1 1690 254 OXIDATIVE STRESS INDUCED DAMAGE TO PATERNAL GENOME AND IMPACT OF MEDITATION AND YOGA - CAN IT REDUCE INCIDENCE OF CHILDHOOD CANCER? BACKGROUND: SPERM DNA DAMAGE IS UNDERLYING AETIOLOGY OF POOR IMPLANTATION AND PREGNANCY RATES BUT ALSO AFFECTS HEALTH OF OFFSPRING AND MAY ALSO RESULT IN DENOVO MUTATIONS IN GERM LINE AND POST FERTILIZATION. THIS MAY RESULT IN COMPLEX DISEASES, POLYGENIC DISORDERS AND CHILDHOOD CANCERS. CHILDHOOD CANCER LIKE RETINOBLASTOMA (RB) IS MORE PREVALENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE INCIDENCE OF RB HAS INCREASED MORE THAN THREE FOLD IN INDIA IN THE LAST DECADE. RECENT STUDIES HAVE DOCUMENTED INCREASED INCIDENCE OF CANCERS IN CHILDREN BORN TO FATHERS WHO CONSUME ALCOHOL IN EXCESS AND TOBACCO OR WHO WERE CONCEIVED BY ASSISTED CONCEPTION. THE AETIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD CANCER AND INCREASED DISEASE BURDEN IN THESE CHILDREN IS LIN KED TO OXIDATIVE STRESS (OS) AND OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE( ODD) IN SPERM OF THEIR FATHERS. THOUGH SEVERAL ANTIOXIDANTS ARE IN USE TO COMBAT OXIDATIVE STRESS, THE EFFECT OF MAJORITY OF THESE FORMULATIONS ON DNA IS NOT KNOWN. YOGA AND MEDITATION CAUSE SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN OS AND ODD AND AID IN REGULATING OS LEVELS SUCH THAT REACTIVE OXYGEN SPEUES MEDITATED SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION, GENE EXPRESSION AND SEVERAL OTHER PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS ARE NOT DISRUPTED. THUS, THIS STUDY AIMED TO ANALYZE SPERM ODD AS A POSSIBLE ETIOLOGICAL FACTOR IN CHILDHOOD CANCER AND ROLE OF SIMPLE LIFE STYLE INTERVENTIONS LIKE YOGA AND MEDITATION IN SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASING SEMINAL OXIDATIVE STRESS AND OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND THEREBY DECREASING INCIDENCE OF CHILDHOOD CANCERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 131 FATHERS OF CHILDREN WITH RB (NON-FAMILIAL SPORADIC HERITABLE) AND 50 CONTROLS (FATHERS OF HEALTHY CHILDREN) WERE RECRUITED AT A TERTIARY CENTER IN INDIA. SPERM PARAMETERS AS PER WHO 2010 GUIDELINES AND REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS), DNA FRAGMENTATION INDEX (DFI), 8-HYDROXY-2'-DEOXY GUANOSINE (8-OHDG) AND TELOMERE LENGTH WERE ESTIMATED AT DAY 0, AND AFTER 3 AND 6 MONTHS OF INTERVENTION. WE ALSO EXAMINED THE COMPLIANCE WITH YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTICE AND SMOKING STATUS AT EACH FOLLOW-UP. RESULTS: THE SEMINAL MEAN ROS LEVELS (P<0.05), SPERM DFI (P<0.001), 8-OHDG (P<0.01) LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN FATHERS OF CHILDREN WITH RB, AS COMPARED TO CONTROLS AND THE RELATIVE MEAN TELOMERE LENGTH IN THE SPERM WAS SHORTER. LEVELS OF ROS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN TOBACCO USERS (P<0.05) AS WELL AS IN ALCOHOLICS (P<0.05) AFTER INTERVENTION. DFI REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY (P<0.05) AFTER 6 MONTHS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTICE IN ALL GROUPS. THE LEVELS OF OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE MARKER 8-OHDG WERE REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER 3 MONTHS (P<0.05) AND 6 MONTHS (P<0.05) OF PRACTICE. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT OS AND ODD DNA MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDHOOD CANCER. THIS MAY BE DUE TO ACCUMULATION OF OXIDIZED MUTAGENIC BASE 8OHDG , AND ELEVATED MDA LEVELS WHICH RESULTS IN MDA DIMERS WHICH ARE ALSO MUTAGENIC, ABERRANT METHYLATION PATTERN, ALTERED GENE EXPRESSION WHICH AFFECT CELL PROLIFERATION AND SURVIVAL THROUGH ACTIVATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. INCREASED MT DNA MUTATIONS AND ABERRANT REPAIR OF MT AND NUCLEAR DNA DUE TO HIGHLY TRUNCATRED DNA REPAIR MECHANISMS ALL CONTRIBUTE TO SPERM GENOME HYPERMUTABILITY AND PERSISTANT OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE. OXIDATIVE STRESS IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH GENOME WIDE HYPOMETHYLATION, TELOMERE SHORTENING AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION LEADING TO GENOME HYPERMUTABILITY AND INSTABILITY. TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY TO REPORT DECLINE IN OS AND ODD AND IMPROVEMENT IN SPERM DNA INTEGRITY FOLLOWING ADOPTION OF MEDITATION AND YOGA BASED LIFE STYLE MODIFICATION.THIS MAY REDUCE DISEASE BURDEN IN NEXT GENERATION AND REDUCE INCIDENCE OF CHILDHOOD CANCERS. 2016 2 1589 60 MEDITATION & YOGA: IMPACT ON OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE & DYSREGULATED SPERM TRANSCRIPTS IN MALE PARTNERS OF COUPLES WITH RECURRENT PREGNANCY LOSS. BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: RECURRENT PREGNANCY LOSS (RPL) IS ONE OF THE DEVASTATING COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY AND CURRENT FOCUS LIES IN ADDRESSING THE MANAGEMENT OF PATERNAL FACTORS. DYSREGULATION IN SELECTIVE TRANSCRIPTS DELIVERED TO OOCYTE AT FERTILIZATION CAN RESULT IN PREGNANCY LOSSES AND ADVERSELY AFFECT EMBRYOGENESIS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YBLI) ON SEMINAL OXIDATIVE STRESS (OS), DNA DAMAGE AND SPERMATOZOAL TRANSCRIPT LEVELS. METHODS: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS A PART OF A PROSPECTIVE ONGOING EXPLORATORY STUDY AND 30 MALE PARTNERS OF COUPLES WITH RPL WERE INCLUDED FROM AUGUST 2016 TO JUNE 2017. SEMEN SAMPLES WERE OBTAINED AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF YBLI (21 DAYS). GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED BY QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION ON SPERMATOZOAL FOXG1, SOX3, OGG1, PARP1, RPS6, RBM9, RPS17 AND RPL29. THE LEVELS OF SEMINAL OS AND SPERM DNA DAMAGE WAS ASSESSED BY MEASURING LEVELS OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) BY CHEMILUMINESCENCE AND DNA FRAGMENTATION INDEX (DFI) BY SPERM CHROMATIN STRUCTURE ASSAY. RESULTS: SOX3, OGG1 AND PARP1 WERE OBSERVED TO BE UPREGULATED, WHILE FOXG1, RPS6, RBM9, RPS17 AND RPL29 SHOWED DOWNREGULATION. A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ROS LEVELS, AN INCREASE IN SPERM MOTILITY, SPERM COUNT (DONE TWICE) AND A DECREASE IN DFI WAS SEEN AFTER YBLI. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: ADOPTING YBLI MAY HELP IN A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND NORMALIZATION OF SPERM TRANSCRIPT LEVELS. THIS MAY NOT ONLY IMPROVE PREGNANCY OUTCOMES BUT ALSO IMPROVE THE HEALTH TRAJECTORY OF THE OFFSPRING. 2018 3 1392 45 IMPACT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON CELLULAR AGING IN APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS: A PROSPECTIVE, OPEN-LABEL SINGLE-ARM EXPLORATORY STUDY. THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO EXPLORE THE IMPACT OF YOGA AND MEDITATION BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YMLI) ON CELLULAR AGING IN APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. DURING THIS 12-WEEK PROSPECTIVE, OPEN-LABEL, SINGLE ARM EXPLORATORY STUDY, 96 APPARENTLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS WERE ENROLLED TO RECEIVE YMLI. THE PRIMARY ENDPOINTS WERE ASSESSMENT OF THE CHANGE IN LEVELS OF CARDINAL BIOMARKERS OF CELLULAR AGING IN BLOOD FROM BASELINE TO WEEK 12, WHICH INCLUDED DNA DAMAGE MARKER 8-HYDROXY-2'-DEOXYGUANOSINE (8-OH2DG), OXIDATIVE STRESS MARKERS REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS), AND TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY (TAC), AND TELOMERE ATTRITION MARKERS TELOMERE LENGTH AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY. THE SECONDARY ENDPOINTS WERE ASSESSMENT OF METABOTROPHIC BLOOD BIOMARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH CELLULAR AGING, WHICH INCLUDED CORTISOL, BETA-ENDORPHIN, IL-6, BDNF, AND SIRTUIN-1. AFTER 12 WEEKS OF YMLI, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN BOTH THE CARDINAL BIOMARKERS OF CELLULAR AGING AND THE METABOTROPHIC BIOMARKERS INFLUENCING CELLULAR AGING COMPARED TO BASELINE VALUES. THE MEAN LEVELS OF 8-OH2DG, ROS, CORTISOL, AND IL-6 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER AND MEAN LEVELS OF TAC, TELOMERASE ACTIVITY, BETA-ENDORPHIN, BDNF, AND SIRTUIN-1 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED (ALL VALUES P < 0.05) POST-YMLI. THE MEAN LEVEL OF TELOMERE LENGTH WAS INCREASED BUT THE FINDING WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT (P = 0.069). YMLI SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE RATE OF CELLULAR AGING IN APPARENTLY HEALTHY POPULATION. 2017 4 2652 52 YOGA IMPROVES MITOCHONDRIAL HEALTH AND REDUCES SEVERITY OF AUTOIMMUNE INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: OXIDATIVE STRESS (OS) AND MITOCHONDRIAL ALTERATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA). VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS LIKE AIR POLLUTANTS, SMOKING, UNHEALTHY SOCIAL HABITS AND SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE INDUCE OS, WHICH MAY COMPROMISE MITOCHONDRIAL INTEGRITY. THIS TRIAL WAS DESIGNED TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF 8-WEEKS YOGA PRACTICE ON MITOCHONDRIAL HEALTH AND DISEASE SEVERITY IN AN ACTIVE RA GROUP COMPARED WITH A USUAL-CARE CONTROL GROUP. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 70 SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: YOGA GROUP AND NON-YOGA GROUP. MITOCHONDRIAL HEALTH WAS ASSESSED BY CALCULATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA COPY NUMBER (MTDNA-CN), OS MARKERS, MITOCHONDRIAL ACTIVITY, MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANE POTENTIAL (DELTAPSIM), CIRCADIAN RHYTHM MARKERS AND TRANSCRIPTS ASSOCIATED WITH MITOCHONDRIAL INTEGRITY: AMPK, TIMP-1, KLOTHO, SIRT-1, AND TFAM. PARAMETERS OF DISEASE ACTIVITY AND DISABILITY QUOTIENT WERE ALSO ASSESSED BY DISEASE ACTIVITY SCORE - ERYTHROCYTE SEDIMENTATION RATE (DAS28-ESR) AND HEALTH ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE-DISABILITY INDEX (HAQ-DI), RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: IN YOGA GROUP, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT UPREGULATION OF MTDNA-CN, MITOCHONDRIAL ACTIVITY MARKERS, DELTAPSIM, AND TRANSCRIPTS THAT MAINTAIN MITOCHONDRIAL INTEGRITY AFTER 8-WEEKS OF YOGA. THERE WAS OPTIMIZATION OF OS MARKERS, AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHM MARKERS POST 8-WEEKS PRACTICE OF YOGA. YOGA GROUP PARTICIPANTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN DAS28-ESR (P < 0.05) AND HAQ-DI (P < 0.05) OVER THE NON-YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION: ADOPTION OF YOGA BY RA PATIENTS HOLDS THE KEY TO ENHANCE MITOCHONDRIAL HEALTH, IMPROVE CIRCADIAN RHYTHM MARKERS, OS MARKER REGULATION, UPREGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTS THAT MAINTAIN MITOCHONDRIAL INTEGRITY, REDUCE DISEASE ACTIVITY AND ITS ASSOCIATED CONSEQUENCES ON HEALTH OUTCOME AND HENCE CAN BE BENEFICIAL AS AN ADJUNCT THERAPY. 2021 5 508 32 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 2038 58 TELOMERASE ACTIVITY AND CELLULAR AGING MIGHT BE POSITIVELY MODIFIED BY A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION. OBJECTIVES: RECENT STUDIES SHOWED THAT A BRIEF YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION WAS EFFICACIOUS IN REDUCING LEVELS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS AND CELLULAR AGING IN OBESE MEN. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS CASE REPORT WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF THIS INTERVENTION IN REDUCING THE LEVELS OF BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS OF CELLULAR AGEING, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND INFLAMMATION AT BASELINE (DAY 0), AT THE END OF ACTIVE INTERVENTION (DAY 10), AND FOLLOW-UP AT DAY 90. DESIGN: SINGLE CASE REPORT FROM A PROSPECTIVE ONGOING STUDY WITH PRE-POST DESIGN ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF VARIOUS MARKERS OF CELLULAR AGING. SETTING: INTEGRAL HEALTH CLINIC, AN OUTPATIENT FACILITY CONDUCTING MEDITATION AND YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION PROGRAMS FOR MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES. PATIENT: A 31-YEAR-OLD MAN WITH CLASS I OBESITY (BODY-MASS INDEX, 29.5 KG/M(2)) WHO PRESENTED TO THE MEDICINE OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT AT ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, INDIA, WITH A HISTORY OF FATIGUE, DIFFICULTY LOSING WEIGHT, AND LACK OF MOTIVATION. HE NOTED A MARKED DECREASE IN HIS ENERGY LEVEL, PARTICULARLY IN THE AFTERNOON. INTERVENTION: A PRETESTED INTERVENTION PROGRAM INCLUDED ASANAS (POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), STRESS MANAGEMENT, GROUP DISCUSSIONS, LECTURES, AND INDIVIDUALIZED ADVICE. RESULTS: FROM BASELINE (DAY 0) TO DAY 90, THE ACTIVITY OF TELOMERASE AND LEVELS OF BETA-ENDORPHINS, PLASMA CORTISOL, AND INTERLEUKIN-6 INCREASED, AND A SUSTAINED REDUCTION IN OXIDATIVE STRESS MARKERS, SUCH AS REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND 8-HYDROXY-2-DEOXY-GUANOSINE LEVELS. CONCLUSIONS: ADOPTING YOGA/MEDITATION-BASED LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION CAUSES REVERSAL OF MARKERS OF AGING, MAINLY OXIDATIVE STRESS, TELOMERASE ACTIVITY, AND OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE. THIS MAY NOT ONLY DELAY AGING AND PROLONG A YOUTHFUL HEALTHY LIFE BUT ALSO DELAY OR PREVENT ONSET OF SEVERAL LIFESTYLE-RELATED DISEASES, OF WHICH OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATION ARE THE CHIEF CAUSE. THIS REPORT SUGGESTS THIS SIMPLE LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION MAY BE THERAPEUTIC FOR OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. 2015 7 2854 49 YOGA- AND MEDITATION-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION INCREASES NEUROPLASTICITY AND REDUCES SEVERITY OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: CURRENT INTERVENTIONS FOR MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD) ARE SUBOPTIMAL, AND ONLY ONE THIRD RESPOND TO THEM ON INITIAL TREATMENT. NEUROPLASTICITY THEORIES ARE THE BASIS FOR SEVERAL EMERGING TREATMENTS. EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF YOGA, A WELL-KNOWN MIND-BODY INTERVENTION, ON NEUROPLASTICITY IN MDD IS LIMITED. OBJECTIVES: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF 12-WEEK YOGA- AND MEDITATION-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YMLI) ON DEPRESSION SEVERITY AND SYSTEMIC BIOMARKERS OF NEUROPLASTICITY IN ADULT MDD PATIENTS ON ROUTINE DRUG TREATMENT. METHODS: A TOTAL OF 58 MDD PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP. THE SEVERITY OF DEPRESSION WAS ASSESSED WITH BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II SCALE (BDI-II). BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE BIOMARKERS THAT CHARACTERIZE NEUROPLASTICITY, INCLUDING MIND-BODY COMMUNICATIVE AND CELLULAR HEALTH BIOMARKERS. RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE [DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEANS, (95% CI)] IN BDI-II SCORE [-5.83 (-7.27, -4.39), P < 0.001] AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN BDNF (NG/ML) [5.48 (3.50, 7.46), P < 0.001] AFTER YMLI COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. YMLI SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED DHEAS, SIRTUIN 1, AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY LEVELS, AND DECREASED CORTISOL, AND IL-6 LEVELS, IN ADDITION TO DECREASING DNA DAMAGE AND BALANCING OXIDATIVE STRESS. MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSES WERE USED TO ASSOCIATE NEUROPLASTICITY BIOMARKERS WITH DEPRESSION SEVERITY. A 'POST-INTERVENTION CHANGE IN BDNF' X 'GROUP' INTERACTION INDICATED THAT YOGA GROUP HAD MORE BDNF IN ASSOCIATION WITH LESS BDI-II SCORES RELATIVE TO CONTROLS. INCREASED SIRTUIN 1 AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY AND DECREASED CORTISOL SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED THIS ASSOCIATION (ALL P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT DECREASE IN DEPRESSION SEVERITY AFTER YMLI IN MDD IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED SYSTEMIC BIOMARKERS OF NEUROPLASTICITY. THUS YMLI CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN MDD MANAGEMENT. 2018 8 1989 47 SPERM METHYLOME ALTERATIONS FOLLOWING YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION IN PATIENTS OF PRIMARY MALE INFERTILITY: A PILOT STUDY. A MAJORITY OF THE CASES OF PRIMARY MALE INFERTILITY ARE IDIOPATHIC WITH THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AS YET UNKNOWN. EFFECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT CAN ALTER THE SPERM EPIGENOME THEREBY IMPACTING MALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTANDING HEALTH AND DISEASE, AND METHYLOME ALTERATIONS ARE NOW KNOWN TO HAVE FAR-REACHING CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS. HERE, WE REPORT THE RESULTS FROM OUR PILOT STUDY, A FIRST OF ITS KIND ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF THE TRADITIONAL PRACTICE OF YOGA ON HUMAN SPERM QUALITY. WE FIND MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN SPERM CHARACTERISTICS IN PATIENTS OF IDIOPATHIC MALE INFERTILITY FOLLOWING A SUPERVISED 21-DAY YOGA REGIMEN. FURTHERMORE, NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING-BASED METHYLOME ANALYSIS REVEALS ALTERATIONS IN THE SPERM EPIGENOME OF THESE PATIENTS. WE FIND THAT THE PRACTICE OF YOGA IS ASSOCIATED WITH DNA METHYLATION CHANGES AT NEARLY 400 GENES, 147 OF WHICH WERE HYPERMETHYLATED WHILE 229 WERE HYPOMETHYLATED. THESE INCLUDED PROMOTERS OF SEVERAL GENES LINKED TO MAINTENANCE OF FERTILITY AND GENOMIC INTEGRITY. THIS NOVEL PIECE OF WORK DRAWS A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN POSITIVE LIFESTYLE PRACTICES AND MALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. 2020 9 35 46 A 12-WEEK YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION MIGHT POSITIVELY MODIFY CELLULAR AGING IN INDIAN OBESE INDIVIDUALS: A RANDOMIZED-CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: TELOMERES AND TELOMERASE ARE CONSIDERED CARDINAL BIOMARKERS OF CELLULAR AGING. SHORTER TELOMERES AND LOW TELOMERASE ACTIVITY HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY AND ACCELERATED AGING. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YBLI) WITH THE STANDARD OF CARE (SOC) ON CELLULAR AGING BY ESTIMATING TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY IN OBESITY. DESIGN AND SETTING: A PARALLEL, TWO-ARM, RANDOMIZED-CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED AT THE INTEGRAL HEALTH CLINIC, DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY, ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, FROM MARCH 2017 TO OCTOBER 2019. PARTICIPANTS: OBESE (N = 72), BODY MASS INDEX (BMI), 25-35 KG/M(2), AGED 20-45 YEARS, MALE (21), AND FEMALE (51). INTERVENTION: SEVENTY-TWO OBESE PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE EITHER A 12-WEEK SOC (N = 36) OR YBLI (N = 36). SOC INCLUDED MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY AS PER INDIAN GUIDELINES INCLUDING A HYPOCALORIC INDIVIDUALIZED DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THE PRETESTED YBLI INCLUDED ASANA (PHYSICAL POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), AND MEDITATION. METHODS: BLOOD SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FROM BOTH THE GROUPS AT BASELINE, 2, 4, AND 12 WEEKS. DNA WAS EXTRACTED FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS. TL WAS MEASURED BY QUANTITATIVE PCR, AND SERUM TELOMERASE LEVELS BY IMMUNOASSAY. OUTCOME MEASURES: PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES WERE THE CHANGES IN THE TL AND TELOMERASE LEVELS BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS AT WEEK 12. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES WERE THE CHANGES IN TL AND TELOMERASE, AND ANTHROPOMETRIC PARAMETERS (BODY WEIGHT, BMI, WAIST-TO-HIP RATIO) AT 2, 4, AND 12 WEEKS OF INTERVENTION IN BOTH SOC AND YBLI GROUPS. RESULTS: THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN TL AND TELOMERASE LEVELS BETWEEN THE GROUPS AT WEEK 12. THE TL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER IN THE YBLI GROUP VERSUS THE SOC GROUP (P < 0.0001) AT 2 WEEKS. THE ANTHROPOMETRIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS WERE INFLUENCED POSITIVELY BY BOTH SOC AND YBLI. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY DID NOT MEET THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE, ALTHOUGH THE RESULTS ARE SUGGESTIVE OF A POSITIVE IMPACT OF YBLI ON AGING IN OBESITY AS NOTED WITHIN THE YBLI GROUP. HOWEVER, THE RESULTS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED CAREFULLY, AND IN THE LIGHT OF OTHER PUBLISHED DATA. LARGER STUDIES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE POSSIBLE POSITIVE BENEFITS OF YBLI ON CELLULAR AGING ARE RECOMMENDED. CLINICAL TRAIL REGISTRATION NO. CTRI/2016/08/007136. 2022 10 1394 45 IMPACT OF YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH RETINOBLASTOMA. BACKGROUND: CHILDHOOD CANCERS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A PSYCHOLOGICAL BURDEN TO THE PARENTS AND HENCE, DECLINE THEIR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE. PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY IS TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF 12-WEEKS YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE PARENTS OF CHILDREN AFFECTED WITH RETINOBLASTOMA. METHOD: SINGLE ARM PROSPECTIVE CLINICAL TRIAL CONDUCTED FROM OCTOBER 2015 TO OCTOBER 2017 AT THE LABORATORY FOR MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION AND GENETICS, DEPARTMENT OF ANATOMY, ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, INDIA. A PRE-TESTED 12-WEEKS YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION INCLUDED ASANAS (PHYSICAL POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), DHYANA (MEDITATION), RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, LECTURES AND FILMS ON YOGA, INTERACTIVE SESSIONS AND INDIVIDUALIZED ADVICE WAS ADMINISTERED TO THE PARTICIPANTS. RESULTS: 12-WEEKS OF YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION PROGRAMME LEADS TO A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE PARENTS OF RETINOBLASTOMA PATIENTS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ALL THE DOMAINS (PHYSICAL HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH, SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND ENVIRONMENT) OF WHOQOL-BREF FROM BASELINE (DAY 0) TO 12-WEEKS OF YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION. YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ALSO LED TO A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE LEVELS OF BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR, DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE SULPHATE, SIRTUIN 1 AND DECREASED THE CORTISOL AND IL-6 LEVELS. CONCLUSION: YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION REDUCED THE SEVERITY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND RESULTED IN IMPROVEMENT IN OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE AND UPREGULATION IN LEVELS OF SYSTEMIC BIOMARKERS OF NEUROPLASTICITY. YBLI MAY SERVE AS A BENEFICIAL THERAPY AND MAY ALSO ACT AS AN EFFECTIVE MEDIUM FOR BETTER STRESS MANAGEMENT TO DEVELOP BETTER COPING STRATEGIES IN THE PARENTS OF RETINOBLASTOMA PATIENTS. 2019 11 1789 38 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 12 1917 49 ROLE OF YOGA AND ITS PLAUSIBLE MECHANISM IN THE MITIGATION OF DNA DAMAGE IN TYPE-2 DIABETES: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: ALTHOUGH YOGA IS FOUND TO BE BENEFICIAL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TYPE 2 DIABETES (T2D), ITS MECHANISM OF ACTION IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. T2D IS ALSO KNOWN TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS (OS) AND DNA DAMAGE. PURPOSE: THIS STUDY EXAMINES HOW YOGA MODULATES OS-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE AND THE EFFICIENCY OF DNA REPAIR IN T2D CONDITIONS. METHODS: IN THIS ASSESSOR-MASKED RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL, T2D SUBJECTS (N = 61), AGED (MEAN +/- SD, 50.3 +/- 4.2) WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED INTO YOGA GROUP (31) THAT RECEIVED 10 WEEKS OF YOGA INTERVENTION AND CONTROL (30) WITH ROUTINE EXERCISES. MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD. STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING USING "R" WAS USED FOR MEDIATION ANALYSIS. RESULTS: AT THE END OF THE 10TH WEEK, YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DNA DAMAGE INDICATORS LIKE TAIL MOMENT (-5.88[95%CI: -10.47 TO -1.30]; P = .013) AND OLIVE TAIL MOMENT (-2.93[95%CI: -4.87 TO -1.00]; P < .01), OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE MARKER 8-OHDG (-60.39[95%CI: -92.55 TO -28.23]; P < .001) AND FASTING BLOOD SUGAR (-22.58[95%CI: -44.33 TO -0.83]; P = .042) COMPARED TO CONTROL. OGG1 PROTEIN EXPRESSION INDICATING DNA REPAIR, IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY (17.55[95%CI:1.37 TO 33.73]; P = .034) WHEREAS TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY DID NOT (5.80[95%CI: -0.86 TO 12.47]; P = 0.086). MEDIATION ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT IMPROVEMENTS IN OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND DNA REPAIR TOGETHER PLAYED A MAJOR MEDIATORY ROLE (97.4%) IN CARRYING THE EFFECT OF YOGA. CONCLUSION: THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF YOGA ON DNA DAMAGE IN T2D SUBJECTS WAS FOUND TO BE MEDIATED BY MITIGATION OF OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND ENHANCEMENT OF DNA REPAIR. CLINICAL TRIAL INFORMATION: (WWW.CTRI.NIC.IN) CTRI/2018/07/014825. 2022 13 683 54 EFFECT OF AN 8-WEEK YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE AXIS, DISEASE ACTIVITY, AND PERCEIVED QUALITY OF LIFE IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. VARIOUS EXTERNAL STRESSORS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES LEAD TO THE PROVOCATION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES LIKE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA). THE INAPPROPRIATE IMMUNE RESPONSE FURTHER TRIGGERS THE CASCADE OF INFLAMMATORY CHANGES RESULTING IN PRECIPITATION OF SYMPTOMS AND HAMPERS QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL). THE UNDERLYING PSYCHO-SOMATIC COMPONENT OF THE DISEASE REQUIRES A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ITS TREATMENT DIMENSION RATHER THAN THE USE OF PHARMACOTHERAPY. THE APPLICABILITY OF MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS HAS BECOME ESSENTIAL IN TODAY'S FAST-PACED LIFE. YOGA, A MIND-BODY TECHNIQUE, ALTERS THE MIND'S CAPACITY TO FACILITATE SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONING AT MULTIPLE ORGAN SYSTEM LEVELS. HENCE, WE CONDUCTED THIS STUDY TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF 8 WEEKS OF A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YBLI) ON PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE MARKERS, GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS, AND QOL IN RA PATIENTS ON ROUTINE MEDICAL THERAPY. A TOTAL OF 66 PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS: YOGA GROUP OR NON-YOGA GROUP AND WERE ASSESSED FOR A PANEL OF INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (IL-6, IL-17A, TNF-ALPHA, AND TGF-BETA), MIND-BODY COMMUNICATIVE MARKERS (BDNF, DHEAS, BETA-ENDORPHIN, AND SIRTUIN) AND TRANSCRIPT LEVELS OF VARIOUS GENES (IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, NFKB1, TGF-BETA, AND CTLA4). WE ASSESSED DISEASE ACTIVITY AND QOL USING THE DAS28-ESR AND WHOQOL-BREF QUESTIONNAIRE, RESPECTIVELY. YOGA GROUP OBSERVED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE LEVELS OF MARKERS, WHICH INFLUENCED THE PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE AXIS (P < 0.001) WITH AN ESTIMATED EFFECT SIZE FROM SMALL TO MEDIUM RANGE. IN THE YOGA GROUP, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DAS28-ESR (P < 0.001) AND IMPROVEMENT SEEN IN THE PHYSICAL HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS DOMAINS (P < 0.001) OF QOL, EXCEPT ENVIRONMENTAL (P > 0.05). THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED DOWNREGULATION OF IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND CTLA4 AND UPREGULATION OF TGF-BETA. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT A DECREASE IN DISEASE ACTIVITY AFTER YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, THE ELEVATION OF MIND-BODY COMMUNICATIVE MARKERS, AND NORMALIZATION OF VARIOUS TRANSCRIPT LEVELS, WHICH IMPROVED QOL. THUS THE ADOPTION OF YBLI IMPROVES CLINICAL OUTCOME IN RA, AND DECREASES SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION BY ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON PSYCHO-NEURO-IMMUNE AXIS AND NORMALIZATION OF DYSREGULATED TRANSCRIPTS. THUS YBLI MAY BE USED FOR RA PATIENTS AS AN ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY. 2020 14 812 34 EFFECT OF YOGA ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN NON-DIABETIC OFFSPRING OF TYPE-2-DIABETES PARENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF YOGA PROGRAM ON CARDIAC AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN NON-DIABETIC OFFSPRING OF DIABETES PARENTS. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED PASSIVE-CONTROLLED STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 64 NON-DIABETIC OFFSPRING OF TYPE-2-DIABETES PARENTS (MEAN-AGE:25.17YEARS). YOGA GROUP PARTICIPANTS RECEIVED YOGA TRAINING FOR 8 WEEKS. HEART-RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) INDICES: LOW FREQUENCY (LF), HIGH FREQUENCY (HF) AND LF/HF RATIO; FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE (FBG), ORAL GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST (OGTT) AND INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR) WERE ESTIMATED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 8-WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. RESULTS: WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN LF (P=0.005), LF/HF RATIO (P=0.004), IR (P<0.001), OGTT (P=0.003) AND INCREASE IN HF (P=0.022) IN YOGA GROUP PARTICIPANTS. CONTROL GROUP PARTICIPANTS DID NOT SHOW ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ANY VARIABLES. CONCLUSIONS: IMPROVEMENT IN CARDIAC AUTONOMIC FUNCTION AND INSULIN RESISTANCE BY YOGA TRAINING IMPLIES THAT YOGA CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF DEVELOPMENT OF DIABETES IN OFFSPRING OF DIABETES PARENTS. 2019 15 972 28 EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM IN MODULATING PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND RADIATION-INDUCED GENOTOXIC STRESS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY. EFFECTS OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA PROGRAM IN MODULATING PERCEIVED STRESS LEVELS, ANXIETY, AS WELL AS DEPRESSION LEVELS AND RADIATION-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE WERE STUDIED IN 68 BREAST CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY. TWO PSYCHOLOGICAL QUESTIONNAIRES--HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS) AND PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (PSS)--AND DNA DAMAGE ASSAY WERE USED IN THE STUDY. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE HADS SCORES IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP DISPLAYED AN INCREASE IN THESE SCORES. MEAN PSS WAS DECREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP DID NOT SHOW ANY CHANGE PRE- AND POSTRADIOTHERAPY. RADIATION-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED IN BOTH THE YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS AFTER RADIOTHERAPY, BUT THE POSTRADIOTHERAPY DNA DAMAGE IN THE YOGA GROUP WAS SLIGHTLY LESS WHEN COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA INTERVENTION MODULATES THE STRESS AND DNA DAMAGE LEVELS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS DURING RADIOTHERAPY. 2007 16 833 47 EFFECT OF YOGA ON OXIDATIVE STRESS IN ELDERLY WITH GRADE-I HYPERTENSION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: HYPERTENSION, ESPECIALLY IN ELDERLY IS A STRONG RISK FACTOR FOR CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY. OXIDATIVE STRESS HAS BEEN IMPLICATED AS ONE OF THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF HYPERTENSION. YOGA HAS BEEN FOUND TO CONTROL HYPERTENSION IN THE ELDERLY, BUT THE UNDERLYING BENEFITS OF MECHANISM IN RELATION TO OXIDATIVE STRESS REGULATION REMAINS UNCLEAR. THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON OXIDATIVE STRESS IN ELDERLY WITH GRADE-I HYPERTENSION. METHODS: AN OPEN PARALLEL-ARM RANDOMISED CONTROLLED STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AT BLDE UNIVERSITY'S SHRI B.M.PATIL MEDICAL COLLEGE, HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE, INDIA ON ELDERLY MALE INDIVIDUALS WITH GRADE-I HYPERTENSION (N=57, AGE 60-80 YEARS). STUDY (YOGA) GROUP WAS ASSIGNED FOR YOGA INTERVENTION AND CONTROL GROUP FOR WALKING FOR ONE HOUR IN THE MORNING FOR SIX DAYS IN A WEEK FOR THREE MONTHS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF YOGA INSTRUCTOR AND PHYSICAL TRAINING INSTRUCTOR RESPECTIVELY. SERUM MALONDIALDEHYDE (MDA) AS AN INDICATOR OF OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ANTIOXIDANTS SUCH AS SERUM SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE (SOD), REDUCED GLUTATHIONE (GSH) AND VITAMIN C LEVELS WERE ESTIMATED. RESULTS: YOGA PRACTICE FOR THREE MONTHS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED SERUM MDA LEVEL (P<0.001), AND ENHANCED ANTIOXIDANTS LEVEL SUCH AS SOD ACTIVITY (P=0.007), SERUM GSH (P=0.002) AND VITAMIN C (P=0.002). IN THE CONTROL GROUP, WE OBSERVED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SERUM MDA LEVEL (P=0.04) AND REDUCTION IN SERUM VITAMIN C LEVEL (P=0.015) WITH NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE SOD ACTIVITY AND GSH LEVEL. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS TO REDUCE OXIDATIVE STRESS AND TO IMPROVE ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE IN ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE INDIVIDUALS. 2014 17 1783 31 PREDICTORS OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN INDIANS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME UNDERGOING RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION VS DIETARY INTERVENTION. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORES THE EFFICACY OF 12-WEEK YOGA + DIET-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION (YBLI) VS DIETARY INTERVENTION (DI) ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) AND IDENTIFIES THE PREDICTORS OF CHANGE IN HRQOL IN INDIANS WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME (MET S). DATA FROM THE HISTORICAL RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS USED INCLUDING ADULTS (N = 260, 20-45 YEARS) WITH MET S. FOUR DOMAINS OF HRQOL WERE MEASURED AT BASELINE, 2 AND 12 WEEKS USING WHOQOL-BREF QUESTIONNAIRE. GENERALIZED ESTIMATING EQUATION AND CHI-SQUARE TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE 12-WEEK CHANGES IN HRQOL DOMAINS AND PROPORTION OF SUBJECTS, RESPECTIVELY. CHANGES IN HRQOL WERE PREDICTED USING REGRESSION MODELS CONCERNING CHANGES IN BODY MASS INDEX (BMI), PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE, ADIPONECTIN, AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE (SOD) LEVELS. EXPLORATORY MEDIATION ANALYSIS WAS CARRIED OUT USING BARON & KENNY APPROACH. YBLI RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER INCREASE IN THE PHYSICAL DOMAIN SCORE OF HRQOL THAN DI. A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER PROPORTION OF SUBJECTS IN YBLI GROUP (71%) SHOWED AN INCREASE IN PHYSICAL DOMAIN SCORES COMPARED TO DI (51%). A UNIT CHANGE IN BMI NEGATIVELY PREDICTED A UNIT CHANGE IN PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. WHEREAS, A UNIT CHANGE IN ADIPONECTIN AND SOD LEVELS POSITIVELY PREDICTED A UNIT CHANGE IN PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. PARTIAL MEDIATION BETWEEN YBLI INTERVENTION AND PHYSICAL HRQOL DOMAIN WAS OBSERVED VIA ADIPONECTIN. IN CONCLUSION, A 12-WEEK YBLI HAS A POSITIVE AND GREATER EFFECT ON HRQOL PHYSICAL DOMAIN SCORE THAN FOLLOWING DI ALONE. CHANGES IN BMI, ADIPONECTIN, AND SOD LEVELS MAY PREDICT CHANGES IN HRQOL DOMAINS AFTER LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION. 2021 18 881 37 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 19 2847 46 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 20 692 38 EFFECT OF COMMUNITY-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION ON OXIDATIVE STRESS AND GLYCEMIC PARAMETERS IN PREDIABETES: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: TO STUDY THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA INTERVENTION ON OXIDATIVE STRESS, GLYCEMIC STATUS, BLOOD PRESSURE AND ANTHROPOMETRY IN PREDIABETES. DESIGN: RANDOMIZED-CONTROLLED TRIAL. PARTICIPANTS: TWENTY NINE PREDIABETES SUBJECTS AGED 30-75 YEARS. SETTING: YOGA WAS CONDUCTED AT 4 DIFFERENT COMMUNITY DIABETES CLINICS IN MANGALORE, INDIA. INTERVENTIONS: PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER 3-MONTH YOGA OR WAIT-LIST CONTROL GROUPS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: MALONDIALDEHYDE, GLUTATHIONE, VITAMIN C, VITAMIN E, SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE, PLASMA GLUCOSE, GLYCATED HAEMOGLOBIN, BMI, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, WAIST-TO-HIP RATIO AND BLOOD PRESSURE. RESULTS: YOGA INTERVENTION RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN MALONDIALDEHYDE (P<0.001), RELATIVE TO THE CONTROL GROUP. IN COMPARISON WITH THE CONTROL, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN BMI, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND FASTING GLUCOSE LEVELS AT FOLLOW-UP. NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN GLYCATED HAEMOGLOBIN, WAIST-TO-HIP RATIO OR ANY OF THE ANTIOXIDANTS WAS OBSERVED. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA INTERVENTION MAY BE HELPFUL IN CONTROL OF OXIDATIVE STRESS IN PREDIABETES SUBJECTS. YOGA CAN ALSO BE BENEFICIAL IN REDUCTION IN BMI, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE AND FASTING GLUCOSE. EFFECT OF YOGA ON ANTIOXIDANT PARAMETERS WAS NOT EVIDENT IN THIS STUDY. THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY NEED TO BE CONFIRMED IN LARGER TRIALS INVOLVING ACTIVE CONTROL GROUPS. 2013