The effects of a short-term meditation-based mindfulness protocol in patients receiving hemodialysis.

Mindfulness-based approaches that promote health, improve quality of life, and reduce the impact of comorbidities are key aspects in chronic diseases management. We aimed to verify the impact of a short-term meditation protocol on psychosocial and physiological parameters in chronic hemodialysis patients. We enrolled twenty-two patients, median age of 69.5 years old, into a 12-week meditation protocol that occurred during each hemodialysis session for 10-20 minutes, 3x/week, in a private tertiary hospital. We then evaluated clinical, psychological, and laboratorial parameters pre- and post-meditation. Patients exhibited a better control of serum phosphorus (-0.72 mg/dL; P = 0.002), a decrease in systolic blood pressure (-1.90 mmHg; P = 0.009), a 23% decrease in depressive symptoms (P = 0.014), and an increase of 7% in the self-compassion scale (P = 0.048) after meditation. To note, we observed an increase in 13% of the mindfulness score (P = 0.019). Our preliminary study describes the effects of a short-term meditation protocol in chronic hemodialysis setting. We observed a decrease in depressive symptoms and in blood pressure values, an improvement in self-compassion and serum phosphorous levels. In conjunction with the promising results of meditation in chronic kidney disease setting, this encouraging preliminary study supports the need for additional clinical trials.

Meditation: Evidence Map of Systematic Reviews.

Study Basis: This evidence map presents a summary of studies that addressed the effects of meditation on various clinical and health conditions. Meditation is a contemplative practice that has been used for the promotion of health, and the treatment of different conditions. Method: The study is based on the search of four electronic databases for the period 1994-November 2019 and includes systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, and integrative reviews. 3iE evidence gap map was the methodology of choice, and AMSTAR 2 was used for the analyses. Tableau was used to graphically display the confidence level, number of reviews, health outcomes, and intervention effects. Results: This map encompasses 191 studies, with Mindfulness being the key word that retrieved the highest number of results. Several meditation techniques were evaluated in different contexts, and the confidence levels of 22 studies were high, 84 were moderate, and 82 were low. Two 2 meta-syntheses and 1 integrative review were also included. Most of the studies reported positive effects and a beneficial potential of the practice of meditation. Health outcomes were divided into five groups out of which mental health and vitality, and well-being and quality of life stood out with the largest number of studies. Conclusions: Meditation has been applied in different areas. This Evidence Map intends to be an easy visual tool to access valuable evidence-based information on this complementary therapy for patients, health professionals, and managers.

Unravelling moisture-induced CO2 chemisorption mechanisms in amine-modified sorbents at the molecular scale.

This work entails a comprehensive solid-state NMR and computational study of the influence of water and CO2 partial pressures on the CO2-adducts formed in amine-grafted silica sorbents. Our approach provides atomic level insights on hypothesised mechanisms for CO2 capture under dry and wet conditions in a tightly controlled atmosphere. The method used for sample preparation avoids the use of liquid water slurries, as performed in previous studies, enabling a molecular level understanding, by NMR, of the influence of controlled amounts of water vapor (down to ca. 0.7 kPa) in CO2 chemisorption processes. Details on the formation mechanism of moisture-induced CO2 species are provided aiming to study CO2 : H2O binary mixtures in amine-grafted silica sorbents. The interconversion between distinct chemisorbed CO2 species was quantitatively monitored by NMR under wet and dry conditions in silica sorbents grafted with amines possessing distinct bulkiness (primary and tertiary). Particular attention was given to two distinct carbonyl environments resonating at δ C ∼161 and 155 ppm, as their presence and relative intensities are greatly affected by moisture depending on the experimental conditions. 1D and 2D NMR spectral assignments of both these 13C resonances were assisted by density functional theory calculations of 1H and 13C chemical shifts on model structures of alkylamines grafted onto the silica surface that validated various hydrogen-bonded CO2 species that may occur upon formation of bicarbonate, carbamic acid and alkylammonium carbamate ion pairs. Water is a key component in flue gas streams, playing a major role in CO2 speciation, and this work extends the current knowledge on chemisorbed CO2 structures and their stabilities under dry/wet conditions, on amine-modified solid surfaces.

A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram.

Meditation practices, originated from ancient traditions, have increasingly received attention due to their potential benefits to mental and physical health. The scientific community invests efforts into scrutinizing and quantifying the effects of these practices, especially on the brain. There are methodological challenges in describing the neural correlates of the subjective experience of meditation. We noticed, however, that technical considerations on signal processing also don't follow standardized approaches, which may hinder generalizations. Therefore, in this article, we discuss the usage of the electroencephalogram (EEG) as a tool to study meditation experiences in healthy individuals. We describe the main EEG signal processing techniques and how they have been translated to the meditation field until April 2020. Moreover, we examine in detail the limitations/assumptions of these techniques and highlight some good practices, further discussing how technical specifications may impact the interpretation of the outcomes. By shedding light on technical features, this article contributes to more rigorous approaches to evaluate the construct of meditation.

Neural correlates of meditation: a review of structural and functional MRI studies.

Here, we review the neurophysiological and neuroimaging changes that mediation induces in structural and functional MRI. The available evidence from structural studies suggests that mediation impacts neuronal plasticity and the functional MRI suggest that there are changes in gray and white matter in subjects who meditate. FMRI studies show that meditation is associated with decreased activity of default mode network and activation of brain regions involved in cognitive and emotional control. Together, the available imaging techniques have revealed that rather than impacting specific brain regions, meditation causes structural and functional changes in large-scale brain networks.

Mapa de evidências efetividade clínica da prática do Yoga / Evidence Map: clinical efectiveness of yoga

O Mapa sobre a efetividade clínica da prática do Yoga é parte de uma série de Mapas de Evidências sobre aplicação clínica das Práticas Integrativas e Complementares da Saúde (PICS) que estão na Política Nacional de Práticas Integrativas e Complementares (PNPIC), e tem como objetivo fornecer uma visualização fácil de informações valiosas para pacientes, profissionais de saúde e gerentes, a fim de promover PICS baseadas em evidências. Método: a partir de uma ampla busca bibliográfica nas bases de dados da BVS e PubMed de estudos publicados de janeiro de 2005 até novembro de 2019 e, com expressões de busca pré-definidas, foram incluídas no mapa revisões sistemáticas e metanálises de ensaios clínicos e estudos observacionais, que foram devidamente avaliados, caracterizados e categorizados. Principais Achados: ● O mapa é baseado em 149 estudos. Oitenta e dois estudos são revisões sistemáticas e 58 são metanálises. A maioria das revisões foi publicada nos anos 2016 a 2019. ● A maioria dos estudos primários incluídos nas revisões está concentrada nos seguintes países: Índia (82), Estados Unidos (78) e Austrália (33). ● A intervenção mais pesquisada foi Ashtanga Yoga (93) e em seguida a intervenção Hatha Yoga (77), Iyengar Yoga (72) e Yoga não especificado (64) sendo investigadas como intervenções para vários desfechos em saúde. ● Os estudos foram analisados com base no AMSTAR, resultando nos seguintes níveis de confiança: alto (24), moderado (69) e baixo (56). ● Os efeitos foram classificados em: positivos (90); potencial positivo (19) inconclusivos/misturados (23); sem efeitos (17). Não foram encontrados efeitos negativos. ● Os resultados foram divididos em 3 grupos principais: Vitalidade, Bem-Estar e Qualidade de Vida; Indicadores Metabólicos e Fisiológicos; Transtornos Mentais; ● Os desfechos mais comuns foram: qualidade de vida (24); depressão (22), transtornos de ansiedade (16) e pressão arterial (13). Implicações para a prática e pesquisa: ● Efeitos positivos apresentados foram relacionados principalmente a prática de Hatha Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Yoga não especificado e Pranayama associado a outras Práticas, destacando como desfechos principais qualidade de vida, depressão e pressão arterial; ● Efeitos do tipo inconclusivo/misturado merecem mais pesquisas, principalmente para os seguintes desfechos: hiperglicemia, função social, hipertensão, humor, esquizofrenia.

Mapa de Evidência: efetividade clínica da Prática do Yoga / Mapa de Evidencia: efetividad clínica de la Práctica del Yoga / Evidence Map: Clinical Effectiveness of Yoga Practice

O mapa apresenta uma visão geral das evidências sobre os efeitos clínicos da prática do Yoga em diversas condições de saúde, qualidade de vida e bem-estar. A partir de uma ampla busca bibliográfica foram incluídos no mapa 150 estudos de revisão sistemática. Todos os estudos foram avaliados, caracterizados e categorizados por um grupo de pesquisadores em Yoga.

El mapa proporciona una visión general de la evidencia sobre los efectos clínicos de la práctica del yoga en diversas condiciones de salud, calidad de vida y bienestar. A partir de una amplia búsqueda bibliográfica, se incluyeron 150 estudios de revisión sistemática en el mapa. Todos los estudios fueron evaluados, caracterizados y categorizados por un grupo de investigadores en Yoga.

The map provides an overview of the evidence on clinical effects of Yoga practice on various health conditions, quality of life and well-being. From a wide bibliographic search, 150 studies of systematic review were included in the map. All studies were evaluated, characterized and categorized by a group of researchers in Yoga.

Greater Anteroposterior Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity in Long-Term Elderly Yoga Practitioners.

Large-scale brain networks exhibit changes in functional connectivity during the aging process. Recent literature data suggests that Yoga and other contemplative practices may revert, at least in part, some of the aging effects in brain functional connectivity, including the Default Mode Network (DMN). The aim of this cross-sectional investigation was to compare resting-state functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex-precuneus (PCC-Precuneus) in long-term elderly Yoga practitioners and healthy paired Yoga-naïve controls. Two paired groups: yoga (Y-20 women, Hatha Yoga practitioners; practicing a minimum of twice a week with a frequency of at least 8 years) and a control group (C-20 women, Yoga-naïve, matched by age, years of formal education, and physical activity) were evaluated for: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and open-eyes resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-seed to voxel connectivity analysis (CONN toolbox 17.f) with pre-processing-realignment and unwarping, slice-timing correction, segmentation, normalization, outlier detection, and spatial filtering. The analysis included a priori regions of interest (ROI) of DMN main nodes-MPFC and PCC-Precuneus. There was no difference between groups in terms of: age, years of formal education, MMSE, BDI and IADL. The Yoga group had a higher correlation between MPFC and the right angular gyrus (AGr), compared to the controls. Elderly women with at least 8 years of yoga practice presented greater intra-network anteroposterior brain functional connectivity of the DMN. This finding may contribute to the understanding of the influences of practicing Yoga for a healthier cognitive aging process.

Unravelling the Structure of Chemisorbed CO2 Species in Mesoporous Aminosilicas: A Critical Survey.

Chemisorbent materials, based on porous aminosilicas, are among the most promising adsorbents for direct air capture applications, one of the key technologies to mitigate carbon emissions. Herein, a critical survey of all reported chemisorbed CO2 species, which may form in aminosilica surfaces, is performed by revisiting and providing new experimental proofs of assignment of the distinct CO2 species reported thus far in the literature, highlighting controversial assignments regarding the existence of chemisorbed CO2 species still under debate. Models of carbamic acid, alkylammonium carbamate with different conformations and hydrogen bonding arrangements were ascertained using density functional theory (DFT) methods, mainly through the comparison of the experimental 13C and 15N NMR chemical shifts with those obtained computationally. CO2 models with variable number of amines and silanol groups were also evaluated to explain the effect of amine aggregation in CO2 speciation under confinement. In addition, other less commonly studied chemisorbed CO2 species (e.g., alkylammonium bicarbonate, ditethered carbamic acid and silylpropylcarbamate), largely due to the difficulty in obtaining spectroscopic identification for those, have also been investigated in great detail. The existence of either neutral or charged (alkylammonium siloxides) amine groups, prior to CO2 adsorption, is also addressed. This work extends the molecular-level understanding of chemisorbed CO2 species in amine-oxide hybrid surfaces showing the benefit of integrating spectroscopy and theoretical approaches.

Cognition and brain function in elderly Tai Chi practitioners: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare cognition and brain function in elderly Tai Chi and Water Aerobics practitioners. METHODS: Eight Tai Chi (TC) and 8 Water Aerobics (WA) practitioners matched by gender, education and age underwent neuropsychological and fMRI scan during attention (Stroop Word Color Task) and working memory (N Back) tasks. RESULTS: Groups were similar for demographic and cognitive variables. Besides anxiety (smaller in TC group), there were no differences between groups in neuropsychological variables. During the Stroop Word Color Task, TC group had smaller brain activation in the right intracalcarine cortex, lateral occipital cortex, and occipital pole, than WA. During N back, TC group presented smaller brain activation in the right frontal pole and superior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSION: Despite the small number of participants in this preliminary study, both groups had similar cognitive performance, however the Tai Chi group required less brain activation to perform the attention and memory tasks, therefore they may have a more efficient cognitive performance than Water Aerobics group.

Greater Cortical Thickness in Elderly Female Yoga Practitioners-A Cross-Sectional Study.

Yoga, a mind-body activity that requires attentional engagement, has been associated with positive changes in brain structure and function, especially in areas related to awareness, attention, executive functions and memory. Normal aging, on the other hand, has also been associated with structural and functional brain changes, but these generally involve decreased cognitive functions. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare brain cortical thickness (CT) in elderly yoga practitioners and a group of age-matched healthy non-practitioners. We tested 21 older women who had practiced hatha yoga for at least 8 years and 21 women naive to yoga, meditation or any mind-body interventions who were matched to the first group in age, years of formal education and physical activity level. A T1-weighted MPRAGE sequence was acquired for each participant. Yoga practitioners showed significantly greater CT in a left prefrontal lobe cluster, which included portions of the lateral middle frontal gyrus, anterior superior frontal gyrus and dorsal superior frontal gyrus. We found greater CT in the left prefrontal cortex of healthy elderly women who trained yoga for a minimum of 8 years compared with women in the control group.

Yoga and compassion meditation program improve quality of life and self-compassion in family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients: A randomized controlled trial.

AIM: To investigate the effects of the practice of yoga in combination with compassion meditation on the quality of life, attention, vitality and self-compassion of family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: A total of 46 volunteers were randomly allocated to two groups, the yoga and compassion meditation program group (n = 25), and the control group (CG) that received no treatment (n = 21). The program lasted 8 weeks, and comprised three yoga and meditation practices per week, with each session lasting 1 h and 15 min. Quality of life, attention, vitality, and self-compassion scores were measured pre- and postintervention. RESULTS: The yoga and compassion meditation program group showed statistically significant improvements (P < 0.05) on quality of life, attention, vitality and self-compassion scores as compared with the control group, which showed no statistical significant differences at the postintervention time-point. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study suggest that an 8-week yoga and compassion meditation program can improve the quality of life, vitality, attention, and self-compassion of family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 85-91.

Yoga increased serum estrogen levels in postmenopausal women-a case report.

OBJECTIVE: This case report aimed to evaluate 4 months of yoga practice on the quality of life (QOL) and estradiol levels of two postmenopausal women. METHODS: Participants were clinically healthy postmenopausal women, with follicle-stimulating hormone levels greater than or equal to 30 mIU/mL and a body mass index lower than 30 kg/m. The participants practiced yoga for 4 months in two 1-hour sessions per week. RESULTS: The participants exhibited an abnormal estrogen-level increase after 4 months of yoga practice and showed QOL improvements. CONCLUSIONS: In some cases, yoga practice can affect the female neuroendocrine system, increasing estrogen and improving QOL.

Yoga para melhora dos sintomas do climatério em mulheres na pós-menopausa com insônia / Yoga for improvement of climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women with insomnia

Introdução: A prática de yoga tem se mostrado positiva na redução de insônia. Outros estudos mostram redução de sintomas de climatério. Porém nenhum estudo havia sido realizado até o momento para verificar os efeitos da prática do yoga em mulheres na pós-menopausa com diagnóstico de insônia. Objetivo: avaliar o efeito da prática de Yoga como um tratamento na saúde física e mental, nos sintomas do climatério em mulheres na pós-menopausa com diagnóstico de insônia. Métodos: Mulheres entre 50 e 65 anos na pós-menopausa sem terapia hormonal, IAH (índice de apneia-hipopnéia)<15/hora com diagnóstico de insônia foram randomizadas em 3 grupos: grupo controle, grupo alongamento passivo, grupo Yoga. Foram aplicados questionários no momento pré e 4 meses após o início para avaliação da qualidade de vida na menopausa, avaliação dos sintomas de ansiedade e depressão, sintomatologia climatérica, gravidade de insônia, sonolência diurna, estresse além da polissonografia. O estudo teve duração de 4 meses. Resultados: 44 voluntárias terminaram o estudo. Quando comparado ao grupo controle, o grupo Yoga teve escores significativamente mais baixos para sintomatologia climatérica, gravidade de insônia, qualidade de vida na menopausa e a fase de resistência do estresse na condição pós-tratamento. A melhora na gravidade de insônia no grupo Yoga foi significativamente maior que os grupos controle e alongamento passivo. Conclusão: Este estudo mostrou que uma sequência específica de Yoga pode ser eficiente para melhora da insônia, qualidade de vida e sintomas de menopausa em mulheres na pós-menopausa com insônia.

Yoga decreases insomnia in postmenopausal women: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: The practice of yoga has been proven to have positive effects on reducing insomnia. Studies have also shown its effects on reducing climacteric symptoms. To date, however, no studies that evaluate the effects of yoga on postmenopausal women with a diagnosis of insomnia in a randomized clinical trial have been conducted. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of yoga practice on the physical and mental health and climacteric symptoms of postmenopausal women with a diagnosis of insomnia. METHODS: Postmenopausal women not undergoing hormone therapy, who were 50 to 65 years old, who had an apnea-hypopnea index less than 15, and who had a diagnosis of insomnia were randomly assigned to one of three groups, as follows: control, passive stretching, and yoga. Questionnaires were administered before and 4 months after the intervention to evaluate quality of life, anxiety and depression symptoms, climacteric symptoms, insomnia severity, daytime sleepiness, and stress. The volunteers also underwent polysomnography. The study lasted 4 months. RESULTS: There were 44 volunteers at the end of the study. When compared with the control group, the yoga group had significantly lower posttreatment scores for climacteric symptoms and insomnia severity and higher scores for quality of life and resistance phase of stress. The reduction in insomnia severity in the yoga group was significantly higher than that in the control and passive-stretching groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that a specific sequence of yoga might be effective in reducing insomnia and menopausal symptoms as well as improving quality of life in postmenopausal women with insomnia.

Effect of progressive self-focus meditation on attention, anxiety, and depression scores.

This study evaluated the effects of Progressive Self-focus Meditation with 42 volunteers (M age = 46.0 yr., SD = 14.1) allocated to two groups: one that had weekly 1-hr. training sessions in the practice for 5 wk. and one waiting-list group. Participants were evaluated before and after 5 wk. on the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, the Digit Symbol subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale. After 5 wk., a significant reduction in scores on depression was found in the Meditation group as well as an increase in attention in comparison with the waiting-list Control group.