Four weeks of daily slow-paced breathing to increase heart rate oscillations significantly decreased plasma Aβ42 levels (interaction p=0.0005, ηp2=0.14) compared to a control condition in healthy adults.
RCT (n=108)
Single-blind
Randomized
No
Does slow-paced breathing with HRV biofeedback to increase heart rate oscillations reduce plasma Alzheimer's disease-related biomarkers (Aβ and tau) in healthy adults?
Slow-paced breathing via HRV biofeedback to increase heart rate oscillations significantly reduces plasma amyloid-beta levels in healthy adults, suggesting a novel behavioral intervention to modulate Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.
Effect estimate: ηp2 = 0.14
p-value: p=0.0005
Slow paced breathing via heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback stimulates vagus-nerve pathways that counter noradrenergic stress and arousal pathways that can influence production and clearance of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related proteins. Thus, we examined whether HRV biofeedback intervention affects plasma Αβ40, Αβ42, total tau (tTau), and phosphorylated tau-181 (pTau-181) levels. We randomized healthy adults (N = 108) to use slow-paced breathing with HRV biofeedback to increase heart rate oscillations (Osc+) or to use personalized strategies with HRV biofeedback to decrease heart rate oscillations (Osc-). They practiced 20-40 min daily. Four weeks of practicing the Osc+ and Osc- conditions produced large effect size differences in change in plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42 levels. The Osc+ condition decreased plasma Αβ while the Osc- condition increased Αβ. Decreases in Αβ were associated with decreases in gene transcription indicators of β-adrenergic signaling, linking effects to the noradrenergic system. There were also opposing effects of the Osc+ and Osc- interventions on tTau for younger adults and pTau-181 for older adults. These results provide novel data supporting a causal role of autonomic activity in modulating plasma AD-related biomarkers.Trial registration: NCT03458910 (ClinicalTrials.gov); first posted on 03/08/2018.
Min et al. (2023) conducted an RCT in Healthy adults (n=108). Slow-paced breathing with HRV biofeedback (Osc+) vs. HRV biofeedback to decrease heart rate oscillations (Osc-) was evaluated on Change in plasma Aβ42 levels (ηp2 = 0.14, p=0.0005). Four weeks of daily slow-paced breathing to increase heart rate oscillations significantly decreased plasma Aβ42 levels (interaction p=0.0005, ηp2=0.14) compared to a control condition in healthy adults.