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Journal of the Endocrine Society logoLink to Journal of the Endocrine Society
. 2024 Oct 5;8(Suppl 1):bvae163.217. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvae163.217

12437 Impact Of Wearable Brain Sensing Meditation Device On Quality Of Life In Patients Recovering From Hypercortisolism Following Surgical Intervention: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study

Jasmine Saini 1, Bahar Bahrani Fard 2, Malavika Suresh 3, Rashi Sandooja 4, Yana Hleibiehova 5, Elizabeth Atkinson 6, Sara Achenbach 7, Irina Bancos 8
PMCID: PMC11455429

Abstract

Disclosure: J. Saini: None. B. Bahrani Fard: None. M. Suresh: None. R. Sandooja: None. Y. Hleibiehova: None. E. Atkinson: None. S. Achenbach: None. I. Bancos: None.

Background: Patients with endogenous hypercortisolism experience glucocorticoid withdrawal syndrome (GWS) following curative surgery. The symptoms of GWS include fatigue, weakness, muscle aches, joint pain, mood changes, and sleep disturbance. Limited interventions have been explored to alleviate the symptoms of GWS and improve patients’ quality of life. The use of meditation as an intervention has been reported to enhance postsurgical recovery in patients with other conditions and offers a promising intervention for GWS. Objective: To determine the impact of a portable, wearable, electroencephalographic device (MUSE headband device) used for guided meditation practices on the quality of life of patients in the first 12 weeks post-surgery for endogenous hypercortisolism. Methods: We conducted a single-center prospective longitudinal study of adults with endogenous hypercortisolism undergoing curative surgery between 2018 and 2024. The patients were enrolled before the surgical intervention and were followed for 2 years. Only patients who completed at least 4 weeks of follow-up were included. The study comprised of 2 groups; (1) The interventional group included consecutive patients who were offered a MUSE headband with instructions to meditate for at least 10 minutes per day for 3 months (MUSE cohort) and (2) the comparison group included age-, sex-, clinical score, hypercortisolism type, and BMI-matched 3:1 patients (Referent cohort). Quality of life and symptoms of GWS were assessed with AddiQoL and Short Form-36 (SF-36) surveys. Results: At least 4 weeks post-surgical follow-up was completed by 27 patients in the MUSE cohort and 81 referent subjects. Age (median 51 vs 47 years), women (82% vs 84%), BMI (median 31 vs 32 kg/m2), the subtype of hypercortisolism (pituitary 48% vs 52%), clinical (median 16 vs 15) and biochemical (median 6 vs 7) severity scores were similar between the two groups (P>0.05 for all). At baseline, AddiQoL score was similar in groups (median of 66 vs 70, P=0.083), though symptoms of fatigue (92.6% vs 69.1%, P=0.015) and lightheadedness (37% vs 17.3%, P=0.033) were more frequent in MUSE cohort. After 12 weeks, 20 patients using MUSE demonstrated improvement compared to 67 no muse patients in the SF-36 physical component (mean delta 3.9 (SD 11.77) vs -2.19 (SD 9.67), P=0.010). The physical functioning SF-36 subcomponent (4.94 (8.77) vs 0.92 (9.24), P=0.048) and body pain SF-36 subcomponent (2.69 (11.89) vs -3.69 (8.32), P=0.008) domains improved in the MUSE intervention group, when compared to referent cohort. No significant improvement in SF-36 mental component scores was seen in both groups. Conclusions: The use of wearable electroencephalographic device for meditation was associated with improvement in the quality of life of patients recovering from hypercortisolism, particularly in the domains of body pain and physical functioning.

Presentation: 6/3/2024


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