1 1392 103 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
2 1690 45 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
3 2854 43 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
4 35 44 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
5 2038 42 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
6 508 34 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
7 2652 33 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
8 1789 28 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
9 1394 34 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
10 674 28 EFFECT OF A SHORT-TERM YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE SUBJECTS. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF A SHORT-TERM YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PERSONS. DESIGN AND SETTING: NONRANDOMIZED, SINGLE-ARM INTERVENTIONAL STUDY CONDUCTED FROM AUGUST 2012 TO MARCH 2015 AT INTEGRAL HEALTH CLINIC, DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY, ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, INDIA. PARTICIPANTS: OVERWEIGHT (BODY-MASS INDEX [BMI], 23-24.9 KG/M(2)) AND OBESE (BMI, >/=25 KG/M(2)) PERSONS (N = 279) AGED 20-60 YEARS. INTERVENTION: PRETESTED YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION, INCLUDING ASANAS (POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, LECTURES, GROUP SUPPORT, NUTRITION AWARENESS PROGRAM, AND INDIVIDUALIZED ADVICE. OUTCOME MEASURES: PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE WAS HRQOL, MEASURED BY USING SHORT VERSION OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION QUALITY OF LIFE (WHOQOL-BREF) QUESTIONNAIRE. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES WERE ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES, SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, PULSE RATE, LIPID PROFILE, AND FASTING GLUCOSE. A SUBGROUP ANALYSIS ACCORDING TO SEX WAS ALSO PERFORMED. RESULTS: THE OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE AND HEALTH IMPROVED AFTER SHORT-TERM YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PERSONS. PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DOMAIN SCORES SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED FROM BASELINE TO DAY 10, AND EFFICACY WAS NOTED IN BOTH MALE AND FEMALE SUBGROUPS. AFTER 10 DAYS OF INTERVENTION, THE FOLLOWING ALSO DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY: BODY WEIGHT, BMI, TOTAL BODY FAT, WAIST AND HIP CIRCUMFERENCE, WAIST-TO-HIP RATIO, SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN, TRIGLYCERIDES, AND FASTING GLUCOSE. CONCLUSION: A SHORT-TERM YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION HAD A POSITIVE EFFECT ON HRQOL IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PERSONS. 2016
11 683 35 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
12 359 28 ASSOCIATION OF LEUKOCYTE TELOMERE LENGTH WITH OXIDATIVE STRESS IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: YOGA IS A MIND-BODY MODULATION TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON VARIOUS DISEASES RELATED TO VARIOUS SYSTEMS IN THE BODY. HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF MECHANISM OF ACTION IS NOT CLEAR. HENCE, THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO STUDY THE LEUKOCYTE TELOMERE BIOLOGY AND ITS RELATION WITH HOMOCYSTEINE AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIS IS A PROSPECTIVE CASE-CONTROL STUDY INVOLVING YOGA PRACTITIONERS AGED 30-40 Y WITH MINIMUM OF TWO YEARS YOGA PRACTICE (YOGA GROUP) AND AGE, GENDER AND BODY MASS INDEX MATCHED SEDENTARY HEALTHY GENERAL POPULATION WITH NO MEDICAL PROBLEMS (CONTROL GROUP). LEUKOCYTE TELOMERE LENGTH (LTL) WAS MEASURED BY USING QUANTITATIVE PCR (QPCR), FASTING PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE WAS MEASURED BY A RAPID HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY ASSAY AND THE OXIDATIVE STRESS WAS ASSESSED WITH TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT STATUS (TAOS), MALONDIALDEHYDE (MDA) MEASURED BY CALORIMETRY. RESULTS: THE LTL WAS SHORTER IN CONTROL GROUP THAN IN YOGA GROUP (P<0.001). THE TAOS WAS MORE IN YOGA GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP (P=0.008), MDA AND HOMOCYSTEINE WAS HIGH IN CONTROL GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO YOGA GROUP (P<0.001). FURTHER, THE LTL WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH TAOS (R=0.841, P<0.001) AND NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH MDA (R=-0.931, P<0.001) AND HOMOCYSTEINE (R=-0.756, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: THE LTL IS WELL-PRESERVED IN PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULARLY WITH LOWER SYSTEMIC OXIDATIVE STRESS COMPARED TO THOSE WHO HAVE A RELATIVELY SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE DESPITE LACK OF ANY MEDICAL DISORDERS. THE HABITUAL YOGA PRACTICE SEEMS TO INHIBIT REPLICATIVE CELLULAR SENESCENCE. 2015
13 324 14 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
14 2847 31 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
15 1675 14 OBESITY-RELATED INFLAMMATION & CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: EFFICACY OF A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION. OBESITY IS A GLOBAL HEALTH BURDEN AND ITS PREVALENCE IS INCREASING SUBSTANTIALLY DUE TO CHANGING LIFESTYLE. CHRONIC ADIPOSITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH METABOLIC IMBALANCE LEADING TO DYSLIPIDAEMIA, DIABETES, HYPERTENSION AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVD). ADIPOSE TISSUE ACTS AS AN ENDOCRINE ORGAN RELEASING SEVERAL ADIPOCYTOKINES, AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED LEVELS OF TISSUE AND CIRCULATING INFLAMMATORY BIOMOLECULES CAUSING VASCULAR INFLAMMATION AND ATHEROGENESIS. FURTHER, INFLAMMATION IS ALSO ASSOCIATED INDEPENDENTLY WITH OBESITY AS WELL AS CVD. KEEPING THIS IN VIEW, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A REDUCTION IN WEIGHT MAY LEAD TO A DECREASE IN INFLAMMATION, RESULTING IN CVD RISK REDUCTION, AND BETTER MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH CVD. LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY SEVERAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES IN PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES. A YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION APPEARS TO BE A PROMISING OPTION IN REDUCING THE RISK FOR CVD AS WELL AS MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH CVD AS IT IS SIMPLE TO FOLLOW AND COST-EFFECTIVE WITH HIGH COMPLIANCE. THE EFFICACY OF SUCH LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES IS MULTIFACETED, AND IS ACHIEVED VIA REDUCTION IN WEIGHT, OBESITY-RELATED INFLAMMATION AND STRESS, THEREBY CULMINATING INTO RISK REDUCTION TOWARDS SEVERAL CHRONIC DISEASES INCLUDING CVD. IN THIS REVIEW, THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OBESITY-RELATED INFLAMMATION AND CVD, AND THE ROLE OF YOGA-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION IN PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CVD ARE DISCUSSED. 2014
16 1589 35 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
17 881 28 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
18 1374 28 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
19 859 22 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
20 1030 24 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