Tai chi chih may guard against shingles

LOS ANGELES, March 23 (UPI) -- Tai chi chih, the Westernized version of the 2,000-year-old Chinese martial art, may protect against the shingles virus.

A 25-week study of 112 adults ages 59 to 86 showed practicing tai chi chih alone boosted immunity to a level comparable to having received the standard vaccine against shingles, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, currently online. The practice has also been shown to improve a person's balance.

Lead author Michael Irwin of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California at Los Angeles said when tai chi chih was combined with the vaccine, immunity reached a level normally seen in middle age.

"The positive results of this study also have implications for other infectious diseases, like influenza and pneumonia," Irwin said in a statement.

"Since older adults often show blunted protective responses to vaccines, this study suggests tai chi is an approach that might complement and augment the efficacy of other vaccines, such as influenza."