Scientists have reported that the MBSR Programme may keep people with HIV healthier longer. A 2009 UCLA study published in the journal Brain, Behaviour and Immunity found that the Course helped people with HIV maintain immunity. In the study, 48 HIV positive people (43 men and 5 women) with T cell counts of between 600 and 700 were assigned to 2 groups, one of which did an 8 week MBSR programme while the other got a basic instruction in meditaion without any encouragement to practice on their own. After 8 weeks the MBSR group saw their T cells remain high while the other groups plummeted. The drop was expected but not the relationship between mindfulness meditation and T count: "The more people practiced" said lead study author David Creswell, Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, "the better their T cells did. That indicates that the more you practice, if you do it on a weekly or daily basis, the better your outcome".
"This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression," continues Creswell. "The mindfulness program is a group-based and low-cost treatment, and if this initial finding is replicated in larger samples, it's possible that such training can be used as a powerful complementary treatment for HIV disease, alongside medications."
Another area studied is the effectiveness of MBSR in working with stress and other conditions in cancer patients. A study carried out by Linda Carson and Sheila Garland at the University of Calgary looked its impact on a number of mood-related symptoms in those who suffer from cancer. They found that, in general, sleep disturbance was significantly reduced and sleep quality improved. There was also a significant reduction in stress, mood disturbance and fatigue.
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