Modulating inflammation by stress and psychosocial factors

描述(摘自研究人员摘要)：应激可通过释放抑制免疫功能的激素来抑制炎症反应，而炎症反应对伤口早期愈合至关重要。因此，阿尔茨海默病的照顾者和参加考试的学生所遇到的压力可以作为伤口愈合率个体差异的重要决定因素。初步研究表明，在长期应激、照顾阿尔茨海默病患者的老年人中，实验性皮肤伤口愈合的速度要慢25%。与非应激状态相比，参加考试的压力使口腔创伤的愈合延迟了40%。在这两项研究中，应激组个体的白细胞中促炎症细胞因子白介素1β显著降低。一个人的信念、态度和价值观会改变他们对压力源的反应，这样孤独的人会有更低的IL-1反应，比压力水平较低的社会背景下的人在伤口愈合方面有更大的延迟。因此，分析影响事件评估的压力源以及S的人格属性，对于理解创伤愈合的模式是至关重要的。拟议的研究将调查心理社会因素对神经内分泌通路的失调，以及这对快速愈合的无疤痕标准化口腔创伤早期炎症过程中基因表达的影响。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from investigator's abstract): Stress can inhibit the inflammatory responses that are critical to early wound healing through the release of hormones which suppress immune function. Thus, stress as encountered by Alzheimer's caregivers and students taking examinations can serve as an important determinant in individual variance in wound healing rates. Preliminary suggest that experimental skin wounds heal 25 percent slower in chronically stressed, older adults caring for Alzheimer's disease patients. The stress of taking examinations delayed healing of oral wounds 40 percent as compared to non-stress conditions. In both of these studies, the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1beta was significantly reduced in leukocytes from individuals in the stressed groups. An individual's beliefs, attitudes and values will alter their response to a stressor such that lonely individuals will have lower IL-1 responses and a greater delay in wound healing than socially embedded individuals who have lower levels of stress. Thus, analyses of the stressors as well a s personality attributes that affect the appraisal of events as stressors is essential to understanding patterns in wound healing. The proposed studies will investigate the dysregulation of neuroendocrine pathways by psychosocial factors and the impact this has on gene expression during the early inflammatory process in a rapidly healing non-scarring standardized oral wound.