAGNOSIS OF EPILEPSY ON REGULAR ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS WERE ENROLLED. YOGA THERAPY WAS PROVIDED TO 10 CHILDREN (STUDY GROUP) AND 10 CHILDREN FORMED THE CONTROL GROUP. YOGA THERAPY WAS GIVEN AS 10 SESSIONS OF 1H EACH. WE COMPARED SEIZURE FREQUENCY AND EEG AT BASELINE, 3, AND 6 MONTHS. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS CARRIED OUT USING STANDARD STATISTICAL TESTS. A P VALUE OF <0.05 WAS CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: NO CHILDREN HAD SEIZURES AT THE END OF 3 AND 6 MONTHS IN THE STUDY GROUP. IN THE CONTROL GROUP, AT 3 AND 6 MONTHS, FOUR AND THREE CHILDREN, RESPECTIVELY, HAD SEIZURES. EIGHT CHILDREN EACH IN BOTH THE GROUPS HAD AN ABNORMAL EEG AT ENROLLMENT. AT THE END OF 6 MONTHS, ONE EEG IN THE STUDY GROUP AND SEVEN IN THE CONTROL GROUP WERE ABNORMAL (P = 0.020). CONCLUSION: YOGA AS AN ADDITIONAL THERAPY IN CHILDREN WITH EPILEPSY LEADS TO SEIZURE FREEDOM AND SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN EEG AT 6 MONTHS. 2018 2 260 43 ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY AND YOGA FOR DRUG-REFRACTORY EPILEPSY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THERE IS A NEED FOR CONTROLLED OUTCOME STUDIES ON BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY (ACT) AND YOGA IN THE TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY. METHODS: THE DESIGN CONSISTED OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH REPEATED MEASURES (N=18). ALL PARTICIPANTS HAD AN EEG-VERIFIED EPILEPSY DIAGNOSIS WITH DRUG-REFRACTORY SEIZURES. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO ONE OF TWO GROUPS: ACT OR YOGA. THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS WERE MEASURED USING SEIZURE INDEX (FREQUENCY X DURATION) AND QUALITY OF LIFE (SATISFACTION WITH LIFE SCALE, WHOQOL-BREF). THE TREATMENT PROTOCOLS CONSISTED OF 12 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL THERAPY DISTRIBUTED IN TWO INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS, TWO GROUP SESSIONS DURING A 5-WEEK PERIOD, AND BOOSTER SESSIONS AT 6 AND 12 MONTHS POSTTREATMENT. SEIZURE INDEX WAS CONTINUOUSLY ASSESSED DURING THE 3-MONTH BASELINE AND 12-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. QUALITY OF LIFE WAS MEASURED AFTER TREATMENT AND AT THE 6-MONTH AND 1-YEAR FOLLOW-UPS. RESULTS: THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT BOTH ACT AND YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE SEIZURE INDEX AND INCREASE QUALITY OF LIFE OVER TIME. ACT REDUCED SEIZURE INDEX SIGNIFICANTLY MORE AS COMPARED WITH YOGA. PARTICIPANTS IN BOTH THE ACT AND YOGA GROUPS IMPROVED THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE SIGNIFICANTLY AS MEASURED BY ONE OF TWO QUALITY-OF-LIFE INSTRUMENTS. THE ACT GROUP INCREASED THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE SIGNIFICANTLY AS COMPARED WITH THE YOGA GROUP AS MEASURED BY THE WHOQOL-BREF, AND THE YOGA GROUP INCREASED THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE SIGNIFICANTLY AS COMPARED WITH THE ACT GROUP AS MEASURED BY THE SWLS. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENTS, SUCH AS ACT AND YOGA, DECREASE SEIZURE INDEX AND INCREASE QUALITY OF LIFE. 2008 3 1076 35 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICES, ANXIETY AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. INTRODUCTION: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) AS A CHRONIC DISEASE COULD AFFECT PATIENTS' VARIOUS DOMAINS OF LIFE. AIM: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICES, ANXIETY AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING OF PATIENTS WITH MS IN SOUTHWEST, IRAN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THIS CLINICAL TRIAL STUDY, 60 MS PATIENTS WERE ENROLLED ACCORDING TO INCLUSION CRITERIA AND RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO GROUPS OF 30 EACH. PRIOR TO AND AFTER INTERVENTION, THE PATIENTS' VITAL SIGNS WERE MEASURED. FOR CASE GROUP YOGA EXERCISES WERE PERFORMED THREE SESSIONS A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS WHILE CONTROL GROUP PERFORMED NO EXERCISE. THE DATA WERE GATHERED BY QUESTIONNAIRE AND ANALYSED BY DESCRIPTIVE AND ANALYTICAL STATISTICS IN SPSS. RESULTS: PRIOR TO INTERVENTION, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN FATIGUE SEVERITY AND PAIN BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS BUT THE MEAN FATIGUE SEVERITY AND PAIN IN CASE GROUP DECREASED COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP AFTER THE INTERVENTION. PRIOR TO INTERVENTION, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN MEAN PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS BUT THE MEAN PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICES IN CASE GROUP DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: YOGA IS LIKELY TO INCREASE SELF-EFFICACY OF MS PATIENTS THROUGH ENHANCING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, INCREASING THE STRENGTH OF LOWER LIMBS AND BALANCE, AND DECREASING FATIGUE AND PAIN, AND FINALLY TO PROMOTE SOCIAL FUNCTIONING AND TO RELIEVE STRESS AND ANXIETY IN THESE PATIENTS. 2016 4 1041 43 EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON SLEEP AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN ELDERLY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. CONTEXT: YOGA AS A LIFE-STYLE PRACTICE HAS DEMONSTRATED BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. THE ROLE OF YOGA IN THE ELDERLY FOR SUCH BENEFITS MERITS INVESTIGATION. AIMS: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON QUALITY-OF-LIFE (QOL) AND SLEEP QUALITY IN THE ELDERLY LIVING IN OLD AGE HOMES. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: SINGLE BLIND CONTROLLED STUDY WITH BLOCK RANDOMIZATION OF ELDERLY HOMES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 120 SUBJECTS FROM NINE ELDERLY HOMES WERE RANDOMIZED IN TO YOGA GROUP (N=62) AND WAITLIST GROUP (N=58). SUBJECTS IN THE YOGA GROUP WERE GIVEN YOGA INTERVENTION DAILY FOR 1 MONTH AND WEEKLY UNTIL 3 MONTHS AND WERE ENCOURAGED TO PRACTICE YOGA WITHOUT SUPERVISION UNTIL FOR 6 MONTHS. SUBJECTS IN WAITLIST GROUP RECEIVED NO INTERVENTION DURING THIS PERIOD. SUBJECTS WERE EVALUATED WITH WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION QUALITY OF LIFE (WHOQOL)-BREF FOR MEASURING QOL AND PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX FOR SLEEP QUALITY IN THE BASELINE AND AFTER 6 MONTHS. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: INDEPENDENT T-TEST AND REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE RESPECTIVELY WAS USED TO MEASURE THE DIFFERENCE IN OUTCOME MEASURES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS AT BASELINE AND AFTER THE STUDY PERIOD. RESULTS: SUBJECTS IN THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER NUMBER OF YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION. SUBJECTS IN THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ALL THE DOMAINS OF QOL AND TOTAL SLEEP QUALITY AFTER CONTROLLING FOR THE EFFECT OF BASELINE DIFFERENCE IN EDUCATION BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. CONCLUSION: YOGA INTERVENTION APPEARS TO IMPROVE THE QOL AND SLEEP QUALITY OF ELDERLY LIVING IN OLD AGE HOMES. THERE IS A NEED FOR FURTHER STUDIES OVERCOMING THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS STUDY TO CONFIRM THE BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR ELDERLY IN QOL AND SLEEP QUALITY. 2013 5 2119 33 THE EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON SELECTED PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES AMONG MALE PATIENTS WITH INSOMNIA. BACKGROUND: AN ESTIMATED 30-50% OF THE GENERAL POPULATION IS AFFECTED BY INSOMNIA AND 10% HAVE CHRONIC INSOMNIA. YOGA THERAPY IS BENEFICIAL IN SUCH DISORDERS AND IT HAS FEWER SIDE EFFECTS. AIM: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO FIND OUT THE EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON SELECTED PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES AMONG MEN WITH INSOMNIA. METHODS: FORTY MALES WITH INSOMNIA WERE DIVIDED RANDOMLY INTO 2 GROUPS (THE EXPERIMENTAL AND THE CONTROL GROUPS). THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP RECEIVED EIGHT WEEKS OF YOGA THERAPY, WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT RECEIVE ANY THERAPY. THE PRE AND POST TREATMENT STRESS AND THE SELF CONFIDENCE SCORES WERE TAKEN. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE STRESS SCORES AND THE SELF CONFIDENCE SCORES IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. THERE WERE NEITHER ANY SIDE EFFECTS NOR ANY DROP OUTS. CONCLUSION: WE CONCLUDE THAT YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OPTION FOR THE PATIENTS WITH INSOMNIA. THERE ARE NO MAJOR SIDE EFFECTS. 2013 6 2864 41 YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION FOR CAREGIVERS OF OUTPATIENTS WITH PSYCHOSIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: THE USE OF YOGA AS AN INTERVENTION FOR CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS WITH PSYCHOSIS HAS BEEN POORLY STUDIED. THE CURRENT STUDY AIMED TO TEST THE EFFICACY OF A BRIEF YOGA PROGRAM AS AN INTERVENTION IN CAREGIVERS OF OUTPATIENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS USING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED RESEARCH DESIGN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CAREGIVERS WHO AGREED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY (N=29) WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA (N=15) OR WAIT-LIST GROUP (N=14). THEY WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. PATIENTS WHO WERE RANDOMIZED INTO THE YOGA GROUP WERE OFFERED SUPERVISED YOGA TRAINING THRICE A WEEK FOR 4 WEEKS, AFTER WHICH THEY WERE INSTRUCTED TO PRACTICE AT HOME FOR THE NEXT 2 MONTHS. DUE TO THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND SOME VARIABLES NOT BEING NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED, NON-PARAMETRIC STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS USED. RESULTS: RESULTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED BURDEN SCORES AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE SCORES IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO THE WAIT-LIST GROUP AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCORES IN CAREGIVERS, OR PSYCHOPATHOLOGY SCORES IN PATIENTS. CONCLUSION: IN CAREGIVERS OF OUTPATIENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL PSYCHOSIS, 4 WEEKS OF TRAINING FOLLOWED BY 3 MONTHS OF HOME PRACTICE OF A YOGA MODULE OFFERED SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGE OVER WAITLIST. YOGA CAN BE OFFERED AS AN INTERVENTION FOR CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS WITH SEVERE MENTAL DISORDERS. METHODS OF PROVIDING YOGA INTERVENTION CLOSER TO THE COMMUNITY OR USE OF FLEXIBLE MODULES AT HOSPITALS NEEDS FURTHER STUDY. 2013 7 870 40 EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE AMONG CAREGIVERS OF IN-PATIENTS WITH NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTER IN INDIA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. CONTEXT: THE CONCERNS OF CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS WITH NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS HAVE BEEN A FELT NEED FOR A LONG TIME, WITH MANY OF THEM EXPERIENCING SIGNIFICANT PSYCHIATRIC MORBIDITY. AIMS: THIS STUDY AIMED TO FIND THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN REDUCING ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, AS WELL AS IMPROVING QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS WITH NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED USING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED DESIGN, WITH YOGA INTERVENTION AND WAITLISTED CONTROLS. METHODOLOGY: SIXTY CONSENTING CAREGIVERS OF INPATIENTS IN NEUROLOGY WARDS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: YOGA AND CONTROL. DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES EXCEPT YEARS OF EDUCATION AND LENGTH OF CARETAKING WERE COMPARABLE IN THE TWO GROUPS, AS ALSO BASELINE SCORES OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE. A SPECIFIC YOGA MODULE COMPRISING YOGASANAS, PRANAYAMA, AND CHANTING WAS TAUGHT TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP BY THE RESEARCHER. AT FOLLOW-UP 43 PATIENTS (YOGA N=20 AND CONTROL GROUP N=23) WERE AVAILABLE. TWO-WAY REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS USED TO TEST THE CHANGE FROM PRE-TEST TO POST-TEST SCORES WITHIN AND BETWEEN GROUPS. ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE WAS PERFORMED TO COMPARE THE POST-TEST SCORES BETWEEN THE GROUPS ADJUSTING FOR EDUCATION AND LENGTH OF CARETAKING. RESULTS: FOLLOWING ONE MONTH INTERVENTION OF YOGA THERAPY, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT (P<0.001) DECREASE IN ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCORES, AS WELL AS IMPROVED QUALITY-OF-LIFE AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY HIGHLIGHTS THE USEFULNESS OF A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR CAREGIVERS OF INPATIENTS WITH NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS. THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND LACK OF BLINDING WERE SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY. 2013 8 344 29 ASSESSING DEPRESSION FOLLOWING TWO ANCIENT INDIAN INTERVENTIONS: EFFECTS OF YOGA AND AYURVEDA ON OLDER ADULTS IN A RESIDENTIAL HOME. THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND AYURVEDA ON GERIATRIC DEPRESSION WERE EVALUATED IN 69 PERSONS OLDER THAN 60 WHO WERE LIVING IN A RESIDENTIAL HOME. PARTICIPANTS WERE STRATIFIED BY AGE AND GENDER AND RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO THREE GROUPS: YOGA, AYURVEDA, OR WAIT-LIST CONTROL. THE 15-ITEM GERIATRIC DEPRESSION SCALE WAS USED TO ASSESS DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS PRIOR TO THE INTERVENTION, AND AFTER 3 MONTHS AND 6 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION. PARTICIPATION IN ONE OF THE THREE GROUPS LASTED 24 WEEKS. THE YOGA PROGRAM (7 HOURS 30 MINUTES PER WEEK) INCLUDED PHYSICAL POSTURES, RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, REGULATED BREATHING, DEVOTIONAL SONGS, AND LECTURES. THE AYURVEDA GROUP RECEIVED AN HERBAL PREPARATION TWICE DAILY FOR THE WHOLE PERIOD. THE DEPRESSION SYMPTOM SCORES OF THE YOGA GROUP AT BOTH 3 AND 6 MONTHS DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, FROM A GROUP AVERAGE BASELINE OF 10.6 TO 8.1 AND 6.7, RESPECTIVELY (P < .001, PAIRED T-TEST). THE OTHER GROUPS SHOWED NO CHANGE. HENCE, AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA INCLUDING THE MENTAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS IN ADDITION TO THE PHYSICAL PRACTICES WAS USEFUL FOR INSTITUTIONALIZED OLDER PERSONS. 2007 9 1402 48 IMPACT OF YOGA ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION - A CONTROLLED TRIAL IN PRIMARY CARE, MATCHED FOR SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE. BACKGROUND: MEDICAL TREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION IS NOT ALWAYS SUFFICIENT TO ACHIEVE BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL. DESPITE THIS, PREVIOUS STUDIES ON SUPPLEMENTARY THERAPIES, SUCH AS YOGA, ARE RELATIVELY FEW. WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF TWO YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON BLOOD PRESSURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DIAGNOSED WITH HYPERTENSION. METHODS: ADULT PATIENTS (AGE 20-80 YEARS) WITH DIAGNOSED HYPERTENSION WERE IDENTIFIED BY AN ELECTRONIC CHART SEARCH AT A PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTER IN SOUTHERN SWEDEN. IN TOTAL, 83 SUBJECTS WITH BLOOD PRESSURE VALUES OF 120-179/