Thymus Therapy

Thymus therapy is an alternative medical procedure for immune modulation. This is understood as a treatment with thymus peptides or thymus factors to strengthen the body’s own defense system. Thymus therapy is a so-called organotherapy and thymus extracts belong to organotherapeutics, the production of which is subject to the Medicines Act.

Indications (areas of application)

In cancer, thymus therapy is used as adjuvant (concomitant) therapy to strengthen the immune system:

  • Breaking the resistance to therapy in conventional cancer therapy.
  • Improving the quality of life of patients
  • Improvement of regeneration after conventional cancer therapy.
  • Before and during conventional cancer therapy to increase tolerance.
  • Before and during conventional cancer therapy to reduce side effects – e.g. nausea (nausea) or alopecia (hair loss).
  • Prolongation of survival time
  • Reduction of metastasis (formation of daughter tumors).

The procedure

Thymus therapy is built on the physiological function of the thymus gland. The thymus, also known as the sweetbread, is an important organ of the human immune defense system and is also known as the primary lymphoid organ. The gland controls the imprinting or maturation of immune cells. The so-called T-lymphocytes are defense cells that, among other things, fight and kill foreign bacterial cells as part of the specific immune defense. During their passage through the thymus, the immune cells learn to distinguish the body’s own cells from foreign ones so that there is no confusion. After this primary development, the T lymphocytes colonize so-called secondary lymphoid organs (e.g. lymph nodes). Shortly after the completion of puberty (from the 14th/15th year of life), the thymus gland shrinks. By the fifth decade of life, a person is left with only a very small thymus gland or fat body. The reduction of thymic activity and aging seem to be directly related: The person loses power and the body becomes more susceptible to disease with age. Thymus therapy counteracts this process by injecting the body with thymus peptides or thymus factors. Since the foreign thymic peptides can trigger a potential allergic effect, a test must be performed prior to application. For this purpose, the peptides are applied intracutaneously (into the skin). The clinical sign of a possible allergy are wheals (small, reddened swellings in the skin). Normally, especially the purified finished medicines are well tolerated. The composition as well as the recommendations for use of the preparations vary depending on the manufacturer. Injections are administered s. c. (subcutaneously) or i. m. (intramuscularly). Usually, thymus extracts are administered intermittently 2-3 times per week over a period of 3-6 months. The thymus extracts have an effect similar to that of spleen extracts, for example:

  • Increasing the activity of natural killer cells (NK cells).
  • Proliferation and activity increase of lymphocytes (increased proliferation and activity).
  • Balancing the balance between T helper cells and T suppressor cells (the immune system is less suppressed – suppressed).

Benefit

Thymus therapy supports the immune system and increases the well-being of the patient. Especially in the accompanying cancer therapy thymus therapy has its place.