IMMUNE SYSTEM

Chiropractic Boosts Immune System Cells

This study looked at certain immune system cells, and found that they were stronger in several ways after patients had had their spines adjusted. Those same differences did not show up in patients who’d been “sham treated” (physically manipulated but not adjusted), nor in those who just had their soft-tissues worked on.
P. C. Brennan et Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 14 (1991): 399-408.

Boosting Your Immune System Through Chiropractic

In 1975, Dr. Ronald Pero, Ph.D.. the chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s preventative medicine institute and professor of medicine at New York University began researching the ways and means to estimate an individual’s susceptibility to various chronic diseases. The specific aspects studied were “an individuals immune system responsiveness or their immune competence” which are directly linked to certain DNA repairing enzymes. This provided an objective way to assess disease susceptibility. Because the nerve system controls and coordinates every cell, tissue and organ in the body Dr. Pero started researching the nerve systems functioning as it related to immune competence. For example thyroid hormones had been shown to affect the early stage of specific cancers. If the thyroid gland produces to mu’ch of either throxine or thyroid stimulating hormone (two hormones which the thyroid gland normally produces) the cancer risk greatly increases. And sense the nerve system regulates hormonal balances, it too can influence the susceptibility to cancer. Another correlation was the increased incidence of lymphomas and lymphatic leukemia’s with various kind of spinal cord injury. Because Doctors of Chiropractic focus on the nerve system and deal with
injury to the spinal cord, these connections led Dr. Pero to consider chiropractic as a potential alternative for reducing the risk of immune breakdown and disease.

In 1986 Dr. Pero collaborated with Dr. Joseph Flesia, a chiropractor and’ researcher who was also the chairman for the Chiropractic Basic Science Research Foundation. They began to research these interesting connections at the University of lund in -Sweden. Using scientifi methods and Dr. Pero’s tests for measuring immune competence. Dr. Pero discovered some interesting conclusions. After accounting for a many variables as possible. Dr. .Pero discovered that individuais who had received long term Chiropractic care had a 200 % greater immune competence and a 400 % greater immune competence than people with cnncer or a’ serious disease.

Dr. Pero concluded that “Chiropractic mny optimize whatever genetic abilities you have in relution to your immune competence”, Pero further stuted “thut without chemical intervention (drugs), this particular group of people who received chiropractic care showed a greater immune competence overall.

Immune System Involved in Cancer Prevention

The April 26,2001, issue of the journal Nature reports that scientists at Washington University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York have come to the conclusion that the immune system is involved in preventing cancer.

Twenty-five years ago, scientists thought that the immune system was able to prevent cancer by identifying and destroying cells that had begun the process of transforming into cancer cells. This process came to be known as “immunosurveillance.”

Scientists abandoned this concept when an experiment in the late 1970’s showed that the immune system played no part in cancer prevention. In that experiment, cancer cells were transplanted into mice with normal immune systems and mice with destroyed immune systems. The mice with destroyed immune systems didn’t develop cancer any more frequently than those with normal immune systems.

The only problem was that the 1970’s experiment was flawed. It turned out that the mice with supposedly destroyed immune systems still had a certain type of immune system cells called lymphocytes that form an active part of the immune system.

The recent New York research repeated the 1970’s experiment and used mice with destroyed immune systems that truly lacked lymphocytes. It was amply demonstrated that the nervous system does indeed help in the prevention of cancer. The mice without lymphocytes developed tumors earlier and more frequently than the mice with normal immune systems.

By way of commentary, with the immune system under direct control of the nervous system, lifetime chiropractic wellness care is vitally important to a healthy and fully functioning immune system. Everyone who wants a properly functioning immune system needs to have his/her spine checked on a regular basis.

Chiropractic Connection found to Immunity

The New York Times on May 13, 1993 reported on a article in a -British Medical Journal that the first anatomical connection between the nerve system and the immune system has been discovered. The connection is between the nerve cell endings and the white blood cells, an integral part of the immune system.

The study from the University of Boston and the University of Philadelphia further identified the actual chemical which excerpts an influence from the nerve cell to the white blood cell. This is the evidence that researchers have been looking for to explain the mind-body connection involved with obtaining and maintaining optimal health. This discovery also helps to explain the effects of stress and attitudes upon the health and healing cycle.

For the Chiropractic patient this serves to further explain the effects of maintaining an optinlally functioning nerve system, free from any interference that could result in a weakened immune system thus dis-ease and ill health through a lifetime.

The developer of Chiropractic Dr. B.J. Palmer once said, “that is anatomy is known, however all that is anatomy is not yet known.” this statement is evidence that as we discover more about how the body’functions we will realize all the more that Chiropractic is a wonderful ‘way to maintain your health. Chiropractic is the only method of health care that is a health giving method, it has as a goal to obtain then maintain your optimal health potential for a lifetime, we are now one step closer to scientifically understanding the mechanisms by which this occurs.

Research: Connection found between body’s gene repair system and innate immunity

A study published in the December 8, 2000 issue of the Journal Cell reports the discovery that an enzyme normally involved in the body’s genetic repair system is also involved in the body’s innate immunity, its first response against outside invaders such as viruses, bacteria and toxins.
The finding that the enzyme, DNA-PK provides a link between the body’s genetic or DNA repair mechanism and its innate immunity confirms that the two systems are activated when the body encounters invading bacteria, viruses or toxins.
The body’s innate immune system, when functioning correctly, identifies invaders by their structure and very quickly, within minutes, produces a large amount of natural killer cells to deal with the invader. The adaptative immune system will memorize this contact with an invader and over a period of days will gear up its attack with Band T-cells. The adaptative immune system is also responsible for attacking the invader again if the body encounters it in the future.

Spinal problems affect immune system

Research highlighted in the1989; 12(4) issue of the Journal of Physiological and Manipulative
Therapuetics shows tat the inmune system may well be under direct control of the nervous syslem. This coincides with the discovery of various neurological receptor sites on the surface or while blood cells, part of the body’s immune system.
The while blood cells, known as T-lymphocytes, have been found to have receptor sites for chemicals produced by the nerve system called ncurohormones and neuromodulators. These chemicals stimulate or inhibit the activity of the white blood cells.
The research also found that white blood cells also produce the neurohormone and neuromodulator chemicals which suggest that the while blood cells can also communicate with the nervous system.
The autors of the study summarize that spinal misalignments, subluxations, can negatively affect thebody’s immune response by illlerfering with the communication link between the nervous system and the immune system. Chiropractic adjustmcnts correct spinal subluxations and help restore this communication link.
By way of commentary, this research simply proves what Chiropractors have known for years, that the nervous system is in direct control of the body’s immune system and that interfering with it in any way can adversely affect how it functions. Any malfunction of the body, especially a malfunction of the immune system, will cause the body to become unhealthy. Chiropractic Wellness Care keeps your body, and your immune system, functioning the best they possibly can for a lifetime.

Auto-Immune syndrome or antibodies identified in serum in patients with sciatica
Glycosphingolipid antibodies 71% acute and 61% chronic (4yrs), 54% Herniated disc
Autoimmune was not limited to one type of tissue or conective tissue but rather several tissues demonstrated autoimmune anti bodies including the nervous system
Author noted that these levels are equal to or higher to those patients seen with specific autoimmune neurologic diseases

Spine February 2002