Maccabi Healthcare Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2012 Oct;42(2):186-200. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2012.02.006. Epub 2012 Apr 12.
The Dead Sea, the deepest and most saline lake on earth, has been known from biblical times for its healing properties. The aim of this systematic review was to present critically the level of evidence for the claims of therapeutic effects of Dead Sea treatments in several rheumatologic diseases and psoriasis as well as to review these treatments' safety.
All articles cited in MEDLINE under the query, "Dead Sea," were reviewed.
We found bona fide evidence that Dead Sea treatments are especially effective in psoriasis due to both the special characteristics of solar ultraviolet radiation in the Dead Sea and the Dead Sea water balneotherapy. Dead Sea mud and Dead Sea balneotherapy have been found to be beneficial in rheumatologic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and knee osteoarthritis. In the safety analysis, we found no evidence for an increase in skin neoplasia, although skin actinic damage seems to be increased in patients treated in the Dead Sea. Dead Sea treatments do not lead to worsening of blood pressure. Substantial ingestion of Dead Sea water (generally in unusual near-drowning cases) is toxic and can result in cardiac rhythm disturbances because of electrolyte concentration abnormalities. Laboratory analysis of Dead Sea mud did not reveal mineral concentrations that could represent a health concern for their intended use.
Dead Sea treatments are beneficial in several rheumatologic diseases and psoriasis and have a good safety profile.
死海是地球上最深、盐度最高的湖泊，自古以来就因其治疗特性而闻名。本系统评价的目的是批判性地介绍死海疗法在几种风湿病和银屑病中的治疗效果的证据水平，并回顾这些治疗方法的安全性。
在 MEDLINE 中查询“死海”，对引用的所有文章进行了回顾。
我们发现了确凿的证据表明，由于死海中的特殊太阳紫外线辐射和死海水浴疗法的特性，死海疗法对银屑病特别有效。死海泥和死海水疗被发现对风湿病有好处，包括类风湿性关节炎、银屑病关节炎、强直性脊柱炎和膝骨关节炎。在安全性分析中，我们没有发现皮肤肿瘤发病率增加的证据，尽管在死海治疗的患者中似乎增加了皮肤光损伤。死海疗法不会导致血压升高。大量摄入死海水（通常在不寻常的近乎溺水的情况下）是有毒的，并可能因电解质浓度异常而导致心律紊乱。对死海泥的实验室分析并未显示出可能对其预期用途构成健康问题的矿物质浓度。
死海疗法对几种风湿病和银屑病有益，且具有良好的安全性。
