Yoga, aquatic exercise can help combat MS symptoms

Date: May 3, 2016

Source: Universität Basel

Summary:

Exercise can have a positive influence on certain symptoms of multiple sclerosis, say researchers. Patients who do yoga and aquatic exercise suffer less from fatigue, depression and paresthesia, as reported by researchers.

Exercise can have a positive influence on certain symptoms of multiple sclerosis: Patients who do yoga and aquatic exercise suffer less from fatigue, depression and paresthesia, as reported by researchers from the University of Basel and the Psychiatric University Clinics Basel in a joint study with colleagues in Iran.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive auto-immune disease in which the body's own immune system attacks the nervous tissue, potentially resulting in movement disorders. Other typical symptoms of MS include physical and mental fatigue as well as faintness, depression and paresthesia such as pins and needles, itchiness and numbness.

Increased risk of depression

In a random trial, researchers from Basel and Kermanshah (Iran) have now shown that these symptoms significantly improved after an eight-week program of yoga and aquatic exercise. In comparison to the control group, fatigue, depression and paresthesia were significantly reduced in patients who took part in a three-times weekly training program. In the non-exercising group, the likelihood of moderate to severe depression was 35-fold higher than in the groups who had done yoga or aquatic exercise.

Fifty-four women with MS and an average age of 34 were assigned to one of three groups: yoga, aquatic exercise or no exercise. Before and after the trial, patients were asked to complete a questionnaire about their symptoms. All patients continued with their existing treatment, including any medication taken to regulate the immune system.

Exercise as a complementary therapy

"Exercise training programs should be considered in the future as possible complements to standard MS treatments," write the researchers. Researchers from the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in Iran, the Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK Basel, Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders) and the University of Basel's Department of Sport, Exercise and Health took part in the study.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Universität Basel.Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

Serge Brand et al. Exercising Impacts on Fatigue, Depression, and Paresthesia in Female Patients with Multiple Sclerosis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2016; 48 (5): 796 DOI:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000834

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Universität Basel. "Yoga, aquatic exercise can help combat MS symptoms." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 May 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160503072414.htm>.

Mediterranean style diet might slow down aging, reduce bone loss

Date: May 3, 2016

Source: EUFIC - European Food Information Council

Summary:

Sticking to a Mediterranean style diet might slow down aging, a new study has found. Mediterranean style diet, tested in the project, significantly decreased the levels of the protein known as C-reactive protein, one of the main inflammatory marker linked with the ageing process. Another positive effect of this diet was that the rate of bone loss in people with osteoporosis was reduced. Other parameters such as insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health, digestive health and quality of life are yet to be analyzed.

Sticking to a Mediterranean style diet might slow down aging finds the EU funded project NU-AGE. At a recent conference in Brussels, researchers presented that a NU-AGE Mediterranean style diet, tested in the project, significantly decreased the levels of the protein known as C-reactive protein, one of the main inflammatory marker linked with the aging process. Another positive effect of this diet was that the rate of bone loss in people with osteoporosis was reduced. Other parameters such as insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health, digestive health and quality of life are yet to be analysed.

"This is the first project that goes in such depths into the effects of the Mediterranean diet on health of elderly population. We are using the most powerful and advanced techniques including metabolomics, transcriptomics, genomics and the analysis of the gut microbiota to understand what effect, the Mediterranean style diet has on the population of over 65 years old" said prof. Claudio Franceschi, project coordinator from the University of Bologna, Italy.

A new personally tailored, Mediterranean style diet was given to volunteers to assess if it can slow down the aging process. The project was conducted in five European countries: France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK and involved 1142 participants. There are differences between men and women as well as among participants coming from the different countries. Volunteers from five countries differed in genetics, body composition, compliance to the study, response to diet, blood measurements, cytomegalovirus positivity and inflammatory parameters.

NU-AGE's researchers also looked at socio-economic factors of food choices and health information as well as the most significant barriers to the improvement of the quality of a diet. As with biological markers, considerable country differences were seen when comparing several aspects, for instance on the overall nutrition knowledge. In France and the UK, over 70% of participants thought they had high nutrition knowledge while in Poland only 31% believed so.

Also, when elderly people buy food products, there are country differences in the attitudes towards nutrition information on the food labels (what is important for a person from Poland, may not be as important for a person from Italy). In addition, participants from different countries understand and trust nutrition claims differently. Participants from the Netherlands and the UK appeared to understand nutrition claims better than participants from France, followed by those from Poland and Italy. In terms of trust, over 40% of Italian participants thought that nutrition claims on food products are reliable, while only 20% of British participants had the same opinion (on reliability of these claims). Surprisingly to experts, no gender differences were observed in nutrition knowledge between men and women.

"The NU-AGE conference was a great success and allowed us to share the most recent results of the project as well as decide on the next steps and future work," concluded Franceschi.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by EUFIC - European Food Information Council. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Cite This Page:

EUFIC - European Food Information Council. "Mediterranean style diet might slow down aging, reduce bone loss." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 May 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160503072603.htm>.