Authors: Lu X, Hui-Chan CW, Tsang WW

Abstract
Background: Aerobic exercise can alleviate the declines in arterial compliance common in older adults. However, when combined with strength training, aerobic exercise may not reduce arterial compliance. Tai Chi practice has been found to improve muscle strength and cardiopulmonary function in older subjects, but whether or not it improves arterial compliance is not known. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether Tai Chi practitioners have better arterial compliance and muscle strength.

Design: Twenty-nine older Tai Chi practitioners (73.7 ± 4.5 years) and 36 healthy control subjects (71.4 ± 6.6 years) participated in this cross-sectional study.

Methods: The participants were independent in their daily living activities. They were screened for apparent cardiovascular disease and underwent arterial compliance testing and isokinetic knee muscle strength testing at 30°/s.

Results: Tai Chi practitioners showed significantly better haemodynamic parameters than the controls as indexed by larger and small artery compliance. They also demonstrated greater eccentric muscle strength in both knee extensors and flexors.

Conclusion: The findings of better muscle strength without jeopardizing arterial compliance suggests that Tai Chi could be a suitable exercise for older persons to improve both cardiovascular function and muscle strength.

PMID: 22492864 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Cancer Nurs. 2012 Apr 9;

Authors: Hsu HT, Huang CS, Liu Y, Dodd MJ, Juan CH, Lai YH, Guo SE

Abstract
BACKGROUND:: Although exercise is a recommended rehabilitation intervention for many breast cancer survivors, exercise activity after cancer treatment is rarely reported in this patient group in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE:: The objectives of this study were to analyze trends in exercise activity in breast cancer survivors in Taiwan.

INTERVENTIONS/METHODS:: This prospective, longitudinal study with repeated-measures design used standardized instruments to measure trends in exercise activity but performed no treatments or interventions.

RESULTS:: Of the 196 breast cancer survivors who participated in this study, 39% regularly engaged in light-to-moderate intensity exercise for approximately 15 minutes per day throughout the 6-month period of the study. Of these, 40% indicated that their exercise stage had increased, and only 13% indicated that their exercise stage had decreased. The most common exercise activities were walking, hiking, calisthenics, folk dancing, chi kung and tai chi. Although most women reported that exercise made them feel better both physically and emotionally, most said that they exercised mainly for health maintenance reasons.

CONCLUSIONS:: Frequency, duration, and intensity of exercise significantly increased during the 6-month study but did not reach the recommended levels. Most women believed that physical activity enhanced their recovery from cancer treatment.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:: When planning patient education interventions for breast cancer survivors, healthcare professionals should consider not only the role of exercise in breast cancer recovery, but also trends in exercise behavior among breast cancer survivors. The findings of this study contribute to the literature on exercise trends in breast cancer survivors.

PMID: 22495498 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Wheelchair Tai Chi featured in 2008 Beijing Olympics

Tampa, Fla. April 17, 2012 – An innovative 13-postures Tai Chi designed for wheelchair users is described in the current issue of Technology and Innovation- Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors®.The innovation has brought the traditional Chinese martial and healing arts to people with ambulatory impairment, thanks to the technology and program developed by Zibin Guo, PhD, of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.”Too often, social and cultural barriers discourage people with physical disabilities from participating in fitness activities,” said Zibin Guo, PhD, who collaborated with the China Disabled Peoples Federation and the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Committee to introduce the Tai Chi Wheelchair at the 2008 Beijing Olympics/Paralympics Cultural Festival. “Wheelchair Tai Chi can be practiced seated for those needing simple, low-impact, upper-body exercise by integrating wheelchair motion with the gentle, dynamic flowing movements of Tai Chi. It lifts the spirit and give practitioners a sense of command of space.”The 13 Posture Wheelchair Tai Chi incorporates 13 of the 24 Tai Chi movements and, according to Dr. Guo, the 13 Postures of Wheelchair Tai Chi transforms the wheelchair from an assistive device to a tool of empowerment and artistic expression.A demonstration event from the 2008 Beijing Olympics/Paralympics Cultural Festive can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR0DbXlS4GI Tai Chi Taijiquan has been part of Chinese traditional medicine for thousands of years, but has not been an accessible form of martial arts, therapy or exercise for those with disabilities. Dr. Guo estimates that 83 million people in China are living with disabilities, particularly those disabilities that limit mobility. Most of the 83 million live in rural China where “social and economic development lags behind urban areas,” he said.He also cites a National Health Interview Survey that suggests that about 73 percent of people in the U.S. with disabilities have no or infrequent physical activity.

Read more via Tai Chi wheelchair brings mobility, self-esteem, better health to practitioners.

J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Mar;18(3):281-6
Authors: Komelski MF, Miyazaki Y, Blieszner R

Abstract
Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine and compare health status across ages using a volunteer sample of U.S. Taijiquan and Qigong (TQG) practitioners (N=120; age range=24-83, M=54.77) and a nationally representative sample (N=414,629; age range=18-99, M=54.86) collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Design: The study design was cross-sectional, between-group comparisons.

Methods: An online survey designed to collect data on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), lifestyle variables, and TQG practice regimens was administered to a volunteer sample of taijiquan practitioners. A link to the survey was e-mailed to registrants of the International T’ai Chi Symposium who further forwarded (snowballed) the link to other practitioners across the country and around the world. The HRQoL and demographic sections of the survey were adapted from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Taiji practitioner data and BRFSS data were then merged and three groups-No Exercise, Some Exercise, and TQG Exercise-were created for the analysis. Health status was regressed on age, exercise group membership, and the interaction between age and group membership while controlling for income and education.

Results: After controlling for the effects of income and education, a significant interaction effect (p<0.001) was detected between age and group membership. Group membership was not a substantial predictor of health among younger individuals, but among older adults, substantive and significant between-group differences appeared, with the TQG group evincing the best average health trajectory across ages.

Conclusions: Although this cross-sectional comparison cannot establish causality or rule out cohort effects, the extraordinary trajectory of health status among TQG practitioners in this U.S. sample is significantly better than average exercising and nonexercising U.S. Americans, even while controlling for the influence of income and education levels. Lifespan developmental theory is utilized to consider several factors beyond the physical exercise value of TQG that may be responsible for the exercise group differences.

PMID: 22420740 [PubMed - in process]

Authors: Ostafin BD, Kassman KT

Abstract
Insight problem solving is hindered by automated verbal-conceptual processes. Because mindfulness meditation training aims at “nonconceptual awareness” which involves a reduced influence of habitual verbal-conceptual processes on the interpretation of ongoing experience, mindfulness may facilitate insight problem solving. This hypothesis was examined across two studies (total N=157). Participants in both studies completed a measure of trait mindfulness and a series of insight and noninsight problems. Further, participants in Study 2 completed measures of positive affect and a mindfulness or control training. The results indicated that (a) trait mindfulness predicts better insight but not noninsight problem solving (both studies), (b) this relation is maintained when controlling for positive affect (Study 2), (c) mindfulness training improves insight but not noninsight problem solving (Study 2) and (d) this improvement is partially mediated by state mindfulness (Study 2). These findings are the first to document a direct relation between mindfulness and creativity.

PMID: 22483682 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

These findings are the first to document a direct relation between mindfulness and creativity.

Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2012 Mar 27;

Authors: Day L, Hill KD, Jolley D, Cicuttini F, Flicker L, Segal L

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To test the effect of tai-chi on the progression of pre-clinical disability to manifest disability, compared with seated flexibility exercise, and to examine whether tai-chi mediates delayed disability by reducing impairments in musculo-skeletal, cardiovascular and neurological systems, and related functional limitations DESIGN: Multi-site parallel group individually-randomised controlled trial SETTING: General community PARTICIPANTS: Pre-clinically disabled community-dwelling people 70+ yrs (n=503), without major medical conditions or moderate to severe cognitive impairment. INTERVENTION: Modified Sun style tai-chi exercise compared with seated flexibility exercise, both programs delivered in groups for 60 minutes twice weekly for 24 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Disability measured with the Late Life Function and Disability Instrument. Secondary outcomes were impairments and functional limitations of the musculo-skeletal, neurological and cardio-vascular systems. RESULTS: There was little change within or between the two groups. The mean change in the Disability Frequency Score was 0.3 and 0.1 points (100-point scale) for the intervention and control groups respectively (adjusted difference -0.21 95% CI -0.99 to 0.56). The mean change in the Disability Limitation Score was -0.1 and -0.04 points for the intervention and control groups respectively (adjusted difference -0.6 95% CI -2.31 to 1.11). There was little effect on impairments or functional limitations. A higher proportion of intervention participants ceased attending the exercise program (difference=17.9%, 95% CI 9.6 to 25.8). Multiple imputation of missing data did not change the results. CONCLUSIONS: Modified Sun style tai-chi did not impact on impairment, functional limitations, or disability in pre-clinically disabled older people when delivered for 24 weeks. Withdrawal from the exercise classes was high but did not explain the null result. Improved compliance, or a longer or more intensive program, may be required.

PMID: 22465404 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2012 Mar 1;

Authors: Jimenez PJ, Melendez A, Albers U

Abstract
This article reviews the scientific studies which have been carried out at the international level on the psychological benefits that Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) brings to those who practice it. It analyzes the framework in which the research was performed, the real benefits that this activity achieves and their causes. The present article brings a new analytical perspective to the reviews carried out to date in regard to classifying and analyzing the psychological variables involved in the practice of TCC and offers a homogeneous framework within which to develop research in this field based on the model proposed by Spirduso et al. (2005).

PMID: 22386602 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Scientists studying a four-herb combination discovered some 1,800 years ago by Chinese herbalists have found that the substance enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with colon cancer.

Early studies show a traditional four-herb combination has cancer-treatment benefits. The herbs are Chinese peony (pictured), Chinese jujube, Chinese licorice and baikal skullcap.

The mixture, known in China as huang qin tang, has been shown in early trials to be effective at reducing some side effects of chemotherapy, including diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The herbs also seem to bolster colon-cancer treatment: Tests on animals with tumors have shown that administering the herbs along with chemotherapy drugs restored intestinal cells faster than when chemo was used alone.

The herb combination, dubbed PHY906 by scientists, is a rare example of a plant-based product used in traditional folk medicine that could potentially jump the hurdle into mainstream American therapy. A scientific team led by Yung-Chi Cheng, an oncology researcher at Yale University, and funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, is planning to begin Phase II clinical trials to study PHY906′s effectiveness in people with colon cancer.

Read more via A Chinese Medicine as Cancer Treatment – WSJ.com.

According to scientists, practicing Tai Chi is so beneficial to elderly people’s health that it should be a preferred method of health enhancement.

Older subjects who regularly practise Tai Chi found to have better arterial compliance and greater muscle strength.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2012) — Older subjects who regularly practise Tai Chi were found to have better arterial compliance and greater muscle strength than non-practitioners. Exercise which can achieve both cardiovascular function and muscle strength “would be a preferred mode of training for older persons,” say investigators

Experienced practitioners of Tai Chi, the traditional Chinese mind-body exercise now enjoyed worldwide, have been shown in a study of older subjects to have improved expansion and contraction of arteries according to cardiac pulsation (arterial compliance) and improved knee muscle strength.

The findings, say the investigators, of better muscle strength without jeopardising arterial compliance suggest that Tai Chi may well be a suitable exercise for older people to improve both cardiovascular function and body strength. A number of studies, they explain, have shown that strength training to improve muscle function and offset the effects of aging have also been accompanied by a decline in arterial compliance. “Evidence that strength training could change arterial compliance in middle-aged and older subjects is still elusive,” they note.

As background to their report, the investigators explain that arterial stiffness — when an artery fails to distend or rebound in response to pressure changes — is closely associated with cardiovascular diseases, possibly through elevated blood and pulse pressure and atherosclerosis. Arterial compliance, therefore, has been identified as an important predictor of cardiovascular health in the elderly and a therapeutic target for physical exercise in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

The study, recently published online in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, involved 65 elderly subjects from Hong Kong, 29 recruited from local Tai Chi clubs who had each practised Tai Chi for at least 1.5 hours a week for three years, and 36 controls with no Tai Chi experience. All subjects’ physical activity levels were defined according to metabolic index units as light, moderate and heavy — but there were no differences between the two groups.

Initial results showed that the Tai Chi subjects were better in almost all haemodynamic observations — including blood pressure, vascular resistance, and pulse pressure. Measurements also showed that both large and small artery compliance was significantly higher in the Tai Chi group (by 40-44%). Additional analysis showed that the Tai Chi subjects had greater average muscle strength in both their knee extensors and flexors.

Tai Chi is well known for its aerobic affects. Significant improvement in cardiopulmonary function has been found in Tai Chi practitioners when compared with sedentary controls, and Tai Chi training has been shown to improve cardiopulmonary function in patients with chronic heart failure and myocardial infarction. The effect of Tai Chi training in lowering blood pressure has also been extensively reviewed.

“However,” said principal investigator Dr William Tsang from the The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, “this is the first study to investigate the possible effects of Tai Chi on arterial compliance by comparing older Tai Chi practitioners with non-practitioners similar in age and activity level. The improvement in arterial compliance could have resulted from a combination of aerobic training, stretching, mental concentration and calm meditation during Tai Chi movement.”

The study findings showed that older Tai Chi practitioners have better arterial compliance and knee muscle strength than their healthy counterparts. And, because Tai Chi can be practised at any time, anywhere, and without the constraints of equipment or a gymnasium, Dr Tsang added that this traditional Chinese exercise could be a good exercise strategy for older adults, both for vascular health and for muscle strengthening.

European Society of Cardiology (ESC) (2012, April 4). Older subjects who regularly practise Tai Chi found to have better arterial compliance and greater muscle strength. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2012/04/120404102136.htm

Effects of meditation experience on functional connectivity of distributed brain networks.

Front Hum Neurosci. 2012;6:38

Authors: Hasenkamp W, Barsalou LW

Abstract
This study sought to examine the effect of meditation experience on brain networks underlying cognitive actions employed during contemplative practice. In a previous study, we proposed a basic model of naturalistic cognitive fluctuations that occur during the practice of focused attention meditation. This model specifies four intervals in a cognitive cycle: mind wandering (MW), awareness of MW, shifting of attention, and sustained attention. Using subjective input from experienced practitioners during meditation, we identified activity in salience network regions during awareness of MW and executive network regions during shifting and sustained attention. Brain regions associated with the default mode were active during MW. In the present study, we reasoned that repeated activation of attentional brain networks over years of practice may induce lasting functional connectivity changes within relevant circuits. To investigate this possibility, we created seeds representing the networks that were active during the four phases of the earlier study, and examined functional connectivity during the resting state in the same participants. Connectivity maps were then contrasted between participants with high vs. low meditation experience. Participants with more meditation experience exhibited increased connectivity within attentional networks, as well as between attentional regions and medial frontal regions. These neural relationships may be involved in the development of cognitive skills, such as maintaining attention and disengaging from distraction, that are often reported with meditation practice. Furthermore, because altered connectivity of brain regions in experienced meditators was observed in a non-meditative (resting) state, this may represent a transference of cognitive abilities “off the cushion” into daily life.

PMID: 22403536 [PubMed - in process]