Adaptive Stress Response: The Hot Yoga Study

Aging Clinical Trial

Official title: Molecular Networks Involved in the Adaptive Stress Response: The Hot Yoga Study

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

This is a small intervention study which is aimed at characterizing what is known as the adaptive stress response (also know as "hormesis") in women aged 30-45 years. Participants will perform Bikram Yoga in a room heated to 104°F (40°C) which is often referred to as "Hot Yoga".

The hypothesis of this study is that a protective and health-promoting adaptive stress response can be induced in living humans by performing exercise in a hot environment. The primary question is:How does the body physiologically adapt to performing moderately vigorous exercise in a hot environment?

Clinical Trial Description

This is a small scale intervention pilot study which is aimed at characterizing "hormesis" or the "adaptive stress response" in a small cadre (n = 28) of women aged 30-45 years performing moderately vigorous physical activity, Bikram Yoga, in a hot environment, simply referred to as "Hot Yoga". The primary question is:How does the body physiologically adapt to performing moderately vigorous exercise in a hot environment?

The hypothesis of this study which underlies the primary question is that a protective and health-promoting adaptive stress response can be induced in living humans through exposure to mild heat stress and moderately vigorous physical exercise while practicing hot yoga. The central premise is that a combination of environmental stressors during each hot yoga session will induce changes in molecular networks and metabolism that will enhance physical/mental health and physiological resilience.

Primary, secondary and tertiary study endpoints:

Characterize the physiological changes brought on by the adaptive stress response using an "omics" approach. Lipidomics and metabolomics will be used to identify changes in small molecule species found in circulating plasma that are associated with the physiological changes the investigators anticipate will occur with the adaptive stress response.

Characterize the adaptive stress response by measuring the changes in the inflammatory response using common inflammation biomarkers: C-reactive protein (CRP), Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-alpha), and Interleukin-6 (IL-6). A complete blood count (CBC) w/Differential assay will also be performed at baseline and after the last Hot Yoga practice to assess any changes in blood components (red blood cells [RBC], white blood cells [WBC], platelets, etc.) that may have occurred in response to the intervention. In addition, the investigators will use buffy coat to assay all WBCs and will perform both typing and counting of WBCs to assess changes relevant to the adaptive stress response. Finally, buffy coat will be used for DNA isolation to genotype for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are related to the adaptive stress response.

Characterize the acute effect that exercising in a hot environment has on emotional stress and well-being using:

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Short Form (PANAS-SF) PROMIS - Global Health Scale

Assess long-term effects of the intervention on emotional stress and well-being using a battery of questionnaires that include Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

Importantly, circulating levels of small molecule metabolites will be determined with metabolomic and lipidomic analyses utilizing HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry. Levels of blood inflammatory and stress biomarkers interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) will be measured utilizing standard enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). These assays may be performed in-house or at Sonora Quest Laboratories.

The investigators will implement the use of biostatistics, bioinformatics, and other statistical methods to analyze, interpret, and express the found data and dependent upon the findings, then use the data as the base for grant funding to conduct a full scale clinical trial testing the aforementioned hypotheses. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Aging
• Depression, Anxiety
• Inflammation

• NCT number: NCT06395376
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of Arizona
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 11, 2023
• Completion date: May 15, 2023