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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (46 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2010)
Biofield therapies (such as Reiki, therapeutic touch, and healing touch) are complementary medicine modalities that remain controversial and are utilized by a significant number of patients, with little information regarding their efficacy. This systematic review examines 66 clinical studies with a variety of biofield therapies in different patient populations. We conducted a quality assessment as well as a best evidence synthesis approach to examine evidence for biofield therapies in relevant outcomes for different clinical populations. Studies overall are of medium quality, and generally meet minimum standards for validity of inferences. Biofield therapies show strong evidence for reducing pain intensity in pain populations, and moderate evidence for reducing pain intensity hospitalized and cancer populations. There is moderate evidence for decreasing negative behavioral symptoms in dementia and moderate evidence for decreasing anxiety for hospitalized populations. There is equivocal evidence for biofield therapies' effects on fatigue and quality of life for cancer patients, as well as for comprehensive pain outcomes and affect in pain patients, and for decreasing anxiety in cardiovascular patients. There is a need for further high-quality studies in this area. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
    Cover page: Biofield Therapies: Helpful or Full of Hype? A Best Evidence Synthesis
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2020)
    Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries.1 Patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are considered to be at a higher risk of fibrosis progression and development to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
      Cover page: Glyphosate Excretion is Associated With Steatohepatitis and Advanced Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Fatty Liver Disease
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UCLA Previously Published Works (2007)

      Impaired recovery and plasma concentration of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) were both highlighted as plausible and more established markers of cardiovascular disease, respectively. Hemodynamic patterns during recovery and their link with circulating levels of sICAM-1 were examined as predictors of 24-h blood pressure (ABP). Impedance cardiography measures and beat-to-beat BP were recorded in 45 healthy subjects during a 10-min baseline, four tasks, and four 10-min recovery periods. sICAM-1 levels at rest were determined by ELISA. ABP measures were obtained combining data from a work and an off day. Hierarchical regressions showed that patterns of compensatory changes in cardiac output and total peripheral resistance during recovery improved the prediction of ABP above and beyond resting and recovery BP, or reactivity hemodynamic patterns. Stress-induced recovery was essentially vascular in nature and a more vascular profile was associated with higher ABP and higher circulating levels of sICAM-1. The results suggest a link between recovery hemodynamics and cardiovascular risk.

        Cover page: Vascular profile, delayed recovery, inflammatory process, and ambulatory blood pressure: laboratory-to-life generalizability.
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2005)

        Background: Associations between physical and emotional stress and negative mood states have been documented in a variety of populations. In military personnel, more physical symptoms and decrements in ability, to perform critical tasks have been shown to accompany such stress-induced negative mood. Most research in this area has focused on immediate effects of stress on mood. Purpose: We wondered what immediate mood effects strenuous training would have on Marines, what mood effects would endure 30 and 90 days after completion of training, and how mood scores would compare with normative data. Methods: Sixty male Marines (M age = 19 years, range = 18-28) completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) at multiple time points before and after participating in a 30-day, cold weather, high-altitude field training exercise. Anthropometric measurements were taken at the same time points. Results: The Marines reported significant increases in POMS scores from baseline to completion of training, most of which endured up to 90 days. The anger and fatigue scores reported by the Marines were comparable to adult male psychiatric outpatient norms. Conclusions: Rigorous training in challenging environments may result in enduring negative moods that approach levels of clinical significance and may have implications for readiness for duty and performance of critical tasks. Behavioral medicine interventions may be helpful in military populations to reduce the impact of negative mood.

          Cover page: Negative mood endures after completion of high-altitude military training
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Irvine Previously Published Works (1999)
          Many of the anabolic effects of exercise are mediated through insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), but in adolescents, brief exercise training leads to reductions, rather than the expected increase, in circulating IGF-I. Certain cytokines--interleukin-(IL) 1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha--are increased by exercise in adults and are known to inhibit IGF-I. To test the hypothesis that these cytokines might play a role in the adaptation to exercise, we measured the acute effects of exercise on selected cytokines and growth factors in 17 healthy 8- to 11-y-old children (4 females). Designed to mimic patterns and intensity of exercise found in the real lives of American children, the exercise protocol consisted of a 1.5-h soccer practice (of which about 40 min constituted of vigorous exercise). Pre- and postexercise urine and saliva samples were obtained in all subjects and both blood and urine in nine subjects. The exercise led to significant increases in circulating tumor necrosis factor-alpha (18 +/- 7%, p < 0.05) and IL-6 (125 +/- 35%, p < 0.01) as well as a significant increase in the antiinflammatory cytokine IL-1 receptor antagonist (33 +/- 10%, p < 0.01). Urine levels of IL-6 were also substantially increased by exercise (440 +/- 137%, p < 0.0001). Circulating levels of IGF-I were reduced to a small but significant degree (-6.4 +/- 3.2%, p < 0.05), although IGF-binding protein-1 (known to inhibit IGF-I) was substantially increased (156 +/- 40%, p < 0.001). Cytokines are systemically increased after relatively brief exercise in healthy children. This increase may alter critical anabolic agents such as IGF-I and its binding proteins.
            Cover page: Effect of Exercise on Cytokines and Growth Mediators in Prepubertal ChildrenCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2009)
            The objective of this study is to examine the diurnal variability of C-reactive protein (CRP) in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Participants included 44 women and men with untreated OSA (mean apnea/hypopnea index = 37.5, SD ± 28) and 23 healthy adults with no OSA. Sleep was monitored with polysomnography in the University of California San Diego General Clinical Research Center. Over a 24-h period, blood was collected every 2 h, and CRP levels were determined. Adjusting for age, gender, and body mass index, a significant group by time interaction showed that patients with OSA had higher CRP levels during the daytime (8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.) versus the nighttime (10:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.; p < 0.001). Non-apneics showed no significant change in CRP levels during the 24 h. The findings indicate that sleep apnea patients have disproportionately elevated CRP levels in the day versus the nighttime, possibly as a result of carryover effects of nighttime arousal into the daytime.
              Cover page: Diurnal variability of C-reactive protein in obstructive sleep apnea
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2014)

              Objective

              Living in adverse neighborhood conditions has been linked with greater prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to learn whether perceived neighborhood problems are related to attenuated nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping, a risk factor for CVD morbidity.

              Method

              A sample of 133 adults (71 male, 62 female; 80 White, 53 Black) underwent 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The neighborhood problem scale (NPS) was used to assess neighborhood environmental stressors.

              Results

              Nocturnal dipping in systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP) and mean arterial (MAP) blood pressure was reduced in individuals with higher NPS scores (p < .05). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that neighborhood problems explained 4%-6% of the variance in SBP, DBP, and MAP dipping (p < .05) even after adjusting for several theoretical confounders such as social status, age, gender, race, body mass index (BMI), smoking, exercise, depression and discrimination.

              Conclusion

              Neighborhood problems may contribute to attenuated BP dipping beyond the effect of known risk factors.
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2014)

                Background

                Depressive symptoms and fatigue frequently overlap in clinical samples and the general population. The link of depressive symptoms and fatigue with increased risk of cardiovascular disease has been partly explained by shared biological mechanisms including sympathetic overactivity. Prolonged sympathetic overactivity downregulates the responsiveness of the β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR), a receptor that mediates several end-organ sympathetic responses.

                Purpose

                The authors studied whether depression and fatigue are related to reduced β-AR responsiveness within the human body (in vivo) in an ethnically diverse sample of African and Caucasian Americans.

                Methods

                The chronotropic25 dose (CD25) was used to determine in vivo β-AR responsiveness in 93 healthy participants. Psychometric measures included the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale and the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory.

                Results

                Hierarchical regression analyses (adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, blood pressure, smoking, and ethnicity) revealed that mental fatigue was significantly related to reduced β-AR responsiveness (i.e., higher CD25 values) in the whole sample. Moderation analyses indicated significant ethnicity × depression/fatigue interactions. Depressive symptoms, total fatigue, emotional fatigue, mental fatigue, and physical fatigue were related to reduced β-AR responsiveness in Caucasian American but not in African Americans.

                Conclusions

                Our findings suggest that symptoms of depression and fatigue are related to decreased in vivo β-AR responsiveness in Caucasian Americans. The lack of this association in African Americans highlights the importance for considering ethnicity as a potential moderator in research focusing on associations between psychological variables and cardiovascular function.
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2003)

                  Purpose

                  The effects of exercise on growth and development are mediated through a complex interaction between the endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. Very little is known about how these systems respond to exercise in children or adolescents. Moreover, there are few studies that have examined growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, and leukocyte responses to "real-life" or field exercise solely in girls. Thus, the goal of the present study was to determine the acute exercise-induced alterations in the growth hormone --> insulin-like growth factor-I axis, inflammatory cytokines, and certain aspects of immune function in a group of adolescent girls after a typical water polo practice.

                  Methods

                  Ten, healthy, high-school female subjects, 14-16 yr old, performed a single, typical, 1.5-h water polo practice session. Blood was sampled before and after the session.

                  Results

                  The exercise resulted in an increase in HR (from 82 +/- 2 to 161 +/- 5 beats.min(-1) at 30 min, P < 1.4.10(-6) ), as well as in circulating lactate levels (375 +/- 66%, P < 0.0005). Significant increases where noted in circulating IL-6 (396 +/- 162%, P < 0.005) and IL-1ra (71 +/- 20%, P < 0.015). A substantial increase in the level of IGFBP-1 (1344 +/- 344%, P < 0.001) was also observed. Interestingly, TNF-alpha levels decreased after the exercise (-10.4 +/- 3.8%, P < 0.04) as did insulin (55 +/- 12%, P < 0.005). The exercise led to significant increases in granulocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes. The exercise significantly influenced adhesion molecules (such as CD62L and CD54), which has not been previously studied in adolescent girls.

                  Conclusions

                  These data demonstrate that an intense "real-life" exercise bout in adolescent females leads to profound increases in inflammatory cytokines and reductions in anabolic mediators with substantial alterations in white blood cell subpopulations and adhesion molecules. The role of these frequent, almost daily immune and cytokine changes on growth and development have yet to be determined.
                    Cover page: Effect of Water Polo Practice on Cytokines, Growth Mediators, and Leukocytes in GirlsCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UC San Diego Previously Published Works (2019)

                    Background

                    As individuals are increasingly attending health and wellness courses outside of the conventional medical system, there is a need to obtain objective data on the effects of those programs on well-being.

                    Methods

                    In total, 154 men and women (mean age 54.7 years; range 25-83) participated in 3 different holistic wellness programs based on Ayurvedic Medicine principles (Seduction of Spirit, Journey into Healing, and Perfect Health) or a vacation control group. Psychosocial outcomes included spirituality (Delaney Spirituality Scale), mindful awareness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale), psychological flexibility (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire), mood (Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression), and anxiety (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement System Anxiety Scale).

                    Results

                    Participants in the Seduction of Spirit (P < .004), Journey into Healing (P < .05), and Perfect Health (P < .004) courses showed significant increases in spirituality as compared to vacation controls. Participants in Seduction of Spirit (P < .007) also showed significant increases in mindfulness as compared to vacation controls. Participants in the Seduction of Spirit (P < .001) and Journey into Healing (P < .05) courses showed significant decreases in depressed mood as compared to those in the Perfect Health and vacation control groups. All study participants showed similar increases in psychological flexibility (P < .01) and decreases in anxiety (P < .01).

                    Conclusion

                    Participation in wellness courses that incorporate a mind-body-spirit approach to health improves multiple domains of psychosocial well-being, which persists even after course participation.
                      Cover page: Psychosocial Effects of a Holistic Ayurvedic Approach to Well-being in Health and Wellness Courses.
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