The immunosuppressive action of most of these hormones is now widely documented, also on the basis of the pharmacological evidence deriving from the clinical use, for immunosuppressive purposes, of corticosteroid derivatives (according to what Bottaccioli affirms, in his book "psychoneuroimmunology", the administration also of a single dose of cortisone leads to a reduction of macrophages by 90% and lymphocytes by 70%).
It is therefore possible to conclude that the stress reaction is linked to a depressive condition of the immune system resulting from detectable functional changes in some hormonal axes and, in particular, in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). All this will affect, in the first place, the nervous and endocrine systems, then the "whole organism," showing its side "to countless potential organic and psychic problems, even serious ones. the objective one of a loved one, but also that of one's role, identity or power as happens in cases of retirement, bankruptcy, legal proceedings or convictions, etc.) and present experiences of despair, lack of hope, impossibility or incapacity to react, that is, if this is experienced in impotence, in the sense of injustice suffered and no escape routes, real or mental, can be seen, the consequences can be desperate.
is based on the integrity of the macromolecules that make up cell membranes (membrane macromolecules) and on that of the macromolecules that make up the genetic material contained in chromosomes (nucleic acids). However, the structure of membrane macromolecules and nucleic acids makes them common target of chemical substances, generally very reactive, able to alter their shape and size: free radicals (an atom or group of atoms with an unpaired or odd electron in the external orbital). Free radicals of various types are formed in the course of many physiological enzymatic reactions and, in normal conditions, are mostly contained, controlled and deactivated by specific defensive systems, enzymatic and non-enzymatic, called "scavengers". If free radicals are formed in conditions other than normal metabolism, due to exogenous molecules or because the defense systems are inadequate, the radical interaction with biological membranes takes on forms of very high toxicity capable of causing even distant lesions, potentially affecting all biological structures.These are obviously serious and even transmissible disorders, not all quantified and identified in a precise way.Various experiments on laboratory animals have shown that stress is also a producer of free radicals. In turn, the latter are implicated, as numerous studies have already demonstrated for some time, in the etiopathogenesis of the following diseases: diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, arthritis, allergies, asthma, peptic ulcers, bacterial and viral infections, coagulation disorders, glomerulonephritis, cataracts, premature aging. As studies continue, it becomes increasingly evident that free radicals, especially those of oxygen (ROTS, Reactive Oxygen Toxic Species), are involved in some way in most metabolic dysfunctions cellular and bodily.
It is also shown that stress can influence the mechanisms of gene expression. For example, with regard to stress as a potential etiopathogenetic cofactor in the onset of tumors, the impairment of the immune system is considered primary (latent neoplasms, usually in a condition of equilibrium with the organism because under the control of the immune system, they can evolve into manifest pathologies following chronic stress). Nevertheless, some cases could be explained by hypothesizing that the expression of oncogenes or the suppression of the action of tumor suppressor genes may be somewhat facilitated by stress. ”Other research has highlighted the presence of genes that, in the amygdala and hippocampus, are activated or deactivated by stress.
Edited by Dr. Giovanni Chetta
