PRACTISING the ancient Chinese art of t’ai chi may help to prevent shingles in later life.
Shingles, or herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. The virus can hide away in nerve cells for decades, kept in check by a virus-specific substance produced by the immune system. If illness or old age reduces production, the virus can flare up. Four months of t’ai chi three times a week, however, boosts levels of the zoster virus-specific immunity factor by 50 per cent, according to a small study at the University of California,…
