Houston Community News >> Tai Chi May Boost Immune Response to Flu Shots
9/3/2007 NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - The traditional Chinese arts of tai chi and qigong may help boost
older adults' immune response to the flu vaccine, a preliminary study suggests.
Older adults are advised to have a flu shot every year since they are at risk of
flu complications such as pneumonia. However, some older people fail to have a
strong enough immune response to the vaccine to confer protection from the flu
virus.
In the new study, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
tested whether a combination of tai chi and qigong might bolster older adults'
immune responses to the flu vaccine.
Both tai chi and qigong (pronounced "chee-kung") are ancient Chinese practices
designed to promote good health. Qigong combines gentle movements, meditation
and breathing techniques; tai chi involves slow, fluid movements combined with
mental imagery and deep breathing.
Recent studies have indicated that older adults can reap a number of health
benefits from tai chi, such as lower blood pressure, a lower risk of falls and
improved arthritis symptoms. The effects of tai chi on immune function have been
less researched, but one recent study found that the practice seemed to enhance
older adults' immunity against the varicella-zoster virus, which causes
shingles.
The current study involved 50 adults in their 70s, about half of whom started a
regimen of tai chi and qigong. They had three one-hour classes per week, where
they learned a series of gentle movements and practiced standing and seated
meditation. The rest of the study participants served as a comparison group.
At the start of the study, all participants received a flu vaccine.
Blood tests taken over the next five months showed that the tai chi/qigong group
produced more antibodies against the flu virus than the comparison group had --
signaling a better response to the flu vaccine.
The findings are published in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine.
While the results suggest that tai chi and qigong may improve older adults'
response to the flu vaccine, this is only a "proof-of-concept study," lead
author Dr. Yang Yang told Reuters Health. Yang is an adjunct professor of
kinesiology and community health at the Illinois university and a master of tai
chi and qigong.
Larger studies are still needed to confirm the findings, he said, and to see
whether the flu-antibody boost associated with tai chi/qigong is enough to
prevent influenza.
According to tradition, Yang noted, tai chi and qigong "cultivate relaxation"
and restore harmony to the body. But he said it's not yet clear exactly how, on
a physiological level, the practices might enhance immunity.
SOURCE: American Journal of Chinese Medicine, August 2007.