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Mind–body therapies and control of inflammatory biology: A descriptive review
Open accessAbstract
The use of mind-body therapies, including Tai Chi, Qigong, yoga, and meditation, has grown steadily in recent years. These approaches have been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms and improving quality of life, and research has begun to examine the impact of these therapies on biological processes, including inflammation. A review of 26 randomized controlled trials was conducted to describe the effects of mind-body therapies (MBTs) on circulating, cellular, and genomic markers of inflammation. This qualitative evaluation showed mixed effects of MBTs on circulating inflammatory markers, including CRP and IL-6, and on measures of stimulated cytokine production. More consistent findings were seen for genomic markers, with trials showing decreased expression of inflammation-related genes and reduced signaling through the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-κB. Potential mechanisms for these effects are discussed, including alterations in neuroendocrine, neural, and psychological and behavioral processes.
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“Other forms of behavioral interventions that have been used for the treatment of fear-and anxiety-based disorder, such as community-based educational intervention, exercise, yoga, and mediation, have also been associated with decreases in inflammation (Bower and Irwin, 2016;Pace et al, 2009;Villablanca et al, 2015).”
From Inflammation in Fear- and Anxiety-Based Disorders: PTSD, GAD, and Beyond (2017) · cites this paper as Bower and Irwin, 2016
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“Seven different randomized controls of mind-body therapies (ie, Tai chi, meditation, Yoga) have all been shown to reverse the pattern of leukocyte transcriptional alterations including activation of genes regulated by the proinflammatory NF-κB/Rel family (Bower and Irwin, 2016).”
From Sleep health: Reciprocal regulation of sleep and innate immunity (2017) · cites this paper as Bower and Irwin, 2016
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Cites
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Methoden zur Entspannung, Schmerzlinderung und Bewusstseinserweiterung
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bower, J. E., & Irwin, M. R.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bower, Julienne E.
- Venue
- Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-01
- Volume
- 51
- Pages
- 1-11
- ISSN
- 0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4679419
- OpenAlex
- W758061270
- Cited by
- 388
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 13
- FWCI
- 2.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Brain Behavior and Immunity (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000124)
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG026364, R01AG034588, P30AG028748)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL079955, R01HL095799)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA032922)
- National Cancer Institute (R01CA160245, R01CA160427, R01CA119159)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Biofield Effects and Biophysics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- mind-body interventions, inflammation, Tai Chi, qigong, yoga, meditation, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, cytokine production, NF-κB signaling, inflammatory gene expression, neuroendocrine mechanisms, quality of life
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, C-Reactive Protein, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Middle Aged, Quality of Life, Yoga, Gene Expression, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Cytokines, Treatment Outcome, Inflammation Mediators, Meditation, Tai Ji, Mind-Body Therapies, Young Adult
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