of Epidemiology, researchers followed 243 shingles patients in 22 general practices in London with a control group of 483 individuals with no history of the ailment. Those eating less than one piece of
fruit a week had more than three times the risk of herpes zoster versus those eating more than three a day. The same pattern occurred when they looked at combined fruit and vegetable intake.
disappear. Topical capsaicin, the spicy compound in hot peppers, may be an effective treatment. In a double-blind study published
3
in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 32 elderly patients with chronic postherpetic neuralgia were treated with either capsaicin cream or a placebo. After six weeks, almost 80 percent of cap- saicin-treated patients experienced relief. The researchers noted that because capsaicin avoids problems with drug interactions and systemic toxicity, it should be considered a fi rst choice in management. A study of 143 Canadian patients
in Clinical Therapeutics yielded similar results. Then, in a two-year
CAPSAICIN: Postherpetic neuralgia is a complication of shingles that can last long after initial symptoms
follow-up of 77 of the patients, 86 percent showed continued benefi ts from the single six-week trial with no serious adverse effects.
patients were randomly divided into two groups. One received acupuncture around the margins of the outbreak. The others received acupuncture plus moxibustion—a traditional Chinese therapy that burns dried mugwort near the skin—of the area around the needling. The acupuncture group had a relief rate of 85.3 percent, with the cessation of herpes eruptions, quicker scab healing and reduced residual neuralgia. Moxibustion-treated patients were cured within three days with a rate of 97.4 percent.
4
cella zoster virus. In a randomized trial of 112 healthy adults, one group did tai chi for 25 weeks while another received health education. After 16 weeks all were vaccinated with VARIVAX, the live, attenuated Oka/Merck varicella zoster virus vaccine. Results showed the tai chi group
5
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TAI CHI: A study in the Jour- nal of the American Geriatric Society found that tai chi boosts immunity to the vari-
ACUPUNCTURE: In a Chinese study of acute shingles cases in the journal Zhongguo Zhen Jiu, 72
had nearly twice the levels of cell-mediated immunity to the virus compared to the control group; tai chi alone increased immunity about as much as the shingles vaccine plus yielded signifi cant improvements in physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality and mental health. In a University of California-Los
Angeles study, 36 men and women over 60 were assigned either to a tai chi or control group. For 15 weeks, the tai chi practitioners received three, 45-minute instruction classes a week; their cell-mediated immunity to the varicella zoster virus rose 50 percent plus they experienced signifi cant improvements in physical functioning.
25 patients with severe pain in the fi rst week of zoster rash were divided into a prevention group (receiving the drug acyclovir for 10 days, plus UVB light therapy three times a week until pain relief was reached or a maxi- mum of 15 sessions); a control group received just the drug. After one month, 58.3 percent
6
of the light therapy patients were pain-free, compared to 38.5 percent of the drug group. At three months, the ratios rose to 83.3 percent versus 53.8. The researchers concluded that UVB phototherapy in the acute stage of shingles might reduce the incidence and severity of lingering neuralgia.
Margie King was a corporate attorney for 20 years before becoming a health writer in Lower Gwynedd, PA. Connect at Integra-
tiveMenopause.com.
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LIGHT THERAPY: In a study published in Photo- dermatology, Photoimmu- nology & Photomedicine,
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