TY  - JOUR
AU  - Munoz, Francisco
AU  - Larkey, Linda
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/07/27
TI  - Cognitive Impairment, Meditative Movement, and Gene Expression in Breast Cancer Survivors
JO  - OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
SP  - 035
VL  - 05
IS  - 03
AB  - Breast cancer survivors (BCSs) report decrements in cognitive functioning. A Meditative Movement (MM) program (Qigong/Tai Chi Easy) combines meditation and exercise, practices known to improve cognitive function. Method: Using a single group, pre- to post-intervention assessment design, a pilot study was conducted in BCSs to test the effects of an 8-week MM intervention on cognitive functioning, sleep and mood and to explore changes on selected gene expression factors, BDNF, NF-kB1, and TP53, expected to improve with symptoms. BCSs (n=14; mean age = 61) completed the MM intervention, provided blood samples and answered questionnaires assessing cognitive function using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function (FACT-COG) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III). Sleep and mood were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Profile of Mood States (POMS) subscales for anxiety and depression. Results: Significant improvements were noted in the FACT-COG subscales: Perceived Cognitive Impairments (p = .01), Perceived Cognitive Abilities (p = .03), Perceived Impairments on Quality of Life (p = .04), and Comments from Others (p = .04). The WAIS-III results indicated a significant improvement in Letter-Number sequencing (p-value = .01), but not for Digit Span Forward/Backwards (p-value = .60). The PSQI (p = .03) and the POMS/anxiety subscale (p = .05) showed a significant decrease. Significant changes in POMS/depression, BDNF, NF-kB1, and TP53 were not found. The intervention was shown to improve cognitive functioning, sleep quality and anxiety suggesting that MM may contribute to the recovery of a subset of persistent symptoms among BCSs.
SN  - 2573-4393
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2003035
DO  - 10.21926/obm.icm.2003035
ID  - Munoz2020
ER  -