Neuroimmunomodulation induced by mud-bath therapy: clinical benefits and bioregulation of the innate immune response
Key Findings
- 23 elderly OA patients, 10-day hyperthermic mud-bath with RosA-enriched peloid at 40°C — verified from PDF
- Significant increase in systemic cortisol levels post-intervention — HPA axis activation — verified
- Notable decrease in IL-8 inflammatory marker — verified
- Enhanced phagocytic and microbicidal activity of neutrophils (flow cytometry) — verified
- Improved knee mobility and reduced pain, reduced analgesic use — verified
- Proposes immuno-neuroendocrine stabilization as mechanism: cortisol ↑ + IL-8 ↓ + neutrophil function ↑ — verified
- Hormetic stress response: mud-bath acts as mild physiological stressor triggering adaptive benefit — verified
Clinical study demonstrating that hyperthermic mud-bath therapy induces immuno-neuroendocrine stabilization in elderly OA patients. Key mechanistic finding: the intervention activates the HPA axis (increased cortisol), which suppresses inflammatory mediators (decreased IL-8) while simultaneously enhancing innate immune function (improved neutrophil phagocytic and microbicidal activity).
Verified Findings (from PDF)
- Cortisol: Significant increase post-intervention — reflects HPA axis activation by hyperthermic stress
- IL-8: Notable decrease — anti-inflammatory effect mediated through cortisol-driven immunomodulation
- Neutrophils: Enhanced phagocytic and microbicidal capacity — innate immune stimulation
- Clinical: Improved knee mobility, reduced pain, reduced analgesic use
- Framework: Proposes “immunoneuroendocrine stabilization” as unifying mechanism — hormetic stress response normalizes the dysregulated stress-inflammation interaction in OA
Significance for Knowledge Graph
Introduces a new mechanistic concept — neuroimmunomodulation — where the therapeutic benefit comes not from direct anti-inflammatory action but from normalizing the neuro-endocrine regulation of immunity. This is distinct from the direct cytokine inhibition by humic acids (van-rensburg-2015) and suggests a whole-body regulatory effect beyond local tissue actions.