Qigong Institute

Author: Kuo B1, Bhasin M2, Jacquart J3, Scult MA3, Slipp L3, Riklin EI3, Lepoutre V4, Comosa N1, Norton BA1, Dassatti A1, Rosenblum J1, Thurler AH1, Surjanhata BC1, Hasheminejad NN3, Kagan L3, Slawsby E3, Rao SR5, Macklin EA6, Fricchione GL7, Benson H8, Libermann TA2, Korzenik J9, Denninger JW7.
Affiliation:
1Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 2Division of Interdisciplinary Medicine & Biotechnology, and Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Center, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America; Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 3Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 4Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 5Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America; Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), Bedford VA Medical Center, Bedford, Massachusetts, United States of America. 6MGH Biostatistics Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 7Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America; Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 8Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America; Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. 9Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America; Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Conference/Journal: PLoS One.
Date published: 2015 Apr 30
Other: Volume ID: 10 , Issue ID: 4 , Pages: e0123861 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123861 , Word Count: 317

Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can profoundly affect quality of life and are influenced by stress and resiliency. The impact of mind-body interventions (MBIs) on IBS and IBD patients has not previously been examined.
METHODS:
Nineteen IBS and 29 IBD patients were enrolled in a 9-week relaxation response based mind-body group intervention (RR-MBI), focusing on elicitation of the RR and cognitive skill building. Symptom questionnaires and inflammatory markers were assessed pre- and post-intervention, and at short-term follow-up. Peripheral blood transcriptome analysis was performed to identify genomic correlates of the RR-MBI.
RESULTS:
Pain Catastrophizing Scale scores improved significantly post-intervention for IBD and at short-term follow-up for IBS and IBD. Trait Anxiety scores, IBS Quality of Life, IBS Symptom Severity Index, and IBD Questionnaire scores improved significantly post-intervention and at short-term follow-up for IBS and IBD, respectively. RR-MBI altered expression of more genes in IBD (1059 genes) than in IBS (119 genes). In IBD, reduced expression of RR-MBI response genes was most significantly linked to inflammatory response, cell growth, proliferation, and oxidative stress-related pathways. In IBS, cell cycle regulation and DNA damage related gene sets were significantly upregulated after RR-MBI. Interactive network analysis of RR-affected pathways identified TNF, AKT and NF-κB as top focus molecules in IBS, while in IBD kinases (e.g. MAPK, P38 MAPK), inflammation (e.g. VEGF-C, NF-κB) and cell cycle and proliferation (e.g. UBC, APP) related genes emerged as top focus molecules.
CONCLUSIONS:
In this uncontrolled pilot study, participation in an RR-MBI was associated with improvements in disease-specific measures, trait anxiety, and pain catastrophizing in IBS and IBD patients. Moreover, observed gene expression changes suggest that NF-κB is a target focus molecule in both IBS and IBD-and that its regulation may contribute to counteracting the harmful effects of stress in both diseases. Larger, controlled studies are needed to confirm this preliminary finding.
TRIAL REGISTRATION:
ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT02136745.
PMID: 25927528

Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™

Genomic and Clinical Effects Associated with a Relaxation Response Mind-Body Intervention in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.