{"title":"Promise of Mindfulness-Based Interventions as Therapies to Prevent Cognitive Decline","authors":"Daniel M. Sapozhnikov","doi":"10.26443/msurj.v10i1.123","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n \n \n \nBackground: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects 5 million United States citizens. Many authors have proposed that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have the potential to effectively prevent AD-associated pathology and symptomology. However, the fact that both meditation and AD are complex processes that involve a great number of biological pathways has made these phenomena particularly challenging to dissect. This review advocates the use of gene expression to investigate the mechanisms by which MBIs combat AD pathology. \nMethods: Searches were performed using Thomson Reuters Web of Science. Ultimately, 85 journal articles were selected for their content as it pertains to the purpose of this review. \nSummary: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) may provide reliable measures of cerebral gene expression. Profiling their gene expression has demonstrated that MBIs may produce gene expression changes in many of the same pathways (inflammation, cellular stress, proliferation, synaptic function) and often in the opposite direction of disease-related deregulation. While AD is marked by shortened telomeres resulting in genetic turmoil, meditation has been documented to exhibit a positive effect on telomere maintenance. A comprehensive gene expression investigation is invaluable to reveal relevant molecular mechanisms and provide the foundation for exploring the interaction between MBI and AD. \n \n \n \n","PeriodicalId":91927,"journal":{"name":"McGill Science undergraduate research journal : MSURJ","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2015-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"McGill Science undergraduate research journal : MSURJ","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.26443/msurj.v10i1.123","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects 5 million United States citizens. Many authors have proposed that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have the potential to effectively prevent AD-associated pathology and symptomology. However, the fact that both meditation and AD are complex processes that involve a great number of biological pathways has made these phenomena particularly challenging to dissect. This review advocates the use of gene expression to investigate the mechanisms by which MBIs combat AD pathology.
Methods: Searches were performed using Thomson Reuters Web of Science. Ultimately, 85 journal articles were selected for their content as it pertains to the purpose of this review.
Summary: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) may provide reliable measures of cerebral gene expression. Profiling their gene expression has demonstrated that MBIs may produce gene expression changes in many of the same pathways (inflammation, cellular stress, proliferation, synaptic function) and often in the opposite direction of disease-related deregulation. While AD is marked by shortened telomeres resulting in genetic turmoil, meditation has been documented to exhibit a positive effect on telomere maintenance. A comprehensive gene expression investigation is invaluable to reveal relevant molecular mechanisms and provide the foundation for exploring the interaction between MBI and AD.
背景:阿尔茨海默病(AD)是一种神经退行性疾病,影响着500万美国公民。许多作者提出,正念干预(MBIs)具有有效预防ad相关病理和症状的潜力。然而,冥想和AD都是复杂的过程,涉及大量的生物途径,这使得这些现象特别具有挑战性。这篇综述提倡使用基因表达来研究mbi对抗AD病理的机制。方法:使用Thomson Reuters Web of Science进行检索。最终,85篇期刊文章被选中,因为它们的内容与本综述的目的有关。摘要:外周血单个核细胞(PBMCs)可以提供可靠的大脑基因表达指标。对其基因表达的分析表明,mbi可能在许多相同的途径(炎症、细胞应激、增殖、突触功能)中产生基因表达变化,并且通常与疾病相关的解除管制的方向相反。虽然阿尔茨海默病的特点是端粒缩短,导致基因混乱,但冥想对端粒的维持有积极的影响。全面的基因表达研究对于揭示相关分子机制,为探索MBI与AD的相互作用奠定基础具有重要意义。