TY  - JOUR
AU  - Major, Benjamin
AU  - Rattazzi, Lorenza
AU  - Brod, Samuel
AU  - Pilipović, Ivan
AU  - Leposavić, Gordana
AU  - D'Acquisto, Fulvio
PY  - 2015
UR  - http://intor.torlakinstitut.com/handle/123456789/433
AB  - Recent clinical evidence suggests that the therapeutic effect of massage involves the immune system and that this can be exploited as an adjunct therapy together with standard drug-based approaches. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms behind these effects exploring the immunomodulatory function of stroking as a surrogate of massage-like therapy in mice. C57/BL6 mice were stroked daily for 8 days either with a soft brush or directly with a gloved hand and then analysed for differences in their immune repertoire compared to control non-stroked mice. Our results show that hand-but not brush-stroked mice demonstrated a significant increase in thymic and splenic T cell number (p  lt  0.05; p  lt  0.01). These effects were not associated with significant changes in CD4/CD8 lineage commitment or activation profile. The boosting effects on T cell repertoire of massage-like therapy were associated with a decreased noradrenergic innervation of lymphoid organs and counteracted the immunosuppressive effect of hydrocortisone in vivo. Together our results in mice support the hypothesis that massage-like therapies might be of therapeutic value in the treatment of immunodeficiencies and related disorders and suggest a reduction of the inhibitory noradrenergic tone in lymphoid organs as one of the possible explanations for their immunomodulatory function.
PB  - Nature Publishing Group, London
T2  - Scientific Reports
T1  - Massage-like stroking boosts the immune system in mice
VL  - 5
DO  - 10.1038/srep10913
ER  - 

@article{
author = "Major, Benjamin and Rattazzi, Lorenza and Brod, Samuel and Pilipović, Ivan and Leposavić, Gordana and D'Acquisto, Fulvio",
year = "2015",
abstract = "Recent clinical evidence suggests that the therapeutic effect of massage involves the immune system and that this can be exploited as an adjunct therapy together with standard drug-based approaches. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms behind these effects exploring the immunomodulatory function of stroking as a surrogate of massage-like therapy in mice. C57/BL6 mice were stroked daily for 8 days either with a soft brush or directly with a gloved hand and then analysed for differences in their immune repertoire compared to control non-stroked mice. Our results show that hand-but not brush-stroked mice demonstrated a significant increase in thymic and splenic T cell number (p  lt  0.05; p  lt  0.01). These effects were not associated with significant changes in CD4/CD8 lineage commitment or activation profile. The boosting effects on T cell repertoire of massage-like therapy were associated with a decreased noradrenergic innervation of lymphoid organs and counteracted the immunosuppressive effect of hydrocortisone in vivo. Together our results in mice support the hypothesis that massage-like therapies might be of therapeutic value in the treatment of immunodeficiencies and related disorders and suggest a reduction of the inhibitory noradrenergic tone in lymphoid organs as one of the possible explanations for their immunomodulatory function.",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group, London",
journal = "Scientific Reports",
title = "Massage-like stroking boosts the immune system in mice",
volume = "5",
doi = "10.1038/srep10913"
}

Major, B., Rattazzi, L., Brod, S., Pilipović, I., Leposavić, G.,& D'Acquisto, F.. (2015). Massage-like stroking boosts the immune system in mice. in Scientific Reports
Nature Publishing Group, London., 5.
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep10913

Major B, Rattazzi L, Brod S, Pilipović I, Leposavić G, D'Acquisto F. Massage-like stroking boosts the immune system in mice. in Scientific Reports. 2015;5.
doi:10.1038/srep10913 .

Major, Benjamin, Rattazzi, Lorenza, Brod, Samuel, Pilipović, Ivan, Leposavić, Gordana, D'Acquisto, Fulvio, "Massage-like stroking boosts the immune system in mice" in Scientific Reports, 5 (2015),
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep10913 . .