Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Inflammation plays a central role in the appearance and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dysregulations at this level are detectable as soon as the amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), the prodromal phase of AD. Mindfulness interventions have demonstrated normalizing effects on inflammation profiles of different populations by lowering or heightening the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines, mediators of the inflammation response. In this randomized-control trial, the impact of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) was compared to that of a psychoeducation-based intervention (PBI) on the inflammation profile of people with aMCI. Blood samples were collected from 12 participants per group before and after the 8-week interventions in order to compare the concentrations of the pro-inflammatory cytokines Tumor-Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6). There was a tendency towards normalization of inflammation through a decrease of TNF-alpha and an increase of IL-6 in the MBI group. In the PBI group, the cytokine levels remained unchanged post-intervention. Thus, MBI appears to have a physiological effect on one important risk factor for AD, inflammation.