Stress and Neurodegenerative Disease

Just like most diseases and disorders we have discussed thus far in class, stress presents itself once again as an agent for distruction. Chronic stress will intensify inflammation and increase the risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis. Researchers presenting at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) have revealed that stress-related increases in the central nervous system inflammation are prevalent in animal models with multiple sclerosis. Researchers have found that stress-induced increases of proinflammatory cytokines will inhibit the clearing of a virus and allow the inflammatory process to run amok, ultimately increasing the vulnerability of the body to be overrun with a neurodegenerative diseases, like MS. Studies have also revealed that patients already presenting with MS will have severly worsened symptoms in reasponse to stressful events. The specific cytokine found guilty for this vulnerability to nuerodegenerative diseases is interleukin-6 (IL-6). Researchers used a social disruption model to simulate stress for mice and what they found is stress appears to elevate levels of IL-6 which subsequently increases the severity of MS symptoms. On a lighter note, they have also found that this worsening can be prevented through neutralizing antibody treatments. Furthermore, interventions that prevented or reversed the stress-induced increases in IL-6 in the mouse model may have implications for humans and recent evidence suggests that some potential interventions include certain anti-inflammatory drugs, exercise, antidepressant medication, omega-3 fatty acids, and mindfulness relaxation training.

Resources:
Exam Health-http://www.emaxhealth.com/32/15106.html