The effect of eight-week yoga training on serum levels of interleukin 6, interleukin 10, tumor necrosis factor alpha and body composition in women with multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is the most common autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that affects the myelinated axons of the central nervous system and causes neurological deterioration. The prevalence of this disease in women is reported to be 3 times that of men. In recent years, more people with the disease have sought alternative drug therapies to manage symptoms, including mind-body therapies such as yoga, meditation, breathing, and relaxation techniques. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of eight weeks of yoga training on the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 6, interleukin 10 and body composition in women with multiple sclerosis.

In this semi-experimental study, 20 women with multiple sclerosis who were referred to the medical centers of Semnan city (mean±SD; age, 36.75±6.10 years; body mass index, 26.88±6.02 kg/m2; and with EDSS index >3.5) were selected and randomly divided into two groups of yoga training (n=10) and control (n=10). The experimental group performed yoga training for eight weeks, three sessions per week (24 sessions) in an indoor hall with a temperature of 25-26°C. The training protocol started with performing two sets of 10 seconds for 15 movements and to observe the overload principle every two weeks, 5 seconds were added for each training movement and one movement was added to the training protocol, where at the final week number of movements reached 18 movements and 15 seconds. During this period, the control group had no regular physical activity and had normal daily activities. In order to determine and control the training pressure, the Borg’s rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale was used. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by using the repeated measures of ANOVA, independent t-test and dependent t-test at a significance level of p≤0.05.

The results of this study showed a significant decrease in the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 6 and interleukin 10 in the experimental group compared to the control group after eight weeks of training (p=0.001). However, no significant difference was observed in the body composition of women with multiple sclerosis compared to the control group after eight weeks of yoga (p>0.05).

Finally, the results of this research showed that eight weeks of yoga training by reducing inflammatory cytokines and adjusting the serum index of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 6, can be used as a complementary treatment along with drug treatments for patients with multiple sclerosis.