Links between stress and sickness

A Michigan State University researcher is providing new insight into how certain types of stress interact with immune cells and can regulate how these cells respond to allergens, ultimately causing physical symptoms and disease. A stress receptor, known as corticotropin-releasing factor, or CRF1, can send signals to certain immune cells, called mast cells, and control how they defend the body.

Mast cells become highly activated in response to stressful situations the body may be experiencing. When this happens, CRF1 tells these cells to release chemical substances that can lead to inflammatory and allergic diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, life-threatening food allergies and autoimmune disorders such as lupus.

One chemical substance, histamine, is known to help the body get rid of invading allergens such as pollen, dust mites or the protein of a particular food like a peanut or shellfish. The histamine causes an allergic reaction and in a normal response, helps the body clear the allergen from its system.
If a patient has a severe allergy or is under a lot of stress, then this same response can be amplified, resulting in more severe symptoms ranging from trouble breathing, anaphylactic shock or death.

Researchers compared the histamine responses of mice to two types of stress conditions - psychological and allergic - where the immune system becomes overworked. One group of mice was considered "normal" with CRF1 receptors on their mast cells and the other group had cells that lacked CRF1. While the 'normal' mice exposed to stress exhibited high histamine levels and disease, the mice without CRF1 had low histamine levels, less disease and were protected against both types of stress. This shows that CRF1 is critically involved in some diseases initiated by these stressors.

The CRF1-deficient mice exposed to allergic stress had a 54 percent reduction in disease, while those mice who experienced psychological stress had a 63 percent decrease. The results could change the way everyday disorders such as asthma and the debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are treated.
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Lupus increases the risk of dementia

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own healthy cells. It is thought to be caused by genetic and environmental factors. Environmental factors can trigger attacks or 'flare ups. 'Flare ups vary from person to person and are not the same each time. They can be marked by fatigue that can be mild or debilitating. Fatigue is often an early indicator that an attack is about to set in.

Attacks can cause joint and muscle pain and swelling, particularly at the wrists, hands, elbows, knees and ankles. Many people with lupus experience skin problems. The most distinctive marker of lupus is a butterfly-shaped rash on the face. Lupus may also cause light sensitivity, fever, changes in weight and swollen glands. People with lupus sometimes complain of a 'fog,' that can feel like depression or anxiety and sometimes causes them to have difficulty focusing and expressing themselves.

It causes the body’s immune system to break cells in parts of the body including the kidneys, lungs, skin and blood vessels. Lupus may impair memory and cognitive functions. Researchers analyzed data from more than 7,000 people and found that dementia was far more common among people with dementia than those without the disease. Lupus is best known for the damage it does to the kidneys, but its symptoms can be extremely varied, making it very difficult to diagnose.

Experts have identified numerous forms of the disease, including nineteen variations of neuropsychiatric lupus, which affects the central nervous system, including cognitive and memory functions and can even cause psychological and psychiatric symptoms. Some patients refer to a ‘lupus fog,’ a catchall description of the experience of difficulty concentrating, remembering facts, and expressing oneself.

The fog can also come with depression and anxiety, all of which may signal a lupus flare up. Patients who do not have a neuropsychiatric form of lupus are at a greater risk of dementia. Steroids are also associated with memory loss and cognitive impairment in lupus patients.
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Facts about Lupus

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks it's tissues and organs.

Lupus erythematous is the most common type of lupus.

It can damage the skin, joints, brain, lungs, heart, kidneys and blood vessels.

Common symptoms are: headache, fatigue, inflammation, joints pain, memory loss and butterfly rash

It is not contagious.

It is common among women buy it can affects men and women. It can attack at any age but common between age 15 and 44.

It raises the risk of Infections, cancer and pregnancy complications.

Doctors believe that lupus results from both genetic and environmental stimuli.

Immunosuppressant is one of the treatments of lupus.

Presently, there is no cure for lupus, its symptoms can be controlled by medications.