Raj Kumar Yadav

• MD
• Professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi

To assess changes in body mass index (BMI), diet and physical activity (PA) of 8-15-y-old children with overweight/ obesity, following a smartphone applications-based intervention; and to understand facilitators and barriers for BMI reduction. Children were enrolled through online sessions on childhood obesity for students, parents and teachers at...

Background Studies suggest that obesity predisposes individuals to developing cognitive dysfunction and an increased risk of dementia, but the nature of the relationship remains largely unexplored for better prognostic predictors. Purpose This study, the first of its kind in Indian participants with obesity, was intended to explore the use of quan...

Brain stimulation modalities use neuron models to estimate activating thresholds in response to applied electric fields. These models, which are based on scanning electron microscopy, track the membrane surfaces of neuronal processes. Extraction of the neuron skeleton, which is necessary for biophysical modeling, is a complicated computational proc...

Background & Objectives - Fibromyalgia is a chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain syndrome which has no permanent cure till date. Patients besides excruciating pain, manifest fatigue, morning stiffness, sleep problems and brain fogging. We aimed to study the effect of medical yoga therapy on pain status, quality of life, musculoskeletal performan...

Yoga is an evidence-based scientific tool in the field of complementary and alternative medicine for various neuro-psycho-physiological disorders. Research in Yoga-based interventions and neurosciences remains exciting, especially during the recent COVID-19 to show how a simple, safe, and cost-effective technique might rewire our brain cells to enh...

Background: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a prevalent and distressing occurrence in 60-80% of individuals who have undergone amputations. Recent research underscores the significance of maladaptive cortical plasticity in the genesis of PLP, emphasizing the importance of targeting cortical areas for therapeutic interventions. Repetitive transcranial m...

Fibromyalgia is an idiopathic chronic widespread pain syndrome marked with specified tender points. There is no permanent cure of the disease. A 50-year-old man and his 49-year-old wife suffered from widespread pain, morning stiffness, sleep problems, and fatigue with complaints of brain fogging and forgetfulness from the past 13 and 26 years, resp...

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is an adjunctive treatment for chronic pain. The current study aimed to perform a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of HBOT for pain reduction in fibromyalgia (FM) patients compared to conventional therapy. A systematic search of...

To assess cytokines(TNFα, IL6) and pentraxin3(PTX3) in unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss(RPL) compared to controls and to evaluate immunomodulatory effect of oral micronized progesterone. This prospective comparative trial was conducted in 90 pregnant females: 60 RPL(group-1) and 30 controls(group-2). Group-1 was randomized into group-1a (n = 30...

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common neurological chronic health problem that causes widespread pain and tenderness (sensitivity to touch) throughout the body. Most often, people with this chronic illness complain of fatigue and sleep deprivation. Besides psychosomatic illness, neurological problems such as depression, anxiety, and memory l...

Effect of 6 weeks of Medical Yoga Therapy on sensory perception and Offset Analgesia in Fibromyalgia patients.

Effect of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on pain in phantom limb pain patients.

Effect of medical yoga therapy on pain physiology and musculoskeletal physiology of fibromyalgia patients.

Objectives: To explore the efficacy of combination of Bhramari pranayama and om chanting as an adjunct to standard pharmacological treatment on asthma control, quality of life, pulmonary function, and airway inflammation in asthmatic children. Methods: Children (n = 110; 8-15 years) with uncontrolled or partly controlled asthma were recruited fr...

Supervised medical yoga therapy can partially ameliorate pain and improve flexibility and range of motion of fibromyalgia patients.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been defined by the American College of Rheumatology in 1987 as a chronic inflammatory disease characterised by joint swelling, joint tenderness, and destruction of synovial joints leading to severe disability and premature mortality. There is a paucity of literature assessing corticomotor excitability in...

Effect of 28-day yoga program on pain sensitivity and flexibility in fibromyalgia syndrome

Effect of 28-day yoga program on pain sensitivity and flexibility in fibromyalgia syndrome

Vitamin D deficiency is common and linked to poor prognosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We investigated the differential effect of basal vitamin D levels in monocrotaline (MCT) induced PAH in normal and vitamin D deficient (VDD) rats. Rats were fed a vitamin D deficient diet and exposed to filtered fluorescent light to deplete vitamin...

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a musculoskeletal ailment that affects millions globally. The pain is disturbing associated with impaired motor activity, reduced flexibility, decreased productivity and strained interpersonal relationships leading to poor quality of life. Inflammatory mediators in vicinity of nociceptors and amplification of neural...

To assess the effects of 12 weeks Yoga based Cardiac Rehabilitation program on Blood Pressure Variability and Baroreflex Sensitivity in Eighty patients post myocardial infarction. Randomized controlled trial with two parallel groups. A tertiary care institution in India. The Yoga group received 13 hospital-based structured yoga sessions in adjunct...

Current evidence suggests obesity alters the expression of various genes related to oxidative stress, inflammation, and aging. The complementary therapy like yoga-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI) is used as an adjunct therapy to modern medicine. This study examines the efficacy of 12-weeks of YBLI with standard care (SC) on the expression of gen...

Background Meditation is a conscious mental discipline, that has been implicated in the relaxation response. The mechanism behind such a relaxing effect is psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), based on the interaction between mind, physical health, and self-healing; that conceptualizes that stress and an individual’s emotional state led to predisposition t...

AIM: Aim of the study is to investigate the effect of 4-week medical yoga therapy on pain sensitivity, flexibility and range of motion in fibromyalgia patients.

Introduction: In healthy subjects, the intraocular pressure (IOP) is maintained by a dynamic equilibrium between continuous production of aqueous humor by ciliary bodies and continuous outflow through the two drainage pathways: trabecular meshwork and uveoscleral outflow. Here, we hypothesized that yogic ocular exercises, including extraocular mus...

Background: Telomeres and telomerase are considered cardinal biomarkers of cellular aging. Shorter telomeres and low telomerase activity have been associated with obesity and accelerated aging. Objective: To compare the effects of a yoga-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI) with the standard of care (SOC) on cellular aging by estimating telomere le...

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT). Design: Parallel arm, single masked, randomized controlled trial. Methods: Sixty patients of ocular hypertension, with IOP >21 and <30 mmHg were recruited at a tertiary eye care centre in India....

Yoga, an ancient discipline is a holistic intervention between mind and body aimed at physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The following chapter gives an overview of the next-generation techniques for the scientific validation of yoga.

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is associated with widespread autonomic dysfunction where sympathetic predominance explains associated complaints such as widespread pain, sleep disorders and anxiety. Recent studies indicate a possible neurovascular autonomic interaction in the pathogenesis of FM. Objective: Our study paradigm included a modified E...

Background and aim Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of visual impairment worldwide. Next to intraocular pressure(IOP), vascular factors play a major role in glaucoma. Mindfulness-based stress reduction(MBSR) has been shown to reduce the IOP, normalize the stress biomarkers, modulate gene expression, and also improve the quality of life. This s...

Objective To study the effect of a 12-week yoga-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI) on circulating levels of inflammatory markers in prediabetic overweight/obese Indian adults. Design and method Prospective, single-arm, lifestyle intervention study was conducted in 59 prediabetic (n = 59) (fasting plasma glucose, FPG 100 to 125 mg/dL), overweight/...

Objective The study evaluated the effect 12-week yoga-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI) on continuous metabolic syndrome (Met S) z-score, body fat percentage and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults having Met S. Design and method In this prospective, single-arm, lifestyle intervention study 54 adults with metabolic syndrome (as per...

Broca’s area, conventionally located in left (categorical) hemisphere of brain, is responsible for integrating linguistic and non-linguistic processing however, functionality of its right homolog remains partly understood and explored. This perception is based on the fact that in 96% of right-handed individuals, who constitute 91% of human populati...

There has been conflicting evidence regarding the potential role of vitamin D in glucose homeostasis. This double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial was designed to investigate the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on the disposition index in non-diabetic Indian subjects with obesity. Subjects with obesity [n = 120] were randomized to rec...

Purpose: Psychological stress is associated with worsening of bronchial asthma (BA) & quality of life which could be improved by yoga-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI). We planned to study the effect of short-term YBLI on airway resistance, reactance & quality of life in adult asthmatics. Aim: Assess the effect of short-term YBLI on lung functio...

Background Digitization and automation is the buzzword in clinical research and pharma companies are investigating heavily here. Right from drug discovery to personalized medicine, digital patients and patient engagement, there is great consideration of technology at each step. Methods The published data and online information available is reviewe...

Meditation is a complex mental process-practiced widely for stress management and promotion of health- exerts beneficial effects on physical and mental health, and cognitive performance. However, until now, few theoretical neural mechanisms of meditation had been proposed, still not completely elucidated. We have previously evaluated the brain acti...

We aimed to assay cytokines and growth factors in peritoneal fluid samples from women with and without endometriosis to understand the inflammatory milieu, and assess their potential diagnostic utility. This cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care hospital included 54 women, aged 20–45 years, with regular menstrual history and undergoing...

Background and Aim: The present study was designed to evaluate the brain electrical activity among Long-term meditators (LTMs) and Short-term meditators (STMs) using Electroencephalography (EEG). Methods: This prospective study involved 40 mins of EEG recordings, carried out twice i.e. at Day 0 (Baseline) and at Day 10 (During meditation) in thirty...

Background Nowadays, yoga is endorsed and advised routinely to stay fit and healthy, as well as control many chronic diseases including diabetes type 2, hypertension, coronary artery diseases, etc. Now, our assumption is that those who do regular yoga have different persona than who do not do yoga regularly. We planned to test our hypothesis scient...

The present study explores the efficacy of 12-week yoga + diet-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI) vs dietary intervention (DI) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and identifies the predictors of change in HRQoL in Indians with metabolic syndrome (Met S). Data from the historical randomized controlled trial was used including adults (n = 260...

Objective: Previous studies evaluating neurophysiological correlates of long-term meditation are constrained by some methodological limitations. The objective of this study was to measure changes in the regional cerebral glucose metabolism during meditation using a novel methodological approach. Design: The present study was a part of a larger, no...

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been found to be associated with insulin resistance. In an attempt to explore this association, we planned a study to investigate the effects of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on beta cell function in obese children and adolescents. Methods: A randomized, double blind, active-controlled study was carried...

Background Many of the clinical trials remain inefficient owing to low retention rate, and an impact on the power of the study. In addition, regulatory bodies are recommending including the patient experience, especially, patient-reported outcomes, while making the clinical decisions, and approvals. Introduction Patient centricity has reached the...

Despite evidence suggesting use of relaxation technique beneficial for all human beings, it is one of the less commonly used approach for postpartum mothers. Aim To assess the impact of relaxation technique on stress, anxiety and milk output among the postpartum mothers of hospitalized neonates in NICU. Materials and methods In a non-blinded rand...

Autonomic dysfunction is an independent predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality after myocardial infarction (MI). We tested the effects of a 12-week yoga-based cardiac rehabilitation program on heart rate variability (HRV) in 80 patients post-MI. This randomized controlled trial with two parallel groups was carried out in a tertiary car...

Metabolic syndrome, a prediabetic and precardiovascular pathologic condition that begins early in life, tracks into adulthood and magnifies with age. Randomized controlled trials evaluating efficacy of yoga-based lifestyle vs. dietary intervention on metabolic syndrome are lacking. Here, the efficacy of a 12-week yoga-based lifestyle intervention v...

Effect of a short-term yoga-based lifestyle intervention on lung function and quality of life in bronchial asthma patients Purpose: Psychological stress is associated with worsening of bronchial asthma (BA) & quality of life which could be improved by yoga-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI). We planned to study the effect of short-term YBLI on ai...

Background: Glaucoma (POAG) is a kind of neurodegenerative disease known to be closely associated with stress and adverse quality of life (QOL). Stress has also been shown to be involved in etiopathogenesis of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Complementary treatment in form of mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) has been reported to impro...

Study design: Single-center, observational, case-control study. Purpose: Comparison and analysis of the metabolic and coagulative profiles in patients with idiopathic scoliosis, patients with congenital scoliosis, and healthy controls. Overview of literature: Serum melatonin deficiency has been a controversial topic in the etiopathogenesis of...

Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, with >65 million sufferers. It is incurable and the only therapeutic approach accepted till now is the lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP) medically and/or surgically. These known interventions might have many side effects and complications. Yoga-based interventions are now w...

Background: Reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is currently the only approach to prevent further optic nerve head damage. However, other mechanisms such as ischemia, oxidative stress, glutamate excitotoxicity, neurotrophin loss, inflammation/glial activation, and vascular dysregulation are not addressed. Beca...

The present randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the comparative efficacy of 12 week yoga-based lifestyle intervention (YBLI) and dietary intervention (DI) alone on adipokines, inflammation, and oxidative stress in Indian adults with metabolic syndrome (Met S). A parallel, two arm, RCT was conducted in Integral Health Clinic (IHC), All India...

Scientific and medical publications are the pulse of the clinical world and play a key role in disseminating data to healthcare providers, scientists, and researchers. However, the process of publishing is hampered by the lack of harmonisation in structure, format, and style of manuscripts across journals. The authors/writers are challenged by this...