Tattoo parlor, Photo: © Christefme | Dreamstime.com
Tattoos can affect the immune system, weakening the body's defense against certain infections or types of cancer, warns a study by the University of Italian Switzerland (USI) published in the American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), informs the EFE agency, taken over by Agerpres.
A group of researchers, led by Santiago F. González of the University's Biomedical Research Institute, concluded that after a person gets a tattoo, the ink not only stays in the skin, but also spreads rapidly in the lymphatic system.
In a few hours, it accumulates in large quantities in the lymph nodes, vital organs of the immune system. “Inside the lymph nodes, immune cells, known as macrophages, actively capture all the pigments, triggering a two-phase inflammatory response,” the Swiss university explained in a statement.
The first acute phase lasts only about two days, but is followed by a chronic phase, which can last for years and is particularly worrying because the immune system is weakened, “may increase susceptibility to infections and cancer”.
According to the study, macrophages cannot break down the mucus in the same way as they would other pathogens, which leads to their death.
This inability is particularly pronounced in the case of red and black inks, which suggests that they may be more toxic (these two colors and green were studied because they are most often used in tattoos). “Consequently, the ink remains in the lymph nodes, in a continuous cycle of capture and cell death, progressively affecting the defense capacity of the immune system”, concludes the study.
This study lasted seven years, involved 12 international research groups and was funded by several Swiss organizations.
