1  389 138 BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS. BACKGROUND: THE NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN (AA) PATIENTS LIVING WITH HEART FAILURE (HF) HAS BEEN INCREASING, ESPECIALLY AMONG THE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. YOGA THERAPY HAS BEEN FOUND TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AMONG HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, BUT ITS EFFECT IN PATIENTS WITH HF REMAINS UNKNOWN. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA THERAPY ON CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE (VO2PEAK), FLEXIBILITY, QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS ON MEDICALLY STABLE HF PATIENTS. METHODS: FORTY PATIENTS (38 AA, 1 ASIAN, AND 1 CAUCASIAN) WITH SYSTOLIC OR DIASTOLIC HF WERE RANDOMIZED TO THE YOGA GROUP (YG, N = 21) OR THE CONTROL GROUP (CG, N = 19). ALL PATIENTS WERE ASKED TO FOLLOW A HOME WALK PROGRAM. PREMEASUREMENT AND POSTMEASUREMENT INCLUDED A TREADMILL STRESS TEST TO PEAK EXERTION, FLEXIBILITY, INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6), C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP), AND EXTRACELLULAR SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE (EC-SOD). QOL WAS ASSESSED BY THE MINNESOTA LIVING WITH HEART FAILURE QUESTIONNAIRE (MLWHFQ). RESULTS: THE STATISTICAL ANALYSES (ASSESSED BY ANOVA AND T-TESTS) WERE SIGNIFICANT FOR FAVORABLE CHANGES IN THE YG, COMPARED WITH THOSE IN THE CG, FOR FLEXIBILITY (P = 0.012), TREADMILL TIME (P = 0.002), VO2PEAK (P = 0.003), AND THE BIOMARKERS (IL-6, P = 0.004; CRP, P = 0.016; AND EC-SOD, P = 0.012). WITHIN THE YG, PRETEST TO POSTTEST SCORES FOR THE TOTAL (P = 0.02) AND PHYSICAL SUBSCALES (P < 0.001) OF THE MLWHFQ WERE IMPROVED. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA THERAPY OFFERED ADDITIONAL BENEFITS TO THE STANDARD MEDICAL CARE OF PREDOMINANTLY AA HF PATIENTS BY IMPROVING CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE, QOL, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND FLEXIBILITY.	2010	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
2 1789  31 PRELIMINARY INDICATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF A BRIEF YOGA INTERVENTION ON MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION AND DNA METHYLATION IN CHRONICALLY STRESSED WOMEN. YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED STRESS AND INCREASED WELL-BEING, ALTHOUGH THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR THESE BENEFITS IS NOT CLEAR. MOUNTING EVIDENCE IMPLICATES THE IMMUNE RESPONSE, WITH CURRENT STUDIES FOCUSED ON PROTEIN IMMUNE MARKERS (SUCH AS CYTOKINES) IN CLINICAL POPULATIONS. TO EXPLORE THE MOLECULAR IMPACT, THIS PILOT STUDY USES A SUBSAMPLE (N=28) FROM A RANDOMISED WAITLIST CONTROL TRIAL INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION IN A COMMUNITY POPULATION OF WOMEN REPORTING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS (N=116). WE MEASURED INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6), TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF) AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP) PROTEIN LEVELS, AND THE DNA METHYLATION OF THESE GENES AND THE GLOBAL INDICATOR, LINE-1. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THESE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES WERE EXPLORED, IDENTIFYING MODERATE CORRELATIONS WITH CRP PROTEIN LEVELS, AND METHYLATION OF IL-6, CRP AND LINE-1. MANY CYTOKINE SAMPLES WERE BELOW DETECTION, HOWEVER A MANN-WHITNEY U DEMONSTRATED A TREND OF MODERATE BETWEEN-GROUP EFFECT FOR ELEVATED IL-6 IN THE YOGA GROUP. METHYLATION ANALYSES APPLIED CROSS-SECTIONAL AND NON-CONTROLLED LONGITUDINAL ANALYSES. WAIST-TO-HEIGHT RATIO AND AGE WERE COVARIED. WE DEMONSTRATED REDUCED METHYLATION OF THE TNF REGION IN THE YOGA GROUP RELATIVE TO THE WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. NO OTHER GENES DEMONSTRATED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE. LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS FURTHER SUPPORTED THESE RESULTS. THIS STUDY IS ONE OF THE FIRST TO EXPLORE YOGA AND IMMUNOLOGICAL MARKERS IN A NON-CLINICAL POPULATION, AND IS THE FIRST STUDY TO EXPLORE DNA METHYLATION. THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT FURTHER RESEARCH INTO MOLECULAR IMPACT OF YOGA ON MARKERS OF IMMUNE FUNCTION IS WARRANTED, WITH LARGER STUDIES REQUIRED.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
3 1018  39 EFFECTS OF SIX MONTHS OF YOGA ON INFLAMMATORY SERUM MARKERS PROGNOSTIC OF RECURRENCE RISK IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. YOGA-BASED EXERCISE HAS PROVEN TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR PRACTITIONERS, INCLUDING CANCER SURVIVORS. THIS STUDY REPORTS ON THE EFFECT ON INFLAMMATORY BIOLOGICAL MARKERS FOR 20 BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WHO PARTICIPATED IN A SIX-MONTH YOGA-BASED (YE) EXERCISE PROGRAM. RESULTS ARE COMPARED TO A COMPREHENSIVE EXERCISE (CE) PROGRAM GROUP AND A COMPARISON (C) EXERCISE GROUP WHO CHOSE THEIR OWN EXERCISES. "PRE" AND "POST" ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED MEASURES OF ANTHROPOMETRICS, CARDIORESPIRATORY CAPACITY, AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS INTERLEUKIN 6 (IL-6), INTERLEUKIN 8 (IL-8), TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNFALPHA) AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP). DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS, EFFECT SIZE (D), AND DEPENDENT SAMPLE 'T' TESTS FOR ALL OUTCOME MEASURES WERE CALCULATED FOR THE YE GROUP. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE SEEN IN DECREASED % BODY FAT, (-3.00%, D = -0.44, P = <.001) BUT NOT IN CARDIORESPIRATORY CAPACITY OR IN INFLAMMATORY SERUM MARKERS. TO COMPARE YE OUTCOMES WITH THE OTHER TWO GROUPS, A ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF CO-VARIANCE (ANCOVA) WAS USED, CONTROLLING FOR AGE, BMI, CARDIORESPIRATORY CAPACITY AND SERUM MARKER BASELINE VALUES. WE FOUND NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS. MOREOVER, WE DID NOT SEE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ANY INFLAMMATORY MARKER FOR ANY GROUP. OUR RESULTS SUPPORT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA-BASED EXERCISE MODIFIED FOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS FOR IMPROVING BODY COMPOSITION. LARGER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO DETERMINE IF THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN INFLAMMATORY SERUM MARKERS AS A RESULT OF SPECIFIC EXERCISE MODALITIES.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
4  881  41 EFFECT OF YOGA TRAINING ON INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN EMPLOYEES OF SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY INTENDS TO SEE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICES ON LIPID PROFILE, INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6, TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF)-ALPHA, AND HIGH-SENSITIVITY-C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (HS-CRP) AMONG APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADULTS EXPOSED TO OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THE PRESENT STUDY, 48 PARTICIPANTS AGED 30-58 YEARS (41.5 +/- 5.2) WHO WERE EXPOSED TO OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS, THAT IS, EXPERIMENTAL AND WAIT-LIST CONTROL. ALL THE PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED FOR LIPID PROFILE, IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND HS-CRP AT THE BASELINE AND AFTER COMPLETION OF 3 MONTHS OF YOGA TRAINING INTERVENTION. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP UNDERWENT YOGA TRAINING INTERVENTION FOR 1 H FOR 6 DAYS A WEEK FOR 3 MONTHS, WHEREAS CONTROL GROUP CONTINUED WITH THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES EXCEPT YOGA TRAINING. DATA ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING STATISTICAL SOFTWARE SPSS VERSION 20.0. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING PAIRED T-TESTS AND INDEPENDENT T-TEST. RESULTS: THE RESULTS OF WITHIN GROUP COMPARISON REVEALED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CHOLESTEROL (P < 0.001), HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (P < 0.001), LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (LDL)(P < 0.01), HS-CRP (P < 0.01), IL-6 (P < 0.001), AND TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.001) IN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. COMPARISON BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUP REVEALED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CHOLESTEROL (P < 0.01), LDL (P < 0.05), IL-6 (P < 0.01), TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.01), AND HS-CRP (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION SEEMS TO BE A HIGHLY PROMISING ALTERNATIVE THERAPY WHICH FAVORABLY ALTERS INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND METABOLIC RISK FACTORS.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
5  859  30 EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON LEVELS OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AFTER MODERATE AND STRENUOUS EXERCISE. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE AND EXERCISE CHALLENGE ON TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6) LEVELS AND LIPID PROFILE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN SUBJECTS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. ONE HUNDRED AND NINE VOLUNTEERS (51 MALES AND 58 FEMALES) IN THE AGE GROUP OF 20 TO 60 YEARS, WHO PRACTICED YOGA REGULARLY FOR OVER FIVE YEARS FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HOUR DAILY, PERFORMED A BOUT OF MODERATE EXERCISE AND A BOUT OF STRENUOUS EXERCISE AS PER STANDARDIZED SHUTTLE WALK TEST PROTOCOL. ANTHROPOMETRICALLY MATCHED, AGE MATCHED AND GENDER MATCHED SUBJECTS, WHO DID NOT PRACTICE YOGA (NON-YOGA GROUP) WERE CHOSEN AS CONTROLS (NON-YOGA, N=109). THE NON-YOGA GROUP ALSO PERFORMED SIMILAR EXERCISES. THE BLOOD SAMPLES OF BOTH THE GROUPS WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISES. TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 WAS ANALYSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE EXERCISE BY SANDWICH ELISA (ENZYME LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY). RESULTS: RESTING PLASMA TNF-ALPHA CONCENTRATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN NON-YOGA GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO YOGA GROUP (P<0.05). THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN TNF-ALPHA LEVELS IN BOTH THE GROUPS IN RESPONSE TO STRENUOUS EXERCISE. THERE WAS NO GENDER DIFFERENCE IN TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 LEVELS BEFORE AND AFTER EXERCISE IN YOGA AND NON-YOGA GROUPS. CONCLUSION: REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA LOWERS BASAL TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 LEVELS. IT ALSO REDUCES THE EXTENT OF INCREASE OF TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 TO A PHYSICAL CHALLENGE OF MODERATE EXERCISE AND STRENUOUS EXERCISE. THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT GENDER DIFFERENCE IN THE TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 LEVELS. REGULAR PRACTICE OF YOGA CAN PROTECT THE INDIVIDUAL AGAINST INFLAMMATORY DISEASES BY FAVOURABLY ALTERING PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE LEVELS.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
6 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	
                                                                                                    
7 2836  36 YOGA'S IMPACT ON INFLAMMATION, MOOD, AND FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PURPOSE: TO EVALUATE YOGA'S IMPACT ON INFLAMMATION, MOOD, AND FATIGUE. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED 3-MONTH TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED WITH TWO POST-TREATMENT ASSESSMENTS OF 200 BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS ASSIGNED TO EITHER 12 WEEKS OF 90-MINUTE TWICE PER WEEK HATHA YOGA CLASSES OR A WAIT-LIST CONTROL. THE MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES WERE LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-STIMULATED PRODUCTION OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6), TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), AND INTERLEUKIN-1BETA (IL-1BETA), AND SCORES ON THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL FATIGUE SYMPTOM INVENTORY-SHORT FORM (MFSI-SF), THE VITALITY SCALE FROM THE MEDICAL OUTCOMES STUDY 36-ITEM SHORT FORM (SF-36), AND THE CENTER FOR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES-DEPRESSION (CES-D) SCALE. RESULTS: IMMEDIATELY POST-TREATMENT, FATIGUE WAS NOT LOWER (P > .05) BUT VITALITY WAS HIGHER (P = .01) IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. AT 3 MONTHS POST-TREATMENT, FATIGUE WAS LOWER IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = .002), VITALITY WAS HIGHER (P = .01), AND IL-6 (P = .027), TNF-ALPHA (P = .027), AND IL-1BETA (P = .037) WERE LOWER FOR YOGA PARTICIPANTS COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER ON DEPRESSION AT EITHER TIME (P > .2). PLANNED SECONDARY ANALYSES SHOWED THAT THE FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE HAD STRONGER ASSOCIATIONS WITH FATIGUE AT BOTH POST-TREATMENT VISITS (P = .019; P < .001), AS WELL AS VITALITY (P = .016; P = .0045), BUT NOT DEPRESSION (P > .05) THAN SIMPLE GROUP ASSIGNMENT; MORE FREQUENT PRACTICE PRODUCED LARGER CHANGES. AT 3 MONTHS POST-TREATMENT, INCREASING YOGA PRACTICE ALSO LED TO A DECREASE IN IL-6 (P = .01) AND IL-1BETA (P = .03) PRODUCTION BUT NOT IN TNF-ALPHA PRODUCTION (P > .05). CONCLUSION: CHRONIC INFLAMMATION MAY FUEL DECLINES IN PHYSICAL FUNCTION LEADING TO FRAILTY AND DISABILITY. IF YOGA DAMPENS OR LIMITS BOTH FATIGUE AND INFLAMMATION, THEN REGULAR PRACTICE COULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
8 2768  43 YOGA REDUCES INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING IN FATIGUED BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A POPULAR MIND-BODY THERAPY THAT HAS DEMONSTRATED BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES. HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED EFFECTS ON INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES. THIS STUDY TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT AN IYENGAR YOGA INTERVENTION SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR FATIGUED BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WOULD LEAD TO DECREASES IN INFLAMMATION-RELATED GENE EXPRESSION AND CIRCULATING MARKERS OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE ACTIVITY. METHODS: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE WERE RANDOMIZED TO A 12-WEEK IYENGAR YOGA INTERVENTION (N=16) OR A 12-WEEK HEALTH EDUCATION CONTROL CONDITION (N=15). BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED AT BASELINE, POST-INTERVENTION, AND AT A 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP FOR GENOME-WIDE TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROFILING AND BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSES. PLASMA INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND SALIVARY CORTISOL WERE ALSO ASSESSED. RESULTS: IN PROMOTER-BASED BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSES, THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED REDUCED ACTIVITY OF THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPA B (NF-KAPPAB), INCREASED ACTIVITY OF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR, AND REDUCED ACTIVITY OF CAMP RESPONSE ELEMENT-BINDING PROTEIN (CREB) FAMILY TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS RELATIVE TO CONTROLS (ALL PS<.05). THERE WAS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT INTERVENTION EFFECT ON THE SOLUBLE TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR RECEPTOR TYPE II (STNF-RII), A MARKER OF TNF ACTIVITY; PLASMA LEVELS OF STNF-RII REMAINED STABLE IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHEREAS LEVELS OF THIS MARKER INCREASED IN THE HEALTH EDUCATION GROUP (P=.028). A SIMILAR, NON-SIGNIFICANT TREND WAS OBSERVED FOR THE INTERLEUKIN 1 RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST (P=.16). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN C REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP), INTERLEUKIN 6 (IL-6), OR DIURNAL CORTISOL MEASURES WERE OBSERVED. CONCLUSIONS: A 12-WEEK RESTORATIVE IYENGAR YOGA INTERVENTION REDUCED INFLAMMATION-RELATED GENE EXPRESSION IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT FATIGUE. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT A TARGETED YOGA PROGRAM MAY HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY IN THIS PATIENT POPULATION, WITH POTENTIAL RELEVANCE FOR BEHAVIORAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
9  392  30 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
10 2001  31 STRESS, INFLAMMATION, AND YOGA PRACTICE. OBJECTIVE: TO ADDRESS THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HATHA YOGA'S POTENTIAL STRESS-REDUCTION BENEFITS, WE COMPARED INFLAMMATORY AND ENDOCRINE RESPONSES OF NOVICE AND EXPERT YOGA PRACTITIONERS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A RESTORATIVE HATHA YOGA SESSION, AS WELL AS IN TWO CONTROL CONDITIONS. STRESSORS BEFORE EACH OF THE THREE CONDITIONS PROVIDED DATA ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH YOGA SPEEDED AN INDIVIDUAL'S PHYSIOLOGICAL RECOVERY. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 50 HEALTHY WOMEN (MEAN AGE, 41.32 YEARS; RANGE, 30-65 YEARS), 25 NOVICES AND 25 EXPERTS, WERE EXPOSED TO EACH OF THE CONDITIONS (YOGA, MOVEMENT CONTROL, AND PASSIVE-VIDEO CONTROL) DURING THREE SEPARATE VISITS. RESULTS: THE YOGA SESSION BOOSTED PARTICIPANTS' POSITIVE AFFECT COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL CONDITIONS, BUT NO OVERALL DIFFERENCES IN INFLAMMATORY OR ENDOCRINE RESPONSES WERE UNIQUE TO THE YOGA SESSION. IMPORTANTLY, EVEN THOUGH NOVICES AND EXPERTS DID NOT DIFFER ON KEY DIMENSIONS, INCLUDING AGE, ABDOMINAL ADIPOSITY, AND CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS, NOVICES' SERUM INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6 LEVELS WERE 41% HIGHER THAN THOSE OF EXPERTS ACROSS SESSIONS, AND THE ODDS OF A NOVICE HAVING DETECTABLE C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP) WERE 4.75 TIMES AS HIGH AS THAT OF AN EXPERT. DIFFERENCES IN STRESS RESPONSES BETWEEN EXPERTS AND NOVICES PROVIDED ONE PLAUSIBLE MECHANISM FOR THEIR DIVERGENT SERUM IL-6 DATA; EXPERTS PRODUCED LESS LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-STIMULATED IL-6 IN RESPONSE TO THE STRESSOR THAN NOVICES, AND IL-6 PROMOTES CRP PRODUCTION. CONCLUSION: THE ABILITY TO MINIMIZE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES TO STRESSFUL ENCOUNTERS INFLUENCES THE BURDEN THAT STRESSORS PLACE ON AN INDIVIDUAL. IF YOGA DAMPENS OR LIMITS STRESS-RELATED CHANGES, THEN REGULAR PRACTICE COULD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS.	2010	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
11  508  28 COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF A 12 WEEK YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION AND DIETARY INTERVENTION ON ADIPOKINES, INFLAMMATION, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN ADULTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. THE PRESENT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) EVALUATED THE COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF 12 WEEK YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YBLI) AND DIETARY INTERVENTION (DI) ALONE ON ADIPOKINES, INFLAMMATION, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN INDIAN ADULTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME (MET S). A PARALLEL, TWO ARM, RCT WAS CONDUCTED IN INTEGRAL HEALTH CLINIC (IHC), ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, INDIA FROM 2012 TO 2014. IHC IS AN OUTPATIENT FACILITY CONDUCTING YBLI PROGRAMS FOR PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES. TWO HUNDRED SIXTY MEN AND WOMEN (20-45 YEARS) VISITING THE OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL WERE DIAGNOSED WITH MET S AND RANDOMIZED 1:1 TO RECEIVE 12 WEEK YBLI (N = 130) OR DI (N = 130). PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE CHANGE IN PLASMA LEVELS OF ADIPOKINES (LEPTIN, ADIPONECTIN, AND LEPTIN:ADIPONECTIN RATIO), MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION (TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR [TNF]-ALPHA, INTERLEUKIN [IL]-6), MARKERS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS (THIOBARBITURIC ACID REACTIVE SUBSTANCES [TBARS], 8-HYDROXY-2'-DEOXYGUANOSINE [8-OHDG], AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE [SOD]) MEASURED AT BASELINE, 2 WEEKS, AND 12 WEEKS. YBLI GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN LEPTIN, LEPTIN:ADIPONECTIN RATIO, IL-6, 8-OHDG, AND TBARS LEVELS, WHEREAS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ADIPONECTIN AND SOD LEVELS. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTICED IN DI ALONE GROUP. YBLI SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER REDUCTION IN TBARS LEVELS THAN IN DI GROUP, SUGGESTIVE OF REDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS IN ADULTS WITH MET S. A 12 WEEK YBLI HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OXIDATIVE STRESS VERSUS DI ALONE IN ADULTS WITH MET S.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
12    2  31 "A STUDY PROTOCOL FOR A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL ON THE EFFICACY OF YOGA AS AN ADJUVANT THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS AMIDST COVID-19 PANDEMIC". BACKGROUND: AMIDST THE ADVERSITIES OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC, THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM HAS SEEN A NEW PARADIGM SHIFT TOWARDS E-HEALTH SERVICES. IN THE ADVENT OF CATERING TO THE GEOMETRICALLY INCREASING HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THE PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM VARIOUS CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS WHEN IN SOCIAL ISOLATION, THE NEED FOR THE SHIFT SEEMS TO BE PARAMOUNT. PATIENTS WITH ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS UNDER IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS AND VARIABLE DEGREES OF DISABILITIES ARE AT HIGHER RISK. THIS STUDY AIMS TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF E-YOGA AS A TREATMENT OPTION FOR THESE PATIENTS IN NEED. METHODS: THIS IS A SINGLE-CENTER, PARALLEL-GROUP PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED, OPEN-BLINDED END-POINT TRIAL. PATIENTS AGED BETWEEN 30 TO 50 YEARS WILL BE RECRUITED FROM THE MEMBERS OF ANTARDHWANI: A SOCIETY OF ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS, AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT. THE YOGA EXPERTS WILL ADMINISTER A SCIENTIFICALLY DEVELOPED AND VALIDATED YOGA MODULE VIA E-YOGA MODALITIES. A TOTAL OF 135 PATIENTS WILL BE RECRUITED AND RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. DATA WILL BE RECORDED AT BASELINE AND THREE MONTHS ON DISEASE ACTIVITY, DEGREE OF FUNCTIONAL LIMITATIONS IN PATIENTS, QUALITY OF LIFE, INFLAMMATORY BIOMARKERS, DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY USING BATH AS DISEASE ACTIVITY INDEX (BASDAI), BATH AS FUNCTIONAL INDEX(BASFI), AS QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX(ASQOL), C REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP), ERYTHROCYTE SEDIMENTATION RATE (ESR), PHYSICAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE-4 (PHQ-4), RESPECTIVELY. DISCUSSION: THE STUDY WILL REPORT THE EFFICACY OF E-YOGA IN CATERING TO THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL INSUFFICIENCIES OF INPATIENTS WITH ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS AMIDST COVID 19 PANDEMIC. THE STUDY IS PROSPECTIVELY REGISTERED IN THE CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY OF INDIA (CTRI/2020/08/027215).	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
13 1066  60 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON INFLAMMATION AND EXERCISE CAPACITY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE. BACKGROUND: DESPITE RECENT ADVANCES IN PHARMACOLOGIC AND DEVICE THERAPY, MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY FROM HEART FAILURE (HF) REMAIN HIGH. YOGA COMBINES PHYSICAL AND BREATHING EXERCISES THAT MAY BENEFIT PATIENTS WITH HF. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT AN 8-WEEK REGIMEN OF YOGA IN ADDITION TO STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY WOULD IMPROVE EXERCISE CAPACITY, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN PATIENTS WITH HF. METHODS AND RESULTS: NEW YORK HEART ASSOCIATION CLASS I-III HF PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO YOGA TREATMENT (YT) OR STANDARD MEDICAL THERAPY (MT). MEASUREMENTS INCLUDED A GRADED EXERCISE TEST (GXT) TO V O(2PEAK) AND THE FOLLOWING SERUM BIOMARKERS: INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6), HIGH-SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (HSCRP), AND EXTRACELLULAR SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE (EC-SOD). THE MINNESOTA LIVING WITH HEART FAILURE QUESTIONNAIRE (MLHFQ) WAS ADMINISTERED TO ASSESS CHANGES IN QOL. A TOTAL OF 19 PATIENTS WERE ENROLLED AFTER THE INITIAL SCREENING. OF THE 19 PATIENTS, 9 WERE RANDOMIZED TO YT AND 10 TO MT. PATIENTS HAD A MEAN EF OF 25%. GXT TIME AND V O(2PEAK) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED IN THE YT VERSUS MT GROUPS (+18% IN THE YT AND -7.5% IN MT; P = .03 VS. CONTROL AND +17 IN YT AND -7.1 IN MT; P = .02, RESPECTIVELY). THERE WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN SERUM LEVELS OF IL-6 AND HSCRP AND AN INCREASE IN EC-SOD IN THE YT GROUP (ALL P < .005 VS. MT). MLHFQ SCORES IMPROVED BY 25.7% IN THE YT GROUP AND BY 2.9% IN THE MT GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA IMPROVED EXERCISE TOLERANCE AND POSITIVELY AFFECTED LEVELS OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN PATIENTS WITH HF, AND THERE WAS ALSO A TREND TOWARD IMPROVEMENTS IN QOL.	2008	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
14  798  49 EFFECT OF YOGA LIFESTYLE IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: IN SPITE OF SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HEART FAILURE (HF), MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY REMAIN HIGH. THEREFORE, THERE IS A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES. WE DID A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL TO STUDY EFFECT OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH HF IN TERMS OF QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), LEFT VENTRICLE EJECTION FRACTION (LVEF), C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP), AND NTPROBNP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 60 PATIENTS WITH STABLE HF NEW YORK HEART ASSOCIATION CLASS II WITH LVEF 30%-40% WERE RANDOMIZED INTO CONTROL GROUP (CG) AND YOGA GROUP (YG). CG RECEIVED THE GUIDELINE-BASED THERAPY AND YG IN ADDITION PRACTICED THE YOGA, ONE HOUR DAILY FOR 3 MONTHS. ALL PATIENTS WERE ASSESSED FOR QOL, CRP, NTPROBNP, AND LVEF AT BASELINE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS. RESULTS: A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED IN ALL FOUR PARAMETERS IN THE YG AS COMPARED TO THE CG (P < 0.01) AFTER 12 WEEKS. QOL AS ASSESSED BY MINNESOTA LIVING WITH HEART FAILURE QUESTIONNAIRE SCORE IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY IN YG AS COMPARED TO CG (10 V/S 14, P < 0.001). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WITHIN YG IN TERMS OF LVEF (33.4-36.8, P = 0.001), AND THE PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN LVEF WAS SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN THE GROUPS (10% V/S 5%, P = 0.001). NTPROBNP ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED BY 69.8% FROM 755 TO 220 PMOL/L IN YG AS COMPARED TO 39.3% IN CG (679-406 PMOL/L). CRP DECREASED BY 49.3% (5.36-2.73 MG/L) IN YG AND 35.8% (5.39-3.45 MG/L) IN CG. CONCLUSION: THE RESULT OF THIS PILOT STUDY SUGGESTS THAT ADDITION OF YOGA TO GUIDELINE-BASED THERAPY FOR HF PATIENTS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES QOL, LVEF, AND NTPROBNP AND REDUCES CRP LEVEL. LARGER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE FINDINGS.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
15  828  32 EFFECT OF YOGA ON LIPID PROFILE AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN WOMEN. BACKGROUND: FEW SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED ABOUT THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON BIOCHEMICAL VARIABLES SUCH AS TOTAL CHOLESTEROL (TC), HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL (HDL-C), LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL (LDL-C), TRIGLYCERIDE (TG), AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP) TO LAY A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION REGARDING BENEFITS OF YOGA, BUT ITS EFFECT IS NOT CLEARLY DETECTED YET. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON LIPID PROFILE AND CRP IN WOMEN. METHODS: THIS RESEARCH WAS DESIGNED AS AN INTERVENTIONAL STUDY. AFTER REVIEWING INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA, SELECTED BIOCHEMICAL VARIABLES SUCH AS TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, TG, AND CRP WERE MEASURED FOR EACH PARTICIPANT. YOGA INSTRUCTION WAS DONE THREE TIMES A WEEK FOR 26 WEEKS BY AN EXPERIENCED YOGA INSTRUCTOR. AFTER 26 WEEKS OF YOGA INTERVENTION, THE ABOVE-MENTIONED DEPENDENT VARIABLES WERE ASSESSED. SPSS VER. 16 WAS USED FOR DATA ANALYSIS. RESULTS: AFTER A 26-WEEK FOLLOW-UP FOR PARTICIPANTS, ONLY 24 WOMEN HAD THE NECESSARY CRITERIA TO BE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. THE MEAN TG WAS 157.33 +/- 68.416 MG/DL AND 134.33 +/- 58.80 MG/DL BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P = 0.108), RESPECTIVELY. THE MEAN TC WAS 234.83 +/- 48.47 MG/DL AND 183.33 +/- 55.09 MG/DL BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P = 0.014), RESPECTIVELY. THE MEAN HDL-C WAS 31.58 +/- 14.22 MG/DL AND 38.25 +/- 13.5 MG/DL BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P = 0.118), RESPECTIVELY. THE MEAN LDL-C WAS 171.75 +/- 42.69 MG/DL AND 142.91 +/- 36.4 MG/DL BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P = 0.030), RESPECTIVELY. THE MEAN CRP WAS 0.57 +/- 0.22 MG/L AND 0.71 +/- 0.77 MG/L BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION (P = 0.779), RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULT SHOWED THAT YOGA REDUCED TC AND LDL-C SIGNIFICANTLY, BUT HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON TG, HDL-C, AND CRP.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
16  871  47 EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY ON DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. BACKGROUND: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS AN IMMUNE-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY DISEASE. ANTIRHEUMATOID TREATMENT REDUCES DISEASE ACTIVITY AND INFLAMMATION, BUT NOT ALL PATIENTS RESPOND TO TREATMENT. AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION IS COMMON IN RA LEADING TO FREQUENT CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS. YOGA THERAPY MAY BE USEFUL IN THESE PATIENTS, BUT THERE ARE LITTLE DATA ON THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV). OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF 12-WEEK YOGA THERAPY ON DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, AND HRV IN PATIENTS WITH RA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED ON NEWLY DIAGNOSED RA PATIENTS ATTENDING OUTPATIENT SERVICES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY, JIPMER. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: THE CONTROL GROUP (CG) (N = 83) AND YOGA GROUP (YG) (N = 83). YOGA THERAPY WAS ADMINISTERED TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE YG FOR 12 WEEKS, ALONG WITH STANDARD MEDICAL TREATMENT. THE CG RECEIVED ONLY STANDARD MEDICAL TREATMENT. PRIMARY OUTCOMES WERE DISEASE ACTIVITY SCORE 28, INTERLEUKIN-1ALPHA (IL-1ALPHA), IL-6, TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), CORTISOL, AND HRV PARAMETERS. ALL PARAMETERS WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS. RESULTS: DISEASE ACTIVITY SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN BOTH GROUPS AFTER 12 WEEKS, BUT IT WAS REDUCED MORE IN YG, WHICH WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.05). IN BOTH YG AND CG, IL-1ALPHA, IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND CORTISOL DECREASED AFTER 12 WEEKS, BUT IL-1ALPHA AND CORTISOL DECREASED MORE SIGNIFICANTLY IN YG THAN IN CG. LOW-FREQUENCY COMPONENT EXPRESSED AS NORMALIZED UNIT (LFNU) AND THE LOW-FREQUENCY/HIGH-FREQUENCY (LF-HF) RATIO DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, AND TOTAL POWER AND HF COMPONENT EXPRESSED AS NORMALIZED UNIT (HFNU) INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE YG COMPARED WITH CG. CONCLUSION: TWELVE-WEEK YOGA THERAPY, IF GIVEN ALONG WITH STANDARD MEDICAL TREATMENT, SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES DISEASE ACTIVITY AND IMPROVES SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE IN RA PATIENTS.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
17 2072  45 THE EFFECT OF A SIX-WEEK PROGRAM OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON BRACHIAL ARTERY REACTIVITY: DO PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONS AFFECT VASCULAR TONE? BACKGROUND: CHRONIC STRESS IS ESTIMATED TO INCREASE THE RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR (CV) EVENTS TWO-FOLD. ALTHOUGH STRESS REDUCTION HAS BEEN LINKED TO A REDUCTION IN CV EVENTS, LITTLE IS KNOWN REGARDING ITS EXACT MECHANISM OF BENEFIT. HYPOTHESIS: YOGA AND MEDITATION WILL IMPROVE PARAMETERS OF ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION. METHODS: WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON HEMODYNAMIC AND LABORATORY PARAMETERS AS WELL AS ON ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN A 6-WEEK PILOT STUDY. SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES, HEART RATE, BODY MASS INDEX (BMI), FASTING GLUCOSE, LIPIDS, HS C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP), AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION (AS ASSESSED BY BRACHIAL ARTERY REACTIVITY) WERE ALL STUDIED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 6 WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE. RESULTS: A COURSE IN YOGA AND MEDITATION WAS GIVEN TO THE SUBJECTS FOR 1.5 H THREE TIMES WEEKLY FOR 6 WEEKS AND SUBJECTS WERE INSTRUCTED TO CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS AT HOME. THIS PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY INCLUDED 33 SUBJECTS (MEAN AGE 55 +/- 11 YEARS) BOTH WITH (30%) AND WITHOUT (70%) ESTABLISHED CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE (CAD). THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART RATE, AND BMI IN THE TOTAL COHORT WITH YOGA. NONE OF THE LABORATORY PARAMETERS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH YOGA. FOR THE TOTAL COHORT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ENDOTHELIAL-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION WITH YOGA TRAINING AND MEDITATION COMPARED WITH BASELINE (16.7% RELATIVE IMPROVEMENT FROM 7.2-8.4%; P = 0.3). IN THE GROUP WITH CAD, ENDOTHELIAL-DEPENDENT VASODILATATION IMPROVED 69% WITH YOGA TRAINING (6.38-10.78%; P = 0.09). CONCLUSION: YOGA AND MEDITATION APPEAR TO IMPROVE ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN SUBJECTS WITH CAD.	2006	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
18 2635  35 YOGA FOR TREATING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. PURPOSE: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A PERVASIVE INFLAMMATORY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE THAT SERIOUSLY IMPAIRS HUMAN HEALTH AND REQUIRES MORE EFFECTIVE NON-PHARMACOLOGIC TREATMENT APPROACHES. THIS STUDY AIMS TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF YOGA FOR PATIENTS WITH RA. METHODS: MEDLINE (THROUGH PUBMED), COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE (THROUGH SCOPUS), AND WEB OF SCIENCE DATABASE WERE SCREENED THROUGH FOR ARTICLES PUBLISHED UNTIL 20 JULY 2020. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS (RCTS) OF YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH RA WERE INCLUDED. OUTCOMES MEASURES WERE PAIN, PHYSICAL FUNCTION, DISEASE ACTIVITY, INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, AND GRIP STRENGTH. FOR EACH OUTCOME, STANDARDIZED MEAN DIFFERENCES (SMD) AND 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (CI) WERE CALCULATED. RESULT: TEN TRIALS INCLUDING 840 PATIENTS WITH RA AGED 30-70 YEARS WERE IDENTIFIED, WITH 86% FEMALE PARTICIPANTS. META-ANALYSIS REVEALED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT OVERALL EFFECT IN FAVOR OF YOGA FOR PHYSICAL FUNCTION (HAQ-DI) (5 RCTS; SMD = -0.32, 95% CI -0.58 TO -0.05, I (2) = 15%, P = 0.02), DISEASE ACTIVITY (DAS-28) (4 RCTS; SMD = -0.38, 95% CI -0.71 TO -0.06, I (2) = 41%, P = 0.02) AND GRIP STRENGTH (2 RCTS; SMD = 1.30, 95% CI 0.47-2.13, I (2) = 63%, P = 0.002). NO EFFECTS WERE FOUND FOR PAIN, TENDER JOINTS, SWOLLEN JOINTS COUNT OR INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (I.E., CRP, ESR, IL-6, AND TNF-ALPHA). SUMMARY: THE FINDINGS OF THIS META-ANALYSIS INDICATE THAT YOGA MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR IMPROVING PHYSICAL FUNCTION, DISEASE ACTIVITY, AND GRIP STRENGTH IN PATIENTS WITH RA. HOWEVER, THE BALANCE OF EVIDENCE SHOWED THAT YOGA HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT IN IMPROVING PAIN, TENDER JOINTS, SWOLLEN JOINTS COUNT, AND INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM RA. CONSIDERING METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS, SMALL SAMPLE SIZE, AND LOW-QUALITY, WE DRAW A VERY CAUTIOUS CONCLUSION IN THE RESULTS OF THE ESTIMATE OF THE EFFECT. HIGH-QUALITY AND LARGE-SCALE RCTS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED IN THE FUTURE, AND THE REAL RESULT MAY BE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
19  324  19 ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND CLINICAL PARAMETERS IN CLIMACTERIC YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMED TO EVALUATE ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND CLINICAL PARAMETERS IN CLIMACTERIC YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED 108 CLIMACTERIC WOMEN. WE RECRUITED 28 WOMEN BETWEEN 40 AND 65 YEARS OLD WHO STARTED YOGA PRACTICES IN PREMENOPAUSE AND HAD ALREADY PRACTICED FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS. AS CONTROLS, WE SELECTED 30 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (PA) PRACTITIONERS WHO HAD PRACTICED FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS AND 50 SEDENTARY WOMEN IN THE SAME AGE RANGE. WE CONDUCED ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS. RESULTS: THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE THAN THE PA PRACTITIONERS AND SEDENTARY WOMEN. YOGA PRACTITIONERS ALSO HAD LOWER WEIGHT, BODY MASS INDEX, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, BODY FAT PERCENTAGE AND WAIST-TO-HEIGHT RATIO; HIGHER LEVELS OF HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL; LOWER LEVELS OF TRIGLYCERIDES, INSULIN, HOMEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT OF INSULIN RESISTANCE, URIC ACID, APOLIPOPROTEIN B AND HIGH-SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN; AND LOWER FREQUENCY OF METABOLIC SYNDROME, LIPID ACCUMULATION PRODUCT, VISCERAL ADIPOSITY INDEX AND SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE THAN THE SEDENTARY WOMEN. CONCLUSION: YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD LOWER GLUCOSE SERUM CONCENTRATIONS THAN THE PA PRACTITIONERS AND SEDENTARY WOMEN. OVERALL, THE YOGA GROUP ALSO HAD BETTER ANTHROPOMETRIC, BIOCHEMICAL AND CLINICAL VARIABLES THAN THE OTHER GROUPS. ALTHOUGH FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS REQUIRED, YOGA PRACTICE IN PREMENOPAUSE SEEMS TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR WOMEN WHEN THEY REACH MENOPAUSE.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
20  683  42 EFFECT OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE AXIS, DISEASE ACTIVITY, AND PERCEIVED QUALITY OF LIFE IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. VARIOUS EXTERNAL STRESSORS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES LEAD TO THE PROVOCATION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES LIKE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA). THE INAPPROPRIATE IMMUNE RESPONSE FURTHER TRIGGERS THE CASCADE OF INFLAMMATORY CHANGES RESULTING IN PRECIPITATION OF SYMPTOMS AND HAMPERS QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL). THE UNDERLYING PSYCHO-SOMATIC COMPONENT OF THE DISEASE REQUIRES A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ITS TREATMENT DIMENSION RATHER THAN THE USE OF PHARMACOTHERAPY. THE APPLICABILITY OF MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS HAS BECOME ESSENTIAL IN TODAY'S FAST-PACED LIFE. YOGA, A MIND-BODY TECHNIQUE, ALTERS THE MIND'S CAPACITY TO FACILITATE SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONING AT MULTIPLE ORGAN SYSTEM LEVELS. HENCE, WE CONDUCTED THIS STUDY TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF 8 WEEKS OF A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YBLI) ON PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE MARKERS, GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS, AND QOL IN RA PATIENTS ON ROUTINE MEDICAL THERAPY. A TOTAL OF 66 PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: YOGA GROUP OR NON-YOGA GROUP AND WERE ASSESSED FOR A PANEL OF INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (IL-6, IL-17A, TNF-ALPHA, AND TGF-BETA), MIND-BODY COMMUNICATIVE MARKERS (BDNF, DHEAS, BETA-ENDORPHIN, AND SIRTUIN) AND TRANSCRIPT LEVELS OF VARIOUS GENES (IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, NFKB1, TGF-BETA, AND CTLA4). WE ASSESSED DISEASE ACTIVITY AND QOL USING THE DAS28-ESR AND WHOQOL-BREF QUESTIONNAIRE, RESPECTIVELY. YOGA GROUP OBSERVED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LEVELS OF MARKERS, WHICH INFLUENCED THE PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE AXIS (P < 0.001) WITH AN ESTIMATED EFFECT SIZE FROM SMALL TO MEDIUM RANGE. IN THE YOGA GROUP, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DAS28-ESR (P < 0.001) AND IMPROVEMENT SEEN IN THE PHYSICAL HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS DOMAINS (P < 0.001) OF QOL, EXCEPT ENVIRONMENTAL (P > 0.05). THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED DOWNREGULATION OF IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND CTLA4 AND UPREGULATION OF TGF-BETA. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT A DECREASE IN DISEASE ACTIVITY AFTER YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, THE ELEVATION OF MIND-BODY COMMUNICATIVE MARKERS, AND NORMALIZATION OF VARIOUS TRANSCRIPT LEVELS, WHICH IMPROVED QOL. THUS THE ADOPTION OF YBLI IMPROVES CLINICAL OUTCOME IN RA, AND DECREASES SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION BY ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE AXIS AND NORMALIZATION OF DYSREGULATED TRANSCRIPTS. THUS YBLI MAY BE USED FOR RA PATIENTS AS AN ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY.	2020