***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: OBJECTIVES This pilot study examined the feasibility , preliminary efficacy , and determined the effect sizes of external qigong therapy ( EQT ) in reducing cue-elicited cocaine craving and associated symptoms among recently abstinent cocaine-dependent ( CD ) individuals . METHODS This study r and omized 101 CD subjects to either a real EQT ( n=51 ) or sham EQT control ( n=50 ) group . Subjects underwent a baseline assessment and a weekly cue-exposure session for 2 weeks . Total EQT or sham treatments ranged from 4 to 6 sessions in 2 weeks . RESULTS EQT-treated subjects displayed a greater reduction in cue-elicited craving ( p=0.06 ) and symptoms of depression ( p<0.05 ) with medium effect sizes . CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated the feasibility of delivering EQT among CD individuals early in residential treatment . Future research should include a larger sample and examine the mechanisms and potential longitudinal benefits of EQT Background : The effect of breathing modification techniques on asthma symptoms and objective disease control is uncertain . Methods : A prospect i ve , parallel group , single-blind , r and omised controlled trial comparing breathing training with asthma education ( to control for non-specific effects of clinician attention ) was performed . Subjects with asthma with impaired health status managed in primary care were r and omised to receive three sessions of either physiotherapist-supervised breathing training ( n = 94 ) or asthma nurse-delivered asthma education ( n = 89 ) . The main outcome was Asthma Quality of Life Question naire ( AQLQ ) score , with secondary outcomes including spirometry , bronchial hyper-responsiveness , exhaled nitric oxide , induced sputum eosinophil count and Asthma Control Question naire ( ACQ ) , Hospital Anxiety and Depression ( HAD ) and hyperventilation ( Nijmegen ) question naire scores . Results : One month after the intervention there were similar improvements in AQLQ scores from baseline in both groups but at 6 months there was a significant between-group difference favouring breathing training ( 0.38 units , 95 % CI 0.08 to 0.68 ) . At the 6-month assessment there were significant between-group differences favouring breathing training in HAD anxiety ( 1.1 , 95 % CI 0.2 to 1.9 ) , HAD depression ( 0.8 , 95 % CI 0.1 to 1.4 ) and Nijmegen ( 3.2 , 95 % CI 1.0 to 5.4 ) scores , with trends to improved ACQ ( 0.2 , 95 % CI 0.0 to 0.4 ) . No significant between-group differences were seen at 1 month . Breathing training was not associated with significant changes in airways physiology , inflammation or hyper-responsiveness . Conclusion : Breathing training result ed in improvements in asthma-specific health status and other patient-centred measures but not in asthma pathophysiology . Such exercises may help patients whose quality of life is impaired by asthma , but they are unlikely to reduce the need for anti-inflammatory medication OBJECTIVES Based on the model by Tsang et al. ( 2002 ) which summarized the etiological factors and consequences of depression in elderly with chronic physical illnesses , a r and omized clinical trial of a special form of Qigong ( The Eight Section Brocades ) was conducted to assess if it improved the biopsychosocial health of participants . DESIGN 50 geriatric patients in sub-acute stage of chronic physical illnesses were recruited and r and omly assigned into the intervention and control group . The intervention group was given a 12-week period of Qigong practice while the control group was given traditional remedial rehabilitation activities . RESULTS The intervention group participants expressed improvement in physical health , ADL , psychological health , social relationship , and health in general as reflected by scores of the Perceived Benefit Question naire and informal feedback . CONCLUSION Although results are not significant in the generalization measures , it may be due to small effect size , small sample size , and short intervention period . Although not all of the hypotheses are supported , this report shows that Qigong ( the Eight Section Brocades ) is promising as an alternative intervention for elderly with chronic physical illness to improve their biopsychosocial health . More systematic evaluation with larger sample size and longer period of intervention is now underway in Hong Kong . Results will be reported once available AIM To investigate the effects of an aerobic training in subjects with Parkinson 's disease ( PD ) as compared to a medical Chinese exercise ( Qigong ) . METHODS DESIGN r and omized controlled trial with a cross over design . SETTING PD out- patients referred to a Neurorehabilitation facility for the management of motor disability . SUBJECTS 26 PD patients in Hoehn and Yahr stage II to III under stable medication were r and omly allocated to either Group AT1+QG2 ( receiving 20 aerobic training sessions followed by 20 ' ' Qigong ' ' group sessions with 2 month interval between the interventions ) , or Group QG1+AT2 ( performing the same treatments with an inverted sequence ) . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES clinical effects of treatment were sought through the Unified Parkinson 's Disease Rating Scale ( UPDRS ) , Brown 's Disability Scale ( B'DS ) , six-Minute Walking Test ( 6MWT ) , Borg scale for breathlessness , Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ) and Parkinson 's Disease Question naire-39 items ( PDQ-39 ) . A spirometry test and maximum cardiopulmonary exercise test ( CPET ) were also performed to determine the pulmonary function , the metabolic and cardio-respiratory requests at rest and under exercise . All measures were taken immediately before and at the completion of each treatment phase . RESULTS The statistical analysis focusing on the evolution of motor disability and quality of life revealed a significant interaction effect between group and time for the 6MWT ( time x group effect : F : 5.4 P=0.002 ) and the Borg scale ( time x group effect : F : 4.2 P=0.009 ) . Post hoc analysis showed a significant increase in 6MWT and a larger decrease in Borg score after aerobic training within each subgroup , whereas no significant changes were observed during Qigong . No significant changes over time were detected through the analysis of UPDRS , B'DS , BDI and PDQ-39 scores . The analysis of cardiorespiratory parameters showed significant interaction effects between group and time for the Double Productpeak ( time x group effect : F : 7.7 P=0.0003 ) , the VO(2peak ) ( time x group effect : F : 4.8 P=0.007 ) , and the VO(2)/kg ratio ( time x group effect : F : 4.3 P=0.009 ) , owing to their decrease after aerobic training to an extent that was never observed after Qigong treatment . CONCLUSIONS Aerobic training exerts a significant impact on the ability of moderately disabled PD patients to cope with exercise , although it does not improve their self-sufficiency and quality of life OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of Qigong in rehabilitation for patients with burnout . DESIGN Prospect i ve , r and omized controlled trial . SUBJECTS Eighty-two patients ( 68 women and 14 men , mean age 44.3 ( st and ard deviation 9.1 ) years ) diagnosed with burnout . METHODS Basic care was offered to both the intervention and the control group . Patients in the intervention group received basic care and , in addition , performed Qigong twice a week for 12 weeks .  Psychological variables , health-related quality of life , perceived relaxation and physical measurements were assessed at baseline and after the intervention period . RESULTS No significant difference in treatment efficacy between the groups was found by either intention-to-treat or per- protocol analyses . Both groups improved significantly over time , with reduced levels of burnout , fatigue , anxiety and depression , and increased dynamic balance and physical capacity . CONCLUSION In this study , a Qigong intervention twice a week for 12 weeks had no additional effect beyond basic care for patients with burnout BACKGROUND Nearly two-thirds of elderly patients treated for depression fail to achieve symptomatic remission and functional recovery with first-line pharmacotherapy . In this study , we ask whether a mind-body exercise , Tai Chi Chih ( TCC ) , added to escitalopram will augment the treatment of geriatric depression design ed to achieve symptomatic remission and improvements in health functioning and cognitive performance . METHODS : One hundred twelve older adults with major depression age 60 years and older were recruited and treated with escitalopram for approximately 4 weeks . Seventy-three partial responders to escitalopram continued to receive escitalopram daily and were r and omly assigned to 10 weeks of adjunct use of either 1 ) TCC for 2 hours per week or 2 ) health education ( HE ) for 2 hours per week . All participants underwent evaluations of depression , anxiety , resilience , health-related quality of life , cognition , and inflammation at baseline and during 14-week follow-up . RESULTS Subjects in the escitalopram and TCC condition were more likely to show greater reduction of depressive symptoms and to achieve a depression remission as compared with those receiving escitalopram and HE . Subjects in the escitalopram and TCC condition also showed significantly greater improvements in 36-Item Short Form Health Survey physical functioning and cognitive tests and a decline in the inflammatory marker , C-reactive protein , compared with the control group . CONCLUSION : Complementary use of a mind-body exercise , such as TCC , may provide additional improvements of clinical outcomes in the pharmacologic treatment of geriatric depression OBJECTIVE To determine the feasibility of a r and omized controlled trial of the effect of a tai chi program on quality of life and exercise capacity in patients with COPD . METHODS We r and omized 10 patients with moderate to severe COPD to 12 weeks of tai chi plus usual care ( n = 5 ) or usual care alone ( n = 5 ) . The tai chi training consisted of a 1-hour class , twice weekly , that emphasized gentle movement , relaxation , meditation , and breathing techniques . Exploratory outcomes included disease-specific symptoms and quality -of-life , exercise capacity , pulmonary function tests , mood , and self-efficacy . We also conducted qualitative interviews to capture patient narratives regarding their experience with tai chi . RESULTS The patients were willing to be r and omized . Among 4 of the 5 patients in the intervention group , adherence to the study protocol was excellent . The cohort 's baseline mean ± SD age , percent-of-predicted FEV₁ , and ratio of FEV₁ to forced vital capacity were 66 ± 6 y , 50 ± 12 % , and 0.63 ± 0.14 , respectively . At 12 weeks there was significant improvement in Chronic Respiratory Question naire score among the tai chi participants ( 1.4 ± 1.1 ) , compared to the usual-care group ( -0.1 ± 0.4 ) ( P = .03 ) . There were nonsignificant trends toward improvement in 6-min walk distance ( 55 ± 47 vs -13 ± 64 m , P = .09 ) , Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale ( -9.0 ± 9.1 vs -2.8 ± 4.3 , P = .20 ) , and University of California , San Diego Shortness of Breath score ( -7.8 ± 3.5 vs -1.2 ± 11 , P = .40 ) . There were no significant changes in either group 's peak oxygen uptake . CONCLUSIONS A r and omized controlled trial of tai chi is feasible in patients with moderate to severe COPD . Tai chi exercise as an adjunct to st and ard care warrants further investigation OBJECTIVES We reported the interim findings of a r and omized controlled trial ( RCT ) to examine the effects of a mind body physical exercise ( Tai Chi ) on cognitive function in Chinese subjects at risk of cognitive decline . SUBJECTS 389 Chinese older persons with either a Clinical Dementia Rating ( CDR 0.5 ) or amnestic-MCI participated in an exercise program . The exercise intervention lasted for 1 year ; 171 subjects were trained with 24 forms simplified Tai Chi ( Intervention , I ) and 218 were trained with stretching and toning exercise ( Control , C ) . The exercise comprised of advised exercise sessions of at least three times per week . RESULTS At 5th months ( 2 months after completion of training ) , both I and C subjects showed an improvement in global cognitive function , delayed recall and subjective cognitive complaints ( paired t-tests , p < 0.05 ) . Improvements in visual spans and CDR sum of boxes scores were observed in I group ( paired t-tests , p < 0.001 ) . Three ( 2.2 % ) and 21(10.8 % ) subjects from the I and C groups progressed to dementia ( Pearson chi square = 8.71 , OR = 5.34 , 95 % CI 1.56 - 18.29 ) . Logistic regression analysis controlled for baseline group differences in education and cognitive function suggested I group was associated with stable CDR ( OR = 0.14 , 95%CI = 0.03 - 0.71 , p = 0.02 ) . CONCLUSIONS Our interim findings showed that Chinese style mind body ( Tai Chi ) exercise may offer specific benefits to cognition , potential clinical interests should be further explored with longer observation period Eight-Section Brocades and Yijin Jing consist of some routine movements that are too difficult for frail elders . A novel health qigong protocol was developed and its effectiveness for frail elders was examined using a r and omized clinical trial ( RCT ) . An expert panel 
    Output:
    
There was no significant effect seen for Tai Chi for the primary endpoint .
Qigong appears to be beneficial for reducing depressive symptom severity .