La science mesure les résultats de la pratique du qigong et du tai chi
par Marvin Smalheiser

T'ai Chi, Vol. 26, No 4, August 2004.

Dans cet article (en anglais), l'auteur recueille les propos de M. Shin Lin, professeur de biologie cellulaire et de génie biomédical à l'Université de Californie à Irvine. Le professeur fait l'inventaire de quelques moyens que la technologie scientifique peut nous offrir pour objectiver les bienfaits de ces disciplines.

Je désire en rapporter ici un extrait qui mentionne quelques trouvailles en lien avec le cancer:

Dr Lin also cited a study at Hong Kong University by Dr. Brian Jones that involved a qigong method of breathing and stepping used in China for cancer patients

“This was a controlled clinical trial by our colleagues at Hong Kong University. A group of 20 subjects who had never learned any qigong or T'ai Chi before were taught Guolin qigong.”

He said Guolin qigong is very simple. "It is a type of repetitive stepping coordinated with breathing in and out. It is very popular in China among cancer patients. So at Hong Kong University, they taught 20 people Guolin qigong to people who had never done it before.”

"Each week they took blood samples of these subjects They were very sophisticated in the way that they did it. They analysed not only white blood cells That would be too crude for them. They counted two groups of white blood cells. They found a substantial decrease in the stress hormones cortisol and interleukin 10, which suppress anti-cancer immunity. There was an increase in interferon, which protects against cancer. in the blood stream.

Interleukin 10, Dr. Lin said, is not something you want to increase. “It is anti-inflammatory. It suppresses the immune system. When people practice qigong. The interleukin 10 comes down and the interferon gamma goes up. The ratio is going up because they are getting interferon gamma and less inrerleukin 10 and that is exactly what you want if you want to fight cancer.”

What is common denominator between Guolin and other qigongs arid T'ai Chi?

Dr. Lin said it is mental focus and deep breathing. And instead of doing difficult movements, they walk. "Walking is their movement But they could walk one or two hours a day and just do deep breathing. It is very simple, easy to learn, and something you can do for an hour or two a a day.

"If f you are already healthy, you just need to maintain yourself. You don’t need to do a couple of hours a day of Guolin qigong.”

Une rectification doit cependant être apportée à ces propos. Comme le démontre les passages suivants tirés de l'article original (Changes in cytokine production in healthy subjects practicing Guolin Qigong : a pilot study. Jones BM. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2001;1(1):8), cette étude n'est pas une étude contrôlée.

Conclusion (abstract)
These preliminary studies in healthy subjects, although not necessarily representative of a randomized healthy population and not including a separate control group, have indicated that blood levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol may be lowered by short-term practice of Qigong and that there are concomitant changes in numbers of cytokine-secreting cells. Further studies of the effect of Qigong in patients with clinical diseases known to be associated with type 2 cytokine predominance are merited.

Conclusions
A balance between type 1 and type 2 cytokines is required for maintenance of health, a preponderance of the former being associated with certain organ-specific autoimmune diseases and of the latter with allergy, systemic autoimmunity and suppressed responses to viruses and cancer [23]. Preliminary evidence from a small, non-randomized, uncontrolled study has been provided here that Guolin Qigong might alter cytokine production in healthy subjects in the direction of type 1 responses. There is no evidence at present to indicate whether this would be beneficial, leading to stronger protection against, for example, cancer and asthma; harmful, leading to later complications such as autoimmune disease; or without effect, due to the relatively minor changes induced. Further studies of the effects of Qigong, and of the various components of Qigong, on clinical, immunological and physiological parameters in various disease situations are, however, clearly merited.

Qigong et Cancer
Accueil
Observations
Articles
Ressources
Réflexions
Liens
Nouvelles
Anecdotes
Contacter l'auteur
Carte du site
 
     
Début de la page