1 2088 124 THE EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA DURING PREGNANCY ON LABOR STAGES LENGTH, ANXIETY AND PAIN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: ANXIETY AND FEAR OF LABOR PAIN HAS LED TO ELEVATED CESAREAN SECTION RATE IN SOME COUNTRIES. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN PREGNANCY ON ANXIETY, LABOR PAIN AND LENGTH OF LABOR STAGES. METHODS: THIS CLINICAL TRIAL STUDY WAS PERFORMED ON 84 NULLIPAROUS WOMEN WHO WERE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD AND WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS OF YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. PREGNANCY YOGA PROGRAM CONSISTING OF 6 60-MIN TRAINING SESSIONS WAS STARTED EVERY 2 WEEKS FROM WEEK 26 OF PREGNANCY AND CONTINUED UNTIL 37 WEEKS OF GESTATION. ANXIETY SEVERITY AT MATERNAL ADMISSION TO LABOR WAS MEASURED BY THE SPIELBERGERS STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY, AND LABOR PAIN WAS MEASURED BY VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS) AT DILATATION (4-5 CM) AND 2 H AFTER THE FIRST MEASUREMENT. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING CHI-SQUARE AND T-TEST. RESULTS: INTERVENTION GROUP REPORTED LESS PAIN AT DILATATION (4-5 CM) (P=0.001) AND 2 H AFTER THE FIRST MEASUREMENT (P=0.001) THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. STAT ANXIETY WAS ALSO LOWER IN INTERVENTION GROUP THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.003) AT THE ENTRANCE TO LABOR ROOM. SUBJECTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP REQUIRED MORE INDUCTION COMPARED TO INTERVENTION GROUP (P=0.003). WOMEN IN INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED SHORTER DURATION OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THE LABOR THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.002). ALSO, THE TOTAL DURATION OF TWO STAGES OF LABOR WAS SHORTER IN INTERVENTION GROUP THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: PRACTICING YOGA DURING PREGNANCY MAY REDUCE WOMEN'S ANXIETY DURING LABOR; SHORTEN LABOR STAGES, AND LOWER LABOR PAIN. 2020 2 2525 69 YOGA DURING PREGNANCY: THE EFFECTS ON LABOR PAIN AND DELIVERY OUTCOMES (A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL). OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF AN ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM ON PERCEIVED MATERNAL LABOR PAIN AND DELIVERY OUTCOMES. MATERIAL & METHODS: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED WITH SIXTY PRIMIPAROUS WOMEN, AGED 18-35 YEARS OLD, WHO WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER AN ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM OR CONTROL GROUPS. LABOR PAIN AND DISCOMFORT LEVEL OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE MEASURED USING A VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE AT CERVICAL DILATATION OF 3-4 C AND AT 2 AND 4 H AFTER THE INITIAL MEASUREMENT. DEMOGRAPHIC AND OBSTETRICAL INFORMATION WERE COLLECTED. THE ANTENATAL YOGA PROGRAM CONSISTED OF A 1-H SUPERVISED YOGA CLASS, THREE TIMES A WEEKLY, STARTING AT 26 WEEKS GESTATION. . RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS IN CONTROL GROUP REPORTED HIGHER PAIN INTENSITY COMPARED TO EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AT 3-4 CM OF DILATATION (P = 0.01) AND AT 2 H AFTER THE FIRST AND THE SECOND MEASUREMENTS (P = 0.000). MOTHERS IN THE ANTENATAL INTERVENTION GROUP THAT COMPLETED THE YOGA CLASS REQUIRED A DECREASED FREQUENCY OF LABOR INDUCTION IN COMPARISON WITH CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.008). IN ADDITION, MODE OF DELIVERY OF THE INTERVENTION GROUP RESULTED IN A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF CESAREAN SECTION THAN CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.002). LASTLY, THE INTERVENTION GROUP EXPERIENCED A SHORTER DURATION OF THE SECOND AND THIRD STAGES OF LABOR. INTERVAL LEVEL DATA WAS ANALYZED BY USING AN INDEPENDENT T-TEST AND CHI-SQUARE. CONCLUSION: YOGA DURING PREGNANCY MAY CONTRIBUTE TO A REDUCTION PAIN OF LABOR AND IMPROVED ADEQUACY OF CHILDBIRTH. 2017 3 2524 41 YOGA DURING PREGNANCY: EFFECTS ON MATERNAL COMFORT, LABOR PAIN AND BIRTH OUTCOMES. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA PROGRAM DURING PREGNANCY, ON MATERNAL COMFORT, LABOR PAIN, AND BIRTH OUTCOMES. A RANDOMIZED TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED USING 74-PRIMIGRAVID THAI WOMEN WHO WERE EQUALLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS (EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL). THE YOGA PROGRAM INVOLVED SIX, 1-H SESSIONS AT PRESCRIBED WEEKS OF GESTATION. A VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTS WERE USED TO ASSESS MATERNAL COMFORT, LABOR PAIN AND BIRTH OUTCOMES. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS FOUND TO HAVE HIGHER LEVELS OF MATERNAL COMFORT DURING LABOR AND 2H POST-LABOR, AND EXPERIENCED LESS SUBJECT EVALUATED LABOR PAIN THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. IN EACH GROUP, PAIN INCREASED AND MATERNAL COMFORT DECREASED AS LABOR PROGRESSED. NO DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND, BETWEEN THE GROUPS, REGARDING PETHIDINE USAGE, LABOR AUGMENTATION OR NEWBORN APGAR SCORES AT 1 AND 5 MIN. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS FOUND TO HAVE A SHORTER DURATION OF THE FIRST STAGE OF LABOR, AS WELL AS THE TOTAL TIME OF LABOR. 2008 4 2138 31 THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS. BACKGROUND: FEW SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED MOVEMENT-BASED EMBODIED CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES SUCH AS YOGA AND THEIR EFFECTS ON COGNITION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION MEASURES OF TASK SWITCHING AND WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY. METHODS: COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS (N = 118; MEAN AGE = 62.0) WERE RANDOMIZED TO ONE OF TWO GROUPS: A HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION OR A STRETCHING-STRENGTHENING CONTROL. BOTH GROUPS PARTICIPATED IN HOUR-LONG EXERCISE CLASSES 3X/WEEK OVER THE 8-WEEK STUDY PERIOD. ALL PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED ESTABLISHED TESTS OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION INCLUDING THE TASK SWITCHING PARADIGM, N-BACK AND RUNNING MEMORY SPAN AT BASELINE AND FOLLOW-UP. RESULTS: ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCES SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTER REACTION TIMES ON THE MIXED AND REPEAT TASK SWITCHING TRIALS (PARTIAL ETA(2) = .04, P < .05) FOR THE HATHA YOGA GROUP. HIGHER ACCURACY WAS RECORDED ON THE SINGLE TRIALS (PARTIAL ETA(2) = .05, P < .05), THE 2-BACK CONDITION OF THE N-BACK (PARTIAL ETA(2) = .08, P < .001), AND PARTIAL RECALL SCORES (PARTIAL ETA(2) = .06, P < .01) OF RUNNING SPAN TASK. CONCLUSIONS: FOLLOWING 8 WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE, PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED PERFORMANCE ON THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTION MEASURES OF WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY AND EFFICIENCY OF MENTAL SET SHIFTING AND FLEXIBILITY COMPARED WITH THEIR STRETCHING-STRENGTHENING COUNTERPARTS. ALTHOUGH THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED, THESE RESULTS DEMAND LARGER SYSTEMATIC TRIALS TO THOROUGHLY EXAMINE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AS WELL AS ACROSS OTHER DOMAINS OF COGNITION, AND ITS POTENTIAL TO MAINTAIN OR IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN THE AGING PROCESS. 2014 5 1690 40 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 6 1797 52 PRENATAL YOGA: EFFECTS ON ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN AND BIRTH OUTCOMES. BACKGROUND: THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT PRENATAL YOGIC EXERCISES ARE EFFECTIVE IN ALLEVIATING LABOR PAIN AND IMPROVING BIRTH OUTCOMES, BY COMPARING PREGNANT WOMEN UNDERTAKING YOGA WITH A CONTROL GROUP. TRIAL DESIGN: SINGLE BLINDED, PARALLEL RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. METHODS: TWO HUNDRED PRIMIGRAVID WOMEN OF 30 WEEKS OF GESTATION ONWARD WHO MET THE INCLUSION CRITERIA (PRIMIGRAVIDA, 20-35 YEARS OF AGE, GESTATIONAL AGE OF 30 WEEKS, NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE OF YOGA) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO STUDY (N = 100) AND CONTROL GROUPS (N = 100) BY USING THE MINIMIZED RANDOMIZATION PROGRAM VERSION 2.01. THE STUDY GROUP RECEIVED THE INTERVENTION IN THE FORM OF INTEGRATED YOGA CONSISTING OF A SERIES OF 30-MIN PRACTICE SESSIONS AT THE 30TH, 32ND, 34TH, 36TH, 37TH, 38TH, AND 39TH WEEKS OF GESTATIONAL AGE. THE MATCHED CONTROL GROUP DID NOT PERFORM YOGA. THE PATIENTS WERE FOLLOWED TILL DELIVERY FOR MATERNAL COMFORT, ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN, AND BIRTH OUTCOME. ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN WAS ASSESSED BY USING NUMERICAL PAIN INTENSITY SCALE (NPIS), PAIN BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONAL SCALE (PBOS), AND MATERNAL DELIVERY COMFORT QUESTIONNAIRE. ONLY THE ASSESSORS WERE BLINDED. RESULTS: TWO HUNDRED PATIENTS WERE RANDOMIZED INTO 100 EACH IN CASE AND CONTROL GROUPS. FINAL ANALYSIS WAS DONE ON 75 PATIENTS IN EACH GROUP AFTER EXCLUSION DUE TO DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLICATIONS, LOSS TO FOLLOW-UP. THE REQUIREMENT OF INDUCTION OF LABOR AND ANALGESICS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN THE STUDY GROUP (P < 0.044, P < 0.045). THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE NUMBER OF NORMAL VAGINAL DELIVERIES (P < 0.037) AND LESS CAESAREAN SECTIONS (P < 0.048), SHORTER FIRST STAGE OF LABOR (P < 0.0003) IN THE STUDY GROUP PRACTICING YOGA. THE TOLERANCE OF PAIN WAS BETTER IN THE STUDY GROUP AS SHOWN BY NPIS (P < 0.001) AND PBOS SCORES (P < 0.0001). POSTPARTUM, THE MATERNAL COMFORT QUESTIONNAIRE SCORE SHOWED HIGHER COMFORT IN THE STUDY GROUP (P < 0.032). THE NUMBER OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY LESS IN THE STUDY GROUP (P < 0.042). THERE WERE NO ADVERSE EFFECTS ATTRIBUTED TO YOGA. CONCLUSION: THE STUDY HAS HIGHLIGHTED THAT YOGA IS A NONINVASIVE, EASY TO LEARN MIND-BODY MEDICINE AND COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH PRACTICE, EFFECTIVE IN ALLEVIATION OF LABOR PAIN AND POSSIBLY IMPROVING BIRTH OUTCOME. 2018 7 688 56 EFFECT OF ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, ON THE COURSE OF LABOR, DELIVERY AND PREGNANCY: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY. BACKGROUND: DELIVERING A CHILD IS A VERY STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE FOR WOMEN. PREGNANCY AND LABOR ENTAIL COMPLEX EVENTS THAT ARE UNIQUE TO EACH INDIVIDUAL FEMALE. THE MANAGEMENT OF LABOR PAIN IS OFTEN DONE USING ANALGESICS AND ANESTHESIA, WHICH HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE SOME SIDE EFFECTS. MORE COMPREHENSIVE DATA ARE NEEDED TO PROVIDE CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE FOR CLINICIANS TO CONFIDENTLY PRESCRIBE EXERCISES TO PATIENTS. THIS STUDY WAS DONE TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, ON THE COURSE OF LABOR, DELIVERY, AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. METHODS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 200 PRIMIPAROUS SUBJECTS (AGED 20-40). A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS PROVIDED TO THE SUBJECTS TO OBTAIN THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC AND OBSTETRICAL INFORMATION 6 WEEKS AFTER DELIVERY, AND THEIR HOSPITAL RECORDS WERE ALSO ASSESSED FOR FURTHER DETAILS. BASED ON THE NATURE AND DETAILS OBTAINED FOR THE ANTENATAL EXERCISES, SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: CONTROL AND EXERCISE. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED THE NEED FOR LABOR INDUCTION, SELF-PERCEIVED PAIN AND PERCEIVED EXERTION DURING LABOR, DURATION AND NATURE OF THE DELIVERY, NEWBORN INFANT WEIGHT, MATERNAL WEIGHT GAIN, HISTORY OF BACK PAIN, AND POST-PARTUM RECOVERY. THE TOTAL MATERNAL WEIGHT GAIN (IN KILOGRAMS) WAS CALCULATED FROM WEIGHT AT 6 WEEKS AFTER DELIVERY MINUS THE WEIGHT AT 12-14 WEEKS OF GESTATION. BACK PAIN DURING PREGNANCY AND SELF-PERCEIVED LABOR PAIN WERE MEASURED USING A VISUAL ANALOG SCALE (VAS). THE OVERALL PERCEIVED EXERTION DURING LABOR WAS MEASURED USING AN ADAPTED BORG SCALE FOR PERCEIVED EFFORT. RESULTS: THE SUBJECTS WHO FOLLOWED REGULAR ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RATES OF CESAREAN SECTION, LOWER WEIGHT GAIN, HIGHER NEWBORN INFANT WEIGHT, LOWER PAIN AND OVERALL DISCOMFORT DURING LABOR, LOWER BACK PAIN THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY, AND EARLIER POST-PARTUM RECOVERY COMPARED TO THOSE WHO DID NO SPECIFIC EXERCISES OR ONLY WALKED DURING PREGNANCY. CONCLUSIONS: THIS RETROSPECTIVE STUDY SHOWED THAT REGULAR ANTENATAL EXERCISES, INCLUDING YOGA, RESULT IN BETTER OUTCOMES RELATED TO THE COURSE OF LABOR, DELIVERY, AND PREGNANCY. THESE RESULTS NOTABLY INDICATED THAT PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD BE ACTIVE THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY AND FOLLOW A SUPERVISED EXERCISE PROGRAM THAT INCLUDES YOGA UNLESS CONTRAINDICATED. WE REQUIRE FURTHER LARGE-SCALE PROSPECTIVE STUDIES AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL TRIALS TO CONFIRM THE OBSERVED FINDINGS. 2020 8 2044 28 THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE MEASURES FOR WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME. OBJECTIVES: RECENTLY, YOGA CLASSES SPECIFICALLY FOR WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS) HAVE INCREASED, BUT THERE IS LITTLE RESEARCH ABOUT THE EFFICACY OF THESE CLASSES. THE PRIMARY AIMS OF THIS STUDY WERE TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA EXERCISE ON WOMEN WITH PMS AND TO EVALUATE THE IMMEDIATE CHANGE OF ATTENTION PERFORMANCE AFTER YOGA CLASSES. METHODS: THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE ATTENTION TASK RESULTS OF WOMEN WITH PMS. ELEVEN WOMEN WITH PMS AND 9 WOMEN WITHOUT PMS WERE RECRUITED. THE PMS GROUP TOOK THE TESTS BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE YOGA CLASS BOTH IN THE LUTEAL AND FOLLICULAR PHASE OF ONE MENSTRUAL CYCLE, WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP TOOK THE TESTS ONLY TWICE: ONCE IN THE LUTEAL PHASE AND ONCE IN THE FOLLICULAR PHASE. BOTH GROUPS WERE REQUIRED TO FINISH RESTING ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG) AND COGNITIVE TASK OF THE 2-BACK TASK WITH EEG RECORDING. RESULTS: THE ALPHA BRAIN WAVE PERCENTAGE WAS HIGHER IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOGA EXERCISE IN THE PMS GROUP. THIS SUGGESTS THAT THE PARTICIPANTS FELT MORE RELAXED OR WERE IN A MORE PEACEFUL MENTAL CONDITION AFTER YOGA EXERCISE. IN THE 2-BACK TASK, THE PMS GROUP NEEDED A LONGER REACTION TIME TO RESPOND TO THE TARGET STIMULUS IN THE LUTEAL PHASE AND PERFORMED BETTER WITH HIGHER ACCURACY AND SHORTER REACTION TIME AFTER YOGA EXERCISE. THE EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS OF THE EEG RECORDING DISPLAYED A SIGNIFICANT VARIABILITY AT THE P3 AMPLITUDE THROUGHOUT THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE IN THE PMS GROUP, BUT THE P3 AMPLITUDE WAS UNCHANGED THROUGHOUT THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT WOMEN WITH PMS COULD ATTEND SHORT-TERM YOGA EXERCISE IN THE LUTEAL PHASE TO MAKE THEMSELVES FEEL BETTER AND MAINTAIN A BETTER ATTENTION LEVEL. 2015 9 35 33 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 1015 40 EFFECTS OF PRENATAL YOGA ON WOMEN'S STRESS AND IMMUNE FUNCTION ACROSS PREGNANCY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL YOGA ON BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS HAVE NOT BEEN WIDELY STUDIED. THUS, WE COMPARED CHANGES IN STRESS AND IMMUNITY SALIVARY BIOMARKERS FROM 16 TO 36 WEEKS' GESTATION BETWEEN WOMEN RECEIVING PRENATAL YOGA AND THOSE RECEIVING ROUTINE PRENATAL CARE. DESIGN: FOR THIS LONGITUDINAL, PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL, WE RECRUITED 94 HEALTHY PREGNANT WOMEN AT 16 WEEKS' GESTATION THROUGH CONVENIENCE SAMPLING FROM A PRENATAL CLINIC IN TAIPEI. PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO INTERVENTION (N=48) OR CONTROL (N=46) GROUPS USING CLINSTAT BLOCK RANDOMIZATION. INTERVENTION: THE 20-WEEK INTERVENTION COMPRISED TWO WEEKLY 70-MIN YOGA SESSIONS LED BY A MIDWIFE CERTIFIED AS A YOGA INSTRUCTOR; THE CONTROL GROUP RECEIVED ONLY ROUTINE PRENATAL CARE. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: IN BOTH GROUPS, PARTICIPANTS' SALIVARY CORTISOL AND IMMUNOGLOBULIN A LEVELS WERE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA EVERY 4 WEEKS FROM 16 TO 36 WEEKS' GESTATION. RESULTS: THE INTERVENTION GROUP HAD LOWER SALIVARY CORTISOL (P<0.001) AND HIGHER IMMUNOGLOBULIN A (P<0.001) LEVELS IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOGA THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. SPECIFICALLY, THE INTERVENTION GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LONG-TERM SALIVARY IMMUNOGLOBULIN A LEVELS THAN THE CONTROL GROUP (P=0.018), AND INFANTS BORN TO WOMEN IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP WEIGHED MORE THAN THOSE BORN TO THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: PRENATAL YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PREGNANT WOMEN'S STRESS AND ENHANCED THEIR IMMUNE FUNCTION. CLINICIANS SHOULD LEARN THE MECHANISMS OF YOGA AND ITS EFFECTS ON PREGNANT WOMEN. OUR FINDINGS CAN GUIDE CLINICIANS TO HELP PREGNANT WOMEN ALLEVIATE THEIR STRESS AND ENHANCE THEIR IMMUNE FUNCTION. 2017 11 33 28 A 10-WEEK YOGA PRACTICE HAS NO EFFECT ON COGNITION, BUT IMPROVES BALANCE AND MOTOR LEARNING BY ATTENUATING BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR LEVELS IN OLDER ADULTS. DESPITE STUDIES INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE AND MOTOR FUNCTIONING IN OLDER ADULTS, THE EFFECT ON DUAL-TASK PERFORMANCE AND MOTOR LEARNING AND THE SPECIFIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF YOGA REMAIN UNCLEAR. THUS, THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITION, BALANCE UNDER SINGLE- AND DUAL-TASK CONDITIONS, AND MOTOR LEARNING. THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IN INDUCED IMPROVEMENT WAS ALSO EXPLORED. PARTICIPANTS AGED 60-79YEARS WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER A CONTROL GROUP (N=15) OR A YOGA GROUP (N=18) FOR A 10-WEEK PERIOD. THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED 90-MIN DURATION YOGA CLASSES TWO TIMES PER WEEK. CHANGES IN COGNITION, BALANCE UNDER SINGLE- AND DUAL-TASK CONDITIONS, AND LEARNING FAST AND ACCURATE REACHING MOVEMENTS WERE ASSESSED. YOGA PRACTICE DECREASED (P<0.05) THE VELOCITY VECTOR OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE UNDER SINGLE- AND DUAL-TASK CONDITIONS, WHEREAS NO CHANGES IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE WERE OBSERVED. ALTHOUGH REACTION AND MOVEMENT TIMES DURING LEARNING WERE DECREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P<0.05), A FASTER REACTION TIME (P<0.05) AND SHORTER MOVEMENT TIME (P<0.05) WERE OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP. SIGNIFICANT MODERATE RELATIONSHIPS (P<0.05) BETWEEN CHANGES IN BDNF LEVELS AND FUNCTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS WERE OBSERVED. THUS, 10WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE RESULTED IN IMPROVED BALANCE AND LEARNING IN THE SPEED-ACCURACY MOTOR TASK THAT WERE MEDIATED BY INCREASED BDNF LEVELS, BUT HAD NO IMPACT ON COGNITION IN OLDER ADULTS. 2020 12 267 47 ACUTE FETAL BEHAVIORAL RESPONSE TO PRENATAL YOGA: A SINGLE, BLINDED, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (TRY YOGA). BACKGROUND: IN 2012, YOGA WAS PRACTICED BY 20 MILLION AMERICANS, OF WHOM 82% WERE WOMEN. A RECENT LITERATURE REVIEW ON PRENATAL YOGA NOTED A REDUCTION IN SOME PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS (IE, PRETERM BIRTH, LUMBAR PAIN, AND GROWTH RESTRICTION) IN THOSE WHO PRACTICED YOGA; TO DATE, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE ON FETAL RESPONSE AFTER YOGA. OBJECTIVES: WE AIMED TO CHARACTERIZE THE ACUTE CHANGES IN MATERNAL AND FETAL RESPONSE TO PRENATAL YOGA EXERCISES USING COMMON STANDARDIZED TESTS TO ASSESS THE WELL-BEING OF THE MATERNAL-FETAL UNIT. STUDY DESIGN: WE CONDUCTED A SINGLE, BLINDED, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. UNCOMPLICATED PREGNANCIES BETWEEN 28 0/7 AND 36 6/7 WEEKS WITH A NONANOMALOUS SINGLETON FETUS OF WOMEN WHO DID NOT SMOKE, USE NARCOTICS, OR HAVE PRIOR EXPERIENCE WITH YOGA WERE INCLUDED. A COMPUTER-GENERATED SIMPLE RANDOMIZATION SEQUENCE WITH A 1:1 ALLOCATION RATIO WAS USED TO RANDOMIZE PARTICIPANTS INTO THE YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP. WOMEN IN THE YOGA GROUP PARTICIPATED IN A 1-TIME, 1 HOUR YOGA CLASS WITH A CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR WHO TAUGHT A PREDETERMINED YOGA SEQUENCE. IN THE CONTROL GROUP, EACH PARTICIPANT ATTENDED A 1-TIME, 1 HOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BY AN OBSTETRICIAN ON AMERICAN CONGRESS OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXERCISE, NUTRITION, AND OBESITY IN PREGNANCY. ALL PARTICIPANTS UNDERWENT PRE- AND POSTINTERVENTION TESTING, WHICH CONSISTED OF UMBILICAL AND UTERINE ARTERY DOPPLER ULTRASOUND, NONSTRESS TESTING, A BIOPHYSICAL PROFILE, MATERNAL BLOOD PRESSURE, AND MATERNAL HEART RATE. A BOARD-CERTIFIED MATERNAL-FETAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST, AT A DIFFERENT TERTIARY CENTER, INTERPRETED ALL NONSTRESS TESTS AND BIOPHYSICAL PROFILE DATA AND WAS BLINDED TO GROUP ASSIGNMENT AND PRE- OR POSTINTERVENTION TESTING. THE PRIMARY OUTCOME WAS A CHANGE IN UMBILICAL ARTERY DOPPLER SYSTOLIC TO DIASTOLIC RATIO. SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATIONS INDICATED 19 WOMEN PER GROUP WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO DETECT THIS DIFFERENCE IN DOPPLER INDICES (ALPHA, 0.05; POWER, 80%). DATA WERE ANALYZED USING A REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE, A CHI(2), AND A FISHER EXACT TEST. A VALUE OF P < .05 WAS CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: OF THE 52 WOMEN RANDOMIZED, 46 (88%) COMPLETED THE STUDY. THERE WAS NO CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN UMBILICAL ARTERY SYSTOLIC TO DIASTOLIC RATIO (P = .34), PULSATILITY INDEX (P = .53), OR RESISTANCE INDEX (P = .66) BETWEEN THE 2 GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. FETAL AND MATERNAL HEART RATE, MATERNAL BLOOD PRESSURE, AND UTERINE ARTERY DOPPLERS REMAINED UNCHANGED OVER TIME. WHEN UMBILICAL ARTERY INDICES WERE INDIVIDUALLY COMPARED WITH GESTATIONAL AGE REFERENCES, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE WHO IMPROVED OR WORSENED BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSION: THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN FETAL BLOOD FLOW ACUTELY AFTER PERFORMING YOGA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PREGNANCY. YOGA CAN BE RECOMMENDED FOR LOW-RISK WOMEN TO BEGIN DURING PREGNANCY. 2016 13 2045 22 THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. BACKGROUND: DESPITE AN INCREASE IN THE PREVALENCE OF YOGA EXERCISE, RESEARCH FOCUSING ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA EXERCISE AND COGNITION IS LIMITED. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF AN ACUTE YOGA EXERCISE SESSION, RELATIVE TO AEROBIC EXERCISE, ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. METHODS: A REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED WHERE 30 FEMALE COLLEGE-AGED PARTICIPANTS (MEAN AGE = 20.07, SD = 1.95) COMPLETED 3 COUNTERBALANCED TESTING SESSIONS: A YOGA EXERCISE SESSION, AN AEROBIC EXERCISE SESSION, AND A BASELINE ASSESSMENT. THE FLANKER AND N-BACK TASKS WERE USED TO MEASURE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. RESULTS: RESULTS SHOWED THAT COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER THE YOGA EXERCISE BOUT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY SUPERIOR (IE, SHORTER REACTION TIMES, INCREASED ACCURACY) AS COMPARED WITH THE AEROBIC AND BASELINE CONDITIONS FOR BOTH INHIBITION AND WORKING MEMORY TASKS. THE AEROBIC AND BASELINE PERFORMANCE WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT, CONTRADICTING SOME OF THE PREVIOUS FINDINGS IN THE ACUTE AEROBIC EXERCISE AND COGNITION LITERATURE. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED RELATIVE TO THE NEED TO EXPLORE THE EFFECTS OF OTHER NONTRADITIONAL MODES OF EXERCISE SUCH AS YOGA ON COGNITION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME ELAPSED BETWEEN THE CESSATION OF THE EXERCISE BOUT AND THE INITIATION OF COGNITIVE ASSESSMENTS IN IMPROVING TASK PERFORMANCE. 2013 14 324 28 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 15 1022 57 EFFECTS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION ON THE BIRTH PROCESS. CONTEXT: DURING LABOR, CONSCIOUS MATERNAL EXPULSIVE EFFORTS ARE CRUCIAL, ESPECIALLY IN THE SECOND STAGE. CONTEMPORARILY, MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL'S BEDSIDE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE AN INADEQUACY IN THE MATERNAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROCESS OF DELIVERY THAT HAS LED TO INCREASED RATES OF CAESAREAN SECTIONS AND INTERVENTIONAL DELIVERIES. FOR THAT REASON, THE IMPORTANCE OF YOGA, MEDITATION, AND BREATH-AWARENESS PRACTICES INCREASES DURING PREGNANCY AND BIRTH. OBJECTIVE: THE STUDY INTENDED TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT ON THE DELIVERY PROCESS OF THE PRACTICE OF YOGA AND MEDITATION DURING PREGNANCY AND LABOR. DESIGN: THE RESEARCH TEAM DESIGNED A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. SETTING: THE RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED BETWEEN OCTOBER 2016 AND MAY 2018 AT AN EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH HOSPITAL IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY, ON THE ANATOLIAN SIDE OF THE ISTANBUL PROVINCE. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 90 PRIMIPAROUS PREGNANT WOMEN WHO APPLIED TO THE PREGNANCY SCHOOL AT THE HOSPITAL AND WHO MET THE CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTANCE INTO THE STUDY. INTERVENTION: THE PARTICIPANTS WAS RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS, 30 IN AN INTERVENTION GROUP AND 60 IN A CONTROL GROUP. THE INTERVENTION GROUP PERFORMED YOGA AND MEDITATION FOR 60 MINUTES TWO TIMES A WEEK FOR 10 WEEKS. YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTICES ALSO OCCURRED DURING THE COURSE OF LABOR FOR THE INTERVENTION GROUP. ROUTINE MIDWIFERY CARE WAS GIVEN TO BOTH GROUPS DURING LABOR. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE DATA WERE COLLECTED USING: (1) THE STATE TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI), (2) THE WIJMA DELIVERY EXPECTANCY/EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE A, (3) THE CHILDBIRTH SELF-EFFICACY SCALE (CBSEI) SHORT FORM, (4) THE WIJMA DELIVERY EXPECTANCY/EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE VERSION B, AND (5) A VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS) FOR PAIN. RESULTS: WHEN THE LABOR DATA WERE EVALUATED, THE INTERVENTION GROUP HAD STATISTICALLY HIGHER VAGINAL DELIVERY RATES, LOWER LABOR INTERVENTION RATES AND EPISIOTOMY OPENING FREQUENCIES, LOWER PAIN MEASUREMENT SCORES AND WIJMA B SCORES, AND HIGHER CBSEI SCORES THAN THE CONTROL GROUP. HOWEVER, THE INTERVENTION GROUP'S STAI SCORES HAD INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER THE PRACTICE POST INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA AND MEDITATION ARE EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR REDUCING PAIN AND FEAR PERCEPTION AND INCREASING SELF-EFFICACY AND VAGINAL DELIVERY RATES DURING THE LABOR PROCESS. 2022 16 2169 32 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA IN PREVENTION OF PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS IN HIGH-RISK PREGNANCIES: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVE: WHILE PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA IN NORMAL PREGNANCIES, THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA IN PREVENTION OF PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS IN HIGH-RISK PREGNANCIES FOR THE FIRST TIME. METHODS: 68 HIGH-RISK PREGNANT WOMEN WERE RECRUITED FROM TWO MATERNITY HOSPITALS IN BENGALURU, INDIA AND WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. THE YOGA GROUP (N=30) RECEIVED STANDARD CARE PLUS ONE-HOUR YOGA SESSIONS, THREE TIMES A WEEK, FROM THE 12TH TO THE 28TH WEEK OF GESTATION. THE CONTROL GROUP (N=38) RECEIVED STANDARD CARE PLUS CONVENTIONAL ANTENATAL EXERCISES (WALKING) DURING THE SAME PERIOD. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER PREGNANCY INDUCED HYPERTENSION (PIH), PREECLAMPSIA, GESTATIONAL DIABETES (GDM) AND INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION (IUGR) CASES WERE OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P=0.018, 0.042, 0.049, 0.05 RESPECTIVELY). SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER SMALL FOR GESTATIONAL AGE (SGA) BABIES AND NEWBORNS WITH LOW APGAR SCORES (P=0.006) WERE BORN IN THE YOGA GROUP (P=0.033). CONCLUSION: THIS FIRST RANDOMIZED STUDY OF YOGA IN HIGH-RISK PREGNANCY HAS SHOWN THAT YOGA CAN POTENTIALLY BE AN EFFECTIVE THERAPY IN REDUCING HYPERTENSIVE RELATED COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY AND IMPROVING FETAL OUTCOMES. ADDITIONAL DATA IS NEEDED TO CONFIRM THESE RESULTS AND BETTER EXPLAIN THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF YOGA IN THIS IMPORTANT AREA. 2012 17 1789 27 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 18 2303 44 TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA ON PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME. BACKGROUND: EIGHTY PERCENT OF WOMEN DURING THEIR REPRODUCTIVE AGE EXPERIENCE SOME SYMPTOMS ATTRIBUTED TO PREMENSTRUAL PHASE OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE. PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS) IS CHARACTERIZED BY EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS THAT OCCUR DURING LATE LUTEAL PHASE OF MENSTRUAL CYCLE AND ARE RELIEVED AFTER THE ONSET OF MENSTRUATION. AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA ARE ONE OF THE WAYS TO REDUCE THESE SYMPTOMS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA ON PMS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 72 PARTICIPANTS OF PMS, REFERRED FOR PHYSIOTHERAPY TREATMENT (MEAN AGE 28 YEARS), WERE ENROLLED AND ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS (GROUP A AND B) BY SIMPLE COMPUTERIZED RANDOMIZATION. PATIENTS IN GROUP A RECEIVED AEROBIC EXERCISE AND IN GROUP B RECEIVED YOGA MOVEMENTS FOR 40 MIN, 3 TIMES A WEEK FOR 1 MONTH. THE PAIN INTENSITY (VISUAL ANALOG SCALE) AND PMS SCALE WERE MEASURED BEFORE, AT THE END OF 15 DAYS, AND 1 MONTH OF TREATMENT PROGRAM. RESULTS: DATA WERE ANALYZED BY PAIRED T-TEST, UNPAIRED T-TEST, AND ONE-WAY ANOVA; AND THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT BOTH AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA MOVEMENTS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PAIN INTENSITY AND PMS SYMPTOMS. SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN PMS SYMPTOMS WAS FOUND IN PATIENTS TREATED WITH YOGA COMPARED TO AEROBIC EXERCISE; HOWEVER, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND IN PAIN INTENSITY BETWEEN THESE TWO GROUPS (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: IT IS CONCLUDED THAT BOTH AEROBIC EXERCISE AND YOGA MOVEMENTS ARE EFFECTIVE IN TREATING PMS; HOWEVER, YOGA IS MORE EFFECTIVE IN RELIEVING THE SYMPTOMS OF PMS THAN AEROBIC EXERCISE. 2019 19 835 33 EFFECT OF YOGA ON PAIN, BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR, AND SEROTONIN IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. BACKGROUND. SEROTONIN AND BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) ARE KNOWN TO BE MODULATORS OF NOCICEPTION. HOWEVER, PAIN-RELATED CONNECTION BETWEEN YOGA AND THOSE NEUROMODULATORS HAS NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED. THEREFORE, WE AIMED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON PAIN, BDNF, AND SEROTONIN. METHODS. PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PRACTICED YOGA THREE TIMES A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS. AT BASELINE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS, BACK PAIN INTENSITY WAS MEASURED USING VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE (VAS), AND SERUM BDNF AND SEROTONIN LEVELS WERE EVALUATED. ADDITIONALLY, BACK FLEXIBILITY AND LEVEL OF DEPRESSION WERE ASSESSED. RESULTS. AFTER 12-WEEK YOGA, VAS DECREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.001), WHEREAS IT INCREASED (P < 0.05) IN THE CONTROL GROUP. BACK FLEXIBILITY WAS IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.01). SERUM BDNF INCREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P < 0.01), WHEREAS IT TENDED TO DECREASE IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.05). SERUM SEROTONIN MAINTAINED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHILE IT REDUCED (P < 0.01) IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THE DEPRESSION LEVEL MAINTAINED IN THE YOGA GROUP, WHEREAS IT TENDED TO INCREASE IN THE CONTROL GROUP (P = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS. WE PROPOSE THAT BDNF MAY BE ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS MEDIATING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN. 2014 20 2897 31 [EFFECTS OF A YOGA-FOCUSED PRENATAL PROGRAM ON STRESS, ANXIETY, SELF CONFIDENCE AND LABOR PAIN IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH IN VITRO FERTILIZATION TREATMENT]. PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO IDENTIFY THE EFFECTS OF A YOGA-FOCUSED PRENATAL PROGRAM ON THE STRESS, ANXIETY, SELF CONFIDENCE AND LABOR PAIN OF PREGNANT WOMEN WHO HAD IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF) TREATMENT. METHODS: A QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WITH A NON-EQUIVALENT CONTROL GROUP PRETEST-POSTTEST DESIGN WAS USED. THE DATA COLLECTION PERIOD AND MEDITATION PROGRAM WERE BETWEEN JANUARY 9 AND AUGUST 31, 2009. FORTY-SIX WOMEN WHO WERE PREGNANT FOLLOWING IVF, AND WERE BETWEEN 12-20 WEEKS GESTATION, PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY (23 EXPERIMENTAL GROUP, 23 CONTROL GROUP). DATA WERE ANALYZED USING CHI-SQUARE TEST, MANN-WHITNEY U TEST, ANCOVA, AND CRONBACH'S ALPHA COEFFICIENTS WITH THE SPSS 12.0 FOR WINDOWS PROGRAM. RESULTS: ALTHOUGH THE SAMPLE SIZE WAS LIMITED, WOMEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM SHOWED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN STRESS, ANXIETY, LABOR PAIN, AND LABOR CONFIDENCE FOR WOMEN PREGNANT AFTER IVF. CONCLUSION: THE RESULT INDICATE THAT THIS 12-WEEK YOGA-FOCUSED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM CAN BE UTILIZED FOR WOMEN PREGNANT FOLLOWING IVF TO REDUCE THEIR STRESS, ANXIETY, AND LABOR PAIN, AND TO INCREASE DELIVERY CONFIDENCE. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE YOGA-FOCUSED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM BE OFFERED TO EVERY PREGNANT WOMAN. 2012