Volunteers trained their bodies to blunt a toxin's effects

Researchers at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen trained twelve volunteers for ten days in meditation, controlled breathing, and cold exposure, the method developed by Wim Hof, then injected a bacterial toxin into their bloodstream.

Compared with twelve untrained volunteers given the same toxin, the trained group produced more of the anti-inflammatory signal interleukin-10 and less of the pro-inflammatory signals TNF-alpha, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8, alongside sharply elevated adrenaline. They also reported far milder flu-like symptoms, including less fever, headache, and nausea, than the untrained group.

Deliberate hyperventilation followed by breath-holding raises adrenaline sharply, and the researchers think that surge in turn shifts the balance of immune signals toward a calmer response, almost like a switch the body did not know it had access to. The training lasted only ten days and the group was small, so the finding is a proof of concept for voluntary control over innate immunity, not a ready treatment.

The mind nudged the immune system's dial.