1 384 135 BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA LIFESTYLE ON REVERSIBILITY OF ISCHAEMIC HEART DISEASE: CARING HEART PROJECT OF INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF YOGA. OBJECTIVES: YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN EARLIER SHOWN TO BE BENEFICIAL IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE IN A SMALL NUMBER OF PATIENTS. WE EVALUATED THE ROLE OF LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION BASED ON YOGA TECHNIQUES, STRESS MANAGEMENT AND DIETARY MODIFICATIONS IN RETARDATION OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. METHODS: THIS PROSPECTIVE, CONTROLLED, OPEN TRIAL INCLUDED ANGIOGRAPHICALLY PROVEN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE PATIENTS (71 PATIENTS IN STUDY GROUP AND 42 PATIENTS IN CONTROL GROUP). THEY WERE ASSESSED CLINICALLY, BY BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS, STRESS MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION AND FUNCTION STUDIES AND CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY AND ON PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS. THE STUDY GROUP PATIENTS WERE GIVEN A FAMILY BASED YOGA PROGRAMME WHICH INCLUDED, CONTROL OF RISK FACTORS, DIETARY MODIFICATIONS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR. THE PATIENTS WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, AT FREQUENT INTERVALS AND AT THE END OF ONE YEAR. RESULTS: AT THE END OF ONE YEAR OF YOGA TRAINING, STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANT CHANGES (P<0.05) WERE FOUND IN SERUM TOTAL CHOLESTEROL (REDUCTION BY 23.3% IN STUDY GROUP PATIENTS AS COMPARED TO 4.4% IN CONTROLS); SERUM LDL CHOLESTEROL (REDUCTION OF 26% IN STUDY GROUP PATIENTS AS COMPARED TO 2.6% IN THE CONTROL GROUP), REGRESSION OF DISEASE (43.7% OF STUDY GROUP PATIENTS V/S 31% CONTROL GROUP ON MPI AND 70.4% OF STUDY GROUP V/S 28% OF CONTROL GROUP ON ANGIOGRAPHY) ARREST OF PROGRESSION (46.5% STUDY GROUP V/S 33.3% CONTROL GROUP ON MPI) AND PROGRESSION (9.9% OF STUDY GROUP VS 35.7% OF CONTROLS ON MPI, 29.6% OF STUDY GROUP V/S 60.0% OF CONTROLS ON ANGIOGRAPHY). AT THE END OF THE STUDY IMPROVEMENT IN ANXIETY SCORES WAS CONCORDANT WITH THE IMPROVEMENT SEEN IN THE MPI. NO UNTOWARD EFFECTS OF THE THERAPY WERE OBSERVED. CONCLUSION: YOGA BASED LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS HELP IN REGRESSION OF CORONARY LESIONS AND IN IMPROVING MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION. THIS IS TRANSLATED INTO CLINICAL BENEFITS AND SYMPTOMATIC IMPROVEMENT. 2004 2 1758 38 POSITIVE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF GENERIC YOGA IN DEPRESSIVE OUT-PATIENTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. CONTEXT: THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS IN DEPRESSION OF YOGA ADOPTED FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED. THE EFFICACY OF A GENERIC MODULE OF YOGA ON DEPRESSED PATIENTS HAS NOT YET BEEN TESTED IN THE LITERATURE. AIMS: THE STUDY WAS AIMED TO COMPARE THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF A GENERIC YOGA MODULE WITH ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS IN NON-SUICIDAL OUT-PATIENTS OF MAJOR DEPRESSION ATTENDING A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: THE STUDY WAS OUTPATIENT-BASED USING AN OPEN-LABELED DESIGN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 137 OUT-PATIENTS OF DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS RECEIVED ONE OF THE THREE TREATMENTS AS THEY CHOSE - YOGA-ONLY, DRUGS-ONLY OR BOTH. THE YOGA WAS TAUGHT BY A TRAINED YOGA PHYSICIAN FOR OVER A MONTH IN SPACED SESSIONS TOTALING AT LEAST 12. PATIENTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE TREATMENT, AFTER 1 AND 3 MONTHS ON DEPRESSION AND CLINICAL GLOBAL IMPRESSION SCALES. OUT OF 137, 58 PATIENTS COMPLETED THE STUDY PERIOD WITH ALL ASSESSMENTS. RESULTS: PATIENTS IN THE THREE ARMS OF TREATMENT WERE COMPARABLE ON DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL VARIABLES. PATIENTS IN ALL THREE ARMS OF TREATMENT OBTAINED A REDUCTION IN DEPRESSION SCORES AS WELL AS CLINICAL SEVERITY. HOWEVER, BOTH YOGA GROUPS (WITH OR WITHOUT DRUGS) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THE DRUGS-ONLY GROUP. HIGHER PROPORTION OF PATIENTS REMITTED IN THE YOGA GROUPS COMPARED WITH THE DRUGS-ONLY GROUP. NO UNTOWARD EVENTS WERE SPONTANEOUSLY REPORTED IN THE YOGA-TREATED PATIENTS. CONCLUSION: WITHIN THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT THE FINDINGS SUPPORT A CASE FOR PRESCRIBING YOGA AS TAUGHT IN THE STUDY IN DEPRESSIVE NON-SUICIDAL OUT-PATIENTS. 2013 3 813 36 EFFECT OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTIONS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PEOPLE ON PUBLIC SERVICE-RELATED WORK: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY. OBJECTIVES: YOGA IS INCREASINGLY BEING INTRODUCED IN WORKPLACE SETTINGS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. HOWEVER, THERE IS A LACK OF STUDIES REPORTING THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN PEOPLE ON PUBLIC SERVICE-RELATED WORK, WHO ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR VARIOUS HEALTH-RELATED PROBLEMS. THUS, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO FIND THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTIONS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL (STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION) ASPECTS OF PEOPLE ON PUBLIC SERVICE-RELATED WORK. METHODS: A SINGLE-GROUP PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST EXPERIMENTAL STUDY DESIGN WAS ADOPTED. EIGHTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS AGED 41.52 +/- 7.44 YEARS WHO ARE WORKING IN THE TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION WERE UNDERGONE 1-H OF YOGA (UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A YOGA & NATUROPATHY DOCTOR) A DAY, 5-DAYS A WEEK FOR A PERIOD OF 1-MONTH AT THEIR OFFICE. CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (SBP), DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE (DBP), AND PULSE RATE (PR) WERE MEASURED USING AN AUTOMATIC BP MONITOR. PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES SUCH AS STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION WERE MEASURED USING DEPRESSION ANXIETY AND STRESS SCALES (DASS) BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RESULTS: RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN BODY MASS INDEX, SBP, DBP, PR, MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE, RATE PRESSURE PRODUCT, AND DOUBLE PRODUCT. THOUGH RESULTS SHOWED INSIGNIFICANT (JUST MISSED THE STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE [P=0.056]) REDUCTION IN ANXIETY, IT SHOWED CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT (I.E. THE MEAN ANXIETY SCORE HAS REDUCED FROM MODERATE CATEGORY TO MILD CATEGORY). HOWEVER, THERE IS NEITHER STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT NOR CLINICAL DIFFERENCE IN STRESS AND DEPRESSION. NONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS REPORTED ANY UNTOWARD EVENTS DURING THE STUDY PERIOD. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA MIGHT IMPROVE THE CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTIONS AND ANXIETY OF PEOPLE IN PUBLIC SERVICE-RELATED WORK. HOWEVER, NO SUCH SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WAS NOTED IN THEIR STRESS AND DEPRESSION LEVELS. HOWEVER, A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IS REQUIRED TO WARRANT THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY. 2021 4 2885 37 YOGA: AS AN ADJUNCT THERAPY TO TRIM DOWN THE AYURVEDIC DRUG REQUIREMENT IN NON INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS. INTRODUCTION: IN SPITE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF DRUGS SHOWING ANTI-HYPERGLYCEMIC ACTIVITIES, NONE OF THEM HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN COMPLETE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS (DM). YOGA AND AYURVEDA ARE THE TWO SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN INDIA, WHICH HAVE A HISTORY OF CURING DISEASES SINCE THOUSANDS OF YEARS. YOGIC TECHNIQUES AND AYURVEDIC HERBS HAVE PROVEN THEIR ANTI-DIABETIC POTENTIAL WITHOUT INDUCING UNTOWARD EFFECTS. THE PRESENT STUDY COMBINES AYURVEDIC MEDICATION WITH YOGA TECHNIQUES AS A NEW APPROACH TOWARD HEALING DM. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NON INSULIN-DEPENDENT DM (NIDDM) AND TO DECREASE THE ORAL DRUG DOSE REQUIREMENT OF GUDUCI GHANA TABLET. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THIRTY KNOWN NIDDM PATIENTS OF BOTH GENDERS, WHO WERE ON GUDUCI GHANA (SOLIDIFIED AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA (WILLD.) MIERS.) TABLETS FROM PAST 2 MONTHS AS AYURVEDIC REMEDY FOR DM WERE SELECTED. ALONG WITH GUDUCI GHANA ADMINISTRATION, THE SUBJECTS WERE INSTRUCTED TO FOLLOW YOGIC PROCEDURES INCLUDING ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, AND SUDDHI KRIYAS. THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED FOR 8 WEEKS, WHEREIN FASTING BLOOD SUGAR (FBS) AND POSTPRANDIAL BLOOD SUGAR (PPBS) LEVELS ALONG WITH RELIEF IN SIGN AND SYMPTOMS WERE ASSESSED AT EVERY 2 WEEKS INTERVALS, AND ACCORDING TO RELIEF IN SIGN AND SYMPTOMS, TAPERING OF DRUG DOSAGE WAS CARRIED OUT. THE OBTAINED DATA WERE ANALYZED STATISTICALLY BY APPLYING PAIRED T-TEST. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS OBTAINED WERE PROMISING AS THE RELIEF IN DIABETIC SYMPTOMATOLOGY WAS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT IN TERMS OF P VALUE. 80.83% REDUCTION IN DOSE OF GUDUCI GHANA TABLETS AND 7.85% AND 8.78% FALL IN FBS AND PPBS LEVELS, RESPECTIVELY, AFTER THE COMPLETE COURSE OF TREATMENT. THE OBTAINED P VALUE SHOWED HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT RESULTS. 2014 5 1904 61 RETARDATION OF CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS WITH YOGA LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION. BACKGROUND: YOGA HAS POTENTIAL FOR BENEFIT FOR PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE THOUGH OBJECTIVE, ANGIOGRAPHIC STUDIES ARE LACKING. MATERIAL AND METHODS: WE EVALUATED POSSIBLE ROLE OF LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION INCORPORATING YOGA, ON RETARDATION OF CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROTIC DISEASE. IN THIS PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL, 42 MEN WITH ANGIOGRAPHICALLY PROVEN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE (CAD) WERE RANDOMIZED TO CONTROL (N = 21) AND YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP (N = 21) AND WERE FOLLOWED FOR ONE YEAR. THE ACTIVE GROUP WAS TREATED WITH A USER-FRIENDLY PROGRAM CONSISTING OF YOGA, CONTROL OF RISK FACTORS, DIET CONTROL AND MODERATE AEROBIC EXERCISE. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS MANAGED BY CONVENTIONAL METHODS I.E. RISK FACTOR CONTROL AND AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION STEP I DIET. RESULTS: AT ONE YEAR, THE YOGA GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF ANGINAL EPISODES PER WEEK, IMPROVED EXERCISE CAPACITY AND DECREASE IN BODY WEIGHT. SERUM TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, LDL CHOLESTEROL AND TRIGLYCERIDE LEVELS ALSO SHOWED GREATER REDUCTIONS AS COMPARED WITH CONTROL GROUP. REVASCULARISATION PROCEDURES (CORONARY ANGIOPLASTY OR BYPASS SURGERY) WERE LESS FREQUENTLY REQUIRED IN THE YOGA GROUP (ONE VERSUS EIGHT PATIENTS; RELATIVE RISK = 5.45; P = 0.01). CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY REPEATED AT ONE YEAR SHOWED THAT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LESIONS REGRESSED (20% VERSUS 2%) AND LESS LESIONS PROGRESSED (5% VERSUS 37%) IN THE YOGA GROUP (CHI-SQUARE = 24.9; P < 0.0001). THE COMPLIANCE TO THE TOTAL PROGRAM WAS EXCELLENT AND NO SIDE EFFECTS WERE OBSERVED. CONCLUSION: YOGA LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION RETARDS PROGRESSION AND INCREASES REGRESSION OF CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. IT ALSO IMPROVES SYMPTOMATIC STATUS, FUNCTIONAL CLASS AND RISK FACTOR PROFILE. 2000 6 959 35 EFFECTS OF A YOGA INTERVENTION ON LIPID PROFILES OF DIABETES PATIENTS WITH DYSLIPIDEMIA. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DYSLIPIDEMIA IN PATIENTS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS. METHODS: THIS RANDOMIZED PARALLEL STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT IN MEDICAL COLLEGE TRIVANDRUM, KERALA, INDIA. HUNDRED TYPE 2 DIABETICS WITH DYSLIPIDEMIA WERE RANDOMIZED INTO CONTROL AND YOGA GROUPS. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS PRESCRIBED ORAL HYPOGLYCEMIC DRUGS. THE YOGA GROUP PRACTICED YOGA DAILY FOR 1 H DURATION ALONG WITH ORAL HYPOGLYCEMIC DRUGS FOR 3 MONTHS. THE LIPID PROFILES OF BOTH THE GROUPS WERE COMPARED AT THE START AND AT THE END OF 3 MONTHS. RESULTS: AFTER INTERVENTION WITH YOGA FOR A PERIOD OF 3 MONTHS THE STUDY GROUP SHOWED A DECREASE IN TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, TRIGLYCERIDES AND LDL, WITH AN IMPROVEMENT IN HDL. CONCLUSION: YOGA, BEING A LIFESTYLE INCORPORATING EXERCISE AND STRESS MANAGEMENT TRAINING, TARGETS THE ELEVATED LIPID LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES THROUGH INTEGRATED APPROACHES. 2013 7 1374 39 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 8 867 48 EFFECT OF YOGA REGIMEN ON LUNG FUNCTIONS INCLUDING DIFFUSION CAPACITY IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. BACKGROUND: LUNG FUNCTIONS ARE FOUND TO BE IMPAIRED IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE (CAD), CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, LEFT VENTRICULAR DYSFUNCTION, AND AFTER CARDIAC SURGERY. DIFFUSION CAPACITY PROGRESSIVELY WORSENS AS THE SEVERITY OF CAD INCREASES DUE TO REDUCTION IN LUNG TISSUE PARTICIPATING IN GAS EXCHANGE. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: PRANAYAMA BREATHING EXERCISES AND YOGIC POSTURES MAY PLAY AN IMPRESSIVE ROLE IN IMPROVING CARDIO-RESPIRATORY EFFICIENCY AND FACILITATING GAS DIFFUSION AT THE ALVEOLO-CAPILLARY MEMBRANE. THIS STUDY WAS DONE TO SEE THE EFFECT OF YOGA REGIMEN ON LUNG FUNCTIONS PARTICULARLY DIFFUSION CAPACITY IN CAD PATIENTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A TOTAL OF 80 STABLE CAD PATIENTS BELOW 65 YEARS OF AGE OF BOTH SEXES WERE SELECTED AND RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS OF 40 EACH. GROUP I CAD PATIENTS WERE GIVEN YOGA REGIMEN FOR 3 MONTHS WHICH CONSISTED OF YOGIC POSTURES, PRANAYAMA BREATHING EXERCISES, DIETARY MODIFICATION, AND HOLISTIC TEACHING ALONG WITH THEIR CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE WHILE GROUP II CAD PATIENTS WERE PUT ONLY ON CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE. LUNG FUNCTIONS INCLUDING DIFFUSION CAPACITY WERE RECORDED THRICE IN BOTH THE GROUPS: 0 DAY AS BASELINE, 22(ND) DAY AND ON 90(TH) DAY BY USING COMPUTERIZED MS MEDISOFT CARDIO-RESPIRATORY INSTRUMENT, HYP'AIR COMPACT MODEL OF CARDIO-RESPIRATORY TESTING MACHINE WAS MANUFACTURED BY P K MORGAN, INDIA. THE RECORDED PARAMETERS WERE STATISTICALLY ANALYZED BY REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA FOLLOWED BY TUKEY'S TEST IN BOTH THE GROUPS. CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS WERE ALSO COMPARED BEFORE AND AFTER INTERVENTION IN BOTH THE GROUPS. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE SEEN IN SLOW VITAL CAPACITY, FORCED VITAL CAPACITY, PEAK EXPIRATORY FLOW RATE, MAXIMUM VOLUNTARY VENTILATION, AND DIFFUSION FACTOR/ TRANSFER FACTOR OF LUNG FOR CARBON MONOXIDE AFTER 3 MONTHS OF YOGA REGIMEN IN GROUP I. FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN 1(ST) SEC (FEV1), AND FEV1 % ALSO SHOWED A TREND TOWARD IMPROVEMENT ALTHOUGH NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. HR, SBP AND DBP ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN GROUP-I PATIENTS WHO FOLLOWED YOGA REGIMEN. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA REGIMEN WAS FOUND TO IMPROVE LUNG FUNCTIONS AND DIFFUSION CAPACITY IN CAD PATIENTS BESIDES IMPROVING CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTIONS. THUS, IT CAN BE USED AS A COMPLIMENTARY OR ADJUNCT THERAPY ALONG WITH THE CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE FOR THEIR TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION. 2015 9 1761 32 POSITIVE THERAPEUTIC AND NEUROTROPIC EFFECTS OF YOGA IN DEPRESSION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. CONTEXT: THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF YOGA IN DEPRESSION IS RECOGNIZED. NEUROPLASTIC EFFECTS OF ANTIDEPRESSANT THERAPIES ARE INFERRED BY ELEVATIONS IN BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF). ROLE OF YOGA IN BOTH THESE EFFECTS HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NON-SUICIDAL, CONSECUTIVE OUT-PATIENTS OF DEPRESSION WERE OFFERED YOGA EITHER ALONE OR WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS. THE DEPRESSION SEVERITY WAS RATED ON HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (HDRS) BEFORE AND AT 3 MONTHS. SERUM BDNF LEVELS WERE MEASURED AT THE SAME TIME POINTS. REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS PERFORMED TO LOOK AT CHANGE ACROSS GROUPS WITH RESPECT TO HDRS SCORES AND BDNF LEVELS OVER 3 MONTHS OF FOLLOW-UP. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHANGE IN SERUM BDNF LEVELS AND CHANGE IN HDRS SCORES WAS ASSESSED USING THE PEARSON'S CORRELATION COEFFICIENT. RESULTS: BOTH YOGA GROUPS WERE BETTER THAN DRUGS-ONLY GROUP WITH RESPECT TO REDUCTION IN HDRS SCORES. SERUM BDNF ROSE IN THE TOTAL SAMPLE IN THE 3-MONTH PERIOD. THIS WAS NOT, HOWEVER, DIFFERENT ACROSS TREATMENT GROUPS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN FALL IN HDRS AND RISE IN SERUM BDNF LEVELS IN YOGA-ONLY GROUP (R=0.702; P=0.001), BUT NOT IN THOSE RECEIVING YOGA AND ANTIDEPRESSANTS OR ANTIDEPRESSANTS-ALONE. CONCLUSIONS: NEUROPLASTIC MECHANISMS MAY BE RELATED TO THE THERAPEUTIC MECHANISMS OF YOGA IN DEPRESSION. 2013 10 685 33 EFFECT OF AN INTEGRATED NATUROPATHY AND YOGA PROGRAM ON LONG-TERM GLYCEMIC CONTROL IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY. AIM: LIFESTYLE IS AN IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR FOR INCREASING THE PREVALENCE OF DIABETES IN THE INDIAN POPULATION. IN THIS STUDY, WE EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF NATUROPATHY TREATMENT, SALT-RESTRICTED LOW-CALORIE DIETS, AND YOGA IN LONG-TERM GLYCEMIC CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS. METHODS: IN THIS PROSPECTIVE, LONGITUDINAL, TWO-ARM COHORT STUDY, PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS REFERRED FROM A TERTIARY CARE CENTER UNDERGOING A 3-MONTH RESIDENTIAL NATUROPATHY TREATMENT WERE COMPARED WITH THOSE UNDERGOING ONLY CONVENTIONAL MANAGEMENT ON GLYCEMIC CONTROL. BOTH FASTING AND POSTPRANDIAL BLOOD GLUCOSE (PPBG) LEVELS WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, 3 MONTHS FOLLOWING INTERVENTION, AT 6 MONTHS, AND 12 MONTHS FROM THE STUDY START. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA WITH POST HOC BONFERRONI CORRECTION. RESULTS: NATUROPATHY AND YOGA INTERVENTION SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PPBG LEVELS (P < 0.001), GLYCATED HEMOGLOBIN LEVELS (P < 0.001), AND REDUCED REQUIREMENT FOR ANTIDIABETIC MEDICATIONS (P < 0.008) IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP COMPARED TO CONTROLS. THE EFFECTS WERE MORE PROFOUND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING INTERVENTION AND LASTED UP TO 6 MONTHS FROM THE START OF THE STUDY. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST BENEFIT WITH AN INTENSIVE RESIDENTIAL NATUROPATHY-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION PROGRAM. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS ARE NEEDED TO FURTHER VALIDATE THE FINDINGS. 2020 11 810 41 EFFECT OF YOGA ON BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS. INTRODUCTION: IN VIEW OF PEOPLE EMBRACING SEDENTARY LIFE STYLE, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TREATMENT BECOMING LESS, THE ROLE OF REGULAR EXERCISE ESPECIALLY 'YOGA' SEEMS TO BE A BENEFICIAL AND ECONOMICAL ADJUVANT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM). OBJECTIVES: TO ASSESS THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS IN NORMAL AND T2DM VOLUNTEERS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A PROSPECTIVE CASE-CONTROL STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY AND DIABETIC CLINIC OF A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL OVER PERIOD OF TWO YEARS. THE STUDY SUBJECTS CONSISTED OF 30 MALE DIABETIC PATIENTS ATTENDING DIABETIC CLINIC AND 30 NON-DIABETIC MALE VOLUNTEERS CONSTITUTED CONTROL GROUP. THE PATIENTS IN THE AGE GROUP OF 36 TO 55 YEARS WITH T2DM OF AT LEAST ONE YEAR DURATION AND THOSE ON DIABETIC DIET AND ORAL HYPOGLYCEMIC AGENTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY GROUP. THE AGE MATCHED HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS WHO HAD COME TO JOIN YOGA TRAINING AT YOGA CENTRE WERE INCLUDED IN THE CONTROL GROUP. ALL THE PARTICIPANTS WERE TRAINED BY YOGA EXPERTS AND SUBJECTED TO REGULAR PRACTICE UNDER SUPERVISION FOR SIX MONTHS. IN ALL THE PARTICIPANTS FASTING (FBS) AND POST-PRANDIAL BLOOD SUGAR (PPBS) WAS ESTIMATED BEFORE, DURING (AT THREE MONTHS) AND AFTER (SIX MONTHS) YOGA TRAINING. PAIRED STUDENT T-TEST WAS USED TO ESTIMATE DIFFERENCE IN MEANS CALCULATED BEFORE AND AFTER YOGA TRAINING IN A SAME GROUP. A P-VALUE OF <0.05 WAS CONSIDERED AS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: THE DISTRIBUTION OF AGE, MEAN HEIGHT AND MEAN WEIGHT AMONG BOTH THE GROUPS WERE COMPARABLE. THE REDUCTION IN MEAN VALUES OF FBS AND PPBS AT THE END OF SIX MONTHS WAS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT (P <0.001) IN BOTH THE GROUPS WHEN COMPARED WITH THE MEAN VALUES BEFORE AND DURING (THREE MONTHS) YOGA PRACTICE. THE REDUCTION IN THESE VALUES AT THREE MONTHS DURING YOGA WAS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT IN T2DM GROUP WHEN COMPARED WITH MEAN VALUES BEFORE YOGA (P <0.001), BUT IT WAS INSIGNIFICANT (P<0.05) IN CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS OF THE PRESENT STUDY DEMONSTRATED THAT THE YOGA IS EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING THE BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH T2DM. 2015 12 555 36 CORTISOL AND ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF YOGA. CONTEXT: HYPERCORTISOLEMIA IS WELL-KNOWN IN DEPRESSION AND YOGA HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED EARLIER TO REDUCE THE PARAMETERS OF STRESS, INCLUDING CORTISOL LEVELS. AIM: WE AIMED TO FIND THE ROLE OF YOGA AS AN ANTIDEPRESSANT AS WELL AS ITS ACTION ON LOWERING THE SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: AN OPEN-LABELED STUDY CONSISTING OF THREE GROUPS (YOGA ALONE, YOGA ALONG WITH ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION AND ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION ALONE) WAS CONDUCTED AT A TERTIARY CARE PSYCHIATRY HOSPITAL. METHODOLOGY: OUT-PATIENT DEPRESSIVES WHO WERE NOT SUICIDAL WERE OFFERED YOGA AS A POSSIBLE ANTIDEPRESSANT THERAPY. A VALIDATED YOGA MODULE WAS USED AS THERAPY TAUGHT OVER A MONTH AND TO BE PRACTICED AT HOME DAILY. PATIENTS WERE FREE TO CHOOSE THE DRUGS IF THEIR PSYCHIATRIST ADVISED. PATIENTS (N=54) WERE RATED ON HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (HDRS) WITH SERUM CORTISOL MEASUREMENTS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 3 MONTHS. IN 54 PATIENTS, ASSESSMENTS AND BLOOD TEST RESULTS WERE BOTH AVAILABLE. 19 EACH RECEIVED YOGA ALONE OR WITH DRUGS AND 16 RECEIVED DRUGS ONLY. HEALTHY COMPARISON SUBJECTS (N=18) TOO UNDERWENT MORNING CORTISOL MEASUREMENTS ONCE. RESULTS: SERUM CORTISOL WAS HIGHER IN DEPRESSIVES COMPARED WITH CONTROLS. IN THE TOTAL SAMPLE, THE CORTISOL LEVEL DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY AT THE END OF TREATMENT. MORE PATIENTS IN THE YOGA GROUPS HAD A DROP IN CORTISOL LEVELS AS COMPARED TO DRUG-ONLY GROUP. IN THE YOGA-ONLY GROUP, THE CORTISOL DROP CORRELATED WITH THE DROP IN HDRS SCORE (ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECT). CONCLUSION: THE FINDINGS SUPPORT THAT YOGA MAY ACT AT THE LEVEL OF THE HYPOTHALAMUS BY ITS 'ANTI-STRESS' EFFECTS (REDUCING THE CORTISOL), TO BRING ABOUT RELIEF IN DEPRESSION. 2013 13 940 44 EFFECTS OF 6 MONTHS YOGA PROGRAM ON RENAL FUNCTIONS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. AIM: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF 6 MONTHS YOGA PROGRAM IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: FIFTY-FOUR PATIENTS WITH CKD WERE STUDIED AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS (YOGA GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP) TO SEE THE EFFECT OF YOGA IN CKD. PATIENTS IN THE YOGA GROUP WERE OFFERED YOGA THERAPY ALONG WITH OTHER CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT MODALITIES, WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP WAS ONLY ON CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT. SUBJECTS IN YOGA GROUP WERE TRAINED TO PERFORM SPECIFIC YOGIC ASANAS FOR AT LEAST 5 DAYS A WEEK FOR 40-60 MIN A DAY. REGULAR MONITORING OF BLOOD PRESSURE, RENAL FUNCTION, REQUIREMENT OF A NUMBER OF DIALYSIS, AND QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) INDICATORS WERE DONE. FIFTY PATIENTS (YOGA - 25; CONTROL-25) COMPLETED 6 MONTHS FOLLOW-UP. RESULTS: IN YOGA GROUP, A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN BLOOD UREA AND SERUM CREATININE LEVELS, AND SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DOMAIN OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION QOL (AS ASSESSED BY BREF QOL SCORES) WERE SEEN AFTER 6 MONTHS. IN CONTROL GROUP, RISE OF BLOOD PRESSURE, DETERIORATION OF RENAL FUNCTION, AND QOL WERE OBSERVED. POSTSTUDY COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS SHOWED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF BLOOD PRESSURE, NONSIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN BLOOD UREA AND SERUM CREATININE, AND SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DOMAIN OF QOL IN YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP. FOR SUBJECTS IN YOGA GROUP, THE NEED FOR DIALYSIS WAS LESS WHEN COMPARED TO CONTROL GROUP ALTHOUGH THIS DIFFERENCE WAS STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT. EXCEPT FOR INABILITY OF SOME PATIENTS TO PERFORM CERTAIN YOGIC ASANAS NO ADVERSE EFFECT WAS FOUND IN THE STUDY. CONCLUSION: SIX MONTHS YOGA PROGRAM IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE AS AN ADJUVANT THERAPY IN IMPROVING RENAL FUNCTIONS AND QOL OF CKD PATIENTS. 2017 14 2507 46 YOGA BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION AFTER CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS SURGERY: ONE-YEAR RESULTS ON LVEF, LIPID PROFILE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES--A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO COMPARE THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF YOGA BASED CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM WITH ONLY PHYSIOTHERAPY BASED PROGRAM AS AN ADD-ON TO CONVENTIONAL REHABILITATION AFTER CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING (CABG) ON RISK FACTORS. METHODS: IN THIS SINGLE BLIND PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED PARALLEL TWO ARMED ACTIVE CONTROL STUDY, 1026 PATIENTS POSTED FOR CABG AT NARAYANA HRUDAYALAYA INSTITUTE OF CARDIAC SCIENCES, BENGALURU (INDIA) WERE SCREENED. OF THESE, 250 MALE PARTICIPANTS (35-65 YEARS) WHO SATISFIED THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND CONSENTED WERE RANDOMIZED INTO TWO GROUPS. WITHIN AND BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISONS WERE DONE AT THREE POINTS OF FOLLOW UP (I.E. 6TH WEEK, 6TH MONTH, AND 12TH MONTH) BY USING WILCOXON'S SIGNED RANKS TEST AND MANN WHITNEY U TEST RESPECTIVELY. RESULTS: YOGA GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY (P = 0.001, MANN WHITNEY) BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN LVEF THAN CONTROL GROUP IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE EF (<53%) AFTER 1 YEAR. THERE WAS A BETTER REDUCTION IN BMI IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.038, BETWEEN GROUPS) IN THOSE WITH HIGH BASELINE BMI (>/=23) AFTER 12 MONTHS. YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P = 0.008, WILCOXON'S) REDUCTION IN BLOOD GLUCOSE AT ONE YEAR IN THOSE WITH HIGH BASELINE FBS >/=110 MG/DL. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT IN YOGA THAN THE CONTROL GROUP IN HDL (P = 0.003), LDL (P = 0.01) AND VLDL (P = 0.03) IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE VALUES. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IMPROVEMENT (P = 0.02, BETWEEN GROUPS) IN POSITIVE AFFECT IN YOGA GROUP. WITHIN YOGA GROUP, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN PERCEIVED STRESS (P = 0.001), ANXIETY (P = 0.001), DEPRESSION (P = 0.001), AND NEGATIVE AFFECT (P = 0.03) WHILE IN THE CONTROL GROUP THERE WAS REDUCTION (P = 0.003) ONLY IN SCORES ON ANXIETY. CONCLUSION: ADDITION OF YOGA BASED RELAXATION TO CONVENTIONAL POST-CABG CARDIAC REHABILITATION HELPS IN BETTER MANAGEMENT OF RISK FACTORS IN THOSE WITH ABNORMAL BASELINE VALUES AND MAY HELP IN PREVENTING RECURRENCE. 2014 15 326 32 ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFICACY AND HORMONAL EFFECTS OF SUDARSHANA KRIYA YOGA (SKY) IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS. BACKGROUND: SUDARSHANA KRIYA YOGA (SKY) HAS DEMONSTRABLE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS. SKY WAS TESTED FOR THIS EFFECT IN INPATIENTS OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE. METHODS: FOLLOWING A WEEK OF DETOXIFICATION MANAGEMENT CONSENTING SUBJECTS (N=60) WERE EQUALLY RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE SKY THERAPY OR NOT (CONTROLS) FOR A TWO-WEEK STUDY. SKY THERAPY INCLUDED ALTERNATE DAY PRACTICE OF SPECIFIED BREATHING EXERCISE UNDER SUPERVISION OF A TRAINED THERAPIST. SUBJECTS COMPLETED THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI) BEFORE AND AFTER THE TWO WEEKS OF THIS INTERVENTION. MORNING PLASMA CORTISOL, ACTH AND PROLACTIN TOO WERE MEASURED BEFORE AND AT THE END OF TWO WEEKS. RESULTS: IN BOTH GROUPS REDUCTIONS IN BDI SCORES OCCURRED BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SO IN SKY GROUP. LIKEWISE, IN BOTH GROUPS PLASMA CORTISOL AS WELL AS ACTH FELL AFTER TWO WEEKS BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SO IN SKY GROUP. REDUCTION IN BDI SCORES CORRELATED WITH THAT IN CORTISOL IN SKY BUT NOT IN CONTROL GROUP. LIMITATIONS: ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF SKY WERE DEMONSTRATED IN EARLY ABSTINENCE THAT ALSO HAD SUBSTANTIAL SPONTANEOUS IMPROVEMENT. IT IS NOT KNOWN IF THIS EFFECT CONTRIBUTES TO SUSTAINED ABSTINENCE. CONCLUSION: RESULTS EXTEND THE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF SKY IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE SUBJECTS. REDUCTION IN STRESS-HORMONE LEVELS (CORTISOL AND ACTH) ALONG WITH BDI REDUCTIONS POSSIBLY SUPPORT A BIOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF SKY IN PRODUCING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. 2006 16 780 42 EFFECT OF YOGA AS AN ADD-ON THERAPY IN THE MODULATION OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN CHILDREN WITH DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY. BACKGROUND: DUCHENE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY (DMD) IS A PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR DISORDER. CARDIAC DISORDER IS THE SECOND-MOST COMMON CAUSE OF DEATH IN CHILDREN WITH DMD, WITH 10%-20% OF THEM DYING OF CARDIAC FAILURE. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) IS SHOWN TO BE A PREDICTOR OF CARDIO-AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. PHYSIOTHERAPY (PT) IS ADVISED FOR THESE CHILDREN AS A REGULAR TREATMENT FOR MAINTAINING THEIR FUNCTIONAL STATUS. THE EFFECT OF YOGIC PRACTICES ON THE CARDIO-AUTONOMIC FUNCTIONS HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN VARIOUS NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND MAY PROVE BENEFICIAL IN DMD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IN THIS STUDY, 124 PATIENTS WITH DMD WERE RANDOMIZED TO PT ALONE OR PT WITH YOGA INTERVENTION. HOME-BASED PT AND YOGA WERE ADVISED. ADHERENCE WAS SERIALLY ASSESSED AT A FOLLOW-UP INTERVAL OF 3 MONTHS. ERROR-FREE, ELECTROCARDIOGRAM WAS RECORDED IN ALL PATIENTS AT REST IN THE SUPINE POSITION. HRV PARAMETERS WERE COMPUTED IN TIME AND FREQUENCY DOMAINS. HRV WAS RECORDED AT BASELINE AND AT AN INTERVAL OF 3 MONTHS UP TO 1 YEAR. REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA WAS USED TO ANALYZE LONGITUDINAL FOLLOW-UP AND LEAST SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR POST HOC ANALYSIS AND P < 0.05 WAS CONSIDERED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: IN OUR STUDY, WITH PT PROTOCOL, STANDARD DEVIATION OF NN, ROOT OF SQUARE MEAN OF SUCCESSIVE NN, TOTAL POWER, LOW FREQUENCY, HIGH-FREQUENCY NORMALIZED UNITS (HFNU), AND SYMPATHOVAGAL BALANCE IMPROVED AT VARYING TIME POINTS AND THE IMPROVEMENT LASTED UP FOR 6-9 MONTHS, WHEREAS PT AND YOGA PROTOCOL SHOWED AN IMPROVEMENT IN HFNU DURING THE LAST 3 MONTHS OF THE STUDY PERIOD AND ALL THE OTHER PARAMETERS WERE STABLE UP TO 1 YEAR. THUS, IT IS EVIDENT THAT BOTH THE GROUPS IMPROVED CARDIAC FUNCTIONS IN DMD. HOWEVER, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS NOTED IN THE CHANGES OBSERVED BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSION: THE INTENSE PT AND PT WITH YOGA, PARTICULARLY HOME-BASED PROGRAM, IS INDEED BENEFICIAL AS A THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY IN DMD CHILDREN TO MAINTAIN AND/OR TO SUSTAIN HRV IN DMD. 2019 17 39 47 A BRIEF BUT COMPREHENSIVE LIFESTYLE EDUCATION PROGRAM BASED ON YOGA REDUCES RISK FACTORS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND DIABETES MELLITUS. OBJECTIVES: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO STUDY THE SHORT-TERM IMPACT OF A BRIEF LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION BASED ON YOGA ON SOME OF THE BIOCHEMICAL INDICATORS OF RISK FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND DIABETES MELLITUS. DESIGN: THE VARIABLES OF INTEREST WERE MEASURED AT THE BEGINNING (DAY 1) AND END (DAY 10) OF THE INTERVENTION USING A PRE-POST DESIGN. SETTING: THE STUDY IS THE RESULT OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH CARRIED OUT IN OUR INTEGRAL HEALTH CLINIC (IHC). THE IHC IS AN OUTPATIENT FACILITY WHICH CONDUCTS 8-DAY LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION PROGRAMS BASED ON YOGA FOR PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASE. A NEW COURSE BEGINS EVERY ALTERNATE WEEK OF THE YEAR. SUBJECTS: THE STUDY IS BASED ON DATA COLLECTED ON 98 SUBJECTS (67 MALE, 31 FEMALE), AGES 20-74 YEARS, WHO ATTENDED ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS. THE SUBJECTS WERE A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION, CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, DIABETES MELLITUS, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER ILLNESSES. INTERVENTION: THE INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF ASANAS (POSTURES), PRANAYAMA (BREATHING EXERCISES), RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, GROUP SUPPORT, INDIVIDUALIZED ADVICE, LECTURES AND FILMS ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF YOGA AND THE PLACE OF YOGA IN DAILY LIFE, MEDITATION, STRESS MANAGEMENT, NUTRITION, AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ILLNESS. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE OUTCOME MEASURES WERE FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE AND SERUM LIPOPROTEIN PROFILE. THESE VARIABLES WERE DETERMINED IN FASTING BLOOD SAMPLES, TAKEN ON THE FIRST AND LAST DAY OF THE COURSE. RESULTS: FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE, SERUM TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (LDL) CHOLESTEROL, VERY- LDL CHOLESTEROL, THE RATIO OF TOTAL CHOLESTEROL TO HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (HDL) CHOLESTEROL, AND TOTAL TRIGLYCERIDES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER, AND HDL CHOLESTEROL SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER, ON THE LAST DAY OF THE COURSE COMPARED TO THE FIRST DAY OF THE COURSE. THE CHANGES WERE MORE MARKED IN SUBJECTS WITH HYPERGLYCEMIA OR HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA. CONCLUSIONS: THE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT A SHORT LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION AND STRESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION PROGRAM LEADS TO FAVORABLE METABOLIC EFFECTS WITHIN A PERIOD OF 9 DAYS. 2005 18 1533 36 IYENGAR YOGA VERSUS ENHANCED USUAL CARE ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH PREHYPERTENSION TO STAGE I HYPERTENSION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. THE PREVALENCE OF PREHYPERTENSION AND STAGE 1 HYPERTENSION CONTINUES TO INCREASE DESPITE BEING AMENABLE TO NON-PHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTIONS. IYENGAR YOGA (IY) HAS BEEN PURPORTED TO REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE (BP) THOUGH EVIDENCE FROM RANDOMIZED TRIALS IS LACKING. WE CONDUCTED A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF 12 WEEKS OF IY VERSUS ENHANCED USUAL CARE (EUC) (BASED ON INDIVIDUAL DIETARY ADJUSTMENT) ON 24-H AMBULATORY BP IN YOGA-NAIVE ADULTS WITH UNTREATED PREHYPERTENSION OR STAGE 1 HYPERTENSION. IN TOTAL, 26 AND 31 SUBJECTS IN THE IY AND EUC ARMS, RESPECTIVELY, COMPLETED THE STUDY. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN BP BETWEEN THE GROUPS AT 6 AND 12 WEEKS. IN THE EUC GROUP, 24-H SYSTOLIC BP (SBP), DIASTOLIC BP (DBP) AND MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE (MAP) SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED BY 5, 3 AND 3 MMHG, RESPECTIVELY, FROM BASELINE AT 6 WEEKS (P < .05), BUT WERE NO LONGER SIGNIFICANT AT 12 WEEKS. IN THE IY GROUP, 24 H SBP WAS REDUCED BY 6 MMHG AT 12 WEEKS COMPARED TO BASELINE (P = .05). 24 H DBP (P < .01) AND MAP (P < .05) DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY EACH BY 5 MMHG. NO DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN CATECHOLAMINE OR CORTISOL METABOLISM TO EXPLAIN THE DECREASE IN BP IN THE IY GROUP AT 12 WEEKS. TWELVE WEEKS OF IY PRODUCES CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN 24 H SBP AND DBP. LARGER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO ESTABLISH THE LONG TERM EFFICACY, ACCEPTABILITY, UTILITY AND POTENTIAL MECHANISMS OF IY TO CONTROL BP. 2011 19 1898 34 RESTORATIVE YOGA AND METABOLIC RISK FACTORS: THE PRACTICING RESTORATIVE YOGA VS. STRETCHING FOR THE METABOLIC SYNDROME (PRYSMS) RANDOMIZED TRIAL. AIMS: INTENSIVE LIFESTYLE CHANGE PREVENTS TYPE 2 DIABETES BUT IS DIFFICULT TO SUSTAIN. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT YOGA MAY IMPROVE METABOLIC FACTORS. WE TESTED A RESTORATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION VS. ACTIVE STRETCHING FOR METABOLIC OUTCOMES. METHODS: IN 2009-2012, WE CONDUCTED A 48-WEEK RANDOMIZED TRIAL COMPARING RESTORATIVE YOGA VS. STRETCHING AMONG UNDERACTIVE ADULTS WITH THE METABOLIC SYNDROME AT THE UNIVERSITIES OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO AND SAN DIEGO. WE PROVIDED LIFESTYLE COUNSELING AND A TAPERING SERIES OF 90-MIN GROUP CLASSES IN THE 24-WEEK INTERVENTION PERIOD AND 24-WEEK MAINTENANCE PERIOD. FASTING AND 2-H GLUCOSE, HBA1C, TRIGLYCERIDES, HDL-CHOLESTEROL, INSULIN, SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, VISCERAL FAT, AND QUALITY OF LIFE WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, 6- AND 12-MONTHS. RESULTS: 180 PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMIZED AND 135 (75%) COMPLETED THE TRIAL. AT 12 MONTHS, FASTING GLUCOSE DECREASED MORE IN THE YOGA GROUP THAN IN THE STRETCHING GROUP (-0.35 MMOL/L VS. -0.03 MMOL/L; P=0.002); THERE WERE NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS. AT 6 MONTHS FAVORABLE CHANGES WITHIN THE YOGA GROUP INCLUDED REDUCTIONS IN FASTING GLUCOSE, INSULIN, AND HBA1C AND AN INCREASE IN HDL-CHOLESTEROL THAT WERE NOT SUSTAINED AT 1 YEAR EXCEPT CHANGES IN FASTING GLUCOSE. THE STRETCHING GROUP HAD A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN TRIGLYCERIDES AT 6 MONTHS WHICH WAS NOT SUSTAINED AT 1 YEAR BUT HAD IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE AT BOTH TIME-POINTS. CONCLUSIONS: RESTORATIVE YOGA WAS MARGINALLY BETTER THAN STRETCHING FOR IMPROVING FASTING GLUCOSE BUT NOT OTHER METABOLIC FACTORS. 2014 20 881 36 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