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Evidence of The Effect of Exercise Therapy On Immunity
Evidence of The Effect of Exercise Therapy On Immunity
ON IMMUNITY
The capability of the human body to resist almost all types of organisms
or toxins that tend to damage the tissues and organs is called immunity. [1]
The immune system is traditionally divided into two different branches the adaptive immune system, the arm of the immune system that mounts
a specific response to foreign antigens, and the innate immune system. [2]
Acquired immunity does not develop until after the body is first attacked
by a bacterium, virus, or toxin, often requiring weeks or months to
develop the immunity. Innate immunity results from general processes,
rather than from processes directed at specific disease organisms. [1] The
immune system may be detailed as-: [3]
Table 1: Main elements of the immune system [3]
Innate components
Adaptive components
Cellular
Cellular
Soluble
Soluble
Over the past years, a variety of studies have demonstrated that exercise
induces a considerable physiological change in the immune system. The
interactions between exercise stress and the immune system provide a
unique opportunity to link basic and clinical physiology. [4] In essence, a
bout of exercise induces mobilization of immunocompetent cells to the
circulation. [5]
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Data suggest that the incidence and mortality rates for certain types
of cancer are lower among active subjects. The role of the immune
system may be limited, however, depending on the sensitivity of the
specific tumor to cytolysis, the stage of cancer, the type of exercise
program, and many other complex factors. [7]
vii.
Athletes who are undergoing heavy training regimens should realize that
each of these factors has the potential to compound the effect that
exercise stress is having on their immune systems. [7]
Thus, this essay covers these above mentioned points in details to
understand the effect of exercise or exercise therapy on immunity in
athletes along with some evidence in the non-athletic population in terms
of the chronic illnesses.
[9]
Figure 2: The
Model [10]
S-Shaped
not follow the usual seasonal patterns of URTI but rather occur during or
around competitions. Symptoms occur more frequently during the high
intensity training and taper period prior to competitions in some sports,
such as swimming and kayaking, while in other endurance sports, such as
long distance running, URTI symptoms appear more frequently in the
athletes after a competition. [9]
Pyne and colleagues, for example,
reported that elite swimmers
undertaking intensive training had a
significantly lower neutrophil oxidative
activity at rest than age- and gendermatched sedentary individuals, and
that function was further suppressed
during the period of strenuous training
prior to national-level competition.
Nonetheless, upper respiratory tract
infection rates did not differ between
the swimmers and sedentary control
individuals. [6]
[4]
[14]
pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-2 and IFN-. Th1 secreted IL-2 promotes the
maturation of antigen specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CD8+ T cells)
which recognize viral antigens on infected cells through the association of
major histocompatibilty complex (MHC) I interactions with T cell receptors
(TCR). Prolonged Th1 activity, however, may lead to respiratory tissue
pathology, through increased cell damage and necrosis. Immune counterregulatory mechanisms attempt to prevent Th1 induced pathology by
shifting the Th cell phenotype towards Th2, characterized by the secretion
of anti-inflammatory proteins IL-4 and IL-10. [13]
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Figure 7: In sepsis (A), the cytokine cascade within the first few hours consists
of TNF-, IL-1, IL-6, IL-1ra, TNF-R, and IL-10. The cytokine response to
exercise (B) does not include TNF-_ and IL-1 but does show a marked increase
in IL-6, which is followed by IL-1ra, TNF-R, and IL-10. Increased CRP levels
do not appear until 812 h later.
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References:
1. Guyton, Arthur C, John E, Resistance of the Body to Infection: II.
Immunity and Allergy In. Guyton, Arthur C, John E, (eds.) Textbook of
Medical Physiology, 11th ed. Pennsylvania, Elsevier Saunders, 2006 p
439-450.
2. David J Lynn, Calvin Chan, Misbah Naseer, Melissa Yau, Raymond Lo,
Anastasia Sribnaia, Giselle Ring,Jaimmie Que, Kathleen Wee,
Geoffrey L Winsor, Matthew R Laird, Karin Breuer, Amir K Foroushani,
Fiona SL Brinkman, Robert EW Hancock, Curating The Innate
Immunity Interactome, BMC Systems Biology 2010, 4:117:1-14.
3. Roy J. Shephard,Pang N. Shek, Potential Impact Of Physical Activity
And Sport On The Immune System A Brief Review, Br J Sp Med 1994;
28(4): 247-255.
4. Bente Klarlund Pedersen,Laurie Hoffman-Goetz, Exercise and the
Immune System: Regulation, Integration, and Adaptation,
Physiological Reviews, Vol. 80, No. 3, July 2000, 1055-1081.
5. Pedersen, B. K., Bruunsgaard, H., Jensen, M., Toft, A. D., Hansen, H.,
& Ostrowski, K. (1999). Exercise and the immune system - Influence
of Nutrition and Ageing. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
2(3): 234-252.
6. David C. Nieman,Bente K. Pedersen, Exercise and Immune Function:
Recent Developments, Sports Med 1999 Feb; 27 (2): 73-80.
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