1 2316 205 TRAUMA-SENSITIVE YOGA FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN WOMEN VETERANS WHO EXPERIENCED MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA: INTERIM RESULTS FROM A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO CONDUCT AN INTERIM ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED FROM AN ONGOING MULTISITE RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL (RCT) ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAUMA CENTER TRAUMA-SENSITIVE YOGA (TCTSY) FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) AMONG WOMEN VETERANS WITH PTSD RELATED TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA (MST). THE PURPOSE OF THE INTERIM ANALYSIS WAS TO ASSESS OUTCOMES FROM THE PRIMARY SITE, WHICH IS GEOGRAPHICALLY, DEMOGRAPHICALLY, CULTURALLY, AND PROCEDURALLY DISTINCT FROM THE SECOND SITE. DESIGN: RCT WAS CONDUCTED WITHIN A VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. DATA COLLECTION INCLUDED PREINTERVENTION THROUGH 3 MONTHS POSTINTERVENTION. PARTICIPANTS: ENROLLMENT FOR THE MAIN SITE WAS 152 WOMEN. THE SAMPLE SIZE FOR THE INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS WAS 104. THE MAJORITY WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN (91.3%) WITH A MEAN AGE OF 48.46 YEARS. INTERVENTION: THE TCTSY INTERVENTION (N = 58) WAS CONDUCTED BY TCTSY-CERTIFIED YOGA FACILITATORS AND CONSISTED OF 10 WEEKLY 60-MIN GROUP SESSIONS. THE CONTROL INTERVENTION, COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY (CPT; N = 46), CONSISTED OF 12 90-MIN WEEKLY GROUP SESSIONS CONDUCTED PER VETERANS ADMINISTRATION PROTOCOL BY CLINICIANS IN THE PTSD CLINIC. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE CLINICIAN ADMINISTERED PTSD SCALE FOR DSM-5 (CAPS-5) WAS USED TO ASSESS CURRENT PTSD DIAGNOSIS AND SYMPTOM SEVERITY, INCLUDING OVERALL PTSD AND FOUR SYMPTOM CLUSTERS. THE PTSD CHECKLIST FOR DSM-5 (PCL-5) WAS USED TO OBTAIN SELF-REPORT OF PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY, INCLUDING TOTAL SCORE AND FOUR SYMPTOM CLUSTERS. RESULTS: THE FINDINGS REPORTED HERE ARE INTERIM RESULTS FROM ONE CLINICAL SITE. FOR BOTH THE CAPS-5 AND PCL-5, TOTAL SCORES AND ALL FOUR CRITERION SCORES DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (P < 0.01) OVER TIME IN ALL FIVE MULTILEVEL LINEAR MODELS WITHIN BOTH TCTSY AND CPT GROUPS, WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS. THERE WERE CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS SEEN FOR BOTH TCTSY AND CPT WITH 51.1%-64.3% OF TCTSY SUBJECTS AND 43.5%-73.7% OF CPT DECREASING THEIR CAPS-5 SCORES BY 10 POINTS OR MORE. EFFECT SIZES FOR TOTAL SYMPTOM SEVERITY WERE LARGE FOR TCTSY (COHEN'S D = 1.10-1.18) AND CPT (COHEN'S D = 0.90-1.40). INTERVENTION COMPLETION WAS HIGHER IN TCTSY (60.3%) THAN IN CPT (34.8%). SYMPTOM IMPROVEMENT OCCURRED EARLIER FOR TCTSY (MIDINTERVENTION) THAN FOR CPT (2 WEEKS POSTINTERVENTION). SAFETY: THERE WERE NO UNANTICIPATED ADVERSE EVENTS IN THIS STUDY. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATE THAT TCTSY MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR PTSD THAT YIELDS SYMPTOM IMPROVEMENT MORE QUICKLY, HAS HIGHER RETENTION THAN CPT, AND HAS A SUSTAINED EFFECT. TCTSY MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO TRAUMA-FOCUSED THERAPY FOR WOMEN VETERANS WITH PTSD RELATED TO MST. THE STUDY IS REGISTERED IN CLINICALTRIALS.GOV (CTR NO.: NCT02640690). 2021 2 1613 73 MILITARY-TAILORED YOGA FOR VETERANS WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. INTRODUCTION: AMONG VETERANS OF POST-9/11 CONFLICTS, ESTIMATES OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) RANGE FROM 9% SHORTLY AFTER RETURNING FROM DEPLOYMENT TO 31% A YEAR AFTER DEPLOYMENT. CLINICAL AND PHARMACEUTICALLY BASED TREATMENTS ARE UNDERUTILIZED. THIS COULD BE DUE TO CONCERNS RELATED TO LOST DUTY DAYS, AS WELL AS PTSD PATIENTS' FEARS OF STIGMA OF HAVING A MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE PTSD SYMPTOMS IN THE CIVILIAN POPULATION, BUT FEW STUDIES HAVE TESTED THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON VETERANS OF POST-9/11 CONFLICTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO TEST THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON POST-9/11 VETERANS DIAGNOSED WITH PTSD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 18 YR OF AGE OR OLDER AND VETERANS OF POST-9/11 CONFLICTS. THEY HAD SUBTHRESHOLD OR DIAGNOSTIC-LEVEL PTSD RELATED TO THEIR COMBAT MILITARY SERVICE, AS DETERMINED BY A SCORE OF 30 OR HIGHER ON THE PTSD CHECKLIST-MILITARY VERSION (PCL-M). VETERANS PARTICIPATED IN 60-MIN WEEKLY YOGA SESSIONS FOR 6 WK TAUGHT BY A WARRIORS AT EASE-TRAINED YOGA INSTRUCTOR WHO IS A, POST-9/11 VETERAN. THE YOGA SESSIONS INCORPORATED VINYASA-STYLE YOGA AND A TRAUMA-SENSITIVE, MILITARY-CULTURE INFORMED APPROACH ADVOCATED BY TWO SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS: WARRIORS AT EASE AND MEGHAN'S FOUNDATION. DATA WERE COLLECTED AT BASELINE AND AGAIN AFTER 7 WK. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS PCL-M SCORE. PARTICIPANTS ALSO COMPLETED THE PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE, THE BECK ANXIETY INVENTORY, THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX, AND THE MINDFUL ATTENTION AWARENESS SCALE AT BOTH TIME POINTS. RESULTS: EIGHTEEN OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, AND OPERATION NEW DAWN VETERANS COMPLETED THE PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRES. AGE RANGED FROM 26 TO 62 YR (MEDIAN = 43 YR), LENGTH OF SERVICE RANGED FROM 2 TO 34 YR (MEDIAN = 18.8 YR), AND 13 (72.2%) HAD COMPLETED COLLEGE. DECREASED PTSD SYMPTOMATOLOGY WAS DEMONSTRATED IN THE THREE-SYMPTOM CLUSTERS REPRESENTED IN THE PCL-M (I.E., HYPERAROUSAL, RE-EXPERIENCING, AND AVOIDANCE). IN ADDITION, THE TOTAL SCORE ON THE PCL-M DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, BY BOTH STATISTICAL AND CLINICAL MEASURES. THE PARTICIPANTS ALSO DEMONSTRATED IMPROVED MINDFULNESS SCORES AND REPORTED DECREASED INSOMNIA, DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS. CONCLUSION: THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT A TRAUMA-SENSITIVE YOGA INTERVENTION MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR VETERANS WITH PTSD SYMPTOMS, WHETHER AS STAND-ALONE OR ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY. THE IMPRESSIVE DECREASE IN PTSD SYMPTOMATOLOGY MAY BE DUE TO THE TAILORED MILITARY-SPECIFIC NATURE OF THIS INTERVENTION AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS LED BY A VETERAN OF POST-9/11 CONFLICTS. MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED WITH A LARGER SAMPLE AND A MORE DIVERSE VETERAN POPULATION. 2018 3 2018 65 SYMPTOMS IMPROVE AFTER A YOGA PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR PTSD IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH VETERANS AND CIVILIANS. OBJECTIVE: ALTHOUGH YOGA SHOWS PROMISE AS A TREATMENT FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), THERE ARE FEW RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS THAT DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PTSD. THE PRESENT STUDY ADDRESSES THIS NEED BY COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF A HOLISTIC YOGA PROGRAM (HYP) TO THAT OF A WELLNESS LIFESTYLE PROGRAM (WLP) ON PTSD SYMPTOM SEVERITY WITH A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. METHOD: THE SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 209 PARTICIPANTS (91.4% VETERANS; 66% MALE; 61.7% WHITE) WHO MET DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR PTSD AT BASELINE. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ATTEND ONE OF THE 2 WEEKLY INTERVENTIONS FOR 16 WEEKS. THE HYP CONSISTED OF YOGA INSTRUCTION, WHILE THE WLP CONSISTED OF DIDACTICS, DISCUSSIONS, AND WALKING. PTSD SEVERITY WAS MEASURED USING THE CLINICIAN ADMINISTERED PTSD SCALE (CAPS-5) AND THE PTSD CHECKLIST (PCL-5). RESULTS: ANALYSES REVEALED THAT THE HYP REDUCED PTSD SEVERITY MEASURED BY THE CAPS-5 SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE WLP AT TREATMENT END (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -5.4, EFFECT SIZE = 0.46, P < .001), BUT NOT AT 7-MONTH FOLLOW UP (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -0.9, P = .603). SIMILARLY, THE HYP REDUCED PTSD SEVERITY MEASURED BY THE PCL-5 SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE WLP AT TREATMENT END (DIFFERENCE = -6.0, P = .001), BUT NOT AT 7-MONTH FOLLOW UP (MEAN DIFFERENCE = -1.0, P = .682). CONCLUSION: YOGA MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR PTSD IN ADDITION TO STANDARD TREATMENTS. FUTURE YOGA TRIALS SHOULD CONSIDER ADDING A SOCIAL COMPONENT TO INTERVENTIONS OR BOOSTER CLASSES TO MAINTAIN EFFECTS LONG TERM. (PSYCINFO DATABASE RECORD (C) 2020 APA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED). 2020 4 2641 58 YOGA FOR WARRIORS: AN INTERVENTION FOR VETERANS WITH COMORBID CHRONIC PAIN AND PTSD. OBJECTIVE: COMORBID CHRONIC PAIN AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS COMMON IN VETERANS; THIS COMORBIDITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED SEVERITY AND POORER PROGNOSIS WHEN COMPARED TO EACH OUTCOME ALONE. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR CHRONIC PAIN AND PROMISING FOR PTSD, BUT YOGA FOR COMORBID PAIN AND PTSD HAS NOT BEEN EXAMINED. THIS ARTICLE OFFERS EMPIRICAL SUPPORT FOR A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR COMORBID CHRONIC PAIN AND PTSD IN A VETERAN POPULATION. METHOD: RESULTS ARE PRESENTED FROM A 4-YEAR PILOT YOGA INTERVENTION FOR COMORBID CHRONIC PAIN AND PTSD AT A LARGE, URBAN VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER. BASED ON THE FEAR AVOIDANCE MODEL OF PAIN, THE INTERVENTION USED A CROSS-SECTIONAL, OPEN-TRIAL DESIGN WITH PRE- AND POSTMEASURES. T TEST ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED ON PROGRAM COMPLETERS (N = 49; OUT OF 87 INITIALLY ENROLLED, 44% ATTRITION RATE), WHO WERE PRIMARILY AFRICAN AMERICAN (69%) AND MALE (61%) AND HAD A MEAN AGE OF 51.41 YEARS (SD = 11.32). RESULTS: RESULTS INDICATED TREND-LEVEL REDUCTIONS IN OVERALL PTSD SYMPTOMS, AS MEASURED BY THE PTSD CHECKLIST FOR DSM-5 (P = .02, D = 0.38) AND IN SYMPTOM CLUSTER SCORES OF NEGATIVE ALTERATIONS OF COGNITIONS AND MOOD (P = .03, D = 0.36) AND AROUSAL AND REACTIVITY (P = .03, D = 0.35). VETERANS REPORTED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCIAL ACTIVITIES (P < .001, D = 0.44) AND SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN KINESIOPHOBIA (FEAR OF MOVEMENT OR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY; P < .001, D = 0.85). ON A SATISFACTION MEASURE WITH A RANGE OF 1 (QUITE DISSATISFIED) TO 4 (EXTREMELY SATISFIED), THE MEAN RATING WAS 3.74 (SD = 0.33). CONCLUSION: YOGA IS A FEASIBLE AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR VETERANS WITH COMORBID CHRONIC PAIN AND PTSD. (PSYCINFO DATABASE RECORD (C) 2020 APA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED). 2020 5 329 48 ANXIOLYTIC EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM IN EARLY BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY COMPARES THE ANXIOLYTIC EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM AND SUPPORTIVE THERAPY IN BREAST CANCER OUTPATIENTS UNDERGOING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT AT A CANCER CENTRE. METHODS: NINETY-EIGHT STAGE II AND III BREAST CANCER OUTPATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE YOGA (N=45) OR BRIEF SUPPORTIVE THERAPY (N=53) PRIOR TO THEIR PRIMARY TREATMENT I.E., SURGERY. ONLY THOSE SUBJECTS WHO RECEIVED SURGERY FOLLOWED BY ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY AND SIX CYCLES OF CHEMOTHERAPY WERE CHOSEN FOR ANALYSIS FOLLOWING INTERVENTION (YOGA, N=18, CONTROL, N=20). INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF YOGA SESSIONS LASTING 60MIN DAILY WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP WAS IMPARTED SUPPORTIVE THERAPY DURING THEIR HOSPITAL VISITS AS A PART OF ROUTINE CARE. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED SPEILBERGER'S STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY AND SYMPTOM CHECKLIST. ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE AT BASELINE, AFTER SURGERY, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER RADIOTHERAPY AND CHEMOTHERAPY. RESULTS: A GLM-REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA SHOWED OVERALL DECREASE IN BOTH SELF-REPORTED STATE ANXIETY (P<0.001) AND TRAIT ANXIETY (P=0.005) IN YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROLS. THERE WAS A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN ANXIETY STATES AND TRAITS WITH SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND DISTRESS DURING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT INTERVALS. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA CAN BE USED FOR MANAGING TREATMENT-RELATED SYMPTOMS AND ANXIETY IN BREAST CANCER OUTPATIENTS. 2009 6 974 57 EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM ON SELF-REPORTED DEPRESSION SCORES IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. AIM: TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PROGRAM WITH SUPPORTIVE THERAPY ON SELF-REPORTED SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT. PATIENTS AND METHODS: NINETY-EIGHT BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WITH STAGE II AND III DISEASE FROM A CANCER CENTER WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE YOGA (N = 45) AND SUPPORTIVE THERAPY (N = 53) OVER A 24-WEEK PERIOD DURING WHICH THEY UNDERWENT SURGERY FOLLOWED BY ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY (RT) OR CHEMOTHERAPY (CT) OR BOTH. THE STUDY STOPPAGE CRITERIA WAS PROGRESSIVE DISEASE RENDERING THE PATIENT BEDRIDDEN OR ANY PHYSICAL MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURY RESULTING FROM INTERVENTION OR LESS THAN 60% ATTENDANCE TO YOGA INTERVENTION. SUBJECTS UNDERWENT YOGA INTERVENTION FOR 60 MIN DAILY WITH CONTROL GROUP UNDERGOING SUPPORTIVE THERAPY DURING THEIR HOSPITAL VISITS. BECK'S DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI) AND SYMPTOM CHECKLIST WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, AFTER SURGERY, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER RT AND SIX CYCLES OF CT. WE USED ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE (INTENT-TO-TREAT) TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF INTERVENTION ON DEPRESSION SCORES AND PEARSON CORRELATION ANALYSES TO EVALUATE THE BIVARIATE RELATIONSHIPS. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 69 PARTICIPANTS CONTRIBUTED DATA TO THE CURRENT ANALYSIS (YOGA, N = 33, AND CONTROLS, N = 36). THERE WAS 29% ATTRITION IN THIS STUDY. THE RESULTS SUGGEST AN OVERALL DECREASE IN SELF-REPORTED DEPRESSION WITH TIME IN BOTH THE GROUPS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN DEPRESSION SCORES IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROLS FOLLOWING SURGERY, RT, AND CT (P < 0.01). THERE WAS A POSITIVE CORRELATION (P < 0.001) BETWEEN DEPRESSION SCORES WITH SYMPTOM SEVERITY AND DISTRESS DURING SURGERY, RT, AND CT. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST POSSIBLE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS WITH YOGA INTERVENTION IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT. 2015 7 2012 66 SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA PROGRAM IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A FEASIBILITY STUDY. BACKGROUND: SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY), A BREATH-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION, HAS DEMONSTRATED SAFETY AND EFFICACY IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) PATIENTS SUBSEQUENT TO NATURAL DISASTER OR WAR, BUT HAS NOT BEEN EXPLORED IN CIVILIANS WITH PTSD FROM A WIDER RANGE OF TRAUMA. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT IT WOULD BE FEASIBLE TO CONDUCT A CLINICAL TRIAL OF SKY IN PTSD RESULTING FROM A WIDE RANGE OF TRAUMA. METHODS: OUTCOMES WERE FEASIBILITY MEASURES INCLUDING RATES OF ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION, ADHERENCE TO STUDY PROTOCOL; AS WELL AS CHANGES IN PTSD SYMPTOMS, OTHER MOOD SYMPTOMS, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES. MALE AND FEMALE PARTICIPANTS AGED 18-75 YEARS WERE ENROLLED IN A FEASIBILITY TRIAL. THEY ATTENDED A 6-DAY LEARNING PHASE OF SKY FOLLOWED BY 7 SESSIONS OVER 11 WEEKS AS AN ADJUNCT TO THEIR USUAL TREATMENT. RESULTS: FORTY-SEVEN PARTICIPANTS WERE SCREENED AND 32 WERE ENROLLED OVER 9 MONTHS. CONSISTENT WITH RETENTION RATES OF OTHER PTSD TRIALS, 13 WITHDREW FROM THE STUDY PRIOR TO WEEK 12. TWENTY-ONE PARTICIPANTS MET INTERVENTION ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS, COMPLETED 95% OF PLANNED STUDY ASSESSMENTS AND WERE INCLUDED IN FINAL ANALYSES. PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN PTSD SYMPTOMS ON THE POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER CHECKLIST (PCL-5) SCORES AT WEEK 12 MEAN DIFFERENCE, MDIFF (STANDARD DEVIATION [SD]) = -10.68 (14.03), P = 0.004; COHEN'S D = 0.58, WHICH WAS SUSTAINED AT WEEK 24 MDIFF (SD) = -16.11 (15.20), P < 0.001; COHEN'S D = 0.91. CONCLUSIONS: IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONDUCT A CLINICAL TRIAL OF SKY IN A ROUTINE PSYCHIATRY CLINIC SERVING PATIENTS WITH PTSD DUE TO A WIDE RANGE OF TRAUMA. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD INCLUDE AN RCT DESIGN. 2020 8 354 49 ASSESSMENT OF YOGA AS AN ADJUVANT TREATMENT FOR COMBAT-RELATED POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY ASSESSED YOGA AS AN ADJUVANT STRATEGY FOR SYMPTOMS OF COMBAT-RELATED POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD). METHODS: SUBJECTS HAD SIGNIFICANT, COMBAT-RELATED PTSD. CONTROL DATA WERE COLLECTED DURING AN EIGHT-WEEK WAITING PERIOD. TRAUMA-SENSITIVE YOGA SESSIONS OF 90 MINUTES DURATION WERE PROVIDED EVERY SEVEN DAYS FOR EIGHT WEEKS. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED THE PTSD CHECKLIST (PCL); THE DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND STRESS SCALE (DASS); THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX (PSQI); THE ADULT/ADOLESCENT SENSORY PROFILE (AASP); THE SF36 QUALITY OF LIFE INSTRUMENT; AND A BRIEF, STRUCTURED PRE-ENROLMENT ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS YOGA. BIOMARKERS WERE ALSO ASSESSED. RESULTS: THIRTY PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED, WITH 28 COMPLETING THE PROTOCOL ( MAGE=63.5 YEARS). FOR MOST VARIABLES, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN RESULTS AFTER THE WAITING PERIOD. COMPARING MEASUREMENTS OBTAINED IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE INTERVENTION TO THOSE TAKEN AFTER COMPLETION OF EIGHT YOGA SESSIONS, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES INCLUDED AN INCREASE IN THE SERUM DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE CONCENTRATION, DECREASED TOTAL PCL SCORE (AND ALL PCL SUB-SCALES), DECREASES IN ALL DASS SUB-SCALE SCORES AND SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PSQI AND SF36 SCORES. NO ADVERSE EVENTS WERE REPORTED. CONCLUSIONS: A RANGE OF BENEFITS WERE OBSERVED AFTER YOGA, CONSISTENT WITH THE THEORETICAL CONSTRUCT FOR THE LONG HISTORY OF YOGA AS A STRATEGY TO REDUCE STRESS AND PROMOTE WELL-BEING. 2017 9 1087 44 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY COMPARES THE EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM WITH BRIEF SUPPORTIVE THERAPY ON DISTRESSFUL SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER OUTPATIENTS UNDERGOING ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EIGHTY-EIGHT STAGE II AND III BREAST CANCER OUTPATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE YOGA (N = 44) OR BRIEF SUPPORTIVE THERAPY (N = 44) PRIOR TO THEIR RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT. INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF YOGA SESSIONS LASTING 60 MIN DAILY WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP WAS IMPARTED SUPPORTIVE THERAPY ONCE IN 10 DAYS DURING THE COURSE OF THEIR ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED ROTTERDAM SYMPTOM CHECK LIST AND EUROPEAN ORGANIZATION FOR RESEARCH IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER-QUALITY OF LIFE (EORTC QOL C30) SYMPTOM SCALE. ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE AT BASELINE AND AFTER 6 WEEKS OF RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT. RESULTS: A GLM REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS (P = 0.01), FATIGUE (P = 0.007), INSOMNIA (P = 0.001), AND APPETITE LOSS (P = 0.002) OVER TIME IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROLS. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE ACTIVITY LEVEL (P = 0.02) IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROLS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND FATIGUE, NAUSEA AND VOMITING, PAIN, DYSPNEA, INSOMNIA, APPETITE LOSS, AND CONSTIPATION. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE ACTIVITY LEVEL AND FATIGUE, NAUSEA AND VOMITING, PAIN, DYSPNEA, INSOMNIA, AND APPETITE LOSS. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST BENEFICIAL EFFECTS WITH YOGA INTERVENTION IN MANAGING CANCER-AND TREATMENT-RELATED SYMPTOMS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. 2009 10 964 57 EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON MOOD STATES, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND TOXICITY IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS RECEIVING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. AIMS: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PROGRAM WITH SUPPORTIVE THERAPY COUNSELING ON MOOD STATES, TREATMENT-RELATED SYMPTOMS, TOXICITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN STAGE II AND III BREAST CANCER PATIENTS ON CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT. METHODS: NINETY-EIGHT STAGE II AND III BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERWENT SURGERY FOLLOWED BY ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY (RT) OR CHEMOTHERAPY (CT) OR BOTH AT A CANCER CENTER WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE YOGA (N = 45) AND SUPPORTIVE THERAPY COUNSELING (N = 53) OVER A 24-WEEK PERIOD. INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF 60-MIN YOGA SESSIONS, DAILY WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP WAS IMPARTED SUPPORTIVE THERAPY DURING THEIR HOSPITAL VISITS. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY, BECK'S DEPRESSION INVENTORY, SYMPTOM CHECKLIST, COMMON TOXICITY CRITERIA, AND FUNCTIONAL LIVING INDEX-CANCER. ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE AT BASELINE, AFTER SURGERY, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER RT AND SIX CYCLES OF CT. RESULTS: BOTH GROUPS HAD SIMILAR BASELINE SCORES. THERE WERE 29 DROPOUTS 12 (YOGA) AND 17 (CONTROLS) FOLLOWING SURGERY. SIXTY-NINE PARTICIPANTS CONTRIBUTED DATA TO THE CURRENT ANALYSIS (33 IN YOGA, AND 36 IN CONTROLS). AN ANCOVA, ADJUSTING FOR BASELINE DIFFERENCES, SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE FOR THE YOGA INTERVENTION AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP DURING RT (FIRST RESULT) AND CT (SECOND RESULT), IN (I) ANXIETY STATE BY 4.72 AND 7.7 POINTS, (II) DEPRESSION BY 5.74 AND 7.25 POINTS, (III) TREATMENT-RELATED SYMPTOMS BY 2.34 AND 2.97 POINTS, (IV) SEVERITY OF SYMPTOMS BY 6.43 AND 8.83 POINTS, (V) DISTRESS BY 7.19 AND 13.11 POINTS, AND (VI) AND IMPROVED OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE BY 23.9 AND 31.2 POINTS AS COMPARED TO CONTROLS. TOXICITY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.01) DURING CT. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST A POSSIBLE USE FOR YOGA AS A PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT. 2017 11 252 44 A YOGA PROGRAM FOR THE SYMPTOMS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN VETERANS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PILOT STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A YOGA PROGRAM AS AN ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY FOR IMPROVING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) SYMPTOMS IN VETERANS WITH MILITARY-RELATED PTSD. VETERANS (N = 12) PARTICIPATED IN A 6 WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION HELD TWICE A WEEK. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PTSD HYPERAROUSAL SYMPTOMS AND OVERALL SLEEP QUALITY AS WELL AS DAYTIME DYSFUNCTION RELATED TO SLEEP. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TOTAL PTSD, ANGER, OR QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOME SCORES. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THIS YOGA PROGRAM MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY FOR IMPROVING HYPERAROUSAL SYMPTOMS OF PTSD INCLUDING SLEEP QUALITY. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT THE YOGA PROGRAM IS ACCEPTABLE, FEASIBLE, AND THAT THERE IS GOOD ADHERENCE IN A VETERAN POPULATION. 2013 12 1731 47 PERSONALIZED YOGA THERAPY FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: EFFECT ON SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY OF LIFE. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF PERSONALIZED YOGA THERAPY INTERVENTION IN A PRIVATE SETTING AND ITS EFFECT ON QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), SLEEP QUALITY, AND SYMPTOM RELIEF AMONG PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS). A SINGLE-GROUP PRE- AND POST-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 10 MEMBERS OF THE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY OF INDIA BETWEEN DECEMBER 2017 AND APRIL 2018. AT BASELINE AND DURING FOLLOW-UP, QOL, SLEEP QUALITY, SYMPTOMS, AND PAIN WERE ASSESSED USING THE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS QUALITY OF LIFE, PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX, MS SYMPTOM CHECKLIST, AND VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE, RESPECTIVELY. THE INTERVENTION COMPRISED 12 PRIVATE CUSTOMIZED YOGA SESSIONS OF 1 HOUR DURATION AND THREE GROUP SESSIONS, ALL SPREAD OVER 3-MONTHS. PATIENT FEEDBACK AND DIRECT OBSERVATIONS BY THE YOGA THERAPIST WE RE DOCUMENTED AT EACH SESSION. TEN PATIENTS (SEVEN FEMALE, THREE MALE, AGE 31-52 YEARS) WERE ENROLLED IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION; SEVEN COMPLETED 8-12 SESSIONS, AND THREE COMPLETED FEWER THAN 5 SESSIONS. THERAPIST-TO-PATIENT RATIO WAS 1:2. ALL DOMAINS EXCEPT SEXUAL FUNCTION SHOWED CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN QOL SCORES. STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WAS FOUND IN SOCIAL FUNCTION (P = 0.014) AND CHANGE IN HEALTH STATUS (P = 0.029) SCORES AFTER THE INTERVENTION. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS IMPROVEMENT IN PAIN AND SLEEP QUALITY, THESE CHANGES WERE NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. PATIENTS REPORTED IMPROVEMENT IN SYMPTOMS WITH PRACTICE OF YOGA ALONGSIDE LIFESTYLE CHANGES. THE STUDY SUPPORTS THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS 3-MONTH YOGA INTERVENTION FOR PATIENTS WITH MS. STUDIES WITH LARGER SAMPLE SIZES ARE REQUIRED TO CONFIRM OUR FINDINGS. 2021 13 1541 53 KRIPALU YOGA FOR MILITARY VETERANS WITH PTSD: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA FOR MILITARY VETERANS AND ACTIVE DUTY PERSONNEL WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) EVALUATED THE EFFICACY OF A 10-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION ON PTSD. METHOD: FIFTY-ONE PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA OR NO-TREATMENT ASSESSMENT-ONLY CONTROL GROUPS. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED QUESTIONNAIRES AND THE CLINICIAN ADMINISTERED PTSD SCALE. RESULTS: BOTH YOGA (N = 9) AND CONTROL (N = 6) PARTICIPANTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN REEXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS, WITH NO SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES. SECONDARY WITHIN-GROUP ANALYSES OF A SELF-SELECTED WAIT-LIST YOGA GROUP (N = 7) SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN PTSD SYMPTOMS AFTER YOGA PARTICIPATION, IN CONTRAST TO THEIR CONTROL GROUP PARTICIPATION. CONSISTENT WITH CURRENT LITERATURE REGARDING HIGH RATES OF PTSD TREATMENT DROPOUT FOR VETERANS, THIS STUDY FACED CHALLENGES RETAINING PARTICIPANTS ACROSS CONDITIONS. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH RECENT LITERATURE INDICATING THAT YOGA MAY HAVE POTENTIAL AS A PTSD THERAPY IN A VETERAN OR MILITARY POPULATION. HOWEVER, ADDITIONAL LARGER SAMPLE SIZE TRIALS ARE NECESSARY TO CONFIRM THIS CONCLUSION. 2018 14 172 48 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY OF YOGA SKILLS TRAINING VERSUS AN ATTENTION CONTROL DELIVERED DURING CHEMOTHERAPY ADMINISTRATION. CONTEXT: IT IS IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS FATIGUE AND CO-OCCURRING SYMPTOMS DURING CHEMOTHERAPY TO PRESERVE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH GASTROINTESTINAL (GI) CANCER. OBJECTIVE: TO CONDUCT A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY OF A YOGA SKILLS TRAINING (YST) INTERVENTION COMPARED TO AN ATTENTION CONTROL (AC) AMONG ADULTS DIAGNOSED WITH GI CANCER. METHODS: YST CONSISTED OF FOUR 30-MINUTE SESSIONS DELIVERED INDIVIDUALLY DURING CHEMOTHERAPY PLUS HOME PRACTICE. AC PROVIDED EMPATHIC ATTENTION PLUS HOME DIARIES. PATIENT-REPORTED (PROMIS T-SCORE) ASSESSMENTS OF FATIGUE, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS (PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE) WERE COLLECTED AT CHEMOTHERAPY VISITS: BASELINE, WEEK 8, WEEK 10 AND WEEK 14, AND ANALYZED USING A MIXED EFFECTS MODEL. INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND WEEK 10. RESULTS: FORTY-FOUR OF 77 ADULTS APPROACHED AGREED TO PARTICIPATE (57%; YST N = 23; AC N = 21). PARTICIPANTS' MEAN AGE WAS 58 YEARS AND 48% WERE MEN. PARTICIPANTS RANDOMIZED TO YST REPORTED A LARGER DECLINE IN FATIGUE (-2.4 DIFFERENCE, D = 0.30) AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS (-2.5 DIFFERENCE, D = 0.30) THAN AC PARTICIPANTS FROM BASELINE TO WEEK 10 AND SLEEP DISTURBANCES AT WEEK 8 (-3.9 DIFFERENCE, D = 0.50). DIFFERENCES IN MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE IN SYMPTOMS WERE CONSISTENT WITH OR EXCEEDED A MINIMALLY IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE. PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS DECREASED MORE IN THE AC AT WEEK 10 (D = 0.30). REDUCTIONS IN INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (IL-6, STNF R1) WERE LARGER IN THE YST GROUP THAN AC. CONCLUSION: YST SHOWED PROMISE FOR IMPROVING FATIGUE, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, AND INFLAMMATION. YST IS ALSO FEASIBLE AND REACHES PATIENTS UNDERREPRESENTED IN YOGA RESEARCH (I.E., GI CANCER, MEN), THUS WARRANTING FURTHER EXAMINATION. 2022 15 41 54 A BRIEF YOGA INTERVENTION IMPLEMENTED DURING CHEMOTHERAPY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. OBJECTIVES: FATIGUE AND OTHER TREATMENT-RELATED SYMPTOMS (E.G., SLEEP DISTURBANCE) ARE CRITICAL TARGETS FOR IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY. YOGA MAY REDUCE THE BURDEN OF SUCH SYMPTOMS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE FEASIBILITY OF CONDUCTING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY OF A BRIEF YOGA INTERVENTION DURING CHEMOTHERAPY FOR COLORECTAL CANCER. DESIGN: WE RANDOMIZED ADULTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER TO A BRIEF YOGA SKILLS TRAINING (YST) OR AN ATTENTION CONTROL (AC; EMPATHIC ATTENTION AND RECORDED EDUCATION). SETTING: THE INTERVENTIONS AND ASSESSMENTS WERE IMPLEMENTED INDIVIDUALLY IN THE CLINIC WHILE PATIENTS WERE IN THE CHAIR RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY. INTERVENTIONS: BOTH INTERVENTIONS CONSISTED OF THREE SESSIONS AND RECOMMENDED HOME PRACTICE. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS FEASIBILITY (ACCRUAL, RETENTION, ADHERENCE, DATA COLLECTION). SELF-REPORTED OUTCOMES (I.E., FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCE, QUALITY OF LIFE) AND INFLAMMATORY BIOMARKERS WERE ALSO DESCRIBED TO INFORM FUTURE STUDIES. RESULTS: OF 52 PATIENTS INITIALLY IDENTIFIED, 28 WERE APPROACHED, AND 15 ENROLLED (AGE MEAN = 57.5 YEARS; 80% WHITE; 60% MALE). REASONS FOR DECLINING PARTICIPATION WERE: NOT INTERESTED (N = 6), DID NOT PERCEIVE A NEED (N = 2), AND OTHER (N = 5). TWO PARTICIPANTS WERE LOST TO FOLLOW-UP IN EACH GROUP DUE TO TREATMENT CHANGES. THUS, 75% OF PARTICIPANTS WERE RETAINED IN THE YST AND 71% IN THE AC ARM. PARTICIPANTS RETAINED IN THE STUDY ADHERED TO 97% OF THE IN-PERSON INTERVENTION SESSIONS AND COMPLETED ALL QUESTIONNAIRES. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATED THE FEASIBILITY OF CONDUCTING A LARGER RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL TO ASSESS YST AMONG PATIENTS RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY FOR COLORECTAL CANCER. DATA COLLECTED AND CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED WILL INFORM FUTURE RESEARCH. 2016 16 851 43 EFFECT OF YOGA ON SLEEP QUALITY AND NEUROENDOCRINE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN METASTATIC BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. BACKGROUND: STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT DISTRESS AND ACCOMPANYING NEUROENDOCRINE STRESS RESPONSES AS IMPORTANT PREDICTOR OF SURVIVAL IN ADVANCED BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. SOME PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION STUDIES HAVE SHOWN HAVE MODULATION OF NEUROENDOCRINE-IMMUNE RESPONSES IN ADVANCED BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. IN THIS STUDY, WE EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PERCEIVED STRESS, SLEEP, DIURNAL CORTISOL, AND NATURAL KILLER (NK) CELL COUNTS IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC CANCER. METHODS: IN THIS STUDY, 91 PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC BREAST CANCER WHO SATISFIED SELECTION CRITERIA AND CONSENTED TO PARTICIPATE WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE "INTEGRATED YOGA BASED STRESS REDUCTION PROGRAM" (N = 45) OR STANDARD "EDUCATION AND SUPPORTIVE THERAPY SESSIONS" (N = 46) OVER A 3 MONTH PERIOD. PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENTS FOR SLEEP QUALITY WERE DONE BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION. BLOOD DRAWS FOR NK CELL COUNTS WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. SALIVA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING THE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE ON POSTMEASURES USING RESPECTIVE BASELINE MEASURE AS A COVARIATE. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SCALES OF SYMPTOM DISTRESS (P < 0.001), SLEEP PARAMETERS (P = 0.02), AND IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF SLEEP (P = 0.001) AND INSOMNIA RATING SCALE SLEEP SCORE (P = 0.001) FOLLOWING INTERVENTION. THERE WAS A DECREASE IN MORNING WAKING CORTISOL IN YOGA GROUP (P = 0.003) ALONE FOLLOWING INTERVENTION. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN NK CELL PERCENT (P = 0.03) FOLLOWING INTERVENTION IN YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST MODULATION OF NEUROENDOCRINE RESPONSES AND IMPROVEMENT IN SLEEP IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER FOLLOWING YOGA INTERVENTION. 2017 17 2701 46 YOGA INTERVENTION FOR PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER UNDERGOING EXTERNAL BEAM RADIATION THERAPY: A PILOT FEASIBILITY STUDY. PURPOSE: STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED BENEFICIAL HEALTH EFFECTS FROM YOGA INTERVENTIONS IN CANCER PATIENTS, BUT PREDOMINANTLY IN BREAST CANCER. RESEARCH ON ITS ROLE IN ALLEVIATING PROSTATE CANCER (PC) PATIENTS' SIDE EFFECTS HAS BEEN LACKING. OUR PRIMARY GOAL WAS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF RECRUITING PC PATIENTS ON A CLINICAL TRIAL OF YOGA WHILE THEY UNDERWENT EXTERNAL BEAM RADIATION THERAPY (RT). METHODS: TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA INTERVENTIONS WERE OFFERED THROUGHOUT THE RT COURSE (6-9 WEEKS). BASELINE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED. FEASIBILITY WAS DECLARED IF 15 OF THE FIRST 75 ELIGIBLE PC PATIENTS APPROACHED (20%) WERE SUCCESSFULLY ACCRUED AND COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION. ADDITIONAL END POINTS INCLUDED STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS OF FATIGUE, ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (ED), URINARY INCONTINENCE (UI), AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AT TIME POINTS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER RT. RESULTS: BETWEEN MAY 2013 AND JUNE 2014, 68 ELIGIBLE PC PATIENTS WERE IDENTIFIED. 23 PATIENTS (34%) DECLINED, AND 45 (56%) CONSENTED TO THE STUDY. 18 (40%) WERE VOLUNTARILY WITHDRAWN DUE TO TREATMENT CONFLICTS. OF THE REMAINING 27, 12 (30%) PARTICIPATED IN >/=50% OF CLASSES, AND 15 (59%) WERE EVALUABLE. SEVERITY OF FATIGUE SCORES DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANT VARIABILITY, WITH FATIGUE INCREASING BY WEEK 4, BUT THEN IMPROVING OVER THE COURSE OF TREATMENT (P = .008). ED, UI, AND GENERAL QOL SCORES DEMONSTRATED REASSURINGLY STABLE, ALBEIT NOT SIGNIFICANT TRENDS. CONCLUSIONS: A STRUCTURED YOGA INTERVENTION OF TWICE-WEEKLY CLASSES IS FEASIBLE FOR PC PATIENTS DURING A 6- TO 9-WEEK COURSE OF OUTPATIENT RADIOTHERAPY. PRELIMINARY RESULTS ARE PROMISING, SHOWING STABLE MEASUREMENTS IN FATIGUE, SEXUAL HEALTH, UI, AND GENERAL QOL. 2016 18 1461 46 INFLUENCE OF YOGA ON MOOD STATES, DISTRESS, QUALITY OF LIFE AND IMMUNE OUTCOMES IN EARLY STAGE BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING SURGERY. CONTEXT: BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AWAITING SURGERY EXPERIENCE HEIGHTENED DISTRESS THAT COULD AFFECT POSTOPERATIVE OUTCOMES. AIMS: THE AIM OF OUR STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON MOOD STATES, TREATMENT-RELATED SYMPTOMS, QUALITY OF LIFE AND IMMUNE OUTCOMES IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING SURGERY. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: NINETY-EIGHT RECENTLY DIAGNOSED STAGE II AND III BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WERE RECRUITED FOR A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM WITH SUPPORTIVE THERAPY PLUS EXERCISE REHABILITATION ON POSTOPERATIVE OUTCOMES FOLLOWING SURGERY. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED PRIOR TO SURGERY AND FOUR WEEKS THEREAFTER. PSYCHOMETRIC INSTRUMENTS WERE USED TO ASSESS SELF-REPORTED ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, TREATMENT-RELATED DISTRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE. BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FOR ENUMERATION OF T LYMPHOCYTE SUBSETS (CD4 %, CD8 % AND NATURAL KILLER (NK) CELL % COUNTS) AND SERUM IMMUNOGLOBULINS (IGG, IGA AND IGM). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: WE USED ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE TO COMPARE INTERVENTIONS POSTOPERATIVELY. RESULTS: SIXTY-NINE PATIENTS CONTRIBUTED DATA TO THE CURRENT ANALYSIS (YOGA N = 33, CONTROL N = 36). THE RESULTS SUGGEST A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE STATE (P = 0.04) AND TRAIT (P = 0.004) OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION (P = 0.01), SYMPTOM SEVERITY (P = 0.01), DISTRESS (P < 0.01) AND IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE (P = 0.01) IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROLS. THERE WAS ALSO A SIGNIFICANTLY LESSER DECREASE IN CD 56% (P = 0.02) AND LOWER LEVELS OF SERUM IGA (P = 0.001) IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROLS FOLLOWING SURGERY. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST POSSIBLE BENEFITS FOR YOGA IN REDUCING POSTOPERATIVE DISTRESS AND PREVENTING IMMUNE SUPPRESSION FOLLOWING SURGERY. 2008 19 1650 53 MULTICENTER, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA FOR SLEEP QUALITY AMONG CANCER SURVIVORS. PURPOSE: THIRTY PERCENT TO 90% OF CANCER SURVIVORS REPORT IMPAIRED SLEEP QUALITY POST-TREATMENT, WHICH CAN BE SEVERE ENOUGH TO INCREASE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS, SUCH AS EXERCISE, ARE RECOMMENDED IN CONJUNCTION WITH DRUGS AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF IMPAIRED SLEEP. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT YOGA-A MIND-BODY PRACTICE AND FORM OF EXERCISE-MAY IMPROVE SLEEP AMONG CANCER SURVIVORS. THE PRIMARY AIM OF THIS RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF A STANDARDIZED YOGA INTERVENTION COMPARED WITH STANDARD CARE FOR IMPROVING GLOBAL SLEEP QUALITY (PRIMARY OUTCOME) AMONG POST-TREATMENT CANCER SURVIVORS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: IN ALL, 410 SURVIVORS SUFFERING FROM MODERATE OR GREATER SLEEP DISRUPTION BETWEEN 2 AND 24 MONTHS AFTER SURGERY, CHEMOTHERAPY, AND/OR RADIATION THERAPY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO STANDARD CARE OR STANDARD CARE PLUS THE 4-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION. THE YOGA INTERVENTION USED THE YOGA FOR CANCER SURVIVORS (YOCAS) PROGRAM CONSISTING OF PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), 16 GENTLE HATHA AND RESTORATIVE YOGA ASANAS (POSTURES), AND MEDITATION. PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED TWO 75-MINUTE SESSIONS PER WEEK. SLEEP QUALITY WAS ASSESSED BY USING THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX AND ACTIGRAPHY PRE- AND POSTINTERVENTION. RESULTS: IN ALL, 410 SURVIVORS WERE ACCRUED (96% FEMALE; MEAN AGE, 54 YEARS; 75% HAD BREAST CANCER). YOGA PARTICIPANTS DEMONSTRATED GREATER IMPROVEMENTS IN GLOBAL SLEEP QUALITY AND, SECONDARILY, SUBJECTIVE SLEEP QUALITY, DAYTIME DYSFUNCTION, WAKE AFTER SLEEP ONSET, SLEEP EFFICIENCY, AND MEDICATION USE AT POSTINTERVENTION (ALL P