Neuroendocrine Immune Implications in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica: Past and Present Unresolved Issues and Optimising Glucocorticoid Treatment
Editorial Introduction and background The dramatic effects of cortisone and pituitary adrenocortical hormone therapy on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were discovered almost seven decades ago (1) and even longer for the significant disease amelioration during pregnancy as reported by Hench in 1938 (2). However, major questions persist about the underlying adrenocortical and hypothalamic pituitary axis (HPA) […]
The Association of Body Composition and Novel Bioimpedance Measurements with Chronic Stress and Inflammation Biomarkers
A recent study by Constantine Tsigos et al., published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation (EJCI) indicates that the presence of ‘medically unexplainable symptoms’ (MUS) is an index of chronic stress and inflammation, and that advanced bioimpedance analysis may provide a useful, bloodless and rapid tool in the clinical setting. Chronic stress plays two […]
Stress, the Reward System and the Epidemic of Obesity
SHORT FEATURES and FACES ARTICLE A recent review by Rajita Sinha and Ania Jastreboff from the Yale Stress Center, New Haven, CT, USA, provides an integrative perspective on the neurohormonal mechanisms by which stress affects reward pathways, and how the interactions between the stress and reward systems may contribute to the epidemic of obesity. In […]
Chronic Variable Stress May Promote Autoimmunity through Induction of Glucocorticoid Resistance
A new European Journal of Immunology study links chronic stress and autoimmunity through a mechanism referred to as glucocorticoid resistance. The effect of psychological stress on autoimmunity is extremely complex, at multiple levels, and can be in either direction. Often, stress is related to both induction/exacerbation and amelioration of disease activity. Stress hormones selectively suppress […]
Glucocorticoid Receptor Resistance Linked to Inflammation and Increased Disease Risk
A new Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) study suggests that prolonged stress results in glucocorticoid receptor resistance (GCR), which results in a dysfunctional stress-immunity interaction, and, in turn, interferes with appropriate regulation of inflammation. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system are the two major peripheral components of […]
A Mechanism Linking Immune Cells Activities, Biomarkers and Hippocampal Volume Loss to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
In a recent review in Journal of Neurochemistry, James Andrews and Kameran Neises from the Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California provide up to date information, and a brief but comprehensive overview on how peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and biomarkers may play a role in a putative mechanism and effective diagnosis of PTSD. […]
George P. Chrousos – 30 years of Stress Research
SHORT FEATURES and FACES ARTICLE George P. Chrousos is professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the Athens University Medical School, and Distinguished Visiting Scientist, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH, Bethesda, Maryland. He was for many years Section Chief, and later Branch Chief of the Pediatric and Reproductive […]
Robert Sapolsky and Why Zebras Don’t get Ulcers
SHORT FEATURES and FACES ARTICLE Robert Sapolsky, a neuroendocrinologist and John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor at Stanford University, has focused his research on issues of stress and neuronal degeneration, as well as on the possibilities of gene therapy strategies for protecting susceptible neurons from disease. In his Science article, entitled ‘Why Stress Is […]
IL-27 and IFN-Gamma Cooperate to Induce Steroid Resistance in Asthma
The mechanisms driving steroid resistance in asthma are poorly understood, but a new study published in Journal of Immunology indicates that a novel interleukin (IL)-27– and interferon (IFN)-γ–driven pathway may contribute to this process, where the activation of MyD88-dependent pathways in macrophages may play a critical role. The major downstream molecules that regulate IFN-gamma and […]
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Function in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Overview article The neuroendocrine and the immune system are important homeostatic mechanisms maintaining the integrity of the organism. The efficacy of these homeostats in dynamic internal and external environments is a basis for successful adaptation to endogenous and exogenous stimuli that the organism constantly encounters. The adaptive reactions are complex and their ‘self-protecting’ nature serves […]
