1 2149 61 THE EFFECTS OF POWER AND STRETCH YOGA ON AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL IN WOMEN. YOGA PRACTICE IS KNOWN TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING AND DECREASE STRESS. HOWEVER, ACUTE YOGA IS UNDERSTUDIED. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF YOGA ON AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS IN COLLEGE WOMEN. THIRTY-THREE WOMEN AGED 18-30 YEARS EACH COMPLETED 1-HOUR SESSIONS OF POWER YOGA AND STRETCH YOGA. MEASURES OF AFFECT AND SALIVARY CORTISOL WERE ASSESSED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER EACH SESSION. PARTICIPANTS PERCEIVED POWER YOGA TO BE MORE PLEASURABLE AND ENERGIZING. SALIVARY CORTISOL SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED AFTER BOTH YOGA SESSIONS. THUS, EVEN ONE SESSION OF YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING AFFECT AND DECREASING STRESS IN COLLEGE WOMEN. 2019 2 1967 22 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 3 569 12 DECREASE IN SERUM CORTISOL DURING YOGA EXERCISE IS CORRELATED WITH ALPHA WAVE ACTIVATION. WE EXAMINED CHANGES IN BRAIN WAVES AND BLOOD LEVELS OF SERUM CORTISOL DURING YOGA EXERCISE IN 7 YOGA INSTRUCTORS AND FOUND THAT ALPHA WAVES INCREASED AND SERUM CORTISOL DECREASED. THESE TWO MEASURES WERE NEGATIVELY CORRELATED (R = -.83). COMPARISON WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF NONPRACTITIONERS IS DESIRABLE. 2000 4 720 24 EFFECT OF IYENGAR YOGA PRACTICE ON FATIGUE AND DIURNAL SALIVARY CORTISOL CONCENTRATION IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. PURPOSE: TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF REGULAR IYENGAR YOGA PRACTICE ON MEASURES OF SELF-PERCEIVED PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTION AND DIURNAL SALIVARY CORTISOL SECRETION IN STAGE II-IV BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS (N = 18). DATA SOURCES: WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ATTEND YOGA PRACTICE FOR 90 MIN TWICE WEEKLY FOR 8 WEEKS (N = 9) OR TO A WAIT-LISTED, NONINTERVENTIONAL CONTROL GROUP (N = 9). TRADITIONAL IYENGAR YOGA ROUTINES THAT PROGRESSIVELY INCREASED IN DIFFICULTY AS PARTICIPANTS GAINED STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY WERE USED. AT BASELINE AND AFTER THE 8-WEEK STUDY PERIOD, WOMEN COMPLETED SELF-REPORT INSTRUMENTS TO DOCUMENT VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING, AND COLLECTED SALIVARY SAMPLES FOR CORTISOL ANALYSIS FOUR TIMES DURING THE DAY FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS. CONCLUSIONS: THE YOGA GROUP HAD LOWER MORNING AND 5 P.M. SALIVARY CORTISOL AND IMPROVED EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND FATIGUE SCORES. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS ARE AT RISK FOR CHRONIC PSYCHOSOCIAL DISTRESS THAT MAY ALTER ACTIVITY OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS, RESULTING IN ABERRANT REGULATION OF CORTISOL SECRETION AND INCREASED RISK OF IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AND CANCER PROGRESSION. REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE A LOW-RISK, COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING, FATIGUE, AND REGULATION OF CORTISOL SECRETION IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. THESE FINDINGS REQUIRE VALIDATION WITH A LARGER RANDOMIZED STUDY. 2011 5 962 20 EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM ON CORTISOL RHYTHM AND MOOD STATES IN EARLY BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. UNLABELLED: OBJECTIVES. THIS STUDY COMPARES THE EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM WITH BRIEF SUPPORTIVE THERAPY IN BREAST CANCER OUTPATIENTS UNDERGOING ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY AT A CANCER CENTER. METHODS: EIGHTY-EIGHT STAGE II AND III BREAST CANCER OUTPATIENTS ARE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE YOGA (N = 44) OR BRIEF SUPPORTIVE THERAPY (N = 44) PRIOR TO RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDE DIURNAL SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS 3 DAYS BEFORE AND AFTER RADIOTHERAPY AND SELF-RATINGS OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND STRESS COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER 6 WEEKS OF RADIOTHERAPY. RESULTS: ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE REVEALS SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN ANXIETY (P < .001), DEPRESSION (P = .002), PERCEIVED STRESS (P < .001), 6 A.M. SALIVARY CORTISOL (P = .009), AND POOLED MEAN CORTISOL (P = .03) IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED WITH CONTROLS. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN MORNING SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVEL AND ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. CONCLUSION: YOGA MIGHT HAVE A ROLE IN MANAGING SELF-REPORTED PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND MODULATING CIRCADIAN PATTERNS OF STRESS HORMONES IN EARLY BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING ADJUVANT RADIOTHERAPY. 2009 6 2778 20 YOGA STRETCHING FOR IMPROVING SALIVARY IMMUNE FUNCTION AND MENTAL STRESS IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS. PROTECTION AGAINST AGE-RELATED IMMUNE SUPPRESSION IS IMPORTANT IN ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS. THIS STUDY DETERMINED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON MUCOSAL IMMUNE FUNCTION AND MENTAL STRESS. SALIVA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FROM 23 ADULT WOMEN (AGE: 60.4 +/- 10.4 YEARS) BEFORE AND AFTER 90 MINUTES OF YOGA STRETCHING OR REST TO MEASURE SECRETORY IMMUNOGLOBULIN A (SIGA), CORTISOL, AND TESTOSTERONE. THE SIGA CONCENTRATION AND SECRETION RATE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AFTER YOGA THAN BEFORE (P < .05). THE CORTISOL CONCENTRATION AND SECRETION RATE WERE LOWER AND TESTOSTERONE SECRETION RATE HIGHER AFTER YOGA (P < .05). YOGA STRETCHING CAN REDUCE STRESS AND ENHANCE MUCOSAL IMMUNE FUNCTION IN ELDERLY WOMEN. 2018 7 726 19 EFFECT OF LAUGHTER YOGA ON SALIVARY CORTISOL AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE AMONG HEALTHY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: TO EXAMINE WHETHER LAUGHTER YOGA (LY), I.E., SIMULATED LAUGHTER, ALTERS CORTISOL AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE (DHEA) LEVELS AND CORTISOL/DHEA (C/D) RATIOS. METHODS: IN A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, 120 HEALTHY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WERE ALLOCATED TO EXPERIENCING LY, WATCHING A COMEDY MOVIE (SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER), OR READING A BOOK. SALIVARY CORTISOL AND DHEA LEVELS WERE MEASURED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE, IMMEDIATELY AFTER, AND 30MIN AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY TIME IN THE LY AND COMEDY MOVIE GROUPS. SIGNIFICANT GROUP*TIME INTERACTIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN THESE TWO GROUPS FOR CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS. DHEA LEVELS DID NOT CHANGE BY TIME IN THE LY GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: LY DECREASED CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS BUT DID NOT AFFECT DHEA LEVELS. SIMULATED AND SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER DIFFERENTLY AFFECTED THE DYNAMICS OF CORTISOL LEVELS AND C/D RATIOS. EFFECT OF SPONTANEOUS LAUGHTER ON THE CORTISOL DYNAMICS LASTED LONGER THAN THAT OF SIMULATED LAUGHTER. (UMIN000019409). 2018 8 244 25 A YOGA AND COMPASSION MEDITATION PROGRAM REDUCES STRESS IN FAMILIAL CAREGIVERS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE PATIENTS. FAMILIAL CAREGIVERS OF PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE EXHIBIT REDUCED QUALITY OF LIFE AND INCREASED STRESS LEVELS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA AND COMPASSION MEDITATION PROGRAM ON THE PERCEIVED STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS IN FAMILIAL CAREGIVERS. A TOTAL OF 46 VOLUNTEERS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO PARTICIPATE IN A STRESS-REDUCTION PROGRAM FOR A 2-MONTH PERIOD (YOGA AND COMPASSION MEDITATION PROGRAM-YCMP GROUP) (N = 25) OR AN UNTREATED GROUP FOR THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME (CONTROL GROUP) (N = 21). THE LEVELS OF STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND MORNING SALIVARY CORTISOL OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION. THE GROUPS WERE INITIALLY HOMOGENEOUS; HOWEVER, AFTER INTERVENTION, THE GROUPS DIVERGED SIGNIFICANTLY. THE YCMP GROUP EXHIBITED A REDUCTION OF THE STRESS (P < 0.05), ANXIETY (P < 0.000001), AND DEPRESSION (P < 0.00001) LEVELS, AS WELL AS A REDUCTION IN THE CONCENTRATION OF SALIVARY CORTISOL (P < 0.05). OUR STUDY SUGGESTS THAT AN 8-WEEK YOGA AND COMPASSION MEDITATION PROGRAM MAY OFFER AN EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR REDUCING PERCEIVED STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND SALIVARY CORTISOL IN FAMILIAL CAREGIVERS. 2013 9 1562 22 LONGITUDINAL AND IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF KUNDALINI YOGA ON SALIVARY LEVELS OF CORTISOL AND ACTIVITY OF ALPHA-AMYLASE AND ITS EFFECT ON PERCEIVED STRESS. CONTEXT: STRESS IS DEFINED AS AN ALTERATION OF AN ORGANISM'S BALANCE IN RESPONSE TO A DEMAND PERCEIVED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT. DIVERSE METHODS EXIST TO EVALUATE PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE. A NONINVASIVE METHOD IS SALIVARY MEASUREMENT OF CORTISOL AND ALPHA-AMYLASE. A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA WOULD BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR STRESS. AIMS: TO DETERMINE THE KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) EFFECT, IMMEDIATE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS OF REGULAR PRACTICE, ON THE PERCEPTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND THE SALIVARY LEVELS OF CORTISOL AND ALPHA-AMYLASE ACTIVITY. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: TO DETERMINE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PERCEIVED STRESS, LEVELS OF CORTISOL AND ALPHA-AMYLASE ACTIVITY IN SALIVA, AND COMPARE BETWEEN THE PARTICIPANTS TO KY CLASSES PERFORMED FOR 3 MONTHS AND A GROUP THAT DOES NOT PRACTICE ANY TYPE OF YOGA. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: THE TOTAL SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 26 PEOPLE BETWEEN 18 AND 45-YEAR-OLD; 13 TAKING PART IN KY CLASSES GIVEN AT THE FACULTY OF DENTISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF CHILE AND 13 CONTROLS. SALIVARY SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED, ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY WAS PERFORMED TO QUANTIFY CORTISOL AND KINETIC REACTION TEST WAS MADE TO DETERMINE ALPHA-AMYLASE ACTIVITY. PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE WAS APPLIED AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END OF THE INTERVENTION. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WAS APPLIED USING STATA V11.1 SOFTWARE. SHAPIRO-WILK TEST WAS USED TO DETERMINE DATA DISTRIBUTION. THE PAIRED ANALYSIS WAS FULFILLED BY T-TEST OR WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST. T-TEST OR MANN-WHITNEY'S TEST WAS APPLIED TO COMPARE LONGITUDINAL DATA. A STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE WAS CONSIDERED WHEN P < 0.05. RESULTS: KY PRACTICE HAD AN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ON SALIVARY CORTISOL. THE ACTIVITY OF ALPHA-AMYLASE DID NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE OF PERCEIVED STRESS IN THE STUDY GROUP WAS FOUND. CONCLUSIONS: KY PRACTICE SHOWS AN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ON SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS AND ON PERCEIVED STRESS AFTER 3 MONTHS OF PRACTICE. 2017 10 2847 26 YOGA, MEDITATION AND MIND-BODY HEALTH: INCREASED BDNF, CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE, AND ALTERED INFLAMMATORY MARKER EXPRESSION AFTER A 3-MONTH YOGA AND MEDITATION RETREAT. THIRTY-EIGHT INDIVIDUALS (MEAN AGE: 34.8 YEARS OLD) PARTICIPATING IN A 3-MONTH YOGA AND MEDITATION RETREAT WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION FOR PSYCHOMETRIC MEASURES, BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF), CIRCADIAN SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS, AND PRO- AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. PARTICIPATION IN THE RETREAT WAS FOUND TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASES IN SELF-REPORTED ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AS WELL AS INCREASES IN MINDFULNESS. AS HYPOTHESIZED, INCREASES IN THE PLASMA LEVELS OF BDNF AND INCREASES IN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CORTISOL AWAKENING RESPONSE (CAR) WERE ALSO OBSERVED. THE NORMALIZED CHANGE IN BDNF LEVELS WAS INVERSELY CORRELATED WITH BSI-18 ANXIETY SCORES AT BOTH THE PRE-RETREAT (R = 0.40, P < 0.05) AND POST-RETREAT (R = 0.52, P < 0.005) SUCH THAT THOSE WITH GREATER ANXIETY SCORES TENDED TO EXHIBIT SMALLER PRE- TO POST-RETREAT INCREASES IN PLASMA BDNF LEVELS. IN LINE WITH A HYPOTHESIZED DECREASE IN INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES RESULTING FROM THE YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTICES, WE FOUND THAT THE PLASMA LEVEL OF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE INTERLEUKIN-10 WAS INCREASED AND THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE INTERLEUKIN-12 WAS REDUCED AFTER THE RETREAT. CONTRARY TO OUR INITIAL HYPOTHESES, PLASMA LEVELS OF OTHER PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, INCLUDING INTERFERON GAMMA (IFN-GAMMA), TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF-ALPHA), INTERLEUKIN-1BETA (IL-1BETA), INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6), AND INTERLEUKIN-8 (IL-8) WERE INCREASED AFTER THE RETREAT. GIVEN EVIDENCE FROM PREVIOUS STUDIES OF THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF MEDITATIVE PRACTICES ON MENTAL FITNESS, AUTONOMIC HOMEOSTASIS AND INFLAMMATORY STATUS, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THESE FINDINGS ARE RELATED TO THE MEDITATIVE PRACTICES THROUGHOUT THE RETREAT; HOWEVER, SOME OF THE OBSERVED CHANGES MAY ALSO BE RELATED TO OTHER ASPECTS OF THE RETREAT SUCH AS PHYSICAL EXERCISE-RELATED COMPONENTS OF THE YOGA PRACTICE AND DIET. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE PATTERNS OF CHANGE OBSERVED HERE REFLECT MIND-BODY INTEGRATION AND WELL-BEING. THE INCREASED BDNF LEVELS OBSERVED IS A POTENTIAL MEDIATOR BETWEEN MEDITATIVE PRACTICES AND BRAIN HEALTH, THE INCREASED CAR IS LIKELY A REFLECTION OF INCREASED DYNAMIC PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL, AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE DUAL ENHANCEMENT OF PRO- AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE CHANGES TO HEALTHY IMMUNOLOGIC FUNCTIONING IS DISCUSSED. 2017 11 2120 18 THE EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON ENHANCEMENT OF ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) AND CORTISOL LEVELS IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. THE EFFECT OF 8 WEEKS YOGA TRAINING ON CORTISOL AND ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) LEVELS IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) IS EXAMINED. TWENTY FOUR MS FEMALE PATIENTS WITH EXPANDED DISABILITY STATUS SCALE (EDSS) 1 TO 5.5 PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY AS THE SUBJECT. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO CONTROL (N = 10) OR TRAINING GROUP (N = 14) RANDOMLY. TRAINING GROUP PERFORMED 90 MIN YOGA TRAINING PER SESSION, 3 DAYS A WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDE BODY COMPOSITION MEASUREMENT AND BLOOD SAMPLING 48 H BEFORE FIRST SESSION AND 48 H AFTER THE INTERVENTION. THE RESULTS DEMONSTRATED THAT ACTH INCREASED AND CORTISOL DECREASED COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (P < 0.05); IN CONCLUSION, IT SEEMS THAT YOGA TRAINING MODULATES ACTH LEVEL IN CONCOMITANT WITH REDUCTION IN CORTISOL LEVEL IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH MS. 2017 12 451 25 CHANGES IN FATIGUE, AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS, AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS DUE TO SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME. BACKGROUND: IN A PREVIOUS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, WE FOUND THAT SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IMPROVES FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS) WHO ARE RESISTANT TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE MECHANISMS BEHIND THIS FINDING, FOCUSING ON THE SHORT-TERM FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECT, BY COMPARING AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTION AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS BEFORE AND AFTER A SESSION OF ISOMETRIC YOGA. METHODS: FIFTEEN PATIENTS WITH CFS WHO REMAINED SYMPTOMATIC DESPITE AT LEAST 6 MONTHS OF CONVENTIONAL THERAPY PRACTICED SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA (BIWEEKLY 20 MIN PRACTICE WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND DAILY HOME PRACTICE) FOR EIGHT WEEKS. ACUTE EFFECTS OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE, AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS WERE INVESTIGATED AFTER THE FINAL SESSION WITH AN INSTRUCTOR. THE EFFECT OF A SINGLE SESSION OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WAS ASSESSED BY THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATUS (POMS) QUESTIONNAIRE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THE SESSION. AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTION (HEART RATE (HR) VARIABILITY) AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS (CORTISOL, DHEA-S, TNF-ALPHA, IL-6, IFN-GAMMA, IFN-ALPHA, PROLACTIN, CARNITINE, TGF-BETA1, BDNF, MHPG, AND HVA) WERE COMPARED BEFORE AND AFTER THE SESSION. RESULTS: SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE POMS FATIGUE SCORE (P < 0.01) AND INCREASED THE VIGOR SCORE (P < 0.01). IT ALSO REDUCED HR (P < 0.05) AND INCREASED THE HIGH FREQUENCY POWER (P < 0.05) OF HR VARIABILITY. SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA INCREASED SERUM LEVELS OF DHEA-S (P < 0.05), REDUCED LEVELS OF CORTISOL (P < 0.05) AND TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.05), AND HAD A TENDENCY TO REDUCE SERUM LEVELS OF PROLACTIN (P < 0.1). DECREASES IN FATIGUE SCORES CORRELATED WITH CHANGES IN PLASMA LEVELS OF TGF-BETA1 AND BDNF. IN CONTRAST, INCREASED VIGOR POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH HVA. CONCLUSIONS: A SINGLE SESSION OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA REDUCED FATIGUE AND INCREASED VIGOR IN PATIENTS WITH CFS. YOGA ALSO INCREASED VAGAL NERVE FUNCTION AND CHANGED BLOOD BIOMARKERS IN A PATTERN THAT SUGGESTED ANTI-STRESS AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS. THESE CHANGES APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE SHORT-TERM FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECT OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH CFS. FURTHERMORE, DOPAMINERGIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVATION MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA-INDUCED INCREASES IN ENERGY IN THIS PATIENT POPULATION. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) UMIN000009646. REGISTERED DEC 27, 2012. 2018 13 2743 26 YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES EXECUTIVE FUNCTION BY ATTENUATING STRESS LEVELS. BACKGROUND: PROLONGED ACTIVATION OF THE HYPOTHALAMUS-PITUITARY-ADRENAL SYSTEM IS THOUGHT TO HAVE DELETERIOUS EFFECTS ON BRAIN FUNCTION. NEUROENDOCRINE STUDIES SUGGEST THAT BRAIN EXPOSURE TO HIGHER CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS CONTRIBUTE TO COGNITIVE DEFICITS AS WE AGE. MIND-BODY TECHNIQUES SUCH AS YOGA HAVE SHOWN TO IMPROVE STRESS LEVELS BY RESTORING THE BODY'S SYMPATHETIC-PARASYMPATHETIC BALANCE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA PRACTICE MODERATED THE STRESS RESPONSE RESULTING IN IMPROVED EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. METHODS: SEDENTARY COMMUNITY DWELLING OLDER ADULTS (N=118, MEAN AGE=62.02) WERE RANDOMIZED TO AN 8-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION OR A STRETCHING CONTROL GROUP. AT BASELINE AND FOLLOWING 8 WEEKS, ALL PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED MEASURES OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, SELF-REPORTED STRESS AND ANXIETY AND PROVIDED SALIVA SAMPLES BEFORE AND AFTER COGNITIVE TESTING TO ASSESS CORTISOL. RESULTS: YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED IMPROVED ACCURACY ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION MEASURES AND AN ATTENUATED CORTISOL RESPONSE COMPARED TO THEIR STRETCHING COUNTERPARTS WHO SHOWED INCREASED CORTISOL LEVELS AND POOR COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AT FOLLOW UP. THE CHANGE IN CORTISOL LEVELS AS WELL AS SELF-REPORTED STRESS AND ANXIETY LEVELS PREDICTED PERFORMANCE ON THE RUNNING SPAN TASK, N-BACK WORKING MEMORY AND TASK SWITCHING PARADIGM (BETA'S=0.27-0.38, P'S