NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that participation in the Chinese martial art Tai Chi Chuan may help boost immune function and improve blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes.

After completing a 12-week Tai Chi exercise program, men and women with the disease had statistically significant reductions in their levels of A1C, a measurement of long-term blood glucose control. The participants also showed increases in regulatory T cells, which help to keep the immune response in check, while their levels of killer T cells, which destroy abnormal cells in the body, decreased.

People with type 2 diabetes experience chronic inflammation, and while exercise has been shown to be beneficial, strenuous exercise may boost inflammation and cause other problems, Dr. Kuender D. Yang of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan and colleagues note.

Tai Chi, in which a person performs a series of poses in a flowing motion, improves balance and heart and lung function, and recently was shown to benefit immune system function in healthy individuals, they add.

To investigate whether Tai Chi might do the same for diabetic patients, Yang and his team had 32 men and women participate in three hour-long sessions of the martial art each week for 12 weeks. Tai Chi could improve the immune system through its effects on cardiopulmonary health or the martial art might exert its effects by improving glucose metabolism, the researchers note.

They conclude: "An appropriate combination of the Tai Chi Chuan exercise program with diabetic medications may improve both glucose metabolism and immunity of type 2 diabetic patients."