Skin care weblog

Just reading the stress posts. I actually cut out and kept the following
article that was in our newspaper (Mercury, Tasmania) in Dec 05.

Researchers prove stress linked to sickness
—————————————————————-
STRESS makes you sick and that is official.

Researchers at Sydney’s Garvan Institute found the hormone neuropeptide Y -
NPY - often released during stress, can prevent the immune system
functioning properly.

Associate professors Fabienne Mackay and Herbert Herzog said their findings,
published in yesterday’s edition of the Journal of Experimental Medicine,
proved a link between the brain and the immune system.

The research could help understanding and prevention of stress-related
colds, flu, depression and even cancer, they said.

"Until now there has mostly been circumstantial evidence of a link between
the brain and the immune system, but now we have that connection," Professor
Mackay said. "During periods of stress, nerves release a lot of NPY and it
gets into the bloodstream, where it inhibits the cells in the immune system
that look out for and destroy pathogens in the body."

The research also opens the door for new opportunities for therapeutic
intervention.

"This discovery will be vital in helping us develop a shole new generation
of drugs that can stimulate immune defences in people who have high levels
of stress," Professor Mackay said.

During periods of extreme stress, the NPY hormone could prevent "good" TH1
cells - also known as "helper" cells - from attacking bacteria and viruses,
she said.

Professor Mackay said that by exploiting the TH1 inhibitory mechanism to
prevent immune responses getting out of control would be essential in
responding to diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis,
Crohn’s disease, type one diabetes and lupus.

However, she also said that proper medication could take years to develop
and there was a lot more to understand about stress and its effect on the
immune system.

"In the meanthime, it is important that we understand how bad stress is for
all of us," Professor Mackay said.

"The best thing to do is to remove stress from our lives just by
reorganising the way we live, changing our lifestyle and using things like
yoga and relaxation to the best of our ability.

"That stress makes you sick is no longer a myth, it is a reality and we need
to take it seriously." AAP.

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