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In the Bible, the Dead Sea is known as the “Eastern Sea” or the “Sea of the Arava”. The ancient Greeks and Romans called it “Mare Asphaltitus”, meaning the “Clay Sea”, due to the patches of clay, or asphalt floating on its surface. Later on, since life in this body of water was deemed impossible, it was dubbed the “Dead Sea”, and this term was adopted by various European languages. Mosaics from the Byzantine era depict fish swimming toward the Dead Sea from the Jordan River and rushing to turn back and flee toward the north, to the fresh water sources.

The Dead Sea region offers a rare combination of nature sites, history and unique healing centers, each of which has the potential to inspire autonomous tourism development. The Dead Sea, at approximately 417 meters below sea level, is the lowest point on the surface of the earth. It is a remnant of the ancient “Lake Lisan”, the body of water which once extended from the north of the Sea of Galilee to Hazeva in the Arava.

The water’s salinity, with a concentration of about 340 grams per liter (10 times that of the Mediterranean!), makes floating natural and effortless and instills a sense of peace and tranquility. The air is dry, rich in oxygen and free of any environmental pollution, and the temperatures are relatively high, even in the height of winter. The fact that the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays are naturally filtered makes it possible to sunbathe without burning and is instrumental in treating various skin diseases. The natural “healing waters” along the coast, which are rich in minerals and natural heat, combined with the black mud deposits, are the ideal foundation for health and beauty treatments.

The region’s nature reserves and scenic diversity offer a unique combination of arid desert vistas and oases alongside pools and waterfalls teeming with diverse flora and fauna (mountain goats, pikas, insects, reptiles, various species of fowl, etc.). The region’s historical sites are among the most renowned in the world, namely: Massada, Qumran, Jericho, Ein Gedi, the Roman fortresses and the monasteries in the Judea Desert.

A great many resources are invested in developing infrastructures, facilities and services dedicated to the tourist industry. The region offers about 4,000 rooms in hotels of various standards, kibbutz resort villages, hostels and other accommodation facilities, with adjacent services such as: parking lots, public beaches, well-kept nature reserves and fascinating tourist sites. The vacationers and tourists in the region can choose from a wide variety of excursions and activities, including desert tours on foot, in special vehicles and on camels, Bedouin accommodation, rock climbing and rappelling courses and excursions, as well as archeological and agricultural tours.

Sukenik S. Giryes H. Halevy S. Neumann L. Flusser D. Buskila D.
1994 | JOURNAL OF RHEUMATOLOGY

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of balneotherapy (mud packs and sulfur baths) on patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Methods: One hundred and sixty-six patients with psoriasis and PsA were treated at the Dead Sea for a period of 3 weeks. The patients were divided into 2 groups. Both groups had the regular regimen of bathing in Dead Sea water and exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. The study group, which consisted of 146 patients also was treated with mud packs and sulfur baths. The control group, which had no additional therapy, consisted of 20 patients. The main clinical variables assessed were duration of morning stiffness, grip strength, activities of daily living, subjective patient assessment of disease severity, number of active joints, number of effluent joints, Ritchie index, psoriasis area and severity index score, cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine pain and limitations of movement.
Results: Statistically significant improvement was found in most variables in both groups. However, better results were observed in the study group. In 2 variables, reduction of spinal pain and range of movement in the lumbar spine, significant improvement (p < 0.001 and p = 0.022, respectively) was observed in the study group only.
Conclusions: Treatment of psoriasis and PsA at the Dead Sea area is very efficacious and the addition of balneotherapy can have additional beneficial effects on patients with PsA. Other controlled studies with longer followup periods are needed to verify our results.

[ For obtaining the full article please contact the Dead Sea Official Site ]

Hodak E. Gottlieb A.B. Segal T. Politi Y. Maron L. Sulkes J. David M.
2003 | JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY

  

The beneficial effect of climatotherapy at the Dead Sea (CDS) for psoriasis has been established clinically but there is a striking lack of studies assessing its in vivo effect at the molecular and cellular levels.

Objectives: We sought to study the response of activated immunologic cells and keratinocytes in psoriatic lesions to CDS.
Methods: A total of 27 patients with chronic, stable, plaque-type psoriasis treated with CDS for 28 consecutive days were evaluated with the Psoriasis Area and Severity index score and quantitative histologic measures.
Results: After 4 weeks of treatment, the overall Psoriasis Area and Severity index score decreased by 81.5%. Complete clearance was achieved in 48% of the patients, and moderate to marked improvement in 41%. The average duration of remission was 3.3 months. Histologically, there was an overall reduction in malpighian layer thickness by 63.4%, and keratinocyte hyperplasia, assessed by Ki-67 cell cycle antigen expression, decreased by 78%; residual cell proliferation was confined mainly to the basal layer. These changes were accompanied by normalization of keratin 16 expression in 90% of the patients. T lymphocytes were almost totally eliminated from the epidermis (depletion of >90% of CD3(+) and CD25(+) cells), with only a low number remaining in the dermis (depletion of 69.4% of CD3(+) cells and 77.4% of CD25(+) cells). This reduction in activated T cells was accompanied by a marked reduction in HLA-DR expression by epidermal keratinocytes.
Conclusions: CDS is a highly effective and remittive treatment for moderate to severe plaque-type psoriasis, leading to a reversal of both pathologic epidermal and immunologic activation.

More great information about the treatments you can find in Dead Sea, in this web site.