Handbrake for inflammation

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Chronic inflammation is a ticking time bomb. They favor diseases ranging from diabetes to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. A powerful antidote is exercise. But how does it actually work?

Redness, heat, swelling - inflammation is unpleasant, but vital. The symptoms show that the immune system is doing its job: It takes action against pathogens or discards damaged tissue. It looks different when the inflammatory processes in the body are re-fueled again and again and finally become chronic - a condition that is often not noticed for a long time.

And this is exactly where sport obviously comes into play: We have known for a long time that regular exercise protects against a whole host of diseases: type 2 diabetes and arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes and even many forms of cancer. “The only question was: Why is that so?” Says Prof. Wilhelm Bloch from the German Sport University in Cologne in an interview with

Immune cells with a braking function

The Cologne researcher and his colleagues have discovered a mechanism that could explain the impressive protective effect of sport. Because it inhibits chronic inflammatory processes in the body, which play an essential role in the development of many diseases.

The scientists found that physical training increases the number of so-called regulating T cells in the blood. Unlike the T cell types, also known as killer cells, which are trained to detect viruses and bacteria, the regulatory T lymphocytes are responsible for balancing the immune reactions. “In a way, they act like an applied handbrake on the immune system,” says Bloch.

Not every sport works

The researchers have proven the influence of physical training on the regulating T cells in blood samples that they tapped from almost 300 young elite athletes. "In the disciplines in which there is a lot of training and in which people also have excellent endurance, we have found a high proportion of T-regulatory cells," reports the sports doctor. In disciplines in which endurance is less important - for example in tobogganing or sport shooting - the athletes only had values ​​like the normal population. The sports medicine specialists will soon present the results in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology".

An earlier study has already shown how impressively sport has an effect on regulatory T cells: At that time, the scientists compared blood samples from players on the national hockey team immediately after a break in training lasting several weeks and after a tough training camp. “Within a week, the number of regulatory T lymphocytes rose by 20 percent,” reports Bloch.

"Inflammation-like condition"

The researcher also has an explanation for the impressive increase in immune cells: "If you train hard and put a lot of strain on your muscles, you provoke an inflammation-like state." Affect physical processes in a way. "So that the immune system does not react too strongly, it has to adapt," explains the researcher. This is done by secreting more immune cells with a braking function into the blood.

Few muscles, little braking effect

The connection between muscles and T-regulatory cells also explains why women have an average of 15 to 20 percent less of them than men. You simply have less muscle mass. "However, women are naturally better protected from chronic inflammation than men - namely through their higher estrogen production," explains the scientist. That is a major reason why they suffer less heart and brain heart attacks. After menopause, with falling female estrogen levels, cardiovascular incidents between the sexes equalize. "By then, at the latest, it will also be even more important for women to exercise regularly," says the sports doctor.

Sick after the marathon

But how much exercise is necessary? A 35-hour training workload like that of professional hockey players is of course not manageable for normal mortals - and, by the way, also not at all desirable in terms of health. "20 percent more T-regulatory cells - the immune system is not optimally balanced," says Bloch. Among other things, this could explain the “open window phenomenon”: After extreme physical exertion such as a marathon, the susceptibility to infection increases significantly. If the immune system is slowed down too much, viruses and bacteria have an easier time.

A moderate increase in T-regular cells, on the other hand, could curb chronic inflammation in the body without reducing the immune system as a whole. "We are currently investigating exactly what effect moderate training has," says Bloch.

Of course, that is not a reason to hold back on sport. Because it has long been clear that sport is good for your health, even without the Cologne results.

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