Mind-Body Medicine Yang-Sheng 2012-05

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SeptemberOctober 2012 51Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life)

A Randomized Controlled Trial ofQigong for Fibromyalgia

Arthritis Research & Therapy. 2012 Aug 3;14(4):

R178. By Lynch M, Sawynok J, Hiew C, Marcon D.

Introduction: Fibromyalgia is difficult to treat

and requires the use of multiple approaches. Thisstudy is a randomized controlled trial of qigongcompared with a waitlist control group in fibromyal-gia. Methods: One hundred participants were ran-domly assigned to immediate or delayed practicegroups, with the delayed group receiving training atthe end of the control period. Qigong training (level1 Chaoyi Fanhuan Qigong, CFQ), given over 3 half-days, was followed by weekly review/practice ses-sions for 8 weeks; participants were also asked topractice at home for 45-60 minutes per day for thisinterval. Outcomes were pain, impact, sleep, physi-

cal function and mental function, and these wererecorded at baseline, 8 weeks, 4 months and 6months. Immediate and delayed practice groupswere analyzed individually compared to the controlgroup, and as a combination group. Results: Inboth the immediate and delayed treatment groups,CFQ demonstrated significant improvements inpain, impact, sleep, physical function and mentalfunction when compared to the waitlist/usual carecontrol group at 8 weeks, with benefits extendingbeyond this time. Analysis of combined data indi-cated significant changes for all measures at all

times to 6 months, with only one exception. Post-hoc analysis based on self-reported practice timesindicated greater benefit with the per protocol groupcompared to minimal practice. Conclusions: Thisstudy demonstrates that CFQ, a particular formof qigong, provides long-term benefits in sev-eral core domains in fibromyalgia. CFQ may bea useful adjuvant self-care treatment for fi-bromyalgia.

Benefit of Qigong Exercise in Patients with Fi-bromyalgia: A Pilot Study

International Journal of Neuroscience. 2012 Aug 3.by Liu W, Zahner L, Cornell M, Le T, Ratner J,Wang Y, Pasnoor M, Dimachkie M, Barohn R. FromDepartment of Physical Therapy and RehabilitationSciences, University of Kansas Medical Center,Kansas City, Kansas, USA.

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) patients presentwith widespread chronic pain and other symptoms.Some studies in the literature have reported incon-sistent results after a Qigong exercise interventionin patients with FM. The purpose of this study wasto test the feasibility of a home-based Qigong exer-cise in patients with FM. Methods: A total of 14subjects were randomly assigned into one of twogroups. The experimental group went through a six-week Qigong exercise program involving medita-tion, deep breathing, and synchronized rhythmicbody movements. The control group took part in a

sham Qigong exercise program using the samebody movements also for six weeks. Clinical as-sessments at baseline and end of intervention usedthe Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, Multidi-mensional Fatigue Inventory, Pittsburgh SleepQuality Index, and Fibromyalgia Impact Question-naire. Results: Group mean scores of four meas-urements were significantly (p < .0125) reduced inthe intervention group, but not in the control group.The percentage changes in the four measurementswere 44.2%, 24.8%, 37.3%, and 44.3% in the inter-

Mind-Body Medicine

Research UpdateCompiled by Kevin Chen PhD

Research Update


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52 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 2, Issue No. 5

vention group, and 10.1%, 6.3%, 9.9%, and 11.8%in the control group. Conclusion:Qigong exercisemay potentially be an effective self-managementapproach in controlling FM symptoms.In thispilot study, regular daily Qigong exercise, accumu-lated number of exercise sessions, and the specificform of Qigong exercise may all be important factors

for the significant improvement in the study sub-jects. Future research is required to determinewhether the same benefit can be obtained in a lar-ger sample.

Neurocognitive Correlates of the Effects of YogaMeditation Practice On Emotion and Cognition:

A Pilot Study

Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. 2012;6:48.Epub 2012 Jul 26. By Froeliger BE, Garland EL,Modlin LA, McClernon FJ. From Department of Psy-chiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke UniversityMedical Center Durham, NC, USA.

Abstract: Mindfulness meditation involves at-

tending to emotions without cognitive fixation ofemotional experience. Over time, this practice isheld to promote alterations in trait affectivity and at-tentional control with resultant effects on well-beingand cognition. However, relatively little is known re-garding the neural substrates of meditation effectson emotion and cognition. The present study investi-gated the neurocognitive correlates of emotion inter-ference on cognition in Yoga practitioners and amatched control group (CG) underwent fMRI while

performing an event-related affective Stroop task.The task includes image viewing trials and Strooptrials bracketed by neutral or negative emotional dis-tractors. During image viewing trials, Yoga practitio-ners exhibited less reactivity in right dorsolateralprefrontal cortex (dlPFC) to negative as comparedto neutral images; whereas the CG had the opposite

pattern. A main effect of valence (negative > neutral)was observed in limbic regions (e.g., amygdala), ofwhich the magnitude was inversely related to dlPFCactivation. Exploratory analyses revealed that themagnitude of amygdala activation predicted de-creased self-reported positive affect in the CG, butnot among Yoga practitioners. During Stroop trials,Yoga practitioners had greater activation in ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) during Stroop trialswhen negative, compared to neutral, emotional dis-tractor were presented; the CG exhibited the oppo-site pattern. Taken together, these data suggest

that though Yoga practitioners exhibit limbic re-activity to negative emotional stimuli, such reac-tivity does not have downstream effects on latermood state. This uncoupling of viewing negativeemotional images and affect among Yoga practi-tioners may be occasioned by their selective im-plementation of frontal executive-dependentstrategies to reduce emotional interference dur-ing competing cognitive demands and not dur-ing emotional processing per se.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3405281

A Pilot Study of Qigong forReducing Cocaine Craving Early in Recovery

Journal Alternative & Complementary Medicine.2012 Jul 3. by Smelson D, Chen KW, Ziedonis D,

Andes K, Lennox A, Callahan L, Rodrigues S,Eisenberg D. From Center for Health, Quality, Out-comes & Economic Research, VAMedical Center Bedford, MA.

Abstract: Objectives: Thispilot study examined the feasibility,

preliminary efficacy, and determinedthe effect sizes of external qigongtherapy (EQT) in reducing cue-elicited cocaine craving and associ-ated symptoms among recently ab-stinent cocaine-dependent (CD) in-dividuals. Methods: This study ran-domized 101 CD subjects to either areal EQT (n=51) or sham EQT con-trol (n=50) group. Subjects under-went a baseline assessment and a


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weekly cue-exposure session for 2 weeks. TotalEQT or sham treatments ranged from 4 to 6 ses-sions in 2 weeks. Results: EQT-treated subjectsdisplayed a greater reduction in cue-elicited craving(p=0.06) and symptoms of depression (p


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physical well-being as measured by the SF-12v2.Results: Maslach Burnout Inventory scores im-proved significantly from before to after the coursefor both physicians and other healthcare providersfor the Emotional Exhaustion (p < 0.03), Deperson-alization (p < 0.04), and Personal Accomplishment(p < 0.001) scales. Mental well-being measured by

the SF12v2 also improved significantly (p < 0.001).There were no significant changes in the SF12v2physical health scores. Conclusion:A continuingeducation course based on mindfulness-basedstress reduction was associated with significantimprovements in burnout scores and mentalwell-being for a broad range of healthcare pro-viders.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive TherapyImproves Polysomnographic and Subjective

Sleep Profiles in Antidepressant Userswith Sleep Complaints

Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics. 2012 Jul 20;81(5):296-304. By Britton WB, Haynes PL, Fridel KW,Bootzin RR. From: Dept of Psychiatry and HumanBehavior, Brown University Medical School, Provi-dence, R.I., USA.

Background: Many antidepressant medica-

tions (ADM) are associated with disruptions in sleepcontinuity that can compromise medication adher-ence and impede successful treatment. The presentstudy investigated whether mindfulness meditation(MM) training could improve self-reported and ob-

jectively measured polysomnographic (PSG) sleepprofiles in depressed individuals who had achievedat least partial remission with ADM, but still had re-sidual sleep complaints. Methods: Twenty-three

ADM users with sleep complaints were randomized

into an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Ther-apy (MBCT) course or a waitlist control condition.Pre-post measurements included PSG sleep studiesand subjectively reported sleep, residual depressionsymptoms. Results: Compared to controls, theMBCT participants improved on both PSG and sub-

jective measures of sleep. They showed a pattern of

decreased wake time and increased sleep effi-ciency. Sleep depth, as measured by stage 1 andslow-wave sleep, did not change as a result ofmindfulness training. Conclusions: MM is associ-ated with increases in both objectively and subjec-tively measured sleep continuity in ADM users. MMtraining may serve as more desirable and cost-effective alternative to discontinuation or sup-plementation with hypnotics, and may contrib-ute to a more sustainable recovery from depres-sion.

Global and Regional Alterationsof Hippocampal Anatomy in

Long-Term Meditation Practitioners

Human Brain Mapping. 2012 Jul 19. By Luders E,Thompson PM, Kurth F, Hong JY, Phillips OR, WangY, Gutman BA, Chou YY, Narr KL, Toga AW. FromLaboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurol-ogy, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Califor-nia. [email protected]

Abstract: Studies linking meditation and brainstructure are still relatively sparse, but the hippo-campus is consistently implicated as one of thestructures altered in meditation practitioners. To ex-plore hippocampal features in the framework ofmeditation, we analyzed high-resolution structuralmagnetic resonance imaging data from 30 long-termmeditators and 30 controls, closely matched for sex,age, and handedness.Hippocampal forma-tions were manuallytraced following estab-

lished protocols. Inaddition to calculatingleft and right hippo-ca mp a l vo lu me s(global measures), re-gional variations insurface morphologywere determined bymeasuring radial dis-tances from the hippo-campal core to spa-


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tially matched surface points (local measures). Leftand right hippocampal volumes were larger inmeditators than in controls, significantly so forthe left hippocampus. The presence and directionof this global effect was confirmed locally by map-ping the exact spatial locations of the group differ-ences. Altogether, radial distances were larger in

meditators compared to controls, with up to 15%difference. These local effects were observed inseveral hippocampal regions in the left and righthemisphere though achieved significance primarilyin the left hippocampal head. Larger hippocampaldimensions in long-term meditators may constitutepart of the underlying neurological substrate forcognitive skills, mental capacities, and/or personaltraits associated with the practice of meditation. Al-ternatively, given that meditation positively affectsautonomic regulation and immune activity, alteredhippocampal dimensions may be one result of

meditation-induced stress reduction. However,given the cross-sectional design, the lack of individ-ual stress measures, and the limited resolution ofbrain data, the exact underlying neuronal mecha-nisms remain to be established.

Yogic Meditation Reverses NF-B andIRF-Related Transcriptome Dynamics in

Leukocytes of Family Dementia Caregivers in aRandomized Controlled Trial

Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012 Jul 13. By BlackDS, Cole SW, Irwin MR, Breen E, St Cyr NM,Nazarian N, Khalsa DS, Lavretsky H. from CousinsCenter for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institutefor Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Background: Although yoga and meditationhave been used for stress reduction with reportedimprovement in inflammation, little is known aboutthe biological mechanisms mediating such effects.The present study examined if a yogic meditationmight alter the activity of inflammatory and antiviral

transcription control pathways that shape immunecell gene expression.

Methods: Forty-five family dementia caregiverswere randomized to either Kirtan Kriya Meditation(KKM) or Relaxing Music (RM) listening for 12mindaily for 8 weeks and 39 caregivers completed thestudy. Genome-wide transcriptional profiles werecollected from peripheral blood leukocytes sampledat baseline and 8-week follow-up. Promoter-basedbioinformatics analyses tested the hypothesis thatobserved transcriptional alterations were structured

by reduced activity of the pro-inflammatory nuclearfactor (NF)- B family of transcription factors andincreased activity of Interferon Response Factors(IRFs; i.e., reversal of patterns previously linked tostress).

Results: In response to KKM treatment, 68genes were found to be differentially expressed (19

up-regulated, 49 down-regulated) after adjusting forpotentially confounded differences in sex, illnessburden, and BMI. Up-regulated genes included im-munoglobulin-related transcripts. Down-regulatedtranscripts included pro-inflammatory cytokines andactivation-related immediate-early genes. Transcriptorigin analyses identified plasmacytoid dendriticcells and B lymphocytes as the primary cellular con-text of these transcriptional alterations (bothp


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genes previously observed in healthy individu-als confronting a significant life stressor.

A Randomized Controlled Trial ofQigong Exercise on Fatigue Symptoms,Functioning, and Telomerase Activity in

Persons with Chronic Fatigue or

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2012 Jun 27. By HoRT, Chan JS, Wang CW, Lau BW, So KF, Yuen LP,Sham JS, Chan CL. From Centre on BehavioralHealth, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong,China, [email protected]

Background: Chronic fatigue is common in thegeneral population. Complementary therapies areoften used by patients with chronic fatigue orchronic fatigue syndrome to manage their symp-toms. Purpose: This study aimed to assess the

effect of a 4-month qigong intervention programamong patients with chronic fatigue or chronic fa-tigue syndrome. Methods: Sixty-four participantswere randomly assigned to either an interventiongroup or a wait list control group. Outcome meas-ures included fatigue symptoms, physical function-ing, mental functioning, and telomerase activity. Re-sults: Fatigue symptoms and mental functioningwere significantly improved in the qigong groupcompared to controls. Telomerase activity increasedin the qigong group from 0.102 to 0.178 arbitraryunits (p < 0.05). The change was statistically signifi-

cant when compared to the control group (p

Mind-Body Medicine Yang-Sheng 2012-05

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