Re: Hormesis - medical benefits?

[Jim Muckerheide <jmuckerheide@delphi.com>]

Substantial recent medical evidence (mostly in German, so there's not much on
our site :-) exists on using radon therapies, including
immunological/physiological markers, and endpoints, including accepted
double-blind medical research, that demonstrates real effects. (From the time
of the Romans there has been evidence of 'real effects' sufficient to cause
substantial effort to attain the benefits - certainly no one in Montana mines
would claim to be at the equivalent of the Bad Gastein resort! It's also
instructive to see documented cases in animals, who would presumably have
little incentive to "suppress the data."

Some argue that the word 'enhance' be used because 'stimulate' implies a
specific up-regulation of a marker. In fact that response is systemic, and
specific up- or down-regulation is affected.

Franz, Like many LNT-committed, your 'beliefs' are having undue influence on
your consideration of the data - this is making "the LNT-religion" an
increasingly apt term. :-)  But if you obtain some of the German refs, we'd be
happy to receive some limited translations of the essential results. :-)

Regards, Jim
muckerheide@mediaone.net
========================

Franz Schoenhofer wrote:
> 
> At 10:59 27.01.2000 -0600, you wrote:
> >Jim,
> 
> >I have always been intrigued about the individuals who spend time in the
> >radon mines "spas" in Montana and then report improvement of their arthritic
> >symptoms, lupus, etc.  Since rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease,
> >it almost makes me wonder if their radon exposure is suppressing their
> immune
> >system in some fashion rather than boosting it.
> >
> >Do you have any insights into this?
> >
> >Regards, Bill Field
> >College of Public Health
> >University of Iowa
> >bill-field@uiowa.edu
> >
> 
> This is a very good example that one should not see any measures or effects
> isolated. We have in Austria a few spas with high radon concentrations both
> in water and in mine shafts - I do not want to go into details. Nobody goes
> there just to inhale or drink otherwise prohibited amounts of Rn-222 or
> drink Ra-226 in amounts high above the maximum permissible intake.
> Nevertheless according to the now current legislation medical application
> is exempt from radiation protection legislation.
> 
> People get a lot of physical therapy there, they relax from everydays
> stress and during taking their baths or whatsoever they have to leave the
> phone and the mobile phone at home.
> 
> Since I know myself, how much physical therapy can do (without
> radioactivity!) and how helpful a situation with no stress is, I would be
> rather inclined to refer the positive health effects not to radioactivity.
> No chance to claim hormesis!
> 
> Franz
> 
> Franz Schoenhofer
> Habicherg. 31/7
> A-1160 Vienna
> Austria
> Tel.: +43-1-495 53 08
> Fax.: same number
> mobile phone: +43-664-338 0 333
> e-mail: schoenho@via.at
> 
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