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Biomedical subjects

J K Kiecolt-Glaser

Publications and source records attributed to J K Kiecolt-Glaser.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Perceived stress and cellular immunity: when coping counts.

This cross-sectional study investigated whether active and avoidance coping methods were differentially related to immune function depending on stress level. Perceived stress and coping method were assessed in 173 healthy older adults and related to the number and percentage of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes as well as the proliferative response of peripheral blood leukocytes to phytohemagluttinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A). Both active and avoidance coping significantly interacted with perceived stress on proliferative responses to both mitogens. Higher levels of active coping were significantly related to a more vigorous proliferative response to PHA and Con A, particularly at high stress levels. At low stress levels, active coping was not significantly related to proliferative responses, whereas avoidance coping was significantly associated with a greater proliferative response to Con A. These results suggest that the relationships between certain coping methods and immune function depend on perceived stress level.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Long-term caregiving: what happens when it ends?

Data from a longitudinal study were used to examine what happens to caregivers in the years after their cognitively impaired spouse dies. Comparisons of 42 current caregivers, 49 former caregivers, and 52 noncaregivers over a 4-year period showed that former caregivers did not improve on several measures of psychological well-being. Although former caregivers experienced decreases in stress and negative affect, their scores on depression, loneliness, and positive affect did not rebound to levels comparable to noncaregivers and, in fact, remained similar to those of current caregivers up to 3 years after caregiving had ceased. The most consistent predictors of postcaregiving outcomes were social support and intrusive-avoidant thinking about caregiving. The data suggest that some consequences of long-term caregiving may be long-term as well. The needs of former spousal caregivers warrant greater attention both in research and in practice.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Hypnosis as a modulator of cellular immune dysregulation during acute stress.

To assess the influence of a hypnotic intervention on cellular immune function during a commonplace stressful event, the authors selected 33 medical and dental students on the basis of hypnotic susceptibility. Initial blood samples were obtained during a lower stress period, and a second sample was drawn 3 days before the first major exam of the term. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to hypnotic-relaxation training in the interval between samples. Participants in the hypnotic group were, on average, protected from the stress-related decrements that were observed in control participants' proliferative responses to 2 mitogens, percentages of CD3+ and CD4+ T-lymphocytes, and interleukin 1 production by peripheral blood leukocytes. More frequent hypnotic-relaxation practice was associated with higher percentages of CD3+ and CD4+ T-lymphocytes. These data provide encouraging evidence that interventions may reduce the immunological dysregulation associated with acute stressors.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Marriage and health: his and hers.

This review focuses on the pathway leading from the marital relationship to physical health. Evidence from 64 articles published in the past decade, particularly marital interaction studies, suggests that marital functioning is consequential for health; negative dimensions of marital functioning have indirect influences on health outcomes through depression and health habits, and direct influences on cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, neurosensory, and other physiological mechanisms. Moreover, individual difference variables such as trait hostility augment the impact of marital processes on biological systems. Emerging themes in the past decade include the importance of differentiating positive and negative dimensions of marital functioning, the explanatory power of behavioral data, and gender differences in the pathways from the marital relationship to physiological functioning. Contemporary models of gender that emphasize self-processes, traits, and roles furnish alternative perspectives on the differential costs and benefits of marriage for men's and women's health.

Depression↗
PubMed2001

Evidence for a shift in the Th-1 to Th-2 cytokine response associated with chronic stress and aging.

BACKGROUND: A number of studies have shown that the chronic stress of caring for persons with dementia can have significant immunological consequences as demonstrated by the down-regulation/dysregulation of the cellular immune response. METHODS: Utilizing flow cytometry to measure the percentages and absolute numbers of CD-4(+) and CD-8(+) T lymphocytes producing the cytokines indicative of Th-1, Tc1 and Th-2, and Tc2 cells, we compared spousal caregivers and control subjects. The expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the cytoplasm of CD-4(+) and CD-8(+) lymphocytes was assessed. RESULTS: Neither stress nor age was significantly related to the percentage or number of IFNgamma(+)/CD-8(+), IL-2(+)/CD-8(+) cells, or IFNgamma(+), IL-2(+), CD-4(+) cells. However, the percentage of IL-10(+) cells was higher in lymphocytes obtained from caregivers than control subjects. In addition, the significant interaction between stress and aging for IL-10(+)/CD-4(+) and IL-10(+)/CD-8(+) cells demonstrated that the difference between caregivers and control subjects was age dependent; the difference between caregivers and control subjects was substantially larger in younger individuals than in older individuals. CONCLUSIONS: The data are consistent with previous reports on acute stress and suggest that there may also be a shift from a Th-1 to a Th-2 response associated with a chronic stressor such as caregiving. This shift could have implications for an individual's responses to pathogens.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to mild psychological stressors: effects of chronic stress on older women.

We investigated autonomic and endocrine responses to acute stressors in 27 women who were or are presently caring for a spouse with a progressive dementia (high chronic stress) and 37 noncaregivers who were category matched for age and family income (low chronic stress). Measures were taken before (low acute stress) and in response to brief laboratory stressors (high acute stress). We replicated prior research showing that caregivers report greater stress, depression, and loneliness than the comparison groups, and acute stressors elevate autonomic and neuroendocrine activity. We also found that caregivers, relative to noncaregivers, exhibited shorter preejection periods and elevated blood pressure and heart rate, but the magnitude of autonomic and neuroendocrine reactivity to the experimental stressors was comparable across these groups. This pattern of autonomic differentiation replicates prior research showing that caregivers are characterized by higher sympathetic activation than noncaregivers and suggests that the effects of chronic stress on physiological reactivity may be a less robust effect in older adults.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

Stress-related changes in proinflammatory cytokine production in wounds.

BACKGROUND: Several recent studies have shown that stress markedly delays wound healing. This study assessed the relationship between psychological stress and the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines at an actual wound site, providing in vivo data on the development of local immune responses that are central in the early stages of wound repair. METHODS: To study the dynamics of inflammation, skin blisters were induced on the forearm of 36 women (mean age, 57 years) by suction. After the blister roofs were removed, a plastic template was taped to the arm, and wells were filled with 70% autologous serum in buffer. Specimens were aspirated from blister chamber wells 5 and 24 hours after wounding. RESULTS: Women with higher perceived stress scores demonstrated significantly lower levels of 2 key cytokines--interleukin 1alpha and interleukin 8--at wound sites. In addition, subjects who had low levels of both cytokines after 24 hours reported more stress and negative affect, and they had higher levels of salivary cortisol than those who had high cytokine levels. CONCLUSION: Consistent with the evidence that stress delays wound healing, these data suggest a possible mechanism: psychological stress has measurable effects on proinflammatory cytokine production in the local wound environment.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1999

Psychoneuroimmunology and cancer: fact or fiction?

There is substantial evidence from both healthy populations as well as individuals with cancer linking psychological stress with immune downregulation. This discussion highlights natural killer (NK) cells, because of the role that they may play in malignant disease. In addition, distress or depression is also associated with two important processes for carcinogenesis: poorer repair of damaged DNA, and alterations in apoptosis. Conversely, the possibility that psychological interventions may enhance immune function and survival among cancer patients clearly merits further exploration, as does the evidence suggesting that social support may be a key psychological mediator. These studies and others suggest that psychological or behavioural factors may influence the incidence or progression of cancer through psychosocial influences on immune function and other physiological pathways.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed1999

Chronic stress associated with spousal caregiving of patients with Alzheimer's dementia is associated with downregulation of B-lymphocyte GH mRNA.

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that growth hormone (GH) is synthesized and secreted by human peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMC), and the expression of GH mRNA can be found throughout the human immune system. METHODS: We studied a population of female caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's dementia (AD) who suffered from the stress of caring for these patients. We utilized quantitative RT-PCR to determine GH mRNA levels in T- and B-cell populations from PBMC. Subjects were nine caregivers of AD patients and nine age- and sex-matched controls. RESULTS: In the control group we found a threefold greater GH mRNA expression in B cells than in T cells. This finding was consistent with our previous in situ hybridization observation, suggesting GH mRNA in predominately B-cell areas of immune organs in humans. We also found that the expression of GH mRNA from total peripheral blood mononuclear cells and B cells in caregivers was 50% and 60% respectively less than that in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Because the B-cell population is the source of antibody production, our findings suggest that the decrease in B-cell GH mRNA may contribute to the poor immune response to influenza virus vaccination that has been reported previously in chronically stressed caregivers.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Stress and immunity: implications for viral disease and wound healing.

It is now well established that psychological stress can downregulate the cellular immune response. Communication between the central nervous system and the immune system occurs via a complex network of bidirectional signals linking the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Stress disrupts the homeostasis of this network, which in turn, alters immune function. In this review, we discuss the role of stress in modulating cellular immune function and the potential health implications of this downregulation.

Down-Regulation↗
PubMed1998

Stress-associated immune modulation: relevance to viral infections and chronic fatigue syndrome.

The frequent association of an active viral infection with the symptoms of CFS led researchers to hypothesize that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is induced by a virus. Results of these studies indicated that despite clinical support for this hypothesis, there were no clear data linking viruses to CFS. In this overview, we will explore the interrelation of the immune, endocrine, and central nervous systems, and the possibility that stress and/or the reactivation/replication of a latent virus (such as Epstein Barr virus) could modulate the immune system to induce CFS. Relevant research conducted in the developing field of psychoneuroimmunology will be reviewed, with a particular focus on cytokine synthesis, natural killer (NK) cell activity, and T-lymphocyte function, as they relate to CFS.

Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic↗