17-6-2014 Behavioural training reduces inflammation : Nature News & Comment

NATURE | NEWS

Behaviouraltrainingreducesinflammation
Researchsubjectssuppressimmuneresponsesusingphysicalconditioning.

HeidiLedford

05May2014

RadiusImages/Getty

Theeffectivenessofmeditationandothertechniqueshelpsexplicatelinksbetweentheimmuneand
nervoussystems.

DutchcelebritydaredevilWimHofhasenduredlengthyicewaterbaths,hikedtothetopofMountKilimanjaroinshortsandmadehismarkinGuinness
WorldRecordswithhisabilitytowithstandcold.Nowhehasmadeamarkonscienceaswell.

ResearchershaveusedHofsmethodsofmentalandphysicalconditioningtotrain12volunteerstofendoffinflammation.

Theresults,publishedtodayintheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences 1,suggestthatpeoplecanlearnto
modulatetheirimmuneresponsesafindingthathasraisedhopesforpatientswhohavechronicinflammatorydisorders
suchasrheumatoidarthritisandinflammatoryboweldisease. Europeanagencyto
mandatetransparency
ofclinicaltrials
Theresultsareonlypreliminary,warnsstudyfirstauthorMatthijsKox,whoinvestigatesimmuneresponsesatRadboud
Agiant,global,
UniversityMedicalCenterinNijmegen,theNetherlands.Koxsaysthatpeoplewithinflammatorydisorderssometimeshear
orbiting,quantum
abouthisexperimentsandcalltoaskwhetherthetrainingwouldenablethemtoreducetheirmedication.Wesimplydonot
entangledclock
yetknowthat,hesays. Genomesreveal
surprisingdiversityof
Still,theworkstandsoutasanillustrationoftheinteractionsbetweenthenervoussystemandtheimmunesystem,says preColumbianMexico
GiuseppeMatarese,animmunologistattheUniversityofSalernoinItaly,whowasnotinvolvedwiththestudy.Thisstudyis
anicewaytoshowthatlink,hesays.Orthodoxneurobiologistsandorthodoximmunologistshavebeensceptical.They
thinkthestudyoftheinteractionsbetweenthenervousandimmunesystemsisafieldintheshadows,hesays.

Coldblooded
In2010,asagraduatestudent,Koxwasexploringhowthenervoussysteminfluencesimmuneresponses.That'swhenhefirstlearnedthatHofhadsaid
thathecouldregulatenotonlyhisownbodytemperature,butalsohisimmunesystem.Wethought,Alright,letsgivehimachance,saysKox.Butwe
thoughtitwouldbeanegativeresult.

Kox,andhisadviser,physicianandstudycoauthorPeterPickkers,alsoatRadboudUniversityMedicalCenter,invitedHoftotheirlabtoinvestigatehow
hewouldreacttotheirstandardinflammationtest.Itinvolvesexposuretoabacterialtoxin,madebyEscherichiacoli,toinducetemporaryfever,
headacheandshivering.

ToKoxssurprise,Hofsresponsetothetoxinwasmilderthanthatofmostpeoplehehadlesssevereflulikesymptoms,forexample,andlowerlevels
ofinflammatoryproteinsinhisblood2.

Nextcamethelateststudy,whichincluded24volunteers.HalfofthemtravelledtoPolandtoundergoHofstrainingprogramme,whichincluded
swimminginfrigidwaterandlyingbarechestedinthesnow,aswellasbreathingandmeditationexercises.TherecruitsreturnedtotheNetherlandsand
underwenttheinflammationtest,performingtheirbreathingexercisesastheyreceivedtheirtoxininjections.Theother12volunteersunderwentthetest
withoutanytraining.

http://www.nature.com/news/behavioural-training-reduces-inflammation-1.15156 1/2
17-6-2014 Behavioural training reduces inflammation : Nature News & Comment
Alteredstates
Onaverage,recruitswhounderwenttrainingbyHofreportedfewerflulikesymptomsthanthosewhodidnot.Trainedrecruitsalsoproducedlower
amountsofseveralproteinsassociatedwithinflammation,andhigherlevelsofaninflammationfightingproteincalledinterleukin10.

Koxsuspectsthatthebreathingtechniqueswerethebiggestcontributortosuppressinginflammatoryresponses.Thirtyminutesafterstartingthe
breathingexercisesbutbeforethetoxinhadbeeninjectedtrainedparticipantsbegantoproducemoreadrenaline,ahormoneinvolvedinstress
andimmuneresponses.

KoxandPickkersnowhopetoisolatetheeffectsofthebreathingexercisesandconducttheexperimentwithmorevolunteers.Theyalsowarnthattheir
researchlooksonlyatshortterminflammation.Howtheresultsapplytochronicconditionsisstillunclear.

Butthecurrentstudyshouldhelpexplicatethelinkbetweenthenervoussystemandimmuneresponses,saysKevinTracey,aphysicianandthe
presidentoftheFeinsteinInstituteforMedicalResearchinManhassett,NewYork.Youcantunderstandimmunitywithoutunderstandingitsneural
regulation,hesays.Andtheyhavefoundonesuchregulatorycircuitthatcanbemodulated.

Nature doi:10.1038/nature.2014.15156

References

1. Kox,M.etal.Proc.NatlAcad.Sci.USAhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1322174111(2014).
Showcontext PubMed

2. Kox,M.etal.Psychosom.Med.74,489494(2012).
Showcontext Article PubMed ISI ChemPort

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