Qigong in the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder is a condition that affects all races, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. With a high incidence ratio of one in every 68, it has become one of the most discussed psychiatric disorders. For this reason, the need for investigating novel treatments has been emerging. Qigong, a traditional Chinese mind-body technique, has already proven to be able to reduce symptoms of several physical and psychological illnesses.ObjectiveThe purpose of this systematic review is to examine and categorize the current scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of Qigong on children suffering from autism spectrum disorders.Search strategyA systematic literature search of the electronic scientific databases PubMed, Clinical Trials.gov, BioMed Central, PubMed Central and Google Scholar was performed to identify studies of Qigong in the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder.Inclusion criteriaThis review included randomized controlled trials, replication studies, retrospective studies and observational follow-up studies of Qigong on children with autism spectrum disorder. Case reports and case series were excluded.Data extraction and analysisTwo researchers independently evaluated the methodological quality of all included studies. Any discrepancies were solved by discussion until consensus was achieved.ResultsOur literature search identified 157 publications, and 10 additional publications from hand search of references. After duplicate removal, 103 records remained. After the title/abstract screening, 19 publications were obtained for detailed evaluation. After detailed evaluation, 10 studies were included. Seven studies were conducted with small children with 2–6 years old employing Qigong massage, and three studies were conducted with older children aged 7–17 years old applying both Qigong massage (one study) and Neigong (two studies).ConclusionStudies demonstrated that Qigong has interesting and promising applicability and effect on children with autism spectrum disorder and should be tested further. Despite the need for more rigorous controlled studies, Qigong seems to be able to decrease severity of individual sensory, behavioural, and language components of autism, and improve self-control, sociability, sensory and cognitive awareness as well as healthy-physical behaviour. Besides positive effect on children and adolescents, benefits seem to extend to parents and caregivers as well. However, quality of methodology seems to be insufficient to state that Qigong is an alternative to common behavioural therapies. We suggest that, until more investigation is performed, Qigong may only be used as a complement, or when behavioural therapies are not accessible.     

支气管炎非药物疗法功能及形态学观察

我们用组织学,组织化学方法观察支气管炎患者气功前和气功后痰的镜下变化及测量其发声最大值.结果表明:支气管炎患者功后痰内粘多糖的含量、上皮脱落细胞的数量增多,痰中细胞种类增加,如出现浆细胞、肥大细胞、中性粒细胞、淋巴细胞等,体现机体免疫功能提高,机体调节代谢能力增强,从而达到病愈、健体、养心的良效。从功后最大发声值增加,说明肺活量加大,也是患者病情好转的症侯。     

气功对冠心病人CM_5ST段/心率斜率的影响

37名冠心病患者随机分为气功治疗组(22人)和对照组(15人)。气功治疗组接受12周动功治疗,对照组接受安慰剂治疗,治疗前后均测定CM_5 ST段/心率斜率。结果发现动功治疗组CM_5 ST段/心率斜率减少,而对照组不变或增大,两组有显著性差异,ST段下移及常规分级运动试验其它指标在两组间无显著差异。表明CM_5ST段/心率斜率是一个敏感的心肌缺血指标。     

不同气功的心血管效应

用XG-2型血液循环功能测试仪,对健康中老年人,一次锻炼放松功(24人)和禅密功(28人)前后进行测试,结果表明不同气功的短时效应差别甚大,为辨证施功提供了实验根据。     

“气功反馈”及其机理初探

我们在分别观察气功疗法和生物反馈疗法的基础上,提出了气功反馈的概念,研制了系列气功反馈磁带,已应用于临床获得了较为满意的效果,其机制正在探讨,初步认为与大脑皮层主宰下的植物性神经整合作用有关。 1 气功反馈概念的提出近20年来西方兴起的生物反馈(biofeed-back) 是从1969年美国布朗德理和加拿大格门士治疗瘫痪肢体的生物回授法开始的,它是借助灵敏的电子仪器和微机系统,把一般不能感知的生理信息(肌电、血压及皮温等)转变成能感知的物理信息(声、光、磁     

ANALYSIS ON THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS TREATED WITH ELECTROACUPUNCTURE PLUS QIGONG

Ulcerativecolitisbelongstocategoryof"diarrhea"intraditionalChinesemedicine.Sincel968,theauthorhastreated113casesofulcera-tiveco1itiswhoareassignedrandomlytoEAp1usQigonggroup(treatmentgroup),andcontro1group(traditionalacupuncturegroupandsimpleQigonggroup)f…     

Sit,breathe, smile: Effects of single and weekly seated Qigong on blood pressure and quality of life in long-term care

Long-term care (LTC) facilities house individuals with diverse combinations of cognitive and physical impairments, and the practice of Seated Qigong eliminates common exercise barriers. This study hypothesized: 1) a single session would lower blood pressure (BP) and improve quality of life (QOL) in a generalized LTC population, and 2) these responses would be attenuated with chronic (weekly) Seated Qigong practice. Ten residents (6 female; 86 ± 7 years) participated in 1X/week Seated Qigong sessions for 10-weeks. BP and QOL were assessed pre- and post-session at baseline and following 5- and 10-weeks of Qigong. Systolic BP was significantly reduced immediately post-session after 10-weeks of Qigong (P = 0.03), yet unchanged at baseline and after 5-weeks (all P > 0.05). Diastolic BP and QOL remained unchanged (P > 0.05). A session of Seated Qigong elicits a hypotensive response with exposure, supporting the notion that repeated sessions may provide advantageous health benefits.     

健身气功锻炼对帕金森病患者的疗效观察

目的探讨健身气功锻炼对帕金森病(PD)患者的临床疗效。方法将41例PD患者随机分为健身气功组23例,对照组18例。2组均给予神经内科基础药物治疗,健身气功组患者在对照组治疗的基础上进行10周健身气功干预,每周5次,每次60min。对两组患者干预前、中、后分别进行起立-走计时(TUG)、单脚闭目站立测试,采用统一帕金森病评定量表-Ⅲ(UPDRS-Ⅲ)、Hoehn-Yahr(H-Y)评分、贝克焦虑量表(BAI)评价运动功能及情绪变化。结果锻炼10周后,健身气功组H-Y分级、UPDRS-Ⅲ评分、BAI评分较治疗前呈降低趋势(P0.05,P0.01),而对照组治疗前后变化无统计学差异(P0.05)。健身气功组TUG计时测试时间在第5周、第10周均较治疗前下降(P0.05),两侧单脚闭目站立测试时间在第5周、第10周均较治疗前延长(P0.05)。结论健身气功锻炼可改善轻中度PD患者运动功能,尤其是患者的平衡能力,对患者的焦虑情绪亦能起到一定程度缓解作用,值得临床推广。     

Latin dance and Qigong/Tai Chi effects on physical activity and body composition in breast cancer survivors: A pilot study

BackgroundBreast cancer survivors (BCS), particularly Latina BCS, experience weight gain and reduced physical activity (PA) post-treatment increasing the risk for recurrence. There is a lack of evidence on the intensity and type of PA needed to engage cultural subgroups and improve clinical outcomes. This study developed and piloted two non-traditional PA interventions among a diverse sample of BCS.MethodsTwenty BCS (65% Latina; age 25–75) participated in a 2-arm parallel group-randomized pilot study to test the effects of an 8-week Latin dance and Qigong/Tai Chi intervention on PA and body composition. A seven-day pedometer protocol was used to measure steps/week and a bioelectric impedence scale was used to assess BMI and %body fat. T-tests were used to examine preliminary outcomes across both interventions and within intervention arms.ResultsThere were no significant changes in steps/week, BMI, or %body fat across or in each separate intervention. A small effect size for increase in steps/day was found among participants in the Qigong/Tai Chi arm (0.10) and low-to-moderate effect sizes for reductions in % body fat overall (0.36), and separately for participants in Latin dance (0.26) and Qigong/Tai Chi (0.46).ConclusionLatin dance and Qigong/Tai Chi are engaging and acceptable PA modalities that are promising for improving PA and body fat among diverse, high-risk BCS. Our findings highlight the need to continue to reach and engage high-risk BCS, including Latina survivors, using novel, culturally-sensitive PA interventions. Future studies should extend and more rigorously test these novel approaches to improving outcomes associated with recurrence.     

Acute Effect of Qi-Training on Natural Killer Cell Subsets and Cytotoxic Activity

This study assesses the effects of Qi-training on natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Nine experimental subjects did 1 h of Qi-training, and 9 control subjects relaxed during the same time. Natural killer cell cytotoxicity increased 60% immediately after Qi-training (p < .01) and returned to the basal level within 2 h after training. Natural killer cell subset number did not change after Qi-training. Natural killer cell cytotoxicity and cell number were not significantly correlated. These data suggest that Qi-training has an acute stimulatory effect on natural killer cell activity, but has no effect on phenotypical changes in the natural killer cell subset.