Effects of complementary eurythmy therapy on heart rate variability.

BACKGROUND: The importance of mind-body oriented therapies in oncology has increased in recent years. Eurythmy therapy (EYT, Greek: eurythmy=harmonious rhythm) is a mind-body oriented therapy used in Anthroposophic Medicine. EYT can lead to long-term alleviation of chronic disease symptoms and improve patient quality of life. Yet, little is known about underlying physiological mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the effects of EYT and conventional ergometer training (CET) on heart rate variability (HRV). DESIGN: In a cross-over design, 20 healthy subjects performed two different EYT exercises and two sessions of CET. ECGs were recorded throughout these procedures. HRV was quantified by the extent of very low (VLF), low (LF) and high frequency (HF) oscillations of heart rate. RESULTS: VLF and LF oscillations increased during one EYT exercises when compared to rest after EYT ('B exercise', VLF: 7.65 vs. 6.57 log ms(2); LF: 8.06 vs. 6.15 log ms(2)) whereas during the other EYT exercise only LF increased ('L exercise', LF: 7.19 vs. 6.25 log ms(2)). HF was not affected. During CET VLF, LF and HF decreased compared to rest (VLF: 5.4 log ms(2), LF: 4.5 log ms(2), HF: 3.2 log ms(2)). During rest after both EYT exercises LF/HF decreased when compared to rest after CET (0.4 and 0.5 vs. 1.4). CONCLUSION: At comparable workloads, EYT stimulated HRV whereas CET attenuated HRV. The decrease of LF/HF during rest after EYT indicates an improved relaxation. These results suggest that patients may benefit from EYT in terms of HRV improvement.

Gene expression profiling in AGS cells stimulated with Helicobacter pylori isogenic strains (cagA positive or cagA negative).

To study host response to CagA, human gastric cancer cell line AGS was infected with a Helicobacter pylori type I wild-type or isogenic cagA-negative mutant. Differentially expressed genes were identified using cDNA array technology. By Northern blotting, downregulation of focal adhesion kinase and upregulation of LIM kinase mRNA in the presence of CagA were clearly verified. Furthermore, upregulation of LIM kinase, macrophage inflammatory protein-2, c-myc, and bone morphogenetic protein-1 and downregulation of transcription factor Y-box binding protein-1 and focal adhesion kinase mRNA in response to H. pylori type I infection compared to the uninfected control could be shown by Northern blotting. Hence, these findings identified new targets for further functional studies on H. pylori-associated pathogenesis.