No abstract

Mud therapy is the use of mud (sludge, clay and slime) for therapeutic purposes, which although widely used worldwide has its therapeutic mechanisms only partially understood, especially considering the different origins and compositions of the used materials. This study, unpublished in Brazil, aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a traditionally used mud known as Peruíbe Black Mud (PBM) in knee osteoarthritis treatment. For this evaluation, 41 individuals were treated with this mud for 15 weeks, 20 of them used the mud prepared in the traditional way and 21 the same mud sterilized by gamma radiation. It is assumed that the effect of mud therapy is related to the physico-chemical characteristics of the used peloid and for this reason characterizations were performed using X-ray fluorescence, neutron activation analysis, gamma spectrometry, elemental analysis, cooling kinetics and potential reduction. The evaluation of the therapeutic effect was given by subjective information through the WOMAC and SF-36 questionnaires and by objective information from the use of radiographs analyzed by the Kellgren and Lawrence scale. A manual of good practices for extraction, preparation, storage and use of this pellet has been proposed. The characteristics of the LNP did not differ from those of most studied muds, emphasizing that the concentration of the element sulphur was greater than in all the found ones. Regarding the clinical and radiographic results, the members of both groups presented a positive and statistically significant response with no difference between the groups, indicating that LNP was effective in the treatment of OA and that the use of gamma radiation did not alter the therapeutic response.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of treatment with Peruíbe Black Mud (PBM) on the clinical parameters and quality of life of patients with knee osteoarthritis and to compare the effects of PBM samples simply matured in seawater and PBM sterilized by gamma radiation. A controlled, double-blind trial was conducted with 41 patients divided into two treatment groups composed of 20 and 21 patients: one group was treated with matured PBM and the other with sterilized PBM. Evaluations were done using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaires, the Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) radiographic scale, and the quantification of the serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers. An improvement in pain, physical functions, and quality of life was observed in all of the patients who underwent treatment with both simply matured and sterilized PBM. Nine patients showed remission in the KL radiographic scale, but no statistically significant differences were observed in the serum levels of inflammatory mediators before or after treatment. Peruíbe Black Mud proves to be a useful tool as an adjuvant treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA), as shown by the results of the WOMAC and SF-36 questionnaires and by the remission of the radiographic grade of some patients on the Kellgren and Lawrence scale.

Introdução: No Brasil, o uso de recursos naturais passou a fazer parte do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) com a implantação da “Política Nacional de Práticas Integrativas e Complementares” e a Lama Ne­gra, localizada na cidade de Peruíbe, Estado de São Paulo, tem sido amplamente utilizado para tratamentos terapêuticos, por exemplo psoríase, dermatite periférica, neuropatia, acne e seborreia, mialgia, artrite e processos reumáticos não articulares. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a mobilidade dos elementos da Lama Negra de Peruíbe, e avaliar quais (benéficos ou tó­xicos) estão disponíveis para transferência ao paciente durante o tratamento terapêutico tópico. Para tanto, foram empregados dois métodos de extração: procedimento de extração sequencial e extração única com emprego de suor artificial. Métodos: Dois métodos de extração foram empregados para medir os elementos extraídos: espectroscopia de emissão atômica com plasma indutivamente acoplado e espectrometria de absorção atô­mica com forno de grafite. Resultados e discussão: Os resultados mostraram que os elementos Ca, Cd, Mg, Mn e Na são altamente extraídos na fração trocável e re­sultados semelhantes foram observados na extração com suor artifi­cial, entretanto, isso pode não ser um problema durante o tratamen­to terapêutico. Conclusão: Todos os outros elementos investigados foram extraídos em baixas concentrações, indicando que os efeitos adversos à saúde devem ser desprezíveis, embora até o momento haja pouca ou ne­nhuma evidência de absorção pela pele.

One of the concerns about using mineral clay for therapy treatments is its radioactivity content due to natural radionuclides, normally, associated with the clays. This work proposes to characterize the natural radionuclides of the peloids obtained by the maturation process of mixing two different clays (gray and green) with different mineral medicinal waters from Águas de Lindóia (SP), Poços de Caldas (MG) and sea water from Peruíbe (SP). The gamma spectrometry showed that the gray and green bentonite peloids, all the activity concentration of radionuclides are higher in gray ones, except 40K. The activity concentration varied from 84 to 156 Bq kg−1 (228Ra), 25 to 156 Bq kg−1 (228Th), 9 to 161 Bq kg−1 (226Ra), 39 to 256 Bq kg−1 (210Pb) and 162 to 1070 Bq kg−1 (40K). However, by calculating the absorbed dose rate in the worst scenario, this may not be a problem for topical application. Although the waters from Águas de Lindóia and Poços de Caldas are considered radioactive they have not caused a significant increase in radionuclide concentrations absorbed dose rate.