The Immune System And Stress

July 19th, 2008 by A.D. Odom | Filed under Featured Articles. | 44 views

This is an interesting article and one I have been thinking about myself. I watched a video on YouTube of two identical twin sisters and noted one said she went through a devastating loss. During that period she became very ill and was eventually diagnosed with lupus. Her sister was diagnosed many years earlier but it was only when she experienced this “devastating loss” that she was diagnosed.

Today at the BBC News, there is the article “Autism parents ‘infection risk’.” Researchers at Birmingham University found a poorer immune response to a vaccine against pneumonia. “It appears that stress causes the immune system to function less efficiently, the team wrote in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.”

Previous work has shown negative effects in elderly people caring for a spouse - but this is the first time that a similar result has been seen in a younger, healthier group providing round-the-clock care, the researchers pointed out.

A total of 60 parents received the pneumococcal vaccine as part of the study - half of whom had children with developmental disabilities.

Blood tests showed that those caring for a child with developmental disability had lower levels of antibodies to the vaccine than those whose children did not have such difficulties.

After one month, 20% of parents providing long-term care had an ineffective immune response, compared to 4% of the control group. At six months this had risen to 48% while the levels in the control group remained the same.

Interesting. The article goes on to talk about stress and its effect on the body. Now of course, we all know this but to actually see scientific data showing our bodies are lacking in antibodies because of stress could open the door to so many autoimmune disorders not to mention a need to stop and smell the roses sometimes — really, seriously.

Amanda Batten, head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said: “Carers often display great strength and resilience whilst coping with this complex disability, but many receive very little help and support, and are under considerable stress as a result.

“It is imperative that carers are given access to services such as short break schemes to help them before they reach a crisis point.”