Do People With Hiv Not Get Sick

relationship between stress and disease

Does not happen often, when we went through a period of stress we tend to get sick more easily? Many walk with irritable bowel syndrome, others are reactive labial herpes (or shingles, in the worst case), increases the rate of colds, sleeping less, and so forth. This occurs because of an axis, the axis-immune neuro-endocrine, which accounts for the close connection between these 3 systems, and communication between them.

How is this possible?

communication between these systems is given by the same key elements in them, ie, neurotransmitters, cytokines and hormones, respectively. Stress is caused by an imbalance between these elements, which cause susceptibility to disease.

How it works

axis neuro-immune-endocrine involved, among other things, the regulation of the immune system. Imagine if every response to a pathogen be extended to the end of time ... would not be alive to resist so many cytokines (a clear example allergies are also caused by imbalance of cytokines). To monitor the response to pathogens, the nervous system through the vagus nerve, senses the amount of existing response at a given time. If there is a lot of response, already eliminated the pathogen, activation of the vagus nerve leads to the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter major neurodegenerative pathways, but also potent inhibitor of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF to ), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and there is induction inhibitory cytokines such as IL-10 and transforming growth factor beta (TGF b), allowing inhibit the immune response, which at this point and eliminated the pathogen.

The vagus nerve has a short-term action. The long-term action gives the endocrine system. The signals generated in the CNS by action of the vagus also go to the hypothalamus, which by the pituitary stimulates the secretion of ACTH, adrenocorticotropic hormone, which stimulates the secretion of cortisol (glucocorticoids), which is a potent anti-inflammatory (in Clinical use of glucocorticoids broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory such as prednisone), inhibiting the response to systemic level. This realizes a controlled immune response, and that will not cause harm to the individual.

Relationship stress

stress occurs in response to a threatening situation for the subject. His response to this threat is the activation of the autonomic nervous system, sympathetic branch, which is aimed at the release of noradrenaline and adrenaline. These neurotransmitters cause systemic symptoms of stress: stomach pain, tachycardia, dry mouth, etc. Besides sympathetic norepinephrine, is released more from the adrenal medulla, which is activated by the sympathetic action, maintaining the permanent status.

Relationship disease

generates not only adrenaline and noradrenaline. There is also the genesis of another hormone, whose secretion is stimulated by sympathetic activation (stress), and whose primary function is to keep the individual in a state of alert, but it happens that the hormone also causes immunosuppression, we mean cortisol. Cortisol, among other things, causes increased blood sugar, keeps contractility of the heart, modulates sleep-wake cycle, etc., But also a potent inhibitor of proinflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins, which leaves the subject with " low defenses "and more prone to disease. It also explains the gastritis because prostaglandins protect the stomach lining, if they reduce the damage caused by the hydrochloric acid is more, damaging. Insomnia occurs because cortisol modulates the sleep-wake cycle, decreases bedtime and gradually increasing until you wake up, if the stress remains high not lower the cortisol, and therefore will not sleep.
For this reason our physiology, stress, leaving you more prone to diseases, leading to its unpleasant consequences.