Elevated serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs

The association between serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels and job-related stress among female nurses

Background

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) is an endogenous steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland. DHEAS has been suggested to play a protective role against psychosocial stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between job-related stress and blood concentrations of DHEAS according to occupational stress factors among female nurses.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 118 premenopausal nurses from 4 departments (operating room, emergency room [ER], intensive care unit, and ward) of a university hospital. Participants were all rotating night shift workers who have worked for over a year and mean age of 33.5 ± 4.8 years. Data from structured questionnaires including the Korean Occupational Stress Score, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used.

Results

In the high job-related stressor group, scores of BDI, BAI, and PSQI were significantly higher than low-stressor group. ER nurses had relatively more work-burden related stressors, but they had significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression than other groups. And, ER nurses showed higher levels of DHEAS than the other department nurses. The differences were significant (p = 0.003). Additionally, there was a statistically significant difference even after adjusting for factors that could affect level of DHEAS, such as age, body mass index, drinking, and physical activity (p = 0.039).

Conclusions

This result suggests the possibility that DHEAS may play a role as a marker of proper stress management. The capacity to secrete DHEAS is not simply due to workload or job stressor but could be determined depending on how individuals and groups deal with and resolve stress. Proper resolution of stress may affect positive hormone secretion.

Assessment of hormonal parameters and psychological well-being in healthy subjects after a Taoist qigong program: An exploratory study

Qigong is an ancient form of health maintenance, which is part of Traditional China Medicine. Numerous beneficial mental and physical effects have been classically ascribed to this traditional psychosomatic method. The purpose of this work has been to assess the effects of Taoist qigong practice on several hormonal parameters of the Hipotalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis and specific measures of psychological well-being in healthy subjects. Forty-three healthy volunteers participated in the study, of whom 22 were randomly allocated to the experimental group, and 21 were assigned to the control group. Experimental participants underwent a qigong training program for one month. Blood samples for the quantification of hormonal parameters, and several instruments to assess anxiety and depression symptoms as well as subjective sleep quality, were obtained before and after the program. Statistically significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups, with the experimental group showing lower blood levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This study shows that Taoist qigong is a psychosomatic method able to exert a modulatory action on ACTH levels in healthy subjects. We consider the need to continue exploring the psychobiological modulation of this qigong method and its possible repercussion for human health care.

Digital Delivery of Meditative Movement Training Improved Health of Cigarette-Smoke-Exposed Subjects

Many FA who flew prior to the ban on smoking in commercial aircraft exhibit an unusual pattern of long-term pulmonary dysfunction. This randomized controlled study tested the hypothesis that digitally delivered meditative movement (MM) training improves chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related symptoms in flight attendants (FA) who were exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke (SHCS) while flying. Phase I of this two-phase clinical trial was a single-arm non-randomized pilot study that developed and tested methods for MM intervention; we now report on Phase II, a randomized controlled trial comparing MM to a control group of similar FA receiving health education (HE) videos. Primary outcomes were the 6-min walk test and blood levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Pulmonary, cardiovascular, autonomic and affective measures were also taken. There were significant improvements in the 6-min walk test, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) score, and the COPD Assessment Test. Non-significant trends were observed for increased dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels, decreased anxiety scores and reduced blood hs-CRP levels, and increased peak expiratory flow (PEF). In a Survey Monkey questionnaire, 81% of participants who completed pre and post-testing expressed mild to strong positive opinions of the study contents, delivery, or impact, while 16% expressed mild negative opinions. Over the course of the year including the study, participant adoption of the MM practices showed a significant and moderately large correlation with overall health improvement; Pearson's R = 0.62, p < 0.005. These results support the hypothesized benefits of video-based MM training for this population. No adverse effects were reported.

Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02612389

Central intracrine DHEA synthesis in ageing-related neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration: therapeutic potential?

It is a well-known fact that DHEA declines on ageing and that it is linked to ageing-related neurodegeneration, which is characterised by gradual cognitive decline. Although DHEA is also associated with inflammation in the periphery, the link between DHEA and neuroinflammation in this context is less clear. This review drew from different bodies of literature to provide a more comprehensive picture of peripheral vs central endocrine shifts with advanced age—specifically in terms of DHEA. From this, we have formulated the hypothesis that DHEA decline is also linked to neuroinflammation and that increased localised availability of DHEA may have both therapeutic and preventative benefit to limit neurodegeneration. We provide a comprehensive discussion of literature on the potential for extragonadal DHEA synthesis by neuroglial cells and reflect on the feasibility of therapeutic manipulation of localised, central DHEA synthesis.

The Neuro-Immuno-Senescence Integrative Model (NISIM) on the Negative Association Between Parasympathetic Activity and Cellular Senescence

There is evidence that accumulated senescent cells drive age-related pathologies, but the antecedents to the cellular stressors that induce senescence remain poorly understood. Previous research suggests that there is a relationship between shorter telomere length, an antecedent to cellular senescence, and psychological stress. Existing models do not sufficiently account for the specific pathways from which psychological stress regulation is converted into production of reactive oxygen species. We propose the neuro-immuno-senescence integrative model (NISIM) suggesting how vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV) might be related to cellular senescence. Prefrontally modulated, and vagally mediated cortical influences on the autonomic nervous system, expressed as HRV, affects the immune system by adrenergic stimulation and cholinergic inhibition of cytokine production in macrophages and neutrophils. Previous findings indicate that low HRV is associated with increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α. IL-6 and TNF-α can activate the NFκB pathway, increasing production of reactive oxygen species that can cause DNA damage. Vagally mediated HRV has been related to an individual's ability to regulate stress, and is lower in people with shorter telomeres. Based on these previous findings, the NISIM suggest that the main pathway from psychological stress to individual differences in oxidative telomere damage originates in the neuroanatomical components that modulate HRV, and culminates in the cytokine-induced activation of NFκB. Accumulated senescent cells in the brain is hypothesized to promote age-related neurodegenerative disease, and previous reports suggest an association between low HRV and onset of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Accumulating senescent cells in peripheral tissues secreting senescence-associated secretory phenotype factors can alter tissue structure and function which can induce cancer and promote tumor growth and metastasis in old age, and previous research suggested that ability to regulate psychological stress has a negative association with cancer onset. We therefore conclude that the NISIM can account for a large proportion of the individual differences in the psychological stress-related antecedents to cellular senescence, and suggest that it can be useful in providing a dynamic framework for understanding the pathways by which psychological stress induce pathologies in old age.

Meditation: Process and effects

Meditation has become popular in many Western nations, especially the USA. An increasing body of research shows various health benefits associated with meditation and these findings have sparked interest in the field of medicine. The practice of meditation originated in the ancient Vedic times of India and is described in the ancient Vedic texts. Meditation is one of the modalities used in Ayurveda (Science of Life), the comprehensive, natural health care system that originated in the ancient Vedic times of India. The term “meditation” is now loosely used to refer to a large number of diverse techniques. According to Vedic science, the true purpose of meditation is to connect oneself to one's deep inner Self. Techniques which achieve that goal serve the true purpose of meditation. Neurological and physiological correlates of meditation have been investigated previously. This article describes the process of meditation at a more fundamental level and aims to shed light on the deeper underlying mechanism of the beneficial effects associated with meditation. Research on the effects of meditation is summarized.

Effect of regular yogic training on growth hormone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate as an endocrine marker of aging

Growth hormone (GH) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) secretion decline with advancing age and are associated with the symptoms of aging. Yogic texts claimed that regular practice of yoga may restore and maintain general endocrinological properties in the human body. Objective of the Study. To observe the effect of yogic training for twelve weeks on basal level of GH and DHEAS in middle aged group. Method. Forty-five untrained volunteers were divided into two groups, that is, yoga practicing (experimental: male 15, age 42.80 ± 7.43 yrs; female 8, age 44.75 ± 8.40 yrs) and waitlisted control group (male 15, age 41.67 ± 7.87 yrs; female 7, age 45.43 ± 7.00 yrs). The experimental group underwent combined yogic practices daily in the morning for 6 days/week for 12 weeks, whereas control group continued their usual routine activities. Standing height, body weight, body mass index, and basal level of GH and DHEAS were measured before commencement and after six and twelve weeks of yogic training period. The repeated measure ANOVA was used for data analysis. Results. 12 weeks of yogic training produces a significant increase in GH and DHEAS for both male and female groups as compared to their baseline data, whereas no as such changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion. Combined approach of graded yogic training may be beneficial for maintaining the basal level of GH and DHEAS in the human body, thus promoting healthy aging.

Perceived stress at work is associated with lower levels of DHEA-S

BACKGROUND

It is known that long-term psychosocial stress may cause or contribute to different diseases and symptoms and accelerate aging. One of the consequences of prolonged psychosocial stress may be a negative effect on the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulphated metabolite dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S). The aim of this study is to investigate whether levels of DHEA and DHEA-S differ in individuals who report perceived stress at work compared to individuals who report no perceived stress at work.

METHODS

Morning fasting DHEA-S and DHEA levels were measured in serum in a non-stressed group (n = 40) and a stressed group (n = 41). DHEA and DHEA-S levels were compared between the groups using ANCOVA, controlling for age.

RESULTS

The mean DHEA-S levels were 23% lower in the subjects who reported stress at work compared to the non-stressed group. Statistical analysis (ANCOVA) showed a significant difference in DHEA-S levels between the groups (p = 0.010). There was no difference in DHEA level between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that stressed individual have markedly lower levels of DHEA-S. Given the important and beneficial functions of DHEA and DHEA-S, lower levels of DHEA-S may constitute one link between psychosocial stress, ill health and accelerated ageing.

Meditation and its regulatory role on sleep

Intense meditation practices help to achieve a harmony between body and mind. Meditation practices influence brain functions, induce various intrinsic neural plasticity events, modulate autonomic, metabolic, endocrine, and immune functions and thus mediate global regulatory changes in various behavioral states including sleep. This brief review focuses on the effect of meditation as a self regulatory phenomenon on sleep.

Optimizing learning and quality of life throughout the lifespan: a global framework for research and application

This overview surveys the new optimism about the aging mind/brain, focusing on the potential for self-regulation practices to advance research in stress-protection and optimal health. It reviews recent findings and offers a research framework. The review links the age-related biology of stress and regeneration to the variability of mind/brain function found under a range of conditions from trauma to enrichment. The framework maps this variation along a biphasic continuum from atrophic dysfunction to peak performance. It adopts the concept of allostatic load as a measure of the wear-and-tear caused by stress, and environmental enrichment as a measure of the use-dependent enhancement caused by positive reinforcement. It frames the dissociation, aversive affect and stereotyped reactions linked with stress as cognitive, affective and behavioral forms of allostatic drag; and the association, positive affect, and creative responses in enrichment as forms of allostatic lift. It views the human mind/brain as a heterarchy of higher intelligence systems that shift between a conservative, egocentric mode heightening self-preservation and memory and a generative, altruistic mode heightening self-correction and learning. Cultural practices like meditation and psychotherapy work by teaching the self-regulation of shifts from the conservative to the generative mode. This involves a systems shift from allostatic drag to allostatic lift, minimizing wear-and-tear and optimizing plasticity and learning. For cultural practices to speed research and application, a universal typology is needed. This framework includes a typology aligning current brain models of stress and learning with traditional Indo-Tibetan models of meditative stress-cessation and learning enrichment.

Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mindfulness, and telomeres

Understanding the malleable determinants of cellular aging is critical to understanding human longevity. Telomeres may provide a pathway for exploring this question. Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. The length of telomeres offers insight into mitotic cell and possibly organismal longevity. Telomere length has now been linked to chronic stress exposure and depression. This raises the question of mechanism: How might cellular aging be modulated by psychological functioning? We consider two psychological processes or states that are in opposition to one another-threat cognition and mindfulness-and their effects on cellular aging. Psychological stress cognitions, particularly appraisals of threat and ruminative thoughts, can lead to prolonged states of reactivity. In contrast, mindfulness meditation techniques appear to shift cognitive appraisals from threat to challenge, decrease ruminative thought, and reduce stress arousal. Mindfulness may also directly increase positive arousal states. We review data linking telomere length to cognitive stress and stress arousal and present new data linking cognitive appraisal to telomere length. Given the pattern of associations revealed so far, we propose that some forms of meditation may have salutary effects on telomere length by reducing cognitive stress and stress arousal and increasing positive states of mind and hormonal factors that may promote telomere maintenance. Aspects of this model are currently being tested in ongoing trials of mindfulness meditation.

Utilization of Ayurveda in health care: an approach for prevention, health promotion, and treatment of disease. Part 1--Ayurveda, the science of life

Ayurveda is a natural health care system that originated in India more than 5000 years ago. Its main objective is to achieve optimal health and well-being through a comprehensive approach that addresses mind, body, behavior, and environment. Ayurveda emphasizes prevention and health promotion, and provides treatment for disease. It considers the development of consciousness to be essential for optimal health and meditation as the main technique for achieving this. Treatment of disease is highly individualized and depends on the psychophysiologic constitution of the patient. There are different dietary and lifestyle recommendations for each season of the year. Common spices are utilized in treatment, as well as herbs and herbal mixtures, and special preparations known as Rasayanas are used for rejuvenation, promotion of longevity, and slowing of the aging process. A group of purification procedures known as Panchakarma removes toxins from the physiology. Whereas Western allopathic medicine is excellent in handling acute medical crises, Ayurveda demonstrates an ability to manage chronic disorders that Western medicine has been unable to. It may be projected from Ayurveda's comprehensive approach, emphasis on prevention, and ability to manage chronic disorders that its widespread use would improve the health status of the world's population.

Transcendental meditation: a double-edged sword in epilepsy?

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is derived from ancient yogic teachings. Both short- and long-term physiological correlates of TM practice have been studied. EEG effects include increased alpha, theta, and gamma frequencies and increased coherence and synchrony. Neuronal hypersynchrony is also a cardinal feature of epilepsy, and subjective psychic symptoms, apnea, and myoclonic jerking are characteristic of both epileptic seizures and meditative states. Clinical vignettes have highlighted the potential risk of human kindling from repetitive meditation in persons practicing TM, but clinical studies of similar techniques suggest that meditation may also be a potential antiepileptic therapy. Future clinical studies of meditating subjects using video/EEG monitoring are warranted to determine whether behavioral phenomena have an underlying epileptic basis, and prospective clinical trials of TM in subjects with well-delineated epilepsy syndromes are necessary to establish the safety of this technique and its potential efficacy for seizure reduction and improvement of quality of life.

Studies of advanced stages of meditation in the tibetan buddhist and vedic traditions. I: a comparison of general changes

This article is the first of two comparing findings of studies of advanced practitioners of Tibetan Buddhist meditation in remote regions of the Himalayas, with established results on long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation programs. Many parallel levels of improvement were found, in sensory acuity, perceptual style and cognitive function, indicating stabilization of aspects of attentional awareness. Together with observed increases in EEG coherence and aspects of brain function, such changes are consistent with growth towards a state of total brain functioning, i.e. development of full mental potential. They are usually accompanied by improved health parameters. How they may be seen to be consistent with growth of enlightenment will be the subject of a second article.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction in relation to quality of life, mood, symptoms of stress and levels of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and melatonin in breast and prostate cancer outpatients

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated the relationships between a mindfulness-based stress reduction meditation program for early stage breast and prostate cancer patients and quality of life, mood states, stress symptoms, and levels of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) and melatonin.

METHODS

Fifty-nine patients with breast cancer and 10 with prostate cancer enrolled in an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program that incorporated relaxation, meditation, gentle yoga, and daily home practice. Demographic and health behavior variables, quality of life, mood, stress, and the hormone measures of salivary cortisol (assessed three times/day), plasma DHEAS, and salivary melatonin were assessed pre- and post-intervention.

RESULTS

Fifty-eight and 42 patients were assessed pre- and post-intervention, respectively. Significant improvements were seen in overall quality of life, symptoms of stress, and sleep quality, but these improvements were not significantly correlated with the degree of program attendance or minutes of home practice. No significant improvements were seen in mood disturbance. Improvements in quality of life were associated with decreases in afternoon cortisol levels, but not with morning or evening levels. Changes in stress symptoms or mood were not related to changes in hormone levels. Approximately 40% of the sample demonstrated abnormal cortisol secretion patterns both pre- and post-intervention, but within that group patterns shifted from "inverted-V-shaped" patterns towards more "V-shaped" patterns of secretion. No overall changes in DHEAS or melatonin were found, but nonsignificant shifts in DHEAS patterns were consistent with healthier profiles for both men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

MBSR program enrollment was associated with enhanced quality of life and decreased stress symptoms in breast and prostate cancer patients, and resulted in possibly beneficial changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. These pilot data represent a preliminary investigation of the relationships between MBSR program participation and hormone levels, highlighting the need for better-controlled studies in this area.

Disease prevention and health promotion in the aging with a traditional system of natural medicine: Maharishi Vedic Medicine

OBJECTIVE

This review focuses on a comprehensive, sophisticated system of natural medicine that appears to hold promise for prevention of chronic diseases and disabilities, loss of independence, suffering, and health care costs often associated with "usual" aging.

METHODS

The authors discuss the negative impact of usual aging on our society, with its rapidly growing percentage of elderly, and the challenge of promoting "successful aging." Emphasis is given to research literature suggesting that Maharishi Vedic Medicine (MVM) is particularly effective in retarding usual aging.

RESULTS

Proposed mechanisms for the antiaging effects of MVM include reductions in physiological and psychological stress and enhancement of homeostatic and self-repair processes.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors conclude that this set of innovative strategies may help society achieve recommended health objectives for disease prevention and health promotion in older adults and that widespread implementation of this self-empowering, prevention-oriented approach in the elderly is feasible, cost effective, and timely.

Stress hormone-related psychopathology: pathophysiological and treatment implications

Stress is commonly associated with a variety of psychiatric conditions, including major depression, and with chronic medical conditions, including diabetes and insulin resistance. Whether stress causes these conditions is uncertain, but plausible mechanisms exist by which such effects might occur. To the extent stress-induced hormonal alterations (e.g., chronically elevated cortisol levels and lowered dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA] levels) contribute to psychiatric and medical disease states, manipulations that normalize these hormonal aberrations should prove therapeutic. In this review, we discuss mechanisms by which hormonal imbalance (discussed in the frameworks of "allostatic load" and "anabolic balance") might contribute to illness. We then review certain clinical manifestations of such hormonal imbalances and discuss pharmacological and behavioural treatment strategies aimed at normalizing hormonal output and lessening psychiatric and physical pathology.

Effect of Qi-training on blood pressure, heart rate and respiration rate

To examine the physiological effects of Korean traditional Qi-training, we investigated the changes in blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates before, during and after ChunDoSunBup (CDSB) Qi-training. Twelve normal healthy CDSB Qi-trainees (19-37 years old; trained for 1.3 +/- 0.2 years; 9 men and 3 women) volunteered to participate in this study. Heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure and rate-pressure product were significantly decreased during Qi-training. From these results, we suggest that CDSB Qi-training has physiological effects that indicate stabilization of cardiovascular system.

Endogenous levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, but not other sex hormones, are associated with depressed mood in older women: the Rancho Bernardo Study

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether endogenous steroid hormone levels are associated with depressed mood in community-dwelling older women.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional population-based study.

SETTING

Rancho Bernardo, California

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 699 non-estrogen using, community-dwelling, postmenopausal women (aged 50 to 90 years) from the Rancho Bernardo cohort who were screened for depressed mood and had plasma obtained for steroid hormone assays in 1984-1987.

MEASUREMENTS

Plasma levels of total and bioavailable (non-SHBG-bound) estradiol and testosterone, estrone, androstenedione, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone, and (DHEA) and its sulfate (DHEAS) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Mood and depression were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory.

RESULTS

Only DHEAS levels were significantly and inversely associated with depressed mood, and the association was independent of age, physical activity, and weight change (P = .0002). Age, sedentary lifestyle, and weight loss were positively associated with depressed mood. Alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, marital status, type of menopause, and season of testing were unassociated with depressed mood. A subset of 31 women with categorically defined depression had lower DHEAS levels compared with 93 age-matched nondepressed women (1.17 +/- 1.08 vs 1.57 +/- .98 micromol/L; P = .01).

CONCLUSIONS

These results add to the evidence that DHEA/S is a neuroactive steroid and point to the need for careful long-term clinical trials of DHEA therapy in older women with depressed mood.

ACTH and beta-endorphin in transcendental meditation

We have evaluated the effect of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenal axis diurnal rhythms through the determination of hormone levels. Blood samples were taken at 0900 hours. and at 2000 hours. These samples were taken from 18 healthy volunteers who regularly practice TM and from nine healthy non-meditators. Cortisol, beta-endorphin, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured at both hours. TM practitioners showed no diurnal rhythm for ACTH and for beta-endorphin (ACTH, pg/mL, mean +/- SE; 13.8+/-1.2 - 12.1+/-1.5/beta-endorphin, pg/mL; 14.4+/-1.5 - 17.2+/-1.9, at 0900 hours and 2000 hours, respectively), in contrast to control subjects, who showed normal diurnal rhythm for these hormones and for cortisol (ACTH, pg/mL; 19.4+/-1.9 - 11.9+/-2.2/beta-endorphin, pg/mL; 25.4+/-1.7 - 17.7+/-1.1/Cortisol, ng/mL; 201.4+/-13.2 - 71.3+/-6.5, at 0900-2000 hours, respectively, p < 0.01 in the three cases). Practitioners of TM with similar anxiety levels to those of the control group showed a different pattern in the daytime secretion of pituitary hormones. TM thus appears to have a significant effect on the neuroendocrine axis. Because cortisol levels had a normal pattern in the TM group, these results may be due to a change in feedback sensitivity caused by this mental technique.

Lower lipid peroxide levels in practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program

OBJECTIVE

Oxidative stress or free radical activity may contribute to the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases associated with aging. Because psychosocial stress has been shown to increase oxidative stress, we conducted an exploratory study to investigate the effects of stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation program on serum lipid peroxide levels in elderly subjects.

METHOD

Forty-one normally healthy subjects (aged 56 to 74 years, average 67 years) were recruited from the same Midwest city. Eighteen were long-term practitioners of the TM program (average 16.5 years). Twenty-three controls were not practicing a formal stress management technique. Venous blood samples were analyzed for lipid peroxides by the TBARS assay. A dietary questionnaire was used to assess fat intake, red meat consumption, antioxidant vitamin supplementation, and smoking. Differences between groups and subgroups were analyzed by t test, and correlations.

RESULTS

Significantly lower serum levels of lipid peroxides were found in the TM practitioners compared with controls (-15%, p = .026). No significant differences were found between groups on smoking, fat intake, or vitamin supplementation. TM practitioners also had lower red meat consumption but matched subgroup analysis and partial correlations did not confirm a relationship between red meat intake and lipid peroxide levels.

CONCLUSIONS

These preliminary findings suggest that lower serum lipid peroxide levels may be associated with stress reduction using the Transcendental Meditation technique. Prospective controlled trials are needed to confirm that this effect is because of TM practice rather than other lifestyle factors, such as diet.

Stress reduction and preventing hypertension: preliminary support for a psychoneuroendocrine mechanism

Our objective was to identify endocrine-related mechanisms capable of mediating preventive effects of stress reduction in hypertensive heart disease. Since beneficial effects of stress reduction accrue over time, this cross-sectional, descriptive study sought differences between healthy students not practicing a systematic technique for reducing stress (the average stress, or AS, group, n = 33) and a similar group who for 8.5 years had practiced the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, used widely to reduce stress (the low stress, or LS, group, n = 22). The two groups of students, matched for age and area of study, performed timed collections of urine that included (separately) the entire waking and sleeping portions of 1 day. They also completed the Profile of Mood States and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, self-report instruments sensitive to subjective level of stress. Urine samples were analyzed for adrenocortical steroids by radioimmunoassay, for Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Zn2+ by atomic absorption spectrometry, and for neurotransmitter metabolites by reverse-phase, high-performance, liquid chromatography, and spectrophotometry. The two groups differed significantly on most measures. Specifically, the LS group was lower in cortisol and aldosterone and higher in dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DS) and the serotonin metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). Excretion of sodium, calcium, zinc, and the norepinephrine metabolite, vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), was also lower in this group, as were Na+/K+ ratio, mood disturbance, and anxiety. In women practicing TM, cortisol correlated inversely and DS directly with number of months of TM practice. The results identify improvements in mood state, adrenocortical activity, and kidney function as probable factors in the preventive and treatment effects of stress reduction. Because suboptimal levels of these parameters result from chronic, subjective stress, the findings add mechanistic support to the contention that hypertensive heart disease is avoidable, even in modern industrialized societies.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) treatment of depression

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate, DHEA-S, are plentiful adrenal steroid hormones that decrease with aging and may have significant neuropsychiatric effects. In this study, six middle-aged and elderly patients with major depression and low basal plasma DHEA f1p4or DHEA-S levels were openly administered DHEA (30-90 mg/d x 4 weeks) in doses sufficient to achieve circulating plasma levels observed in younger healthy individuals. Depression ratings, as well as aspects of memory performance significantly improved. One treatment-resistant patient received extended treatment with DHEA for 6 months: her depression ratings improved 48-72% and her semantic memory performance improved 63%. These measures returned to baseline after treatment ended. In both studies, improvements in depression ratings and memory performance were directly related to increases in plasma levels of DHEA and DHEA-S and to increases in their ratios with plasma cortisol levels. These preliminary data suggest DHEA may have antidepressant and promemory effects and should encourage double-blind trials in depressed patients.

A review of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is quantitatively the most abundant hormone in humans and mammals, with a wide variety of physiological effects, including major regulatory effects upon the immune system. Two of the most striking aspects of DHEA are a steady decline in DHEA with age and a significant deficiency in DHEA in patients with several major diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. The hormone is secreted in a non-sulfated (DHEA) and sulfated form (DHEA-S). The two are apparently interchangeable, and it appears likely that its physiological effects are achieved by derivative molecules that have yet to be identified.