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Research: DIEGO and colleagues,
Listed in Issue 70
Abstract
DIEGO and colleagues, Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33101, USA, compared the effects of massage therapy with those of progressive muscle relaxation therapy in HIV-positive adolescents .
Background
Methodology
HIV-positive adolescents (mean CD4=466 mm-3) were recruited to the study from a large urban university hospital's outpatient clinic and randomly assigned to receive massage therapy (n=12) or progressive muscle relaxation (n=12) twice a week for 12 weeks. Subjects were assessed for depression, anxiety and immune changes before and after the treatment period.
Results
Subjects who received massage therapy reported feeling less anxious, were less depressed and showed enhanced immune function at the end of the 12-week study period compared with subjects who experienced relaxation therapy. Immune changes included increased natural killer cell number (CD56) and CD56+CD3-. The HIV disease progression markers CD4/CD8 ratio and CD4 number also showed increases in the massage therapy group only.
Conclusion
Massage therapy but not progressive muscle relaxation caused reductions in anxiety and depression and improvements in immune parameters in HIV-positive adolescents.
References
Diego MA et al. HIV adolescents show improved immune function following massage therapy. The International Journal of Neuroscience 106 (1-2): 35-45. Jan 2001.
