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Klotter, J. (2014). Autonomic imbalance, heart failure, and mind-body medicine. ​Townsend
Letter​, 28+. Retrieved from Science in Context database.

The information presented in Klotter’s article is based on two studies recently conducted
to examine the impact of mind body medicine practices on the autonomic nervous system. Stress
can cause an autonomic nervous system imbalance, in which the sympathetic nervous system
works harder than the parasympathetic. This occurs as a result of the nervous system getting
stuck in a loop of norepinephrine production. When there is little parasympathetic activity, an
increase in Pro-inflammatory cytokine is produced. Cytokines then cause the production of
norepinephrine, and thus more sympathetic activity. Sitaramesh Emani and Philip F. Binkley, at
Ohio State University, conducted a study of less than 100 participants for less than 4 months to
investigate the impact of mind body medicine on patients with congestive heart failure. They
found that mind body medicine practices did not only improve the quality of life, but increased
the distance patients were able to walk in six minutes. At the Jawaharlal Institute of postgraduate
Medical Education, Bandi Hari Krishna conducted a controlled study in 2014 that measured
inflammation and oxidative stress markers. The study found that a combination of yoga and
standard medical treatment was beneficial to stable congestive heart failure patients, having an
ejection fraction that went from 30% to 50%. 44 participants were randomly assigned to the yoga
group (standard medical treatment and yoga therapy), and 48 participants were randomly
assigned into the control group (standard medical treatment and no yoga therapy). Patients in the
yoga group attended a 60 minute professional yoga session 6 days per week, and practiced the
routines at their homes for 3 to 6 days per week for the remaining 10 weeks. Oxidative stress and
inflammatory markers were measured in participants from both groups before and after the
study. Data on oxidative stress was collected using total antioxidant status (TAOS),
malondialdehyde (MDA) and redox ratio. TAOS increased 99.66% in yoga group, and 19.9% in
control group; MDA decreased 59.49% in yoga group, and 15.81% in the control group; Redox
ratio decreased 77.19% in they yoga group and 20.59% in the control. These trends continued for
the inflammatory markers: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein decreased by 68.07% in the yoga
group and 5.12% in the control group; Interleukin-6 decreased 33.96% in yoga group and
10.41% on control group; Tumor necrosis factor alpha decreased 31.04% in the yoga group and
14.79% in control group. Both studies found that mind body medicine healing techniques relieve
stress, thus decreasing the risk of developing stress related conditions/diseases.

Jule Klotter is an editor for the townsends letter, a magazine that provides information on
alternative medicine. She is an expert on mind body medicine, seen in her contributions to the
“Shorts” column, which offers information on alternative/conventional medicine, environment,
and medical politics to patients and medical professionals. Klotter also provides her email as
contact information. The article was published in May 2014, which fits in the 5 year currency
requirement for scientific research. Since all of the data collected from the two studies featured
in the article were conducted within the last 5 years, the information and the author are reliable.
The accuracy of the article is corroborated in the studies conducted by Sita Ramesh Emani, MD,
and Philip F. Binkley, MD, MPH, at Ohio State University, as well as Bandi Hari Krishna and
colleagues at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research. Emani and
Binkley’s study can be verified in “Mind-Body medicine in chronic heart failure: a translational
science challenge” in the ​American Heart Association​ journal. Klotter also provides the resource
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for Krishna’s study in “Yoga training in heart failure (NYHA 1-11) reduces oxidative stress and
inflammation” from the ​American Society of Exercise Psychologists ​organization. The article
covers the impact of mind body medicine on the autonomic nervous system by providing
evidence from two studies. Klotter acknowledges that the first study is less reliable because it
involved less than 100 people for less than 4 months. She still presents the results of the study,
but does not fully explain how the study was conducted and how the data was collected. Klotter
describes all sides of the second study by describing the procedures of Emani’s study in depth,
and listing all of the oxidative stress markers that the study measured. Since Emani was able to
measure stress quantitatively, he has more pertinent evidence. Klotter does not explicitly state
who the information is targeted to, however the Townsend Letter magazine is intended for
medical professionals and patients involved in alternative/conventional medicine, environment,
and medical politics. Since the article was found in a collegiate database, it’s intended audience
is people who are studying alternative medicines. The article appears to have little bias. Klotter
writes for a magazine supporting mind body medicine, however the article is mainly to provide
information rather than persuasion.

Connealy, L. E. (2018). The biology of hope. ​Townsend Letter​, 62+. Retrieved from Science in
Context database.

The authors use a variety of sources to describe how an individual’s mental state and
outlook on life has an influence on the course and severity of their physical disease. While
conventional treatment includes chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, an integrative approach
argues that standard medical treatment mixed with mind body medicine practices will be
beneficial to a patient's disease. Cancer stem cells that leave the original tumor and travel
throughout the bloodstream are responsible for 95% of all metastases and deaths due to cancer.
The integrative approach allows medical professionals to evaluate the patient's stress, diet,
environment, and the mind in order to prevent cancer from developing. Two studies, one from
Temoshok at UCSF, and another from Spiegel, found that cancer patients who were more
expressive with their emotions had a quicker recovery rate. Candace Pert states that “Repressed
traumas caused by overwhelming emotion can be stored in a body part, thereafter affecting our
ability to feel that part of even move it”(Townsend Letter). Dr. Hamer, who developed testicular
cancer after his son died, found that over 15,000 cases of cancer could be traced back to a
traumatic event, called conflict-shock-experience. Additionally, he found that the traumatic event
was related to the location of cancer. When an individual’s fight or flight instinct occurs in a
negative environment, their immune system and organs become neglected. A study found that
cancer patients who believed they were going to die are more likely to do so, called the nocebo
effect. An individual's risk of getting a virus is dependent on their emotional state because a virus
will be able to penetrate a cell easier if there are less neuropeptides present. In 1990, a study
found that relaxation, guided imagery, self-hypnosis, biofeedback, and autogenic training
directly affects the immune system. Turner determine that emotions, mind body connection, and
spirituality all affect remission of cancer patients from an analysis of 1,500 cases. In 2017, a
study found that Neuro Emotional Technique caused a decrease in brain structures associated
with the perception of emotional traumas.
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The author Leigh Erin Connealy provides all of her information, and experience
researching and practicing alternative medicines at the end of her article. She is the author of two
books about mind body medicine, “the Cancer Revolution” in 2017, and “Be Perfectly Healthy”
in 2017. Additionally she is considered one of the top 50 integrative doctors in the US. Dr.
Connealy applies her integrative care techniques in her clinic, and has 31 yearbys of experience
doing so. Her integrative care techniques include homeopathic, nutritional, and lifestyle
approaches designed to improve the mind, and thus the prevent disease. Dr. Connealy does not
provide any contact information, however her identity can be confirmed by checking other
sources. The article was published in October 2018, which fits in the 5 year currency
requirement for scientific research. Since all of the studies described in the article were reviewed
recently, the information in the article is reliable. Connealy uses many other sources to
communicate recent scientific findings on mind body medicine. These studies include Brandt,
Gidron, Courtney, Lillberg, Sephton, Thornton, Reiche, Chandwani, Temoshok, Giese-Davis,
Pert, Last, Lipton, Pennebaker, Rosenkranz, Milton, Voelker, Hall, Turner, and Monti. Connealy
lists all of her references at the bottom of her paper, and she provides where to find the evidence
to check her information with. Connealy does a very good job at covering all sides of the topic
by using many studies to communicate her findings. While she does not go into depth for a lot of
them, she provides a way to learn about each study individually. After checking these sources, it
can be concluded that each of these studies should be considered reliable and accurate because
they were conducted by medical professionals and are described in great detail. Additionally, the
ideas presented in Connealey’s article were based on many different sources, therefore her
findings are accurate because she has a lot of evidence to support them. Connealy does not
clearly state who her article is targeted towards, however the Townsend Letter magazine is
intended for medical professionals and patients involved in alternative/conventional medicine,
environment, and medical politics. Therefore, it can be inferred that the author wrote her article
to inform medical professionals and patients of the benefits of mind body medicine.
Additionally, the article was found in a collegiate database, so its audience is also people who are
studying alternative medicine. The author has little bias because her purpose is to inform rather
than to persuade. However Connealey’s article may be slightly biased because she is writing for
a magazine that is based on alternative medicine, and has practiced mind body medicine at her
clinic for the past 31 years.