Tai Chi Chih and Varicella Zoster Immunity

August 17, 2006 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
A randomized control trial testing whether a relaxation response based intervention, Tai Chi Chih, will affect Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) specific immunity measures of psychological adaptation and health function in the older adult.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Both the incidence and severity of Herpes Zoster (HZ) or "Shingles" increase markedly with increasing age, is a painful condition, due to a decline in Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) specific immunity. Considerable evidence further shows that psychological stresses salient in the older adult correlate with impairments of cellular immunity.

The investigators have observed that Varicella Zoster Immunity is always decreased in individuals with major depression. Moreover, our preliminary data indicates that the presence of depressive symptoms in older adults is associated with a decline of VZV responder cell frequency (VZV-RCF). Taken together, the untoward effects of age and depressive symptoms on VZV immunity raise the question as to whether an alternative medicine intervention might augment VZV specific immunity in the older adult. We have preliminarily shown that administration of a relaxation-response based intervention, Tai Chi Chih (TCC), results in improvements in health functioning and VZV immunity in older adults as compared to controls. TCC is a slow moving meditation comprised of twenty separate standardized movements for use in elderly populations.

This proposed controlled clinical trial aims to: 1) determine whether the practice of TCC for 16 weeks influences Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) immunity; 2) demonstrate that TCC can produce significant changes in psychological adaptation, health behaviors, and health functioning and well-being; and 3) assess whether changes in psychological adaptation, health behaviors, and health functioning correlate with changes in VZV immunity following TCC in older adults.

We hypothesize that this behavioral intervention that prioritizes treatment of excessive physiological arousal can influence one's affective state with effects on cellular immunity. By standardization of training and practice schedules, TCC offers an important advantage over prior relaxation response based therapies. Focus on older adults at increase risk for HZ and assay of VZV specific cellular immunity has implications for understanding the impact of behavioral factors and an alternative medicine intervention on a clinically relevant endpoint and the ability of the immune system to respond to antigens of infectious pathogens.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

70

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Diego, California, United States, 90095
        • University of California, San Diego

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

History of Varicella or long-term resident (greater than or equal to 30 years) in the continental United States.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Allocation: Randomized

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 11, 2002

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 14, 2002

First Posted (Estimate)

January 15, 2002

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 18, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2006

Last Verified

July 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R21AT000255-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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