Abstract
Two articles in the current issue of Lymphatic Research and Biology strive to address this need. Working in a rat model, Huff and colleagues 8 have attempted to objectively investigate the mechanisms whereby lymphatic pump techniques purportedly enhance lymphatic and immune function. The implications of their observations are that the pneumatic technique may enhance immune surveillance by increasing the numbers of lymphocytes released into the lymphatic circulation, in particular from the gut-associated lymphoid tissue. Clearly, this is an important, beneficial contribution of therapeutic intervention, assuming that analogous mechanisms operate in the human clinical context.
In a parallel, clinical contribution, Ridner and colleagues 9 have investigated the utility of advanced pneumatic therapy in the self care of truncal chronic lymphedema. Acknowledging that the impact of arm lymphedema has been a subject of relatively focused attention, the authors underscore the lack of attention that has heretofore been directed to the problem of truncal edema, which occurs not uncommonly in the breast cancer-surviving population.10–13 The authors have chosen to investigate the impact of self-administered use of an advanced pneumatic compression device upon the outcomes in this patient population. While the symptomatic responses were salutary, in this non-randomized control group, statistical significance in reduction of truncal girth was not achieved. As asserted by the authors of the investigation, it is clear that future studies should be undertaken to include larger patient cohorts, with a design that will also control for placebo effect. Nevertheless, the subject responses within this study represent a salutary finding and suggest that this, as well as many other subjects within the realm of pneumatic compression therapy, will warrant future attention.