Posted on 02/29/2024 9:25:23 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Stress is inevitable. Chronic stress can increase our risk for heart disease and may also help cancer spread. How this works has remained a mystery.
They discovered that stress causes certain white blood cells called neutrophils to form sticky web-like structures that make body tissues more susceptible to metastasis. The finding could point to new treatment strategies that stop cancer's spread.
The team arrived at their discovery by mimicking chronic stress in mice with cancer. They first removed tumors that had been growing in mice's breasts and spreading cancer cells to their lungs. Next, they exposed the mice to stress. What He observed was shocking.
"She saw this scary increase in metastatic lesions in these animals. It was up to a fourfold increase in metastasis," Egeblad recalls.
Cancer spread faster and more furiously in stressed mice than in a control group. By comparison, cancer cells in stressed mice treated with an enzyme called DNase I were largely non-proliferating, and the treatment caused a significant reduction in stress-induced metastasis.
The team found that stress hormones called glucocorticoids acted on the neutrophils. These "stressed" neutrophils formed spider-web-like structures called NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps). NETs form when neutrophils expel DNA. Normally, they can defend us against invading microorganisms. However, in cancer, NETs create a metastasis-friendly environment.
To confirm that stress triggers NET formation, leading to increased metastasis, He performed three tests. First, she removed neutrophils from the mice using antibodies. Next, she injected a NET-destroying drug into the animals. Lastly, she used mice whose neutrophils couldn't respond to glucocorticoids. Each test achieved similar results. "The stressed mice no longer developed more metastasis," He says.
Notably, the team found that chronic stress caused NET formation to modify lung tissue even in mice without cancer. "It's almost preparing your tissue for getting cancer," Egeblad explains.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I need to stop reading FR...
I could have told them that YEARS ago.
STRESS, TENSION, WORRY...CONTRIBUTE TO PHYSICAL HEALTH.
Avoid them if you can.
I blame stress for my now-asymmetrical “top part”.
One thing I’ve learned with ulcerative colitis, is that stress makes it worse, or causes a flare in the first place. I can’t say I’ve mastered stress, I’ve learned to deal with it so that it doesn’t control me.
I truly believe that stress makes our bodies susceptible to a LOT of bad things.
Case in point: one of our nieces led a very active life. After her mother ( my wife’s sister in law) died from cancer, she took the lead in caring for her Dad, managing his affairs-it didn’t help that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s- she sold his house, placed him in assisted living, as well as worked a full time job and dealt with her own family’s issues. She was running herself ragged. But she ALWAYS had time to talk to my wife on the phone. I think it helped her relax.
Last summer she made us aware that she had cancer. It really spread fast this past fall and early winter. Her last couple of weeks she really went downhill, and we lost her mid-January. She was only 51.
Perhaps her cancer was genetic, I don’t know. With the information you’ve given here, I can’t help but think all the stress she experienced only made things worse for her.
Stress definitely kills.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.