Australian Scientists Find Proof That Stress Makes You Sick

Australian researchers said they had scientifically proven a long-suspected link between emotional stress and illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer. The group from Sydney’s Garvan Institute found that a hormone released into the body during times of stress, neuropeptide Y (NPY), undermined the body’s immune system and literally made you sick."Until now there has mostly been circumstantial evidence of a link between the brain and the immune system, but now we have that connection,” said the institute’s Fabienne Mackay."During periods of stress, nerves release a lot of NPY and it gets into the bloodstream, where it inhibits the cells in the immune system that look out for and destroy pathogens in the body,” she said."That stress makes you sick is no longer a myth, it is a reality and we need to take it seriously."The group’s findings were published in Monday’s edition of the Journal of Experimental Medicine and the researchers said they hoped their work would lead to new kinds of therapeutic intervention.

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