Skip Navigation


eCAM Advance Access originally published online on December 1, 2004
eCAM 2004 1(3):223-232; doi:10.1093/ecam/neh048
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
1/3/223    most recent
neh048v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Irwin, M.
Right arrow Articles by Oxman, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Irwin, M.
Right arrow Articles by Oxman, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© 2004, the authors Evidenced-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 1, Issue 3 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved. The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated.

Review

Shingles Immunity and Health Functioning in the Elderly: Tai Chi Chih as a Behavioral Treatment

Michael Irwin1,*, Jennifer Pike1 and Michael Oxman2

1Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, University of California Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute Los Angeles, CA, USA, and 2Department of Medicine and Pathology, University of California San Diego and the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Diego, CA, USA.

Both the incidence and severity of herpes zoster (HZ) or shingles increase markedly with increasing age in association with a decline in varicella zoster virus (VZV)-specific immunity. Considerable evidence shows that behavioral stressors, prevalent in older adults, correlate with impairments of cellular immunity. Moreover, the presence of depressive symptoms in older adults is associated with declines in VZV-responder cell frequency (VZV-RCF), an immunological marker of shingles risk. In this review, we discuss recent findings that administration of a relaxation response-based intervention, tai chi chih (TCC), results in improvements in health functioning and immunity to VZV in older adults as compared with a control group. TCC is a slow moving meditation consisting of 20 separate standardized movements which can be readily used in elderly and medically compromised individuals. TCC offers standardized training and practice schedules, lending an important advantage over prior relaxation response-based therapies. Focus on older adults at increased risk for HZ and assay of VZV-specific immunity have implications for understanding the impact of behavioral factors and a behavioral intervention on a clinically relevant end-point and on the response of the immune system to infectious pathogens.

Keywords: behavioral treatment – elderly – shingles – tai chi chih – immunity health status

*For reprints and all correspondence: Michael Irwin, MD, Norman Cousins Professor, Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, 300 Medical Plaza, Suite 3-109, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7057, USA. Tel: +1-310-825-8281. Fax: +1-310-794-9247. Email: mirwin1{at}ucla.edu


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Holist NursHome page
P. Posadzki and S. Jacques
Tai Chi and Meditation: A Conceptual (Re)Synthesis?
J Holist Nurs, June 1, 2009; 27(2): 103 - 114.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 West J Nurs ResHome page
C. E. Rogers, L. K. Larkey, and C. Keller
A Review of Clinical Trials of Tai Chi and Qigong in Older Adults
West J Nurs Res, March 1, 2009; 31(2): 245 - 279.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
E.-N. Lee, Y.-H. Kim, W. T. Chung, and M. S. Lee
Tai Chi for Disease Activity and Flexibility in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis--A Controlled Clinical Trial
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., December 1, 2008; 5(4): 457 - 462.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
E. L. Cooper
Is There Room for Paradox in CAM?
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., June 1, 2007; 4(2): 135 - 137.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
R. B. Abbott, K.-K. Hui, R. D. Hays, M.-D. Li, and T. Pan
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Tai Chi for Tension Headaches
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., March 1, 2007; 4(1): 107 - 113.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
C. Weze, H. L. Leathard, J. Grange, P. Tiplady, and G. Stevens
Healing by Gentle Touch Ameliorates Stress and Other Symptoms in People Suffering with Mental Health Disorders or Psychological Stress
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., March 1, 2007; 4(1): 115 - 123.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.