Loneliness ‘ups risk of inflammatory diseases’
February 9th, 2011 - 3:08 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Feb 9 (ANI): A new study has revealed that chronically lonely people may be at higher risk for certain types of inflammatory disease because their feelings of social isolation trigger the activity of pro-inflammatory immune cells.
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers analyzed 93 older adults for the study.
They screened for gene function among different types of immune cells and found that genes originating from two particular cell types - plasmacytoid dendritic cells and monocytes - were over expressed in chronically lonely individuals, compared with the remainder of the sample.
These cell types produce an inflammatory response to tissue damage, and are part of the immune system’s first line of defense, which produces an immediate inflammatory response to tissue damage.
It’s this same inflammatory response that, over the long-term, can promote cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegeneration.
The finding appears in the Feb. 7-11 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)
- Cellular mechanism behind chronic inflammation, type 2 diabetes identified - Dec 22, 2010
- Chronic inhalation of polluted air 'can lead to inflammation, heart risk' - Apr 17, 2011
- Cholesterol regulator plays key role in development of liver fibrosis - Mar 31, 2011
- New probiotic fights inflammatory bowel diseases - Feb 01, 2011
- How reovirus kills cancer cells - Feb 21, 2011
- Weight loss lowers diabetics' risk of heart attacks - May 04, 2012
- Men, women's immune systems respond differently to post-traumatic stress disorder - Apr 27, 2011
- Key gene helps virus sabotage immune system - Jan 06, 2011
- Discovery could lead to 'next-gen' vaccines - Apr 08, 2012
- Specific blood-derived cells promote survival in heart attack mouse model - Jun 17, 2010
- New drug target for inflammatory bowel disease found - Apr 01, 2011
- Human body can create its own vaccine to boost the immune system - Dec 15, 2010
- Heparin plays key role in allergic, inflammatory reactions - Feb 26, 2011
- Naturally occurring brain mechanism ups Parkinson's understanding - Feb 12, 2011
- Breakthrough may pave way for new malaria drugs - Nov 27, 2011
Tags: california los angeles, cardiovascular disease, dendritic cells, gene function, immune cells, inflammatory disease, inflammatory diseases, inflammatory response, journal proceedings, loneliness, monocytes, national academy of sciences, older adults, proceedings of the national academy, proceedings of the national academy of sciences, social isolation, tissue damage, ucla researchers, university of california los angeles, ups