Systematic Review of High-Dimensional Omics in Mind-Body Medicine

Abstract

The multi-dimensional measurement of complex biological systems and sub-systems is made possible by high-dimensional omics technologies. This frontier of research is promising for elucidating disease processes, physiological parameters, and therapeutic action mechanisms. Omics have potential merit for the integrative medicine field that is relatively early in terms of mechanistic research towards understanding the underlining therapeutic processes of mind-body interventions that show to affect multiple systems simultaneously. An inflammatory theory of disease has brought to light molecular and epidemiological evidence proposing that inflammation could be considered a unitary predictor across most disease typologies which may be treated as a central clinical entity. Relatively recent theorizations of disease have built upon epigenetic data showing that complex “interactomes”, or disease networks where genetic factors that have downward chain effects on transcriptional, proteomic domains, dynamically modulate in response to environmental, microbial, and immunological domains. Thus, complex conditions underlined by interactive disease networks and dynamics essentially require complex multi-levelled interventions. This is particularly germane for complex patient cases often seen in the integrative medicine clinic. Mind-body medicine may be part of such care programs that can be made accessible for all. To shed further light on the possibility of building the evidence base in integrative health towards this direction, we reviewed the current use of omics technologies in mind-body medicine within the last 5-years. Use of omics approaches within the field is still developing. Early findings appear to show beneficial impact upon genomic, transcriptional, and proteomic biomarkers across varied chronic inflammatory conditions, including disorders of the cardiovascular, central nervous, endocrine, immune, musculoskeletal, and respiratory, systems.

Increased microglia activation in late non‐central nervous system cancer survivors links to chronic systemic symptomatology

“…For example, emerging evidence supports the significant cross‐correlation between the neuroimmune system and neuroplastic mechanisms in neuroimmune plasticity factors involved in central nervous system injury such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and/or stroke (O'Reilly & Tom, 2020b ; Tian et al, 2012 ), immune macroenvironment plasticity in cancer models (Allen et al, 2020 ), responsiveness to chronic pain (Pratscher et al, 2021 ; Sibille et al, 2016 ), and neuronal adaptation in mood disorders (Pittenger & Duman, 2007 ), to name a few. Incorporating measures to rule out centralized neuroinflammation and provide interventions that target such mechanisms without causing further toxification to the CNS (Schoenberg & Gonzalez, 2022 , 2023 ), will have broad clinical impact for the non‐CNS survivor population.…”

“…However, it is highly plausible that this process repre- et al, 2012), immune macroenvironment plasticity in cancer models (Allen et al, 2020), responsiveness to chronic pain (Pratscher et al, 2021;Sibille et al, 2016), and neuronal adaptation in mood disorders (Pittenger & Duman, 2007), to name a few. Incorporating measures to rule out centralized neuroinflammation and provide interventions that target such mechanisms without causing further toxification to the CNS (Schoenberg & Gonzalez, 2022…”

Allostatic Mechanism of Mind-Body Medicine for Neuroinflammation

“…It may be that mind-body interventions built upon meditation and/or yoga, represent such capacity, providing explanatory value to their systemic influences upon multiple biologic, psychological, and social endpoints (see Figure 2). Rather than lacking specifity, meditation and/or yoga-associated mindbody interventions do not target the specific endpoint markers (outlined above and in more depth here [61]) per se, but may target the central mechanisms and/or intriniscally connective ones critical to allostatic adaptation. Such adaptive networks could involve germane pathways of peripheral-tocentral inflammatory signalling, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and neuroendocrine system, and/or brain-gut-microbiome axis and vagus nerve, in correspondence to specific epigenetic and psychosocial outcomes.…”

The Art of Psychoneuroimmunology in Menopause Management

“…Infl ammatory markers: Chronic infl ammation is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Infl ammatory markers, such as C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Interleukins (ILs), may increase during menopause and could potentially contribute to cognitive decline [48][49][50][51].…”