Stress may Lead to Inflammatory Skin Diseases

The immune cells in skin can over-react, resulting in inflammatory skin diseases like atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

Study leader Dr. Petra Arck hypothesized that stress could exacerbate skin disease by increasing the number of immune cells in the skin.

The researcher said that the team exposed mice to sound stress, and found that the stress challenge resulted in higher numbers of mature white blood cells in the skin.

Moreover, blocking the function of two proteins that attract immune cells to the skin, LFA-1 and ICAM-1, prevented the stress-induced increase in white blood cells in the skin.

Based on their observations, the researchers came to the conclusion that stress activates immune cells, which in turn are central in initiating and perpetuating skin diseases.

The study appears in the November issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

Source: ANI
SRM/SK