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Tai Chi(1), a traditional Chinese form of exercise, may help older adults avoid getting shingles(2) by increasing immunity to(3) varicella-zoster virus(4) (VZV) and boosting(5) the immune response to(6) varicella vaccine(7) in older adults, according to(8) a new study published in print(9) this week in the Journal of the American Geriatrics(10) Society. This National Institutes of Health(11) (NIH)-funded(12) study is the first rigorous(13) clinical trial(14) to suggest that a behavioral intervention(15), alone or in combination with(16) a vaccine, can help protect older adults from VZV, which causes both chickenpox(17) and shingles.

The research was supported by the National Institute on Aging(18) (NIA) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine(19) (NCCAM), both components of(20) NIH. The study's print publication(21) follows its online release(22) in March. The research was conducted by Michael R. Irwin, M.D., and Richard Olmstead, Ph.D., of the University of California at Los Angeles, and Michael N. Oxman, M.D., of the University of California at San Diego and San Diego Veterans Affairs(23) Healthcare System.

"One in five people who have had chickenpox will get shingles later in life(24), usually after age 50, and the risk increases as people get older," says 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(25), may enhance(26) protection of older adults from this painful condition(27)."