Tai Chi Boosts Immunity towards Shingles

Robert W. Griffith, MD

Tai Chi is a good low-impact exercise for older people, based on ancient Chinese martial art practice. Its use should receive a boost from the report that it can raise cell-mediated immunity in the user. The relevant UCLA study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Health people aged 59 to 86 who had had chickenpox in childhood were allocated to Tai Chi classes, three times a week for 16 weeks, or to classes on healthy diet and stress management. They all had blood tests for varicella zoster virus cell-mediated immunity at baseline and after 16 weeks. Then they all received a dose of the shingles vaccine (Varivax®), followed 8 weeks later by another blood test.

The subjects in the Tai Chi group had an increase of cell-mediated immunity in response to the virus, compared to the control group, before they received the vaccination. After the vaccination, the Tai Chi group's response was equivalent to that found in people half their age.

Tai chi isn't a substitute for vaccination against shingles, but it can further the response to vaccination. And increasing cell-mediated immunity may boost the infection-fighting powers of other vaccines, such as flu shots or pneumonia vaccine, which older folk need. Tai Chi carries other health benefits, too - improved physical function, vitality, mental health and pain reduction, according to its practitioners.

Source
HealthandAge Blog

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