Figure 8 - uploaded by Norbert Kavasi
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
Radon, as a radioactive noble gas of natural origin, is generally present in the atmosphere of caves during the speleotherapeutic treatment of different diseases. However, the role of radon in the therapeutic effect is not fully clarified yet. Endocrine parameter levels may be influenced by radon-like endocrine levels in balneotherapeutic treatment...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... the case of some patients with hyperprolactina- emy, the level of prolactine significantly increased both during the winter and summer cave therapy. A more significant increase of prolactine level could be observed during winter months (lower radon concentration), However, due to the small number of cases statistical analysis could not be carried out (Figure 8). ...
Citations
... To protect public health and provide a framework for addressing radon exposure, various international and national regulations and guidelines have been established. In this section, we will provide an overview of these regulations, discuss guidelines for safe radon levels in homes, and examine aspects of compliance and enforcement [11,77]. Table 4 presents an overview of international and national regulatory authorities and their respective regulations and guidelines related to radon gas. ...
... Specifically, caves generate unique health promoting mechanisms due to their micro-climates. These climates may help to regulate the immune system and hormone secretion (Bilha and Simionca, 2013;Nagy et al., 2009). According to Freidl et al. (2020), the climates in caves include five therapeutic features. ...
Numerous studies have highlighted the physical and mental health benefits of contact with nature, typically in landscapes characterized by plants (i.e., “greenspace”) and water (i.e., “bluespace”). However, natural landscapes are not always green or blue, and the effects of other landscapes are worth attention. This narrative review attempts to overcome this limitation of past research.
Rather than focusing on colors, we propose that natural landscapes are composed of at least one of three components: (1) plants (e.g., trees, flowering plants, grasses, sedges, mosses, ferns, and algae), (2) water (e.g., rivers, canals, lakes, oceans), and/or (3) rocks and minerals, including soil. Landscapes not dominated by plants or liquid-state water include those with abundant solid-state water (e.g., polar spaces) and rocks or minerals (e.g., deserts, caves). Possible health benefits of solid-state water or rock/mineral dominated landscapes include both shorter-term (e.g., viewing images) and longer-term (e.g., living in these landscapes) exposure durations. Reported benefits span improved emotional and mental states and medical treatment resources for respiratory conditions and allergies. Restorative and instorative mechanisms underlying health benefits consist of commonly discussed theories in the “greenspace” and “bluespace” literature, as well as less discussed pathways in that literature (i.e., post-traumatic growth theory, supportive environment theory, and place attachment).
This is the first review to draw attention to the potential salutogenic value of natural landscapes beyond “greenspace” and “bluespace.” It is also among the first to highlight the limitations and confusion that result from classifying natural landscapes using color. Since the extant literature on natural landscapes - beyond those with abundant plants or liquid-state water - is limited in regard to quantity and quality, additional research is needed to understand their restorative potential and therapeutic possibilities.
... Specifically, caves generate unique health promoting mechanisms due to their unique climates. These climates may help to regulate the immune system and hormone secretion (Bilha & Simionca, 2013;Nagy et al., 2009). According to Freidl et al. (2020), the climates in caves may include five therapeutic features. ...
Numerous studies have highlighted the physical and mental health benefits of contact with nature, typically in landscapes characterized by plants (i.e., “greenspace”) and water (i.e., “bluespace”). However, natural landscapes are not always green or blue, and the effects of other landscapes are worth attention. This narrative review attempts to overcome this limitation in past research by pursuing the following objectives: (1) categorizing these natural landscapes, (2) summarizing the literature on health benefits of exposure to landscapes beyond "greenspace" and "bluespace," and (3) presenting the potential mechanisms underlying any health benefits derived from exposure to these other landscapes. We propose that natural landscapes are composed of at least one of three components: (1) plants (e.g., trees, flowering plants, grasses, sedges mosses, ferns, and algae), (2) water (e.g., rivers, canals, lakes, oceans), and/or (3) rocks and minerals, including soil. Landscapes not dominated by plants or liquid-state water include those with abundant solid-state water (e.g., polar spaces) and rocks or minerals (e.g., deserts, caves). Possible health benefits of solid-state water or rock/mineral dominated landscapes include both shorter-term (i.e., viewing images) and longer-term (i.e., living in these landscapes) exposure durations. Reported benefits span improved emotional and mental states and medical treatment resources for respiratory conditions and allergies.Restorative and instorative mechanisms underlying health benefits consist of commonly discussed theories in the "greenspace" and "bluespace" literature as well as less discussed pathways in that literature. Benefits of shorter-term exposure may be explained by attention restoration theory and stress reduction theory. Benefits of longer-term exposure may result from the cumulative effects of shorter-term exposures as well as psychological benefits explained by post-traumatic growth theory, supportive environment theory, and place attachment. Additional mechanisms may include distinct types of physical activity and immune system benefits, among others.This is the first review to draw attention to the potential salutogenic value of natural landscapes beyond "greenspace" and "bluespace." It is also among the first to highlight the limitations and confusion that result from classifying natural landscapes using colors. Since the extant literature on natural landscapes - beyond those with abundant plants or liquid-state water - is limited in regard to quantity and quality, additional research is needed to understand their restorative potential and therapeutic possibilities.
... Although the results are still incipient, all studies suggest that case-control or cohort studies should be performed to confirm this probable association, and that, if confirmed, additional preventive actions directed to mitigate or reduce radon exposure should be enforced. Also, the role of radon on other diseases is being studied and is a subject of current concern [65][66][67][68]. ...
Indoor radon exposure is raising concerns due to its impact on health, namely its known relationship with lung cancer. Consequently, there is an urgent need to understand the risk factors associated with radon exposure, and how this can be harmful to the health of exposed populations. This article presents a comprehensive review of studies indicating a correlation between indoor radon exposure and the higher probability of occurrence of health problems in exposed populations. The analyzed studies statistically justify this correlation between exposure to indoor radon and the incidence of lung diseases in regions where concentrations are particularly high. However, some studies also showed that even in situations where indoor radon concentrations are lower, can be found a tendency, albeit smaller, for the occurrence of negative impacts on lung cancer incidence. Lastly, regarding risk remediation, an analysis has been conducted and presented in two core perspectives: (i) focusing on the identification and application of corrective measures in pre-existing buildings, and (ii) focusing on the implementation of preventive measures during the project design and before construction, both focusing on mitigating negative impacts of indoor radon exposure on the health of populations.
... Radioactivity of any kind, including 222 Rn, is considered a risk factor of cancer (Vogiannis and Nikolopoulos, 2015), and it has been described that delivery of radioactive particles into the airways promotes lung neoplasms (Robertson et al., 2013). On the other hand, short exposures to 222 Rn or as inhalations (Kataoka et al., 2012;Nagy et al., 2009) or as baths (Kuciel-Lewandowska et al., 2018;Yanxiao et al., 2019) have been described as beneficial ones. An explanation of this phenomenon can be the theory of radiation hormesis, which indicates that low doses of ionizing radiation, slightly above the natural background levels, applied for a certain period of time, stimulate the natural repair mechanisms of the body (Kataoka et al., 2013) and can be even applied in cancer treatment (Kojima et al., 2019) or prevention (Scott, 2011), whereas high exposure can be detrimental. ...
Ethnopharmacological relevance:
Inhalations with thermal waters are an old therapeutic method used in the therapy of respiratory diseases as a treatment of choice showing a long-lasting outcome with no side effects. Paradoxically, there is little well-established research on their mechanisms of action.
Aim of the study:
The aim of this paper is therefore to summarize the influence of inhalatory treatment with thermal waters on the main symptoms and features of respiratory disorders including allergy-like symptoms, inflammation, oxidant-anti-oxidant balance, cellular influx, disturbed mucus secretions, recurrent infections, pulmonary and nasal function and quality of life. A short history of inhalations is also presented.
Materials and methods:
The present paper is a sum-up of research articles on the use of inhalations with thermal waters in respiratory disorders.
Results:
According to the herein presented literature, the use of thermal water inhalations is beneficial for almost all manifestations of respiratory diseases. The mode of their action remains still unclear; however, it seems that the most important one relies on the restoration of proper defense mechanisms of the organism.
Conclusions:
Inhalations with thermal waters alleviate symptoms of respiratory diseases. They also improve the quality of life of the patients and seem to be a good add-on therapy in the treatment of disorders of the respiratory system.
... Studies on β-endorphin, another important signaling protein, are also pointing to a reduced pain perception after radon treatment. Levels of β-endorphin were found to be increased directly after radon speleotherapy in OA patients [n = 15, control group: sauna] [113] and slightly (not significant) in patients with chronic respiratory diseases [n = 81] [118]. ...
Largely unnoticed, all life on earth is constantly exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation. Radon, an imperceptible natural occurring radioactive noble gas, contributes as the largest single fraction to radiation exposure from natural sources. For that reason, radon represents a major issue for radiation protection. Nevertheless, radon is also applied for the therapy of inflammatory and degenerative diseases in galleries and spas to many thousand patients a year. In either case, chronic environmental exposure or therapy, the effect of radon on the organism exposed is still under investigation at all levels of interaction. This includes the physical stage of diffusion and energy deposition by radioactive decay of radon and its progeny and the biological stage of initiating and propagating a physiologic response or inducing cancer after chronic exposure. The purpose of this manuscript is to comprehensively review the current knowledge of radon and its progeny on physical background, associated cancer risk and potential therapeutic effects.
... This double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial proved the therapeutic effect of the redissolved organic fraction of the Szigetvár mineral water according to international standards in patients suffering from OA of the knee and hip. To the best of our knowledge, previous researches were only limited to the inorganic components of the thermal mineral water, e.g., sulfur (Kovacs et al. 2012;Carbajo and Maraver 2017), Rn 222 (Nagy et al. 2009a;Nagy et al. 2009b), Dead Sea salt solution (Holló et al. 2004), and CO 2 (Fabry et al. 2009) in humans. No researcher has examined the possible healing effects of the organic fractions of mineral waters. ...
The therapeutic effects of mineral waters have been attributed to the inorganic components alone; however, biologically active organic components are also present. We aimed to investigate whether the healing effect of Szigetvár thermal mineral water could relate to the organic matter in patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the hips and the knees. XAD macroreticular resins were used to prepare the organic fraction. Patients received a 30-min thermal water (34 °C) treatment in a bath tub, five times a week for 3 weeks. After randomization, patients were divided into three groups: tap water, mineral water, and organic fraction group. Primary outcomes were range of movement (ROM), Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain severity, and the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire was used. These scores and indices were measured at baseline, after the last treatment, and at the end of the 3-month follow-up period. Seventy-four patients (age 67.3 ± 4.48 years) were enrolled: tap water n = 24, mineral water n = 26, and organic fraction n = 24. Treatment with the redissolved organic fraction significantly improved ROM, WOMAC, and SF-36 scores compared to the tap water. Our clinical trial provided evidence for the beneficial health effects of the organic fraction of Szigetvár medicinal water.
... En nuestro país estos recursos han sido ampliamente estudiados desde el ámbito académico (5-7-15-23-25-27-46-47-58-59-60-61) y en trabajos de investigación dedicados a las aguas mineromedicinales radiactivas de los diferentes establecimientos balnearios como: Alange (37-48), Arnedillo (54), Caldas de Besaya (57), Caldas de Bohí (64), Caldas de Estrac (2), Caldas de Oviedo (13), Fitero (12-31-38) (Figura 2), Lugo (29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40), Titus (2), La Toja (4-39) y Villavieja . ...
Meditation as a millenary practice was incorporated into the Western therapeutic arsenal in the decade of the 70’s of the twentieth century. Numerous scientific studies, using neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques, have been able to verify changes in the structure of the brain in those who practice meditation in contrast to those who do not practice it. These structural changes optimize the functioning of the brain and delay its deterioration. In the field of care, mindfulness (MF) meditation is used mainly for preventive purposes and for improving the perception of one’s own health in many habitual pathologies. It would be advisable to implement MF in the National Health System in order to reduce health expenditure, avoid abuse of psychopharmaceuticals and analgesics and decongest the Mental Health consultations. © 2018, Sociedad Europea De Medicina Naturista Clasica. Seccion Espanola. All rights reserved.
... Presence of little higher radon gas concentrations in Cacica and Ocna Dej salt mines comparable with Turda can be exploited not only for speleotherapy but also for future radon therapy use. The exposure to radon can be benefic in low level radon therapy of various diseases such as: rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory rheumatologic conditions, ankylosing spondylitis and respiratory diseases [28][29][30][31][32][33]. Development and application of these therapeutic methods in the Cacica and Ocna Dej salt mines requires complex investigation and analysis of all biophysical and bioclimatic multi-parameters involved and adequate medical treatment protocols for each disease. ...
The knowledge of radon concentration levels in underground environments is essential for therapeutic purposes of different respiratory and rheumatic diseases. In order to develop speleotherapy in Romania, this paper presents the results of an indoor radon concentration levels survey in some salt mines in Romania, during multidisciplinary studies conducted in the years 2010 - 2015 in the presence and absence of tourists and patients with chronic respiratory diseases.
The survey was carried out using radon monitor Pylon AB-5 system methodology. In order to investigate whether differences in depth and microclimate parameters translate into significant differences in salt mine indoor radon concentrations, have been chosen three salts mine test sites placed in the Northern part of Romania (Cacica [1, 4], Ocna Dej [2] and Ocna Turda [3, 5]) in stable areas of the mining field at 32–120 m depth. Environmental microclimate conditions (mean values of air temperature 10–14.50 C, air humidity 65–80 %, air velocity 0.2 m/s saline aerosols and low microbial factors) have anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory properties and recognized therapeutically effects on human body’s health.
Turda, Cacica and Ocna Dej salt mines’ microclimate and low radon concentration levels offers optimal conditions for the implementation of various treatments and prophylaxis therapies of respiratory diseases through gradual and increasing exposure in physiotherapy sessions combined with physical exercises. Exposure to salt mine microclimate has beneficial effects on adult people with occupational risk factors, as well as for children, youth and adolescents for improving the respiratory function. Future development of speleo-therapy and possibly radon therapy in Romania must consider the results of this paper as a potential solution to optimize health services and raising quality of life in Romania. The measuring of the natural background ionizing radiation in salt mines was made using the Berthold Umo LB 123 portable integrated impulse debit meter (used in rate mode) equipped with a gamma probe - Counter-timer and at an integration times of 3600 s/measurement. The measurement and calibration procedures were conducted in conformity with the procedures of the accredited SALMROM laboratory (SR EN ISO/CEI 17025: 2005). Dose rates in various locations in salt mines were between 2 nSv/h ± 4.9% and 4 nSv/h ± 9.6%.
The analyzed environmental conditions and recorded low levels of indoor mean radon concentration: 12.6 ± 0.79 Bq/m3 (Ocna Dej salt mine), 6.9 ± 039 Bq/m3 (Turda salt mine), and 96.5 ± 4.76 Bq/m3 (Cacica salt mine), demonstrated the best suitability of the investigated three salt mines in Romania for speleotherapeutic applications.
... Therapy using radon hot springs ( 222 Rn) is performed for pain-or respiratory-related diseases such as osteoarthritis [1] and bronchial asthma [2] in the Misasa Medical Center, Okayama University Hospital, Japan. Radon therapy is also performed in Europe, and speleotherapy has been reported to have endocrinological effects on respiratory diseases [3]. Although baths with low radon concentrations were previously shown to have no influence on the function of the endocrine system [4], radon therapy is known to be effective against pain-related diseases. ...
... Theoretically, animals absorb radon through the lungs and skin. However, radon absorption through the skin has neither been rejected nor confirmed [3]. The mechanism of action of radon therapy has been suggested to involve radon being taken into the lungs via breathing, dissolving in the blood by gas exchange, being transported to many tissues systemically through the bloodstream, and having stimulatory effects in these tissues [6]. ...
Although radon therapy is indicated for hyperuricemia, the underlying mechanisms of action have not yet been elucidated in
detail. Therefore, we herein examined the inhibitory effects of radon inhalation and hot spring water drinking on potassium
oxonate (PO)–induced hyperuricemia in mice. Mice inhaled radon at a concentration of 2000 Bq/m3 for 24 h or were given hot spring water for 2 weeks. Mice were then administrated PO at a dose of 500 mg/kg. The results
obtained showed that serum uric acid levels were significantly increased by the administration of PO. Radon inhalation or
hot spring water drinking significantly inhibited elevations in serum uric acid levels through the suppression of xanthine
oxidase activity in the liver. Radon inhalation activated anti-oxidative functions in the liver and kidney. These results
suggest that radon inhalation inhibits PO-induced hyperuricemia by activating anti-oxidative functions, while hot spring water
drinking may suppress PO-induced elevations in serum uric acid levels through the pharmacological effects of the chemical
compositions dissolved in it.
