Physical activity and immune system.
Systemic enzyme therapy in prevention and treatment
Nouza K.
Institute of Care for Mother and Child, Podolské náb?e?í 157,
147 10 Prague 4 - Podolí
Medicina Sportiva Boh. Slov. 1997, Vol. 6., No. 2, pp. 41
- 45 |
Summary
Besides serious infections, injuries. burns and irradiation,
stress is also provoked by a strong physical tension, excessive
training and heavy competition rate - factors of professional
sporting activity. An important consequence of stress is
on affliction of the immune system, its factors and functions,
leading secondarily to a decrease of antiinfectious resistance
and antitumor surveillance.
While experimental as well as medical experience indicate
that regular exercise and recreation sport affects immune
system and its function favourably, overtraining, and excessive
strain lead to its damage with undesirable consequences.
A higher sensitivity to infections is the most prominent:
several small-range epidemics have been announced. The paper
summarizes main information about changes in the immune system
in professionals accomplishing demanding sports - marathon
runners, karatists, skiers, cyclists and others. The immune
cells (granulocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, NK) react after
an early temporal mobilization with a decline in numbers
as well as in functional activities. Similarly, blood levels
of immunoglobulins (notably IgA) tend (after a short-time
increase) to fall down, often for prolonged time period;
the same applies to factors of natural immunity. As underlying
mechanisms of these effects there are stress-mediated disturbances
of homeostasis, overproduction of some cytokines, adhesive
molecules, and toxic radicals.
Among preventive and therapeutic procedures the attention
is paid mainly to combination of proteolytic enzymes. Surprisingly
excellent practical results may be satisfactorily explained
by selective interferences of enzymes with the pathophysiologic
mechanisms of inflammation and by their complex immunomodulatory
(immunonormalizing) effects. |
