1 2854 149 YOGA- AND MEDITATION-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION INCREASES NEUROPLASTICITY AND REDUCES SEVERITY OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CURRENT INTERVENTIONS FOR MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD) ARE SUBOPTIMAL, AND ONLY ONE THIRD RESPOND TO THEM ON INITIAL TREATMENT. NEUROPLASTICITY THEORIES ARE THE BASIS FOR SEVERAL EMERGING TREATMENTS. EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF YOGA, A WELL-KNOWN MIND-BODY INTERVENTION, ON NEUROPLASTICITY IN MDD IS LIMITED. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF 12-WEEK YOGA- AND MEDITATION-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YMLI) ON DEPRESSION SEVERITY AND SYSTEMIC BIOMARKERS OF NEUROPLASTICITY IN ADULT MDD PATIENTS ON ROUTINE DRUG TREATMENT. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 58 MDD PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP. THE SEVERITY OF DEPRESSION WAS ASSESSED WITH BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II SCALE (BDI-II). BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE BIOMARKERS THAT CHARACTERIZE NEUROPLASTICITY, INCLUDING MIND-BODY COMMUNICATIVE AND CELLULAR HEALTH BIOMARKERS. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE [DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEANS, (95% CI)] IN BDI-II SCORE [-5.83 (-7.27, -4.39), P < 0.001] AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN BDNF (NG/ML) [5.48 (3.50, 7.46), P < 0.001] AFTER YMLI COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. YMLI SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED DHEAS, SIRTUIN 1, AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY LEVELS, AND DECREASED CORTISOL, AND IL-6 LEVELS, IN ADDITION TO DECREASING DNA DAMAGE AND BALANCING OXIDATIVE STRESS. MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE USED TO ASSOCIATE NEUROPLASTICITY BIOMARKERS WITH DEPRESSION SEVERITY. A 'POST-INTERVENTION CHANGE IN BDNF' X 'GROUP' INTERACTION INDICATED THAT YOGA GROUP HAD MORE BDNF IN ASSOCIATION WITH LESS BDI-II SCORES RELATIVE TO CONTROLS. INCREASED SIRTUIN 1 AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY AND DECREASED CORTISOL SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED THIS ASSOCIATION (ALL P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT DECREASE IN DEPRESSION SEVERITY AFTER YMLI IN MDD IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED SYSTEMIC BIOMARKERS OF NEUROPLASTICITY. THUS YMLI CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN MDD MANAGEMENT. 2018 2 1967 43 SERUM CORTISOL AND BDNF IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION-EFFECT OF YOGA. DEPRESSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW SERUM BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) AND ELEVATED LEVELS OF SERUM CORTISOL. YOGA PRACTICES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS, INCREASE IN SERUM BDNF, AND REDUCTION IN SERUM CORTISOL. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SERUM BDNF AND CORTISOL LEVELS IN DRUG-NAIVE PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION TREATED WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS, YOGA THERAPY, AND BOTH. FIFTY-FOUR DRUG-NAIVE CONSENTING ADULT OUTPATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION (32 MALES) RECEIVED ANTIDEPRESSANTS ONLY (N = 16), YOGA THERAPY ONLY (N = 19), OR YOGA WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS (N = 19). SERUM BDNF ANDCORTISOL LEVELS WERE OBTAINED BEFORE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS USING A SANDWICH ELISA METHOD. ONE-WAY ANOVA, CHI-SQUARE TEST, AND PEARSON'S CORRELATION TESTS WERE USED FOR ANALYSIS. THE GROUPS WERE COMPARABLE AT BASELINE ON MOST PARAMETERS. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSION SCORES AND SERUM BDNF LEVELS, AND REDUCTION IN SERUM CORTISOL IN THE YOGA GROUPS, HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED IN PREVIOUS REPORTS. A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN CHANGE IN BDNF (PRE-POST) AND CORTISOL (PRE-POST) LEVELS IN THE YOGA-ONLY GROUP (R = -0.59, P = 0.008). IN CONCLUSION, YOGA MAY FACILITATE NEUROPLASTICITY THROUGH STRESS REDUCTION IN DEPRESSED PATIENTS. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THE FINDINGS AND DELINEATE THE PATHWAYS FOR THESE EFFECTS. 2016 3 835 39 EFFECT OF YOGA ON PAIN, BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR, AND SEROTONIN IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. BACKGROUND. SEROTONIN AND BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) ARE KNOWN TO BE MODULATORS OF NOCICEPTION. HOWEVER, PAIN-RELATED CONNECTION BETWEEN YOGA AND THOSE NEUROMODULATORS HAS NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED. THEREFORE, WE AIMED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON PAIN, BDNF, AND SEROTONIN. METHODS. PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PRACTICED YOGA THREE TIMES A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. AT BASELINE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS, BACK PAIN INTENSITY WAS MEASURED USING VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS), AND SERUM BDNF AND SEROTONIN LEVELS WERE EVALUATED. ADDITIONALLY, BACK FLEXIBILITY AND LEVEL OF DEPRESSION WERE ASSESSED. RESULTS. AFTER 12-WEEK YOGA, VAS DECREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.001), WHEREAS IT INCREASED (P < 0.05) IN THE CONTROL GROUP. BACK FLEXIBILITY WAS IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.01). SERUM BDNF INCREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.01), WHEREAS IT TENDED TO DECREASE IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.05). SERUM SEROTONIN MAINTAINED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHILE IT REDUCED (P < 0.01) IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THE DEPRESSION LEVEL MAINTAINED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHEREAS IT TENDED TO INCREASE IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS. WE PROPOSE THAT BDNF MAY BE ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS MEDIATING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. 2014 4 1423 48 IMPROVEMENT IN NEUROCOGNITIVE FUNCTIONS AND SERUM BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION TREATED WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND YOGA. CONTEXT AND AIMS: IMPAIRMENT IN COGNITION IS WELL-KNOWN IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY WITH OR WITHOUT ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND ANTIDEPRESSANTS ALONE ON CERTAIN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION. CORRELATION BETWEEN CHANGES IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST PERFORMANCE AND SERUM BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) LEVELS WAS ALSO EXPLORED. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ANTIDEPRESSANT-NAIVE/ANTIDEPRESSANT-FREE OUTPATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION RECEIVED ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION ALONE (N = 23) OR YOGA THERAPY WITH (N = 26) OR WITHOUT (N = 16) ANTIDEPRESSANTS. DEPRESSION WAS ASSESSED USING THE HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS INCLUDED DIGIT-SPAN FORWARD AND BACKWARD, REY AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST, AND TRAIL MAKING TESTS (TMT-A AND B). THESE TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED BEFORE AND 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TREATMENT IN PATIENTS, AND ONCE IN HEALTHY COMPARISON SUBJECTS (N = 19). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: BASELINE DIFFERENCES WERE ANALYZED USING INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST, CHI-SQUARE, AND ONE-WAY ANOVA. PAIRED T-TEST WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE CHANGE FROM BASELINE TO FOLLOW-UP. PEARSON'S CORRELATION WAS USED TO EXPLORE THE ASSOCIATION OF CHANGE BETWEEN 2 VARIABLES. RESULTS: PATIENTS HAD IMPAIRED PERFORMANCE ON MOST NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS. AFTER 3 MONTHS, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT - PATIENTS' PERFORMANCE WAS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF HEALTHY CONTROLS ON MAJORITY OF THE TESTS. SIGNIFICANT INVERSE CORRELATION WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN INCREASE IN BDNF LEVELS AND IMPROVEMENT IN TMT "A" DURATION IN YOGA-ALONE GROUP (R = -0.647; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: TO CONCLUDE THAT, YOGA THERAPY, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH MEDICATIONS, IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS AND NEUROPLASTIC EFFECTS IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION. 2018 5 392 40 BENEFITS OF YOGA ON IL-6: FINDINGS FROM A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA FOR DEPRESSION. THE PRESENT RESEARCH SOUGHT TO EXAMINE WHETHER HATHA YOGA, IMPLEMENTED AS AN ADJUNCTIVE INTERVENTION FOR MAJOR DEPRESSION, INFLUENCES MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION. A SUBSET OF 84 PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE ENROLLED IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) OF HATHA YOGA VS. HEALTH EDUCATION CONTROL PROVIDED BLOOD SAMPLES AT BASELINE (PRE-TREATMENT) AND AT 3-(DURING TREATMENT) AND 10-WEEK (END OF TREATMENT) FOLLOW-UP VISITS. TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RCT, PARTICIPANTS MET CRITERIA FOR A CURRENT OR RECENT (PAST TWO YEARS) MAJOR DEPRESSIVE EPISODE, HAD CURRENT ELEVATED DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, AND CURRENT ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION USE. VENOUS BLOOD WAS DRAWN BETWEEN 2 AND 6 PM AND FOLLOWING AT LEAST ONE HOUR OF FASTING, AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS (IL-6, CRP, AND TNF-ALPHA) WERE ASSAYED. EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATION IN YOGA RELATIVE TO HEALTH EDUCATION ON INFLAMMATORY MARKERS OVER TIME WERE EXAMINED WITH LATENT GROWTH ANALYSES. WE OBSERVED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN IL-6 CONCENTRATIONS IN THE YOGA TREATMENT GROUP RELATIVE TO THE HEALTH EDUCATION CONTROL GROUP AS DEMONSTRATED BY A NEGATIVE INTERACTION BETWEEN TREATMENT GROUP AND SLOPE OF IL-6. TNF-ALPHA AND CRP DID NOT EVIDENCE SIGNIFICANT INTERACTIONS OF TREATMENT GROUP BY MEAN SLOPE OR INTERCEPT. IN ADDITION TO THE BENEFITS OF HATHA YOGA AS AN ADJUNCTIVE INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SHOWN INADEQUATE RESPONSE TO ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATIONS, OUR FINDINGS POINT TO POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF YOGA ON IL-6 IN DEPRESSED POPULATIONS. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO EXPLORE THE EFFECTS OF HATHA YOGA ON IMMUNE FUNCTION OVER TIME. 2021 6 1542 37 KRIYA YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES DESPITE THE EASY ACCEPTABILITY AND HOLISTIC NATURE OF KRIYA YOGA, THERE ARE NO STUDIES EVALUATING THE ROLE OF KRIYA YOGA INTERVENTION ON DEPRESSION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE CURRENT STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECT OF ADJUNCTIVE KRIYA YOGA ON DEPRESSION. METHODS PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER WHO OPTED FOR KRIYA YOGA WERE RECRUITED INTO THE INTERVENTION GROUP (ADJUNCTIVE KRIYA YOGA) AND THOSE ON PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION ALONE WERE ENROLLED INTO THE CONTROL GROUP. THE HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (HDRS) MEASUREMENTS WERE RECORDED AT BASELINE, END OF 2, 4, AND 8 WEEKS. RESULTS HDRS SCORES OF THE INTERVENTION GROUP ( N = 29) WERE FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY LESSER THAN THAT OF THE CONTROL GROUP ( N = 52) BY THE END OF 2, 4, AND 8 WEEKS. THE REMISSION RATE WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP. CONCLUSION KRIYA YOGA INTERVENTION WAS FOUND TO BE FEASIBLE, AS WELL AS IMPROVED THE SEVERITY OF DEPRESSION. 2021 7 1076 39 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 8 1062 41 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN DEPRESSED WOMEN. METHODS: THIS WAS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. TWENTY-SIX SEDENTARY WOMEN SCORING >/=14 ON THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER THE YOGA OR THE CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP COMPLETED A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, WHICH TOOK PLACE TWICE A WEEK FOR 60 MIN PER SESSION AND CONSISTED OF BREATHING EXERCISES, YOGA POSE PRACTICE, AND SUPINE MEDITATION/RELAXATION. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS INSTRUCTED NOT TO ENGAGE IN ANY YOGA PRACTICE AND TO MAINTAIN THEIR USUAL LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING THE COURSE OF THE STUDY. PARTICIPANTS' HRV, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND PERCEIVED STRESS WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND POST-TEST. RESULTS: THE YOGA GROUP HAD A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN HIGH-FREQUENCY HRV AND DECREASES IN LOW-FREQUENCY HRV AND LOW FREQUENCY/HIGH FREQUENCY RATIO AFTER THE INTERVENTION. THE YOGA GROUP ALSO REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PERCEIVED STRESS. NO CHANGE WAS FOUND IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: A 12-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM WAS EFFECTIVE IN INCREASING PARASYMPATHETIC TONE AND REDUCING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PERCEIVED STRESS IN WOMEN WITH ELEVATED DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS. REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE RECOMMENDED FOR WOMEN TO COPE WITH THEIR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND STRESS AND TO IMPROVE THEIR HRV. 2017 9 1402 50 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/