The Study
Effects of Mindfulness and Exercise on Growth Factors, Inflammation, and Stress Markers in Chronic Stroke: The MindFit Project Randomized Clinical Trial
This study is like a science experiment where they gave different groups of stroke survivors different kinds of brain exercises and measured tiny body signals. They found some signals changed, but those changes didn't match up with people feeling better or thinking clearer. So we know the exercises changed some body stuff, but we don't know if that actually helped them recover.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
After a stroke, some people do brain exercises, mindfulness, or exercise to feel better. This study checked if these activities change special body chemicals that might help the brain recover.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 575 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The changes in body chemicals didn't explain why people felt better or improved mentally — so while mindfulness and exercise may help the body in small ways, they didn't clearly cause the brain improvements seen.
- 2After 12 weeks: Mindfulness kept one brain chemical (VEGF) steady; both mindfulness and exercise lowered stress hormone (cortisol); all groups had lower IGF-1 (a growth chemical); no changes in BDNF, CRP, or IL-6.
- 3None of these changes matched improvements in thinking, mood, or fitness.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Year
2025
Authors
Adrià Bermudo-Gallaguet, Mar Ariza, Daniela Agudelo, Neus Camins-Vila, M. Boldó, S. Peters, A. Sawicka, Rosalía Dacosta-Aguayo, Juan José Soriano-Raya, Marc Via, Imma C. Clemente, A. García-Molina, M. J. Durà Mata, Pere Torán-Monserrat, Kirk I. Erickson, Maria Mataró
Related Content
Claims (6)
Physical exercise lowers levels of biological stress indicators and enhances the functioning of the hormonal and nervous systems that regulate stress responses.
In adults with chronic stroke, a 12-week program combining mindfulness and computer-based cognitive training maintains stable levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in the blood, while similar training without mindfulness, or with physical exercise, leads to a decrease in this protein.
In adults with chronic stroke, 12 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction or physical exercise combined with computerized cognitive training lowers plasma cortisol levels compared to before the intervention, and both approaches lower cortisol to a similar extent.
Twelve weeks of computerized cognitive training does not change the blood levels of BDNF, CRP, or IL-6 in adults with chronic stroke.
Adults with chronic stroke who undergo 12 weeks of computerized cognitive training, regardless of whether they also do mindfulness or physical exercise, show a measurable decrease in plasma insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels.
In adults with chronic stroke, changes in blood markers related to brain adaptation, inflammation, and stress do not change in tandem with improvements in thinking, mood, mindfulness, or physical ability.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.