Tai Chi is basically a martial art form thought to be a mixture of karate and Yoga which apparently has a myriad of health benefits. Shingles is a painful disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV).  It presents as a painful, blistery rash and affects at least one third of adults aged over 60.

Anyone who has had chickenpox as a child is at risk for developing shingles after the age of 50. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) says that the first sign of shingles is often burning or tingling pain, or sometimes numbness or itch, in one particular location on only one side of the body.

Later on a rash of fluid-filled blisters, similar to chickenpox, appears in one area on one side of the body. Shingles is a very painful condition with some people writhing in pain only with the gentlest of touches. Last year the Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine called Zostavax to prevent shingles in people aged over 60 who have already had chicken pox.

But shingles is a serious threat in individuals with compromised immune systems as in cancer and HIV. The new study suggests behavioral modification in the form of Tai Chi to boost immunity to the disease.

Conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, the study involved112 people ages 59 to 86. In the 25 weeks duration, researchers found Tai Chi alone was capable of providing standard vaccine level immunity to older adults.

For the first 16 weeks, the participants took part in Tai Chi or a health education program that provided 120 minutes of instruction weekly. Following this, participants in both groups were given a single injection of VARIVAX. The latter is a chickenpox vaccine approved for use in 1995.

Lead author Michael Irwin, professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, said the study was exciting as it showed behavioral modifications like Tai Chi were capable of triggering a positive, virus-specific immune response.

In patients who were given shingles vaccine and advised Tai Chi, the immunity levels were comparable to those normally seen in middle age. The Tai Chi group also demonstrated significant improvements in physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality and mental health.

"Since older adults often show blunted protective responses to vaccines, this study suggests that T'ai chi is an approach that might complement and augment the efficacy of other vaccines, such as influenza," Irwin pointed out.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).

The study is definitive pointer toward the immune-enhancing benefits of Tai Chi. It is important because there is no cure for shingles. Early treatment with medicines that fight the virus may help. These medicines may also help prevent lingering pain. The intense pain of the disease may last for months or even years.

"One in five people who have had chickenpox will get shingles later in life, usually after age 50, and the risk increases as people get older," said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. "More research is needed, but this study suggests that the Tai Chi intervention tested, in combination with immunization, may enhance protection of older adults from this painful condition."