Long‐term efficacy of radon spa therapy in rheumatoid arthritis—a randomized, sham‐controlled study and follow‐up

Franke, Annegret; Reiner, Lothar; Pratzel, Helmut G.; Franke, Thomas; Resch, Karl-Ludwig

doi:10.1093/rheumatology/39.8.894

Cited by 156 publications

(121 citation statements)

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“…The present study showed that antioxidative functions were significantly higher in mice that had inhaled radon at a concentration of 2000 Bq/m 3 for 24 hr than in control mice. Most conditions treated with radon therapy are pain-related diseases such as osteoarthritis [15] and rheumatoid arthritis [24]. Another research group reported that radon inhalation significantly increased β-endorphin and M-enkephalin which both have morphine-like analgesic effects [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protective Effects of Radon Inhalation on Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Paw Edema in Mice

et al. 2011

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We assessed whether radon inhalation inhibited carrageenan-induced inflammation in mice.Carrageenan (1% v/v) was injected subcutaneously into paws of mice that had or had not inhaled approximately 2000 Bq/m 3 of radon for 24 hr. Radon inhalation significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activity and significantly decreased lipid peroxide levels in mouse paws, indicating that radon inhalation activate antioxidative functions. Carrageenan administration induced paw edema and significantly increased tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and nitric oxide in serum. However, radon inhalation significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema. Serum TNF-α levels were lower the radon-treated mice than in sham-treated mice. In addition, SOD and catalase activity in paws were significantly higher in the radon-treated mice than the sham-treated mice. These findings indicated that radon inhalation had anti-inflammatory effects and inhibited carrageenan-induced inflammatory paw edema.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protective Effects of Radon Inhalation on Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Paw Edema in Mice

et al. 2011

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“…In Jáchymov, Czech Republic, the worldfamous radium spa is operating four water springs with maximal radon content of 5-20 kBq/L [73]. Despite of insufficient number of clinical trials [74] and some controversies in the radon therapies [75,76], the long-term experience demonstrably confirms the benefits for the patients and justifies its use, further confirmed by many independent scientific studies [77][78][79][80]. The spa medical praxis was verified by decades and is supported also by other epidemiologic studies on the hormesis theory that supports the beneficial effects of low-dose radon exposure [81][82][83].…”

Section: Applications and Use Of Radonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radon Nuclides and Radon Generators

Kozempel¹

2017

Radon

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The radon element is the heaviest and the only naturally occurring radioactive noble gas. As a member of uranium and thorium decay chains, it is formed instantaneously and belongs to the naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). The long-lived radon isotope, the 222 Rn, is radiobiologically the most important one. It is present in subsoil and groundwater and permeates to the surface, where it may become health risk during the long-term inhalation. Proper testing of drinking water and building materials is also required to monitor radon concentrations below legal limits. Thus, the need of radon determination as well as the preparation of its isotopes arises for its use as a calibration source for the environmental and workplace monitoring in the NORM as well as other industries. Further, the radon isotopes currently appear in various research fields, including radionuclide progeny preparation and their use is experiencing renaissance. An overview of radon characteristics, its physical and chemical properties, as well as radon isotope preparation methods including the radionuclide generators and their use is given here. Radon isotope use for tracing, medical, geochemical and other purposes is also discussed.Keywords: radon, thoron, actinon, generator, decay chain, radioactive deposits, Rn, noble gas Historical introductionSoon after the discovery of radium by Curie et al. [1], the radioactivity of thorium by Schmidt [2] and the discovery of actinium by Debierne [3], it was found that all of these radioactive elements activate their surroundings and emit formerly unknown radioactive gases. Curie and Curie discovered that objects exposed to radium samples got activated and the half-life of the gained radioactivity was approximately 1 month [4], even though clear interpretation of this discovery remained unknown. Similarly, radioactive gas evolution was observed © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.in samples of thorium and uranium [5][6][7][8][9]. Rutherford and Dorn interpreted the emanated activity from thorium and radium compounds as new chemical substances. Rutherford and Owens reported that the gas released from thorium had the half-life of about 1 min. Radioactive gas release from actinium samples was reported by Debierne soon after [10]. All the three gases (originating from radium, thorium and actinium) were found as chemically inert and were classified as noble gases [11]. Further studies on emanation gases lead to better understanding of their physical and chemical properties as well as their nature, for example, their condensation at low temperatures [12]. Many experiments were performed in order to determine the atomic mass of the emanation. In 1910, among others, Ramsay and Gray collected radium emanation gas to measure its densit...

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“…Most of the current results of radon balneology have been published in German (e.g. [59]), with only recently some papers also appearing in English [61,63]. Of particular interest in the Morbus Bechterew therapy are studies about the combination of radon therapy and exercise treatment [64], which clearly show the superiority of the added radon treatment, with the longer lasting effect clearly compensating the higher cost of such a combination.…”

Section: Radon Therapy Of Degenerative Diseases Of Joints and Spine Imentioning

confidence: 99%

One century of radon therapy

Becker¹

2004

IJLR

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Supplementing a recent review 'Health effects of high radon environments in Central Europe: another test for the HLNT hypothesis [1]', this review of medical radon applications (in particular for the treatment of painful degenerative joint and spine diseases) covers mainly the first century of large-scale use and scientific studies on this subject since the discovery of radon. Most of the studies and experiences originated in Europe, in particular Germany, Austria, and the former USSR. They have in common that they are not well known in the anglophonic scientific literature, where radon therapy is still frequently considered a placebo-type 'traditional medicine', and not be compared with the drugs such as non-steroid antirheumatics. However, based on the substantial experiences as reflected in more than one thousand papers, mostly in peer-reviewed scientific journals, on this subject, radon therapy by inhalation or baths has been established as an evidence-based effective treatment not only by empirical experience in different times and cultures, but also in randomised clinical double-blind studies. It should be further explored as an effective alternative to the use of pharmaca. Unlike radon, drugs cause serious side effects, with more than ten thousand annual casualties. The benefits in the adequate use of low-dose radon exposures far exceed the hypothetical lung cancer risk attributed to the inhalation of low radon concentrations. Further research could provide better understanding of the mechanism of the stimulating radon effects on the body's defence systems.

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Long‐term efficacy of radon spa therapy in rheumatoid arthritis—a randomized, sham‐controlled study and follow‐up

Cited by 156 publications

References 23 publications

Protective Effects of Radon Inhalation on Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Paw Edema in Mice

Protective Effects of Radon Inhalation on Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Paw Edema in Mice

Radon Nuclides and Radon Generators

One century of radon therapy

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