The Relationship between Practising Falun Gong and the Immunity to SARS

As a pathologist, my profession makes me very concerned about “SARS” (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Because of my professional habit, I have persistently collected the pathological information on SARS. The available information indicates that corona virus has something to do with SARS(1) The major pathological change in seriously ill SARS patients is the pervasive damage to their pulmonary alveoli. [1-4] (Fig. 1). On clinical manifestation, the failure of respiratory function and their X-ray images are similar to “ARDS--Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome.” Here I would like to address the issue from the perspective of the impact of practising Falun Gong on the human immune system.

1. Practising Falun Gong can strengthen the human immune system because this is the best way to fight against viruses.

If corona virus is really the cause of “SARS”, it would be very difficult to cure the disease completely. Unlike bacteria which can be killed by antibiotics, modern medical science has not discovered any effective therapy to deal with viruses. Viruses come in various types, and they are subject to genetic recombination and mutation easily, which makes them extremely difficult to prevent and treat. In clinical practise, the antiviral drug, “Ribavirin” is used as a treatment for SARS. But its efficacy is not yet obvious, and the dissemination media about the SARS virus is still unclear.

Unfortunately, we currently have no other choice but to use quarantine (or isolation) as the major approach to deal with SARS. As a matter of fact, “prevention is still the best medicine”, rather than passive isolation. Because, if we don’t know the causes of an infection and its media of dissemination, it would be very difficult to produce an effective form of quarantine. According to research that has been carried out, we’ve seen that the pathogenic SARS virus has more than just one dissemination medium(2) Under this kind of circumstance, it is not easy to undertake effective quarantine. At the same time, quarantine may cause negative psychological effect leading people to panic causing the society to become chaotic before the disease is rampant. Therefore, to deal with the virus, no matter whether it be at present, in the past or the future, the most important and effective approach is to enhance our own bodies’ immune system.

Many researches conducted in China and other countries have all indicated that qigong [Traditional Chinese exercises for cultivating qi or "vital energy"] can enhance the human immune system, and the effect of practising Falun Gong is especially prominent in this regard. For instance, Professor Feng Lili and her fellow researchers from the Baylor Medical College in Houston, Texas, conducted a research comparing the genetic expressions of the white cells, or immune cells (5) between Falun Gong practitioners and ordinary healthy individuals. Their findings showed that the function and genetic expression of Falun Gong practitioners’ neutrophils have undergone remarkable changes. These changes include: the enhancement of the function of their white blood cells, such as the reinforcement of their phagocytosis and bacteria-killing effect, and the increased production of immune-related genes, such as alpha-Defensin and Interferon, etc. Defensin is considered as the most important small molecules in fighting against the AIDS virus, and interferon is also a very important cellular factor that can help us fight against microorganisms, such as viruses. On the other hand, the metabolism of Falun Gong practitioners’ immune cells is slower, so the cells’ life span is longer.

2. The “two-way modulation” of Falun Gong practitioners’ immune system can eliminate pathogens and protect the host organism simultaneously:

Modern medical science has found that many diseases are not directly caused by the invasion of pathogens, but caused by damages to the host resulting from the over-reactivity of immunity to pathogens. Taking viral hepatitis as an example, the liver cells are not damaged by the virus, but are harmed by the anti-viral immune cells. Based on the existing knowledge, we can infer that the reaction of the patient’s immune system to the invading pathogens plays a significant role in the physiopathologic process of the SARS pathogen. The strong inflammatory reaction damages the tissue of the patient's lungs, which in turn harms the patient’s respiratory function. That’s why steroid hormones are currently regarded as the drug of choice for the disease. Generally steroids are used to suppress the reaction of inflammation, but at the same time it restrains ones immunity. As for respirators, they provide passive and external respiratory support for patients whose respiratory function is seriously damaged.

The British weekly medical journal “The Lancet,” reported the treatment result of 75 adult SARS patients provided by Hong Kong medical doctors. They found that the deterioration of the damage on many SARS patients’ lungs was not caused by the multiplication of virus, but was “the result of the host’s overreaction”, when the human immune system was actively fighting against the virus. “The aggravation of patients’ condition and their respiratory failure might not be related to the infinite multiplication of virus, but actually they are possibly caused by the pathological reaction of the immune system.”(6) The reaction of the immune system is like a sharp double-edged sword. If the reaction is too weak or too slow, then the capacity of immunity may be insufficient; if the reaction is too strong or too long, it may cause inflammation leading to serious tissue damage – the damage to the host. SARS is very likely to be the same. In addition, according to SARS patients’ lab data, the number of white cells drops with severely ill patients. Therefore, clinically we see that SARS patients may be infected for a second time(7) That is, the immune system of SARS patients becomes chaotic and it cannot increase or decrease according to the bodies needs.

At this point, I would like to talk about another advantage of practising Falun Gong on the human immune system - a miraculous phenomenon which can increase or decrease immunity automatically according to the persons needs - it can kill pathogens but at the same time it protects the host organism. In other words, it is a “two-way modulation”. In comparison with the immune cells of those who do not practise Falun Gong, Dr. Feng and her fellow researchers found that when pathogens are invading, Falun Gong practitioners’ immune cells are activated to become stronger so as to eliminate pathogens more quickly and actively; once pathogens are eliminated, practitioners’ immune cells will retreat quickly so as not to harm the hosts (Fig. 2). Their research on genes showed that the down-regulations of the anti-mortality genes of Falun Gong practitioners’ immune cells can quickly eliminate inflammatory cells. This adjustment resulting from practising Falun Gong is a harmonious balance between yin and yang, which can compensate the immune system’s “double-edged sword” characteristic. In other words, their immunities are enhanced without any side effects(5,8). This is even more important in the treatment and prevention of SARS.

3. The sequela of SARS?

Finally, another point I would like to make is that we have yet to learn much about SARS. Since it was first identified only recently, its severity, such as the mortality rate etc, is still unclear. And this has resulted in other questions: e.g., Can SARS patients contract the disease again after recovery? Will there be any sequela for the patients after recovery? Speaking from the perspective of pathology, the reclamation of the body after the pervasive damage of alveoli inevitably leads to fibrosis of the lungs and loss of their respiratory function. In views of modern medical science, it is an irreversible process, and the patients will suffer in their lifetime. Nevertheless, practising Falun Gong can do some good to the recovery of these patients’ respiratory function. Why are we so sure about this? It is because we have found that the pathological or physiological processes which are deemed by modern medical science as irreversible, are reversed after practising Falun Gong. Take cirrhosis for instance. After practising Falun Gong, the patient’s cirrhosis is improved or even cured completely. And women may even regain their menstrual cycles after menopause.

Modern medical science is mainly aimed at the treatment of pathogens, while Falun Gong thoroughly enhances human immunity. These two approaches can complement each other. Therefore, from the angle of pathology and immunology, we see that practising Falun Gong is of much benefit for the prevention of SARS. By the same token, it is beneficial for patients suffering from many other diseases, such as the above-mentioned hepatitis and cirrhosis caused by hepatitis. This can be seen in the findings of a survey on the health conditions of Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China, North America and Taiwan. (P.S: In Mainland China alone, there are more than one hundred million hepatitis B sufferers and carriers. It has been reported that having hepatitis B may be an important factor leading to SARS patients’ respiratory failure(6) In other words, once hepatitis B patients contract SARS virus, the illness will become more severe. In this regard, SARS is especially dangerous in China.)

To date, SARS is still a serious disease we know little about. As mentioned above, practising Falun Gong has a very positive effect on the prevention of SARS. For those who are concerned about their own and others’ health, they may try to understand Falun Gong.

Note 1: Canadian medical science community found that corona virus can be found in the bodies of forty percent of Patients.

Note 2: Hong Kong medical science community found that the outbreak of SARS in Amoy Garden Apartment is caused by the problems with sewage discharge system.

Fig.1: The major pathological symptoms of “SARS” (in Chinese)

Fig. 2: The impact of endotoxin on the withering and death of Neutrophils cells. As shown in the figure, without being stimulated by endotoxin, most of Falun Gong practitioners’ Neutrophils cells are still alive, while most of the cells are dead if stimulated by endotoxin. By contrast, without being stimulated by endotoxin, most of the control group’s Neutrophils cells are withering or death, while most of the cells are alive if stimulated. The accelerated death of Neutrophils cells can result in the immediate disappearance of inflammation, which can limit the self-damage caused by reinforcement of immune system.

Reference:

1 Pathology of SARS 2003 Hong Kong：www.eelab.com

2 A Cluster of Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Hong Kong.
Tsang KW et al., New England Journal of Medicine. March 31, 2003. www.nejm.org

3 Identification of A Novel Coronavirus In Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome. Drostein C et al., April 10, 2003. www.nejm.org

4 A Novel Coronavirus Associated With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Ksiazek TG et al., April 10, 2003. www.nejm.org

5 The studies on the change of Neutrophils’ genetic expressions and that of spiritual cultivators. Feng Lili [Pureinsight.org]

6 According to the studies conducted in Hong Kong, the SARS treatment is a failure [Reported by Epochtimes on May 9, 2003] http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/3/5/9/n309873.htm

7 Diseases caused by self-immunity and the self-perception model of immunity. Feng Lili [Clearwisdom.net ]

8 The molecular biology mechanism of “Substitute treatment”, and Tracey KJ. The inflammatory reflex. Nature 2002; 420 (6917):853-9, etc.

Translated from Chinese at: http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200305/20382.html