1 2250 172 THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA ON BLOOD BIOMARKERS, AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: IN A PREVIOUS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, WE FOUND THAT PRACTICING SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA REGULARLY FOR 2 MONTHS IMPROVED THE FATIGUE OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS) WHO ARE RESISTANT TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPY. THE AIM OF THIS PILOT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE POSSIBLE MECHANISMS BEHIND THIS FINDING BY COMPARING BLOOD BIOMARKERS, AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTION, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL INDICES BEFORE VERSUS AFTER AN INTERVENTION PERIOD OF SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA PRACTICE. METHODS: FIFTEEN PATIENTS WITH CFS WHO DID NOT SHOW SATISFACTORY IMPROVEMENTS AFTER AT LEAST 6 MONTHS OF CONVENTIONAL THERAPY PRACTICED SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA (BIWEEKLY 20-MIN SESSIONS WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND DAILY PRACTICE AT HOME) FOR 2 MONTHS. THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE, BLOOD BIOMARKERS, AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE WERE INVESTIGATED BY COMPARING THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD: FATIGUE SEVERITY WAS ASSESSED BY THE CHALDER FATIGUE SCALE (FS) SCORE. LEVELS OF THE BLOOD BIOMARKERS CORTISOL, DHEA-S, TNF-ALPHA, IL-6, PROLACTIN, CARNITINE, TGF-BETA1, BDNF, MHPG, HVA, AND ALPHA-MSH WERE MEASURED. THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTIONS ASSESSED WERE HEART RATE (HR) AND HR VARIABILITY. PSYCHOLOGICAL INDICES INCLUDED THE 20-ITEM TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE (TAS-20) AND THE HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS). RESULTS: PRACTICING SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA FOR 2 MONTHS RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN THE CHALDER FS (P = 0.002) AND HADS-DEPRESSION (P = 0.02) SCORES. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN ANY OTHER PARAMETER EVALUATED. THE CHANGE IN CHALDER FS SCORE WAS NOT CORRELATED WITH THE CHANGE IN HADS-DEPRESSION SCORE. HOWEVER, THIS CHANGE WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH CHANGES IN THE SERUM TNF-ALPHA LEVELS (P = 0.048), THE HIGH FREQUENCY COMPONENT OF HR VARIABILITY (P = 0.042), AND TAS-20 SCORES (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: REGULAR PRACTICE OF SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA FOR 2 MONTHS REDUCED THE FATIGUE AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOM SCORES OF PATIENTS WITH CFS WITHOUT AFFECTING ANY OTHER PARAMETERS WE INVESTIGATED. THIS STUDY FAILED TO IDENTIFY THE MARKERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LONGITUDINAL FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECT OF SEATED ISOMETRIC YOGA. HOWEVER, CONSIDERING THAT THE REDUCED FATIGUE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED SERUM TNF-ALPHA LEVEL AND TAS-20 SCORES, FATIGUE IMPROVEMENT MIGHT BE RELATED TO REDUCED INFLAMMATION AND IMPROVED ALEXITHYMIA IN THESE PATIENTS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) UMIN000009646. REGISTERED DEC 27, 2012.	2019	

2  451 111 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	
                                                                                                                                                  
3  450  82 CHANGES IN CIRCULATING MICRORNA AFTER RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA PRACTICE BY PATIENTS WITH MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME: AN EXPLORATIVE PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A REPRESENTATIVE MIND-BODY THERAPY. OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT ISOMETRIC YOGA (I.E. YOGA PROGRAMS THAT WE DEVELOPED SO INDIVIDUALS CAN PRACTICE YOGA POSES WITH A SELF-ADJUSTABLE ISOMETRIC LOAD) REDUCES THE FATIGUE OF PATIENTS WITH MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (ME/CFS); HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS REMAIN UNCLEAR. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THE MICRO-RIBONUCLEIC ACID (MIRNA) EXPRESSION OF ME/CFS PATIENTS IS DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF HEALTHY SUBJECTS. HOWEVER, IT HAS NOT TO DATE BEEN DETERMINED IF THE PRACTICE OF ISOMETRIC YOGA CAN AFFECT MIRNA EXPRESSION. THEREFORE, WE SOUGHT TO INVESTIGATE IF ISOMETRIC YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF SERUM MIRNA OF PATIENTS WITH ME/CFS. METHODS: THE STUDY INCLUDED NINE PATIENTS WITH ME/CFS WHO FAILED TO SHOW SATISFACTORY IMPROVEMENT AFTER AT LEAST 6 MONTHS OF TREATMENT ADMINISTERED AT OUR HOSPITAL. PATIENTS PRACTICED RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA FOR 3 MONTHS; THEY MET WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR EVERY 2 TO 4 WEEKS AND PARTICIPATED IN DAILY IN-HOME SESSIONS. THE EFFECT OF RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WAS ASSESSED BY COMPARING PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION SCORES ON THE JAPANESE VERSION OF THE 11-ITEM CHALDER FATIGUE SCALE (CFQ 11). PATIENT BLOOD SAMPLES WERE DRAWN PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION, JUST PRIOR TO PRACTICING RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA WITH AN INSTRUCTOR. THE SERUM WAS USED FOR MIRNA ARRAY ANALYSIS WITH KNOWN HUMAN MIRNAS. RESULTS: THE AVERAGE CFQ 11 SCORE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (FROM 25.3 +/- 5.5 TO 17.0 +/- 5.8, P < 0.0001) AFTER PRACTICING RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA FOR 3 MONTHS. THE MIRNA MICROARRAY ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT FOUR MIRNAS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY UPREGULATED, AND 42 WERE DOWNREGULATED AFTER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD. CONCLUSIONS: THIS EXPLORATIVE PILOT STUDY IS THE FIRST TO DEMONSTRATE CHANGES IN THE SERUM LEVELS OF SEVERAL MIRNAS AFTER REGULAR PRACTICE OF RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA. THESE MIRNAS MIGHT REPRESENT BIOMARKERS FOR THE FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECTS OF ISOMETRIC YOGA OF PATIENTS WITH ME/CFS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) 000023472. REGISTERED AUG 4, 2016.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
4 1523  73 ISOMETRIC YOGA IMPROVES THE FATIGUE AND PAIN OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME WHO ARE RESISTANT TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPY: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS) OFTEN COMPLAIN OF PERSISTENT FATIGUE EVEN AFTER CONVENTIONAL THERAPIES SUCH AS PHARMACOTHERAPY, COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY, OR GRADED EXERCISE THERAPY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE IN A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF ISOMETRIC YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH CFS WHO ARE RESISTANT TO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS. METHODS: THIS TRIAL ENROLLED 30 PATIENTS WITH CFS WHO DID NOT HAVE SATISFACTORY IMPROVEMENT AFTER RECEIVING CONVENTIONAL THERAPY FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS. THEY WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS AND WERE TREATED WITH EITHER CONVENTIONAL PHARMACOTHERAPY (CONTROL GROUP, N = 15) OR CONVENTIONAL THERAPY TOGETHER WITH ISOMETRIC YOGA PRACTICE THAT CONSISTED OF BIWEEKLY, 20-MINUTE SESSIONS WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND DAILY IN-HOME SESSIONS (YOGA GROUP, N = 15) FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS. THE SHORT-TERM EFFECT OF ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WAS ASSESSED BY ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATUS (POMS) QUESTIONNAIRE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THE FINAL 20-MINUTE SESSION WITH THE INSTRUCTOR. THE LONG-TERM EFFECT OF ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WAS ASSESSED BY ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHALDER'S FATIGUE SCALE (FS) QUESTIONNAIRE TO BOTH GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. ADVERSE EVENTS AND CHANGES IN SUBJECTIVE SYMPTOMS WERE RECORDED FOR SUBJECTS IN THE YOGA GROUP. RESULTS: ALL SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION. THE MEAN POMS FATIGUE SCORE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (FROM 21.9 +/- 7.7 TO 13.8 +/- 6.7, P < 0.001) AFTER A YOGA SESSION. THE CHALDER'S FS SCORE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY (FROM 25.9 +/- 6.1 TO 19.2 +/- 7.5, P = 0.002) IN THE YOGA GROUP, BUT NOT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF FATIGUE, TWO PATIENTS WITH CFS AND FIBROMYALGIA SYNDROME IN THE YOGA GROUP ALSO REPORTED PAIN RELIEF. FURTHERMORE, MANY SUBJECTS REPORTED THAT THEIR BODIES BECAME WARMER AND LIGHTER AFTER PRACTICING ISOMETRIC YOGA. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS IN THE YOGA GROUP, TWO PATIENTS COMPLAINED OF TIREDNESS AND ONE OF DIZZINESS AFTER THE FIRST YOGA SESSION WITH THE INSTRUCTOR. CONCLUSIONS: ISOMETRIC YOGA AS AN ADD-ON THERAPY IS BOTH FEASIBLE AND SUCCESSFUL AT RELIEVING THE FATIGUE AND PAIN OF A SUBSET OF THERAPY-RESISTANT PATIENTS WITH CFS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) UMIN000009646.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
5  610  58 DEVELOPMENT OF A RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA PROGRAM FOR PATIENTS WITH SEVERE CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME/MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS: A PILOT STUDY TO ASSESS FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY. BACKGROUND: OUR PREVIOUS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL DEMONSTRATED THAT ISOMETRIC YOGA IN A SITTING POSITION REDUCES FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME/MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS (CFS/ME). HOWEVER, SOME PATIENTS EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES SITTING OR PRACTICING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN A SITTING POSITION FOR LONG PERIODS. TO DATE, THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH SEVERE SYMPTOMS HAVE NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED. THEREFORE, WE DEVELOPED A RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA PROGRAM, WHICH TAKES APPROXIMATELY 20 MIN TO COMPLETE, DESIGNED TO REDUCE FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE CFS/ME. THE AIM OF THIS PILOT STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY, SAFETY, AND USEFULNESS OF THIS PROGRAM. METHODS: THIS PILOT STUDY INCLUDED 12 ADULT PATIENTS WITH CFS/ME. SIX PATIENTS WERE RELUCTANT TO PRACTICE ISOMETRIC YOGA IN A SITTING POSITION BECAUSE OF THE SEVERITY OF THEIR FATIGUE (GROUP 1). THE REMAINING SIX PATIENTS HAD PREVIOUSLY PRACTICED ISOMETRIC YOGA IN A SITTING POSITION (GROUP 2). FOR 3 MONTHS, THE PATIENTS OF BOTH GROUPS PRACTICED RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA EVERY 2 TO 4 WEEKS WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND AT HOME ON OTHER DAYS IF THEY COULD. THE SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WERE ASSESSED USING THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATUS (POMS) QUESTIONNAIRE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THEIR FINAL SESSION WITH THE YOGA INSTRUCTOR. THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WERE ASSESSED USING THE CHALDER FATIGUE SCALE (FS) QUESTIONNAIRE BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD. ADVERSE EVENTS, SATISFACTION WITH THE PROGRAM, AND PREFERENCE OF YOGA POSITION (SITTING OR RECUMBENT) WERE ALSO RECORDED. RESULTS: ALL SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE INTERVENTION. IN BOTH GROUPS, THE POMS FATIGUE SCORE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED AFTER PRACTICING THE 20-MIN YOGA PROGRAM AND THE CHALDER FS SCORE WAS DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER THE 3-MONTH INTERVENTION PERIOD. THERE WERE NO SERIOUS ADVERSE EVENTS. ALL SUBJECTS IN GROUP 2 PREFERRED THE RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA PROGRAM OVER A SITTING YOGA PROGRAM. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY SUGGESTS THAT RECUMBENT ISOMETRIC YOGA IS A FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH CFS/ME, EVEN FOR PATIENTS WHO EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTY PRACTICING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN THE SITTING POSITION.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
6 1865  46 RANDOMIZED PILOT TRIAL OF YOGA VERSUS STRENGTHENING EXERCISES IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE. PURPOSE: FATIGUE IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON AND BOTHERSOME REFRACTORY SYMPTOMS EXPERIENCED BY CANCER SURVIVORS. MINDFUL EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS SUCH AS YOGA IMPROVE CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE; HOWEVER, STUDIES OF YOGA HAVE INCLUDED HETEROGENEOUS SURVIVORSHIP POPULATIONS, AND THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON FATIGUED SURVIVORS REMAINS UNCLEAR. METHODS: WE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED 34 EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE (>/=4 ON A LIKERT SCALE FROM 1-10) WITHIN 1 YEAR FROM DIAGNOSIS TO A 12-WEEK INTERVENTION OF HOME-BASED YOGA VERSUS STRENGTHENING EXERCISES, BOTH PRESENTED ON A DVD. THE PRIMARY ENDPOINTS WERE FEASIBILITY AND CHANGES IN FATIGUE, AS MEASURED BY THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL FATIGUE SYMPTOM INVENTORY-SHORT FORM (MFSI-SF). SECONDARY ENDPOINT WAS QUALITY OF LIFE, ASSESSED BY THE FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CANCER THERAPIES-BREAST (FACT-B). RESULTS: WE INVITED 401 WOMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY; 78 RESPONDED, AND WE ENROLLED 34. BOTH GROUPS HAD SIGNIFICANT WITHIN-GROUP IMPROVEMENT IN MULTIPLE DOMAINS OF THE FATIGUE AND QUALITY OF LIFE SCORES FROM BASELINE TO POST-INTERVENTION, AND THESE BENEFITS WERE MAINTAINED AT 3 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS IN FATIGUE OR QUALITY OF LIFE AT ANY ASSESSMENT TIME. SIMILARLY, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS IN ADHERENCE TO THE EXERCISE INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH DVD-BASED YOGA AND STRENGTHENING EXERCISES DESIGNED FOR CANCER SURVIVORS MAY BE GOOD OPTIONS TO ADDRESS FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. BOTH HAVE REASONABLE UPTAKE, ARE CONVENIENT AND REPRODUCIBLE, AND MAY BE HELPFUL IN DECREASING FATIGUE AND IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE FIRST YEAR POST-DIAGNOSIS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WITH CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
7 2768  51 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
8 2604  47 YOGA FOR PERSISTENT FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE AFFLICTS UP TO 33% OF BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS, YET THERE ARE NO EMPIRICALLY VALIDATED TREATMENTS FOR THIS SYMPTOM. METHODS: THE AUTHORS CONDUCTED A 2-GROUP RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF AN IYENGAR YOGA INTERVENTION FOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT POST-TREATMENT FATIGUE. PARTICIPANTS WERE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WHO HAD COMPLETED CANCER TREATMENTS (OTHER THAN ENDOCRINE THERAPY) AT LEAST 6 MONTHS BEFORE ENROLLMENT, REPORTED SIGNIFICANT CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE, AND HAD NO OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD ACCOUNT FOR FATIGUE SYMPTOMS OR INTERFERE WITH YOGA PRACTICE. BLOCK RANDOMIZATION WAS USED TO ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS TO A 12-WEEK, IYENGAR-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION OR TO 12 WEEKS OF HEALTH EDUCATION (CONTROL). THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS CHANGE IN FATIGUE MEASURED AT BASELINE, IMMEDIATELY POST-TREATMENT, AND 3 MONTHS AFTER TREATMENT COMPLETION. ADDITIONAL OUTCOMES INCLUDED CHANGES IN VIGOR, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, SLEEP, PERCEIVED STRESS, AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE. INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED WITH ALL RANDOMIZED PARTICIPANTS USING LINEAR MIXED MODELS. RESULTS: THIRTY-ONE WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA (N = 16) OR HEALTH EDUCATION (N = 15). FATIGUE SEVERITY DECLINED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM BASELINE TO POST-TREATMENT AND OVER A 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP IN THE YOGA GROUP RELATIVE TO CONTROLS (P = .032). IN ADDITION, THE YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN VIGOR RELATIVE TO CONTROLS (P = .011). BOTH GROUPS HAD POSITIVE CHANGES IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PERCEIVED STRESS (P < .05). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN SLEEP OR PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE WERE OBSERVED. CONCLUSIONS: A TARGETED YOGA INTERVENTION LED TO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN FATIGUE AND VIGOR AMONG BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WITH PERSISTENT FATIGUE SYMPTOMS.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
9 2836  45 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
10 2177  27 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MOOD IN PSYCHIATRIC INPATIENTS. THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON MOOD WERE EXAMINED IN 13 PSYCHIATRIC INPATIENTS AT NEW HAMPSHIRE HOSPITAL. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATES (POMS) PRIOR TO AND FOLLOWING PARTICIPATION IN A YOGA CLASS. ANALYSES INDICATED THAT PARTICIPANTS REPORTED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS ON ALL FIVE OF THE NEGATIVE EMOTION FACTORS ON THE POMS, INCLUDING TENSION-ANXIETY, DEPRESSION-DEJECTION, ANGER-HOSTILITY, FATIGUE-INERTIA, AND CONFUSION-BEWILDERMENT. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE ON THE SIXTH POMS FACTOR, VIGOR-ACTIVITY. IMPROVEMENTS IN MOOD WERE NOT RELATED TO GENDER OR DIAGNOSIS. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED MOOD, AND MAY BE A USEFUL WAY OF REDUCING STRESS DURING INPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT.	2005	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
11 2605  39 YOGA FOR PERSISTENT FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: RESULTS OF A PILOT STUDY. APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS EXPERIENCES PERSISTENT FATIGUE FOR MONTHS OR YEARS AFTER SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT COMPLETION. THERE IS A LACK OF EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENTS FOR CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE, PARTICULARLY AMONG CANCER SURVIVORS. THIS SINGLE-ARM PILOT STUDY EVALUATED THE FEASIBILITY AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY OF A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR FATIGUED BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS BASED ON THE IYENGAR TRADITION. IYENGAR YOGA PRESCRIBES SPECIFIC POSES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIFIC MEDICAL PROBLEMS AND CONDITIONS; THIS TRIAL EMPHASIZED POSTURES BELIEVED TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR REDUCING FATIGUE AMONG BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS, INCLUDING INVERSIONS AND BACKBENDS PERFORMED WITH THE SUPPORT OF PROPS. TWELVE WOMEN WERE ENROLLED IN THE TRIAL, AND 11 COMPLETED THE FULL 12-WEEK COURSE OF TREATMENT. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN FATIGUE SCORES FROM PRE- TO POST-INTERVENTION THAT WAS MAINTAINED AT THE 3-MONTH POST-INTERVENTION FOLLOWUP. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE ALSO OBSERVED IN MEASURES OF PHYSICAL FUNCTION, DEPRESSED MOOD, AND QUALITY OF LIFE. THESE RESULTS SUPPORT THE ACCEPTABILITY OF THIS INTERVENTION AND SUGGEST THAT IT MAY HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON PERSISTENT POST-TREATMENT FATIGUE. HOWEVER, RESULTS REQUIRE REPLICATION IN A LARGER RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.	2011	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
12 1036  43 EFFECTS OF YOGA IN MANAGING FATIGUE IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CANCER-RELATED FATIGUE IS WIDELY PREVALENT IN CANCER PATIENTS AND AFFECTS QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADVANCED CANCER PATIENTS. FATIGUE IS CAUSED DUE TO BOTH PSYCHOLOGIC DISTRESS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL SEQUEL FOLLOWING CANCER PROGRESSION AND ITS TREATMENT. IN THIS STUDY, WE EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGIC INTERVENTION IN MANAGING FATIGUE IN METASTATIC BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. METHODS: NINETY-ONE PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC BREAST CANCER WERE RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM (N = 46) OR SUPPORTIVE THERAPY AND EDUCATION (N = 45) OVER A 3-MONTH PERIOD. ASSESSMENTS SUCH AS PERCEIVED STRESS, FATIGUE SYMPTOM INVENTORY, DIURNAL SALIVARY CORTISOL, AND NATURAL KILLER CELL COUNTS WERE CARRIED OUT BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION. ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING AN INTENTION-TO-TREAT APPROACH. POSTMEASURES FOR THE ABOVE OUTCOMES WERE ASSESSED USING ANCOVA WITH RESPECTIVE BASELINE MEASURE AS A COVARIATE. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA REDUCES PERCEIVED STRESS (P = 0.001), FATIGUE FREQUENCY (P < 0.001), FATIGUE SEVERITY (P < 0.001), INTERFERENCE (P < 0.001), AND DIURNAL VARIATION (P < 0.001) WHEN COMPARED TO SUPPORTIVE THERAPY. THERE WAS A POSITIVE CORRELATION OF CHANGE IN FATIGUE SEVERITY WITH 9 A.M. SALIVARY CORTISOL LEVELS. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA REDUCES FATIGUE IN ADVANCED BREAST CANCER PATIENTS.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
13  661  57 EFFECT OF 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING ON THE SOMATIZATION, PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, AND STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS OF HEALTHY WOMEN. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA REDUCES PERCEIVED STRESS AND NEGATIVE FEELINGS AND THAT IT IMPROVES PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS. OUR PREVIOUS STUDY ALSO SUGGESTED THAT LONG-TERM YOGA TRAINING IMPROVES STRESS-RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS SUCH AS ANXIETY AND ANGER. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON SOMATIZATION, THE MOST COMMON STRESS-RELATED PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS, AND STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS. WE PERFORMED A PROSPECTIVE, SINGLE ARM STUDY TO EXAMINE THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING ON SOMATIZATION, PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, AND STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS. METHODS: WE RECRUITED HEALTHY WOMEN WHO HAD NO EXPERIENCE WITH YOGA. THE DATA OF 24 PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE FOLLOWED DURING 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING WERE ANALYZED. SOMATIZATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING USING THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATE (POMS) AND THE SYMPTOM CHECKLIST-90-REVISED (SCL-90-R) QUESTIONNAIRES. URINARY 8-HYDROXYDEOXYGUANOSINE (8-OHDG), BIOPYRRIN, AND CORTISOL LEVELS WERE MEASURED AS STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS. THE WILCOXON SIGNED-RANK TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE THE STRESS-RELATED BIOMARKERS AND THE SCORES OF QUESTIONNAIRES BEFORE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING. RESULTS: AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING, ALL NEGATIVE SUBSCALE SCORES (TENSION-ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, ANGER-HOSTILITY, FATIGUE, AND CONFUSION) FROM THE POMS AND SOMATIZATION, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND HOSTILITY FROM THE SCL-90-R WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED COMPARED WITH THOSE BEFORE STARTING YOGA TRAINING. CONTRARY TO OUR EXPECTATION, THE URINARY 8-OHDG CONCENTRATION AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE COMPARED WITH THAT BEFORE STARTING YOGA TRAINING. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE LEVELS OF URINARY BIOPYRRIN AND CORTISOL AFTER THE 12 WEEKS OF YOGA TRAINING. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA TRAINING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE THE SOMATIZATION SCORE AND THE SCORES RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS, SUCH AS ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, ANGER, AND FATIGUE. THE PRESENT FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA CAN IMPROVE SOMATIZATION AND MENTAL HEALTH STATUS AND HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF PSYCHOSOMATIC SYMPTOMS IN HEALTHY WOMEN. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) UMIN000007868.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
14 2442  42 YOGA AND SELF-REPORTED COGNITIVE PROBLEMS IN BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: CANCER SURVIVORS OFTEN REPORT COGNITIVE PROBLEMS. FURTHERMORE, DECREASES IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TYPICALLY OCCUR OVER THE COURSE OF CANCER TREATMENT. ALTHOUGH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BENEFITS COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN NONCANCER POPULATIONS, EVIDENCE LINKING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN CANCER SURVIVORS IS LIMITED. IN OUR RECENT RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WHO RECEIVED A YOGA INTERVENTION HAD LOWER FATIGUE AND INFLAMMATION FOLLOWING THE TRIAL COMPARED WITH A WAIT LIST CONTROL GROUP. THIS SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE PARENT TRIAL ADDRESSED YOGA'S IMPACT ON COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS. METHODS: POSTTREATMENT STAGE 0-IIIA BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS (N = 200) WERE RANDOMIZED TO A 12-WEEK, TWICE-WEEKLY HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION OR A WAIT LIST CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS REPORTED COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS USING THE BREAST CANCER PREVENTION TRIAL COGNITIVE PROBLEMS SCALE AT BASELINE, IMMEDIATELY POSTINTERVENTION, AND 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. RESULTS: COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN GROUPS IMMEDIATELY POSTINTERVENTION (P = 0.250). HOWEVER, AT 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP, YOGA PARTICIPANTS' BREAST CANCER PREVENTION TRIAL COGNITIVE PROBLEMS SCALE SCORES WERE AN AVERAGE OF 23% LOWER THAN WAIT LIST PARTICIPANTS' SCORES (P = 0.003). THESE GROUP DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS REMAINED AFTER CONTROLLING FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, FATIGUE, AND SLEEP QUALITY. CONSISTENT WITH THE PRIMARY RESULTS, THOSE WHO PRACTICED YOGA MORE FREQUENTLY REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER COGNITIVE PROBLEMS AT 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP THAN THOSE WHO PRACTICED LESS FREQUENTLY (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA CAN EFFECTIVELY REDUCE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS' COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS AND PROMPT FURTHER RESEARCH ON MIND-BODY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS FOR IMPROVING CANCER-RELATED COGNITIVE PROBLEMS.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
15  962  38 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
16  851  46 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 2654  38 YOGA IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE AND BENEFIT FINDING IN WOMEN UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY FOR BREAST CANCER. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) AND PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOMES IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY. SIXTY-ONE WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER A YOGA OR A WAIT-LIST GROUP. YOGA CLASSES WERE TAUGHT BIWEEKLY DURING THE 6 WEEKS OF RADIOTHERAPY. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED MEASURES OF QOL, FATIGUE, BENEFIT FINDING (FINDING MEANING IN THE CANCER EXPERIENCE), INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, SLEEP DISTURBANCES, DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, AND ANXIETY BEFORE RADIOTHERAPY AND THEN AGAIN 1 WEEK, 1 MONTH, AND 3 MONTHS AFTER THE END OF RADIOTHERAPY. GENERAL LINEAR MODEL ANALYSES REVEALED THAT COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, THE YOGA GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER GENERAL HEALTH PERCEPTION (P = .005) AND PHYSICAL FUNCTIONING SCORES (P = .04) 1 WEEK POSTRADIOTHERAPY; HIGHER LEVELS OF INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS 1 MONTH POSTRADIOTHERAPY (P = .01); AND GREATER BENEFIT FINDING 3 MONTHS POSTRADIOTHERAPY (P = .01). THERE WERE NO OTHER GROUP DIFFERENCES IN OTHER QOL SUBSCALES FOR FATIGUE, DEPRESSION, OR SLEEP SCORES. EXPLORATORY ANALYSES INDICATED THAT INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS 1 MONTH AFTER RADIOTHERAPY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH BENEFIT FINDING 3 MONTHS AFTER RADIOTHERAPY (R = .36, P = .011). OUR RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE YOGA PROGRAM WAS ASSOCIATED WITH STATISTICALLY AND CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN ASPECTS OF QOL.	2010	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
18 2553  31 YOGA FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AFTER COMPLETING CANCER TREATMENT. SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER MAY EXPERIENCE PERSISTENT SYMPTOMS, INCLUDING FATIGUE, SLEEP DISTURBANCE, AND BALANCE IMPAIRMENT. YOGA IS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY THAT IMPROVES FATIGUE, SLEEP, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADULT CANCER SURVIVORS. USING A ONE GROUP, REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN, WE EVALUATED THE FEASIBILITY OF A YOGA PROGRAM AND ASSESSED IF CANCER SURVIVOR PARTICIPANTS AGES 10 TO 17 YEARS (N = 13) HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LESS FATIGUE AND ANXIETY, AND BETTER BALANCE AND SLEEP, AFTER A 6-WEEK YOGA INTERVENTION COMPARED WITH A 6-WEEK PRE-INTERVENTION WAIT PERIOD. STUDY RECRUITMENT WAS CHALLENGING WITH A 32% ENROLLMENT RATE; YOGA ATTENDANCE WAS 90%. NONE OF THE SCORES FOR ANXIETY, FATIGUE, SLEEP, AND BALANCE HAD SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING THE WAIT PERIOD. AFTER THE 6-WEEK YOGA PROGRAM, CHILDREN (N = 7) HAD A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN ANXIETY SCORE (P = .04) WHILE ADOLESCENT SCORES (N = 7) SHOWED A DECREASING TREND (P = .10). SCORES FOR FATIGUE, SLEEP, AND BALANCE REMAINED STABLE POST-INTERVENTION. FATIGUE AND BALANCE SCORES WERE BELOW NORMS FOR HEALTH CHILDREN/ADOLESCENTS WHILE SLEEP AND ANXIETY SCORES WERE SIMILAR TO HEALTHY PEERS.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
19 1182  29 EVALUATION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL: A PRELIMINARY RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE POTENTIAL MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR ADOLESCENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL. STUDENTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER REGULAR PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES OR TO 11 WEEKS OF YOGA SESSIONS BASED UPON THE YOGA ED PROGRAM OVER A SINGLE SEMESTER. STUDENTS COMPLETED BASELINE AND END-PROGRAM SELF-REPORT MEASURES OF MOOD, ANXIETY, PERCEIVED STRESS, RESILIENCE, AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH VARIABLES. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF INDIVIDUAL OUTCOME MEASURES REVEALED THAT YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES OVER TIME RELATIVE TO CONTROLS ON MEASURES OF ANGER CONTROL AND FATIGUE/INERTIA. MOST OUTCOME MEASURES EXHIBITED A PATTERN OF WORSENING IN THE CONTROL GROUP OVER TIME, WHEREAS CHANGES IN THE YOGA GROUP OVER TIME WERE EITHER MINIMAL OR SHOWED SLIGHT IMPROVEMENTS. THESE PRELIMINARY RESULTS SUGGEST THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF YOGA IS ACCEPTABLE AND FEASIBLE IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL SETTING AND HAS THE POTENTIAL OF PLAYING A PROTECTIVE OR PREVENTIVE ROLE IN MAINTAINING MENTAL HEALTH.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
20  169  48 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY ASSESSING FEASIBILITY AND IMPACT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON QUALITY OF LIFE, MOOD, AND PERCEIVED STRESS IN WOMEN WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED BREAST CANCER. BACKGROUND: A BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS CAN ENTAIL NUMEROUS PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL CHALLENGES. YOGA PRACTICE (YP) MAY CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVED WELL-BEING FOR THESE PATIENTS. PRIMARY STUDY OBJECTIVE: INVESTIGATE FEASIBILITY AND IMPACT OF YP ON QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL), MOOD, FATIGUE, AND PERCEIVED STRESS IMMEDIATELY AFTER BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS. METHODS: THIRTY WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A YOGA GROUP (YG) OR CONTROL GROUP (CG) IMMEDIATELY AFTER CANCER DIAGNOSIS. SETTING: PILOT STUDY CONDUCTED AT AN ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTER BREAST CLINIC. PARTICIPANTS: FEMALES (N = 30) WHO RECEIVED A BIOPSY-PROVEN BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS WITHOUT METASTATIC DISEASE. INTERVENTION YG: ONE INDIVIDUAL YP SESSION AT BASELINE, THEN 2 INDIVIDUAL AND 8 WEEKLY GROUP SESSIONS FOLLOWED BY WEEKLY GENTLE YOGA AT HOME (DVD). QUESTIONNAIRES AND SALIVA SAMPLES (IE, CORTISOL) COMPLETED AT BASELINE AND 12 WEEKS POSTDIAGNOSIS. RESULTS: BOTH GROUPS REPORTED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN QOL POSTINTERVENTION BUT WITH NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS. EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, MOOD-RELATED TENSION-ANXIETY, DEPRESSION-DEJECTION, AND CONFUSION-BEWILDERMENT SCORES IMPROVED FOR BOTH GROUPS, AND CORTISOL AND CORTISONE LEVELS DECREASED. LUMPECTOMIES WERE PREVALENT WITH YG (67%) AND CG (47%). YP WAS RATED AS "VERY EFFECTIVE," PROVIDING RELAXATION (85%), STRESS RELIEF (69%), AND REDUCED MUSCLE TENSION/GENERAL FEELING OF WELLNESS (EACH 62%). CONCLUSION: FEASIBILITY OF YP IMMEDIATELY AFTER BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS WAS GOOD. IMPROVEMENT IN EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND LEVELS OF CONFUSION WAS FOUND IN BOTH GROUPS. TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF YP IMMEDIATELY AFTER BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS. FURTHER RESEARCH IN THIS AREA IS WARRANTED.	2012