ABSTRACT
Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels were measured in 270 men and 153 women who were experienced practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs, mental techniques practiced twice daily, sitting quietly with the eyes closed. These were compared according to sex and 5-year age grouping to 799 male and 453 female nonmeditators. The mean DHEA-S levels in the TM group were higher in all 11 of the age groups measured in women and in 6 of 7 5-year age groups over 40 in men. There were no systematic differences in younger men. Simple regression using TM-group data revealed that this effect was independent of diet, body mass index, and exercise. The mean TM-group levels measured in all women and in the older men were generally comparable to those of nonmeditator groups 5 to 10 years younger. These findings suggest that some characteristics of TM practitioners are modifying the age-related deterioration in DHEA-S secretion by the adrenal cortex.
Subject(s)
Arousal/physiology , Dehydroepiandrosterone/analogs & derivatives , Relaxation Therapy , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Cross-Sectional Studies , Dehydroepiandrosterone/blood , Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
An ancient system of natural medicine--Maharishi Ayur-Vedic--prescribes certain herbal formulas to enhance cognitive functioning, prevent illness, and alleviate the detrimental effects of the aging process. A double-blind study was conducted to test the effect of an Ayurvedic herbal preparation, Maharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK), on an age-related alertness task. Forty-eight men over 35 years of age were randomly assigned to receive MAK tablets or a closely matched placebo twice daily for six weeks. A visual discrimination task consisted of the identification of the exact location of a stimulus "v" within an array of x symbols in tachistoscopic presentations. The MAK group improved significantly more in their performance of this task after three and six weeks of treatment relative to the placebo group. Performance was highly correlated with age, and because successful performance apparently requires an unrestricted flow of homogeneous attention as well as focalized concentration, it is concluded that MAK may enhance attentional capacity or alertness, and thus reverse some of the detrimental cognitive effects of aging.
