It has been known for some time that chronic stress is harmful
Caring for a child with a protracted illness, for example, causes premature shortening of the telomeres.
What has not been clear is whether this is a one-way trip, with each stressful period turning the telomeric ratchet irreversibly.
Telomeres play a central role in cell fate and aging by adjusting the cellular response to stress and growth stimulation on the basis of previous cell divisions and DNA damage
The crucial role of telomeres in cell turnover and aging is highlighted by patients with 50% of normal telomerase levels resulting from a mutation in one of the telomerase genes.
Short telomeres in patients are implicated in a variety of disorders including dyskeratosis congenita, aplastic anemia, pulmonary fibrosis, and cancer.
This week, though, at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida, a group of researchers led by Edward Nelson of the University of California, Irvine, showed that it isn’t.
Their research suggests that stress management not only stops telomeres from shortening, it actually promotes their growth
What he found surprised him.
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Not only did counselling stop telomere shrinkage, it actually promoted telomere growth.
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Those women for whom counselling had worked (ie, those who reported a decrease in emotional stress) had longer telomeres at the end than they did at the beginning.
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Their Hayflick countdowns were being reset.Dr Nelson drew this welcome conclusion from a previous study that measured the impact of telephone counselling on women who had been treated for cervical cancer.
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The study found that such counselling worked, both mentally and physically.
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Women who had been counselled reported that the quality of their lives had improved, compared with those of a control group who had not been counselled.
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They also showed improvements in the strength of their immune systems
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A single such result must, of course, be treated with caution.
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But another study reported at the meeting, by Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco (who shared the Nobel prize for the discovery of the enzyme that repairs telomeres), gave some support.
.
This showed that exercise has a similar effect to counselling on the telomeres of the stressed.
.
Not only did counselling stop telomere shrinkage, it actually promoted telomere growth.
.
Those women for whom counselling had worked (ie, those who reported a decrease in emotional stress) had longer telomeres at the end than they did at the beginning.
.
Their Hayflick countdowns were being reset.Dr Nelson drew this welcome conclusion from a previous study that measured the impact of telephone counselling on women who had been treated for cervical cancer.
.
The study found that such counselling worked, both mentally and physically.
.
Women who had been counselled reported that the quality of their lives had improved, compared with those of a control group who had not been counselled.
.
They also showed improvements in the strength of their immune systems
.
A single such result must, of course, be treated with caution.
.
But another study reported at the meeting, by Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco (who shared the Nobel prize for the discovery of the enzyme that repairs telomeres), gave some support.
.
This showed that exercise has a similar effect to counselling on the telomeres of the stressed.
If Dr Nelson’s work is successfully replicated, it will shine more light on the ill-understood relationship between the health of the mind and the health of the body.
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For, as he points out, nothing actually changed in the lives of the women in question.
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They still had cancer, albeit under treatment, and they were still under stress.
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Nothing, that is, except their attitude.
Put another way their state of mind.
.
The power of the mind is still a mystery to scientists
.
Any research that helps scientists to understand that the state of mind is critical to our health is certainly to be welcomed
.
For, as he points out, nothing actually changed in the lives of the women in question.
.
They still had cancer, albeit under treatment, and they were still under stress.
.
Nothing, that is, except their attitude.
Put another way their state of mind.
.
The power of the mind is still a mystery to scientists
.
Any research that helps scientists to understand that the state of mind is critical to our health is certainly to be welcomed
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