Impact of radon and combinatory radon/carbon dioxide spa on pain and hypertension: Results from the explorative RAD-ON01 study.

OBJECTIVES: Therapies with low doses of radon have beneficial effects on patients suffering from chronic painful degenerative and inflammatory diseases. We already showed that this is accompanied by systemic immune modulations. We here focus on pain-reducing effects of very low doses of radon by adding carbon dioxide water and its impact on heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure and free radicals. METHODS: 97 of 103 patients receiving radon spa (1.200 Bq/l at 34 °C or 600 Bq/l, 1 g/l CO2 at 34 °C) were monitored before and at three different time points after therapy. Individual pain perception was analyzed and the capability to process radicals. At each time point, the hypertensive patients (n = 46) were examined over 24 h for blood pressure and HRV. RESULTS: Long-term pain reduction was observed in the majority of patients. A modulation of superoxide dismutase was identified, presumably representing a priming effect for lowering radiation stress. Further, lowering of blood pressure, especially in those patients who additionally received carbon dioxide, was seen. Radon did in particular impact on HRV implying lasting relaxation effects. CONCLUSION: Radon/carbon dioxide spa efficiently reduces pain. In particular, patients simultaneously suffering from painful and cardiovascular diseases should be treated by combination of radon and CO2.

Acute vascular effects of carbonated warm water lower leg immersion in healthy young adults.

Endothelial dysfunction is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity; however, this dysfunction may be ameliorated by several therapies. For example, it has been reported that heat-induced increases in blood flow and shear stress enhance endothelium-mediated vasodilator function. Under these backgrounds, we expect that carbon dioxide (CO2)-rich water-induced increase in skin blood flow improves endothelium-mediated vasodilation with less heat stress. To test our hypothesis, we measured flow-mediated dilation (FMD) before and after acute immersion of the lower legs and feet in mild warm (38°C) normal or CO2-rich tap water (1000 ppm) for 20 min in 12 subjects. Acute immersion of the lower legs and feet in mild warm CO2-rich water increased FMD (P < 0.01) despite the lack of change in this parameter upon mild warm normal water immersion. In addition, FMD was positively correlated with change in skin blood flow regardless of conditions (P < 0.01), indicating that an increase in skin blood flow improves endothelial-mediated vasodilator function. Importantly, the temperature of normal tap water must reach approximately 43°C to achieve the same skin blood flow level as that obtained during mild warm CO2-rich water immersion (38°C). These findings suggest that CO2-rich water-induced large increases in skin blood flow may improve endothelial-mediated vasodilator function while causing less heat stress.

Brain and behavioral effects of swallowing carbonated water on the human pharyngeal motor system.

Chemical stimulation of the swallowing network with carbonation and citric acid has been investigated, showing potential benefits on swallowing of dysphagic patients. Despite this, the underlying mechanisms for these effects are not fully understood. Here we investigated the effects of 5 ml liquid bolus swallows of carbonated, citric acid, and still water on a swallowing reaction-time tasks paradigm in 16 healthy adults (8 male, mean age 33 ± 3.7 yr, protocol 1). We then investigated the net effects of "sensory bolus interventions" (40 repeated swallows every 15 s) of the three different liquid boluses on corticobulbar excitability, as examined with single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in 16 participants (8 female, mean age 33 ± 3.7 yr, protocol 2). The findings showed that a larger number of correctly timed swallows (within a predetermined time window) was accomplished mainly with carbonated liquids (z = -2.04, P = 0.04 vs. still water, protocol 1). Both carbonated and citric acid liquid interventions with 40 swallows increased corticobulbar excitability of the stronger pharyngeal projection, suggesting a similar modulatory pathway for the effects on swallowing. However, carbonation showed superiority (P = 0.04, F = 4.75, 2-way ANOVA), with the changes lasting up to 60 min following the intervention. These results hold significance for future further and in-depth physiological investigations of the differences between different stimuli on swallowing neural network.