1 2836 155 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
2  285  41 ADIPONECTIN, LEPTIN, AND YOGA PRACTICE. TO ADDRESS THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HATHA YOGA'S POTENTIAL STRESS-REDUCTION BENEFITS, WE COMPARED ADIPONECTIN AND LEPTIN DATA FROM WELL-MATCHED NOVICE AND EXPERT YOGA PRACTITIONERS. THESE ADIPOCYTOKINES HAVE COUNTER-REGULATORY FUNCTIONS IN INFLAMMATION; LEPTIN PLAYS A PROINFLAMMATORY ROLE, WHILE ADIPONECTIN HAS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES. FIFTY HEALTHY WOMEN (MEAN AGE=41.32, RANGE=30-65), 25 NOVICES AND 25 EXPERTS, PROVIDED FASTING BLOOD SAMPLES DURING THREE SEPARATE VISITS. LEPTIN WAS 36% HIGHER AMONG NOVICES COMPARED TO EXPERTS, P=.008. ANALYSIS OF ADIPONECTIN REVEALED A BORDERLINE EFFECT OF YOGA EXPERTISE, P=.08; EXPERTS' AVERAGE ADIPONECTIN LEVELS WERE 28% HIGHER THAN NOVICES ACROSS THE THREE VISITS. IN CONTRAST, EXPERTS' AVERAGE ADIPONECTIN TO LEPTIN RATIO WAS NEARLY TWICE THAT OF NOVICES, P=.009. FREQUENCY OF SELF-REPORTED YOGA PRACTICE SHOWED SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LEPTIN; MORE WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE OVER THE LAST YEAR, MORE LIFETIME YOGA SESSIONS, AND MORE YEARS OF YOGA PRACTICE WERE ALL SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER LEPTIN, WITH SIMILAR FINDINGS FOR THE ADIPONECTIN TO LEPTIN RATIO. NOVICES AND EXPERTS DID NOT SHOW EVEN MARGINAL DIFFERENCES ON BEHAVIORAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS THAT MIGHT REPRESENT POTENTIAL CONFOUNDS, INCLUDING BMI, CENTRAL ADIPOSITY, CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS, AND DIET. PROSPECTIVE STUDIES ADDRESSING INCREASED RISK FOR TYPE II DIABETES, HYPERTENSION, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE ADIPOCYTOKINES IN MODULATING INFLAMMATION. ALTHOUGH THESE HEALTH RISKS ARE CLEARLY RELATED TO MORE EXTREME VALUES THEN WE FOUND IN OUR HEALTHY SAMPLE, OUR DATA RAISE THE POSSIBILITY THAT LONGER-TERM AND/OR MORE INTENSIVE YOGA PRACTICE COULD HAVE BENEFICIAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES BY ALTERING LEPTIN AND ADIPONECTIN PRODUCTION.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
3 2768  50 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
4 2819  32 YOGA TRAINING MODULATES ADIPOKINES IN ADULTS WITH HIGH-NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE AND METABOLIC SYNDROME. METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS) IS ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETES MELLITUS AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. OUR PREVIOUS STUDY INDICATED THAT PEOPLE WITH METS SHOWED A DECREASE IN WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND A DECREASING TREND IN BLOOD PRESSURE AFTER 1-YEAR YOGA. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON METS PEOPLE WITH HIGH-NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE BY EXPLORING MODULATIONS IN PROINFLAMMATORY ADIPOKINES (LEPTIN, CHEMERIN, VISFATIN, AND PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR INHIBITOR-1 OR PAI-1) AND AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ADIPOKINE (ADIPONECTIN). A TOTAL OF 97 HONG KONG CHINESE INDIVIDUALS AGED 57.6 +/- 9.1 YEARS WITH METS AND HIGH-NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO CONTROL (N = 45) AND YOGA GROUPS (N = 52). PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP WERE NOT GIVEN ANY INTERVENTION BUT WERE CONTACTED MONTHLY TO MONITOR THEIR HEALTH STATUS. PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA GROUP UNDERWENT A YOGA TRAINING PROGRAM WITH THREE 1-HOUR YOGA SESSIONS WEEKLY FOR 1 YEAR. THE PARTICIPANTS' SERA WERE HARVESTED AND ASSESSED FOR ADIPOKINES. GENERALIZED ESTIMATING EQUATION (GEE) WAS USED TO EXAMINE THE INTERACTION EFFECT BETWEEN 1-YEAR TIME (PRE VS POST), AND INTERVENTION (CONTROL VS YOGA). GEE ANALYSES REVEALED SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION EFFECTS BETWEEN 1-YEAR TIME AND YOGA INTERVENTION FOR THE DECREASES IN LEPTIN AND CHEMERIN AND THE INCREASE IN ADIPONECTIN CONCENTRATION IN THE SERA EXAMINED. THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATED THAT 1-YEAR YOGA TRAINING DECREASED PROINFLAMMATORY ADIPOKINES AND INCREASED ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ADIPOKINE IN ADULTS WITH METS AND HIGH-NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE. THESE FINDINGS SUPPORT THE BENEFICIAL ROLE OF YOGA IN MANAGING METS BY FAVORABLY MODULATING ADIPOKINES.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
5  508  43 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
6  942  30 EFFECTS OF 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON METABOLIC AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN HEALTHY, FEMALE CHINESE SUBJECTS: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8 WK HATHA YOGA TRAINING ON BLOOD GLUCOSE, INSULIN, LIPID PROFILES, ENDOTHELIAL MICROPARTICLES (EMPS), AND INFLAMMATORY STATUS IN HEALTHY, LEAN, AND FEMALE CHINESE SUBJECTS. A TOTAL OF 30 HEALTHY, FEMALE CHINESE SUBJECTS WERE RECRUITED AND RANDOMIZED INTO CONTROL OR YOGA PRACTICE GROUP. THE YOGA PRACTICE INCLUDED 8 WKS OF YOGA PRACTICE (2 TIMES/WK) FOR A TOTAL OF 16 TIMES. FASTING BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA TRAINING. PLASMA WAS ISOLATED FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF LIPID PROFILES, GLUCOSE, INSULIN, EMPS, AND INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. WHOLE BLOOD WAS CULTURED EX VIVO AND STIMULATED WITH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS) AND PAM3CYS-SK4. PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) WERE ISOLATED FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF TLR2 AND TLR4 PROTEIN EXPRESSION. YOGA PRACTICE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PLASMA CHOLESTEROL, LDL-CHOLESTEROL, INSULIN LEVELS, AND CD31+/CD42B- EMPS. CULTURED WHOLE BLOOD FROM THE YOGA GROUP HAS REDUCED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES SECRETION BOTH AT UNSTIMULATED CONDITION AND WHEN STIMULATED WITH PAM3CYS-SK4; THIS MIGHT BE ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED TLR2 PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN PBMCS AFTER YOGA TRAINING. HATHA YOGA PRACTICE IN HEALTHY CHINESE FEMALE SUBJECTS COULD IMPROVE HALLMARKS RELATED TO METS; THUS IT CAN BE CONSIDERED AS AN ANCILLARY INTERVENTION IN THE PRIMARY METS PREVENTION FOR THE HEALTHY POPULATION. THIS TRIAL IS REGISTERED WITH CHICTR-IOR-14005747.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
7 2847  43 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
8 2001  49 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
9  859  39 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
10  881  40 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
11  938  29 EFFECTS OF 1-YEAR YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS) IS A CLUSTERING OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS, WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETES MELLITUS AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS APPLIED TO PEOPLE WITH METS HAS CONSIDERABLE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON DISEASE PREVENTIVE OUTCOMES. THIS STUDY AIMED TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF 1-YEAR OF YOGA EXERCISE ON THE CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS INCLUDING CENTRAL OBESITY, HYPERTENSION, DYSLIPIDEMIA AND HYPERGLYCEMIA IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER HONG KONG CHINESE ADULTS WITH METS. METHODS: ADULTS DIAGNOSED WITH METS USING NATIONAL CHOLESTEROL EDUCATION PROGRAM CRITERIA (N = 182; MEAN +/- SD AGE = 56 +/- 9.1) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A 1-YEAR YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP OR CONTROL GROUP. SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE, TRIGLYCERIDES, AND HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL WERE EXAMINED AT BASELINE, MIDWAY, AND ON COMPLETION OF THE STUDY. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL AND CALORIC INTAKE WERE ASSESSED AND INCLUDED IN THE COVARIATE ANALYSES. RESULTS: A REDUCTION OF THE NUMBER OF DIAGNOSTIC COMPONENTS FOR METS WAS FOUND TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE YOGA INTERVENTION. WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED AFTER THE 1-YEAR YOGA INTERVENTION. A TREND TOWARDS A DECREASE IN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE WAS OBSERVED FOLLOWING YOGA INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA EXERCISE IMPROVES THE CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS INCLUDING CENTRAL OBESITY AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS WITH METS. THESE FINDINGS SUPPORT THE COMPLEMENTARY BENEFICIAL ROLE OF YOGA IN MANAGING METS.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
12  451  42 CHANGES IN FATIGUE, AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS, AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS DUE TO SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME. BACKGROUND: IN A PREVIOUS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, WE FOUND THAT SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IMPROVES FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS) WHO ARE RESISTANT TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPY. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE MECHANISMS BEHIND THIS FINDING, FOCUSING ON THE SHORT-TERM FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECT, BY COMPARING AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTION AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS BEFORE AND AFTER A SESSION OF ISOMETRIC YOGA. METHODS: FIFTEEN PATIENTS WITH CFS WHO REMAINED SYMPTOMATIC DESPITE AT LEAST 6 MONTHS OF CONVENTIONAL THERAPY PRACTICED SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA (BIWEEKLY 20 MIN PRACTICE WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND DAILY HOME PRACTICE) FOR EIGHT WEEKS. ACUTE EFFECTS OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE, AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS WERE INVESTIGATED AFTER THE FINAL SESSION WITH AN INSTRUCTOR. THE EFFECT OF A SINGLE SESSION OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA ON FATIGUE WAS ASSESSED BY THE PROFILE OF MOOD STATUS (POMS) QUESTIONNAIRE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THE SESSION. AUTONOMIC NERVOUS FUNCTION (HEART RATE (HR) VARIABILITY) AND BLOOD BIOMARKERS (CORTISOL, DHEA-S, TNF-ALPHA, IL-6, IFN-GAMMA, IFN-ALPHA, PROLACTIN, CARNITINE, TGF-BETA1, BDNF, MHPG, AND HVA) WERE COMPARED BEFORE AND AFTER THE SESSION. RESULTS: SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE POMS FATIGUE SCORE (P < 0.01) AND INCREASED THE VIGOR SCORE (P < 0.01). IT ALSO REDUCED HR (P < 0.05) AND INCREASED THE HIGH FREQUENCY POWER (P < 0.05) OF HR VARIABILITY. SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA INCREASED SERUM LEVELS OF DHEA-S (P < 0.05), REDUCED LEVELS OF CORTISOL (P < 0.05) AND TNF-ALPHA (P < 0.05), AND HAD A TENDENCY TO REDUCE SERUM LEVELS OF PROLACTIN (P < 0.1). DECREASES IN FATIGUE SCORES CORRELATED WITH CHANGES IN PLASMA LEVELS OF TGF-BETA1 AND BDNF. IN CONTRAST, INCREASED VIGOR POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH HVA. CONCLUSIONS: A SINGLE SESSION OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA REDUCED FATIGUE AND INCREASED VIGOR IN PATIENTS WITH CFS. YOGA ALSO INCREASED VAGAL NERVE FUNCTION AND CHANGED BLOOD BIOMARKERS IN A PATTERN THAT SUGGESTED ANTI-STRESS AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS. THESE CHANGES APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE SHORT-TERM FATIGUE-RELIEVING EFFECT OF SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH CFS. FURTHERMORE, DOPAMINERGIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVATION MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR SITTING ISOMETRIC YOGA-INDUCED INCREASES IN ENERGY IN THIS PATIENT POPULATION. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL INFORMATION NETWORK (UMIN CTR) UMIN000009646. REGISTERED DEC 27, 2012.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                  
13 1789  35 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
14 1030  32 EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISE ON SERUM ADIPONECTIN AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. OBJECTIVE: REGULAR AND CONTINUOUS YOGA EXERCISE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NONPHARMACOLOGICAL METHODS OF IMPROVING SERUM LIPID CONCENTRATIONS, ADIPOSE TISSUE, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ANALYZE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISE ON SERUM ADIPONECTIN AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL KOREAN WOMEN. METHODS: SIXTEEN HEALTHY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN AGED 54.50 +/- 2.75 YEARS WITH MORE THAN 36% BODY FAT WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER A YOGA EXERCISE GROUP (N = 8) OR TO A "NO EXERCISE" CONTROL GROUP (N = 8). THE VARIABLES OF BODY COMPOSITION, VISCERAL FAT, SERUM ADIPONECTIN, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS WERE MEASURED IN ALL THE PARTICIPANTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE 16-WEEK STUDY. RESULTS: BODY WEIGHT, PERCENTAGE OF BODY FAT, LEAN BODY MASS, BODY MASS INDEX, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, AND VISCERAL FAT AREA HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AND ADIPONECTIN HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, BUT TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, TRIGLYCERIDE, LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL, BLOOD PRESSURE, INSULIN, GLUCOSE, AND HOMOEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT-INSULIN RESISTANCE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. SERUM ADIPONECTIN CONCENTRATIONS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED WITH WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL, DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, AND HOMOEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT-INSULIN RESISTANCE IN THE POSTYOGA EXERCISE GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: OUR FINDINGS INDICATE THAT YOGA EXERCISE IMPROVES ADIPONECTIN LEVEL, SERUM LIPIDS, AND METABOLIC SYNDROME RISK FACTORS IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. CONSEQUENTLY, YOGA EXERCISE WILL BE EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE CAUSED BY OBESITY IN OBESE POSTMENOPAUSAL KOREAN WOMEN.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
15  944  42 EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON METABOLIC RISK AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN HONG KONG CHINESE ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT METABOLIC SYNDROME. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFICACY OF A 12-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE METABOLIC RISK PROFILES AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN CHINESE ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS). METHODS: WE CONDUCTED A CONTROLLED TRIAL WITHIN AN UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED HOSPITAL. 173 CHINESE MEN AND WOMEN AGED 18 OR ABOVE WERE ASSIGNED TO EITHER THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 87) OR THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 86). PRIMARY OUTCOMES INCLUDED 12-WEEK CHANGE IN METABOLIC RISK FACTORS AND METS Z SCORE. SECONDARY OUTCOME WAS HRQOL (MEDICAL OUTCOMES SHORT FORM SURVEY AT 12 WEEKS). RESULTS: THE MEAN AGE OF PARTICIPANTS WAS 52.0 (SD 7.4, RANGE 31-71) YEARS. ANALYSIS INVOLVING THE ENTIRE STUDY POPULATION REVEALED THAT THE YOGA GROUP ACHIEVED GREATER DECLINE IN WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE (P<0.001), FASTING GLUCOSE (P<0.01), TRIGLYCERIDES (P<0.05), AND METS Z SCORE (P<0.01). YOGA TRAINING ALSO IMPROVED GENERAL HEALTH PERCEPTIONS (P<0.01), PHYSICAL COMPONENT SCORE (P<0.01), AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING (P<0.01) DOMAINS SCORE OF HRQOL. HOWEVER, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS WERE OBSERVED IN THE MEAN CHANGE OF SYSTOLIC/DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURES OR HIGH-DENSITY LIPID PROTEIN CHOLESTEROL (ALL P>0.05). THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE INTERVENTION EFFECTS ON WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND METS Z SCORE BETWEEN THE METS SUBGROUPS (BOTH P>0.05). CONCLUSION: A 12-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVES METABOLIC RISK PROFILES AND HRQOL IN CHINESE ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT METS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY ACTRN12613000816752.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
16  324  25 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
17 2250  45 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	

18 1018  47 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
19 1374  36 IMPACT OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA THERAPY PROTOCOL ON INSULIN RESISTANCE AND GLYCEMIC CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS. OBJECTIVE: DIABETES MELLITUS (DM), CHARACTERIZED BY CHRONIC HYPERGLYCEMIA, IS ATTRIBUTED TO RELATIVE INSULIN DEFICIENCY OR RESISTANCE, OR BOTH. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT YOGA CAN MODULATE PARAMETERS OF INSULIN RESISTANCE. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORED THE POSSIBLE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF INTEGRATED YOGA THERAPY WITH REFERENCE TO GLYCEMIC CONTROL AND INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR) IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES MAINTAINED ON STANDARD ORAL MEDICAL CARE WITH YOGA THERAPY, COMPARED TO THOSE ON STANDARD ORAL MEDICAL CARE ALONE. METHODS: IN THIS STUDY, THE SUBJECTS ON YOGA INTERVENTION COMPRISED 35 TYPE 2 DIABETICS, AND AN EQUAL NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS CONSTITUTED THE CONTROL GROUP. SUBJECTS RANGED IN AGE FROM 30 TO 70 YEARS, WITH HEMOGLOBIN A1C (HBA1C) TEST MORE THAN 7%, AND WERE MAINTAINED ON DIABETIC DIET AND ORAL HYPOGLYCEMIC AGENTS. BLOOD SAMPLES WERE DRAWN PRIOR TO AND AFTER 120 DAYS OF INTEGRATED YOGA THERAPY INTERVENTION. FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE (FBG), POST-PRANDIAL BLOOD GLUCOSE (PPBG), HBA1C, INSULIN, AND LIPID PROFILE WERE ASSESSED IN BOTH THE INTERVENTION AND CONTROL GROUPS. RESULTS: THE INTERVENTION GROUP REVEALED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) (0.7 KG/M(2) MEDIAN DECREASE; P=0.001), FBG (20 MG/DL MEDIAN DECREASE; P<0.001), PPBG (33 MG/DL MEDIAN DECREASE; P<0.001), HBA1C (0.4% MEDIAN DECREASE; P<0.001), HOMEOSTATIC MODEL ASSESSMENT FOR INSULIN RESISTANCE (HOMA-IR) (1.2 MEDIAN DECREASE; P<0.001), CHOLESTEROL (13 MG/DL MEDIAN DECREASE, P=0.006), TRIACYLGLYCEROL (22 MG/DL MEDIAN DECREASE; P=0.027), LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (6 MG/DL MEDIAN DECREASE; P=0.004), AND VERY-LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN LEVELS (4 MG/DL MEDIAN DECREASE; P=0.032). INCREASES IN HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN AFTER 120 DAYS WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT (6 MG/DL MEDIAN INCREASE; P=0.15). HOWEVER, WHEN COMPARED TO CHANGES OBSERVED IN PATIENTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP, ALL THESE IMPROVEMENTS PROVED TO BE SIGNIFICANT. CONCLUSION: ADMINISTRATION OF INTEGRATED YOGA THERAPY TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES LEADS TO A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN GLYCEMIC CONTROL, INSULIN RESISTANCE, AND KEY BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
20 1898  37 RESTORATIVE YOGA AND METABOLIC RISK FACTORS: THE PRACTICING RESTORATIVE YOGA VS. STRETCHING FOR THE METABOLIC SYNDROME (PRYSMS) RANDOMIZED TRIAL. AIMS: INTENSIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGE PREVENTS TYPE 2 DIABETES BUT IS DIFFICULT TO SUSTAIN. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT YOGA MAY IMPROVE METABOLIC FACTORS. WE TESTED A RESTORATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION VS. ACTIVE STRETCHING FOR METABOLIC OUTCOMES. METHODS: IN 2009-2012, WE CONDUCTED A 48-WEEK RANDOMIZED TRIAL COMPARING RESTORATIVE YOGA VS. STRETCHING AMONG UNDERACTIVE ADULTS WITH THE METABOLIC SYNDROME AT THE UNIVERSITIES OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO AND SAN DIEGO. WE PROVIDED LIFESTYLE COUNSELING AND A TAPERING SERIES OF 90-MIN GROUP CLASSES IN THE 24-WEEK INTERVENTION PERIOD AND 24-WEEK MAINTENANCE PERIOD. FASTING AND 2-H GLUCOSE, HBA1C, TRIGLYCERIDES, HDL-CHOLESTEROL, INSULIN, SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, VISCERAL FAT, AND QUALITY OF LIFE WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, 6- AND 12-MONTHS. RESULTS: 180 PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED AND 135 (75%) COMPLETED THE TRIAL. AT 12 MONTHS, FASTING GLUCOSE DECREASED MORE IN THE YOGA GROUP THAN IN THE STRETCHING GROUP (-0.35 MMOL/L VS. -0.03 MMOL/L; P=0.002); THERE WERE NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS. AT 6 MONTHS FAVORABLE CHANGES WITHIN THE YOGA GROUP INCLUDED REDUCTIONS IN FASTING GLUCOSE, INSULIN, AND HBA1C AND AN INCREASE IN HDL-CHOLESTEROL THAT WERE NOT SUSTAINED AT 1 YEAR EXCEPT CHANGES IN FASTING GLUCOSE. THE STRETCHING GROUP HAD A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN TRIGLYCERIDES AT 6 MONTHS WHICH WAS NOT SUSTAINED AT 1 YEAR BUT HAD IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE AT BOTH TIME-POINTS. CONCLUSIONS: RESTORATIVE YOGA WAS MARGINALLY BETTER THAN STRETCHING FOR IMPROVING FASTING GLUCOSE BUT NOT OTHER METABOLIC FACTORS.	2014