Dolphin-Assisted Seawater Therapy for Severe Atopic Dermatitis: An Immunological and Psychological Study

Vol. 124, No. 1-3, 2001

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Allergy in the 21st Century: New Answers to Old Questions
23rd Symposium of the Collegium Internationale Allergologicum
May 18-23, 2000, Hakone, Japan
Editors: Takeru Ishikawa, Kumamoto; Terumasa Miyamoto, Tokyo; Hirokazu Okudaira, Tokyo; Hisao Tomioka, Chiba; Rudolf Valenta, Vienna; Dietrich Kraft, Vienna

Poster Presentation: Novel Approaches to the Treatment of Allergic Diseases

Dolphin-Assisted Seawater Therapy for Severe Atopic Dermatitis: An Immunological and Psychological Study
Y. Iikura^a, Y. Sakamoto^a, T. Imai^a, L. Akai^a, T. Matsuoka^a, K. Sugihara^a, M. Utumi^b, M. Tomikawa^c

^aShowa University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Tokyo,
^bGifu College of Medical Technology, Gifu,
^cNational Children's Hospital, Department of Allergy, Tokyo, Japan

Address of Corresponding Author

Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2001;124:389-390 (DOI: 10.1159/000053766)

Key Words

Dolphin therapy
Atopic dermatitis
Psychological study
Immunological study

Abstract

We performed seawater therapy on atopic dermatitis patients for 6 days with dolphins. The presence of the dolphins seemed to alleviate the pain patients experienced while bathing in seawater. The skin condition improved dramatically, and immunologically, serum IL-8 levels decreased but MIP-1 alpha and eosinophil cationic protein did not change.

Author Contacts

Correspondence to: Dr. Yoji Iikura
Showa University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
1-5-8 Hatanodai Shinagawa-ku
Tokyo 142-8666 (Japan)
Tel. +81 3 3784 8677, Fax +81 3 3784 7410, E-Mail yiikura@med.showa-u.ac.jp

Article Information

Number of Print Pages : 2
Number of Figures : 1, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 1

Medline Abstract (ID 11307024)

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