Stress Immunity And Aging

This book contains two personal reminiscences of historical importance to research on stress and infectious disease. It deals with perspectives on immunity, aging, and disease and the prospects for immunorestoration in the treatment of immunodeficiency arising from aging and stress.

Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency is a worldwide, public health problem in both developed and developing countries. Rickets among infants has reemerged. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased risk and mortality from cancer. At the same time, the beneficial effects of vitamin D on a host of conditions have recently been discovered. Focusing on areas not extensively covered in other comparable books, Vitamin D: Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Aging highlights the most recent research findings on the impact of this nutrient in oxidative stress, immunity, and aging. A state-of-the-art compilation of essential information, this book explores: Vitamin D and its genomic and nongenomic effects, the role of therapeutic analogs in treating disease, and the production of vitamin D by the body The role vitamin D plays in modulating oxidative stress—with emphasis on cancer, stress-mediated diseases, photo-protection of the skin, and energy metabolism Beneficial effects of vitamin D in regulating the immune response and its importance in protecting against autoimmune, infectious, and inflammatory diseases The role vitamin D plays in the regulation of the aging process—including aspects of oxidative stress, senescence, and mortality, as well as its role in protection against cardiovascular disease and nervous system disorders This book represents an important contribution toward understanding the mechanisms by which vitamin D promotes health, increasing awareness of the importance that vitamin D plays during development, at birth, and throughout the aging process. It is a valuable reference for researchers in academia, nutrition, medicine, and industry.

In 1964, George Solomon coined the term psychoneuroimmunology. In the intervening 30 years, this term has emerged into a dynamic field of study which investigates the unique interactions between the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. The Handbook of Human Stress and Immunity is a comprehensive reference for this dynamic new field. Focusing on how stressors impact the central nervous system and the resulting changes in immune responses, the Handbook is the first to describehow stress specifically affects human immune systems. It discusses how stress generally makes people more susceptible to infection, how personal support systems can counteract the physiological effects of stress, and how stress, or lack of stress, affects the aging process. Chapters are authored by the leading names in the field and cover such diseases as autoimmune disease, viral pathogenesis, herpes, HIV, and AIDS.

More Than a Book About Stress – A Self-Help Tool That Gathers All You Need to Know to Stay Healthy In recent years, we have gained increasing knowledge of the roles stress and stress hormones play in our health. It is amazing how the presentation of a stressor—whether in one event or a series of events—might involve us in appraising the environmental challenge and lead us to the “fight-or-flight” response on a physiological level. The idea that stress has only harmful effects does not draw a full picture of its role in our health and well-being. It is scientifically proven that stress and stress hormones not only have a negative impact on our bodies, but they also have potentially beneficial properties, aimed at mobilizing our immune system for fighting immunologic confrontations. How does this work? In Stress and Immunity, Dr. Inna B. Mertsalova illustrates how our immune system functions under exposure to stress. Understanding these processes can help us cope with stress and stay healthy. The book also includes a test to check how you cope with stress and the information about sleep habits, physical activities, and nutrition that are necessary for reducing your stress level. This book is a valuable empirically proven source of information about the bi-directional effects of stress on our immune system. This book is written for everyone who wants to understand how stress modifies our body causing illness. Also, this volume has a great potential as a supplemental reading material for graduate students in the broad range of medical education.

Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency is a worldwide, public health problem in both developed and developing countries. Rickets among infants has reemerged. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased risk and mortality from cancer. At the same time, the beneficial effects of vitamin D on a host of conditions have recently been discovered. Focusing on areas not extensively covered in other comparable books, Vitamin D: Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Aging highlights the most recent research findings on the impact of this nutrient in oxidative stress, immunity, and aging. A state-of-the-art compilation of essential information, this book explores: Vitamin D and its genomic and nongenomic effects, the role of therapeutic analogs in treating disease, and the production of vitamin D by the body The role vitamin D plays in modulating oxidative stress—with emphasis on cancer, stress-mediated diseases, photo-protection of the skin, and energy metabolism Beneficial effects of vitamin D in regulating the immune response and its importance in protecting against autoimmune, infectious, and inflammatory diseases The role vitamin D plays in the regulation of the aging process—including aspects of oxidative stress, senescence, and mortality, as well as its role in protection against cardiovascular disease and nervous system disorders This book represents an important contribution toward understanding the mechanisms by which vitamin D promotes health, increasing awareness of the importance that vitamin D plays during development, at birth, and throughout the aging process. It is a valuable reference for researchers in academia, nutrition, medicine, and industry.

This book explains how stress – either psychological or physical – can activate and/or paralyse human innate or adaptive immunity. Adequate immunity is crucial for maintaining health, both on Earth and in space. During space flight, human physiology is specifically challenged by complex environmental stressors, which are most pronounced during lunar or interplanetary missions. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the book identifies the impact of these stressors – the space exposome – on immunity as a result of (dys-)functions of specific cells, organs and organ networks. These conditions (e.g. gravitation changes, radiation, isolation/confinement) affect immunity, but at the same time provide insights that may help to prevent, diagnose and address immune-related health alterations. Written by experts from academia, space agencies and industry, the book is a valuable resource for professionals, researchers and students in the field of medicine, biology and technology. The chapters “The Impact of Everyday Stressors on the Immune System and Health”, “Stress and Radiation Responsiveness” and “Assessment of Radiosensitivity and Biomonitoring of Exposure to Space adiation” are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This authoritative handbook covers all aspects of immunosenescence, with contributions from experts in the research and clinical areas. It examines methods and models for studying immunosenescence; genetics; mechanisms including receptors and signal transduction; clinical relevance in disease states including infections, autoimmunity, cancer, metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative diseases, frailty and osteoporosis; and much more.

The world population presents an increased percentage of individuals over 65 years old and the fastest growing subgroup is over 85 years old. The increase in life expectancy observed in the last century has not been synonymous with extra years lived in good health (disability-free years). Population studies have shown that as individuals age, they can present a great heterogeneity of ability and health. Therefore, aging has been associated for some individuals with disabilities and hospitalizations. Deaths related to infectious pathogens are increased in the aging population mainly due to pneumonia and influenza whereas Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, among other viruses seem to contribute to the low-grade inflammatory process observed (inflammaging). Aging is a complex and multifactorial process in which functions of the organism are adjusted (remodelled) in order to deal with damaging events during life. One of the most important changes in aging individuals occurs in the immune system (innate and adaptive responses) with consequences such as poor response to new infections and vaccinations; increased susceptibility to cancer development and autoimmune diseases; frailty, and organ dysfunction. In addition, it has been proposed that immunosenescence not only reflects the aging of the organism but also contributes to this process. Bone marrow presents decreased hematopoiesis, the thymus undergoes involution and lymphoid organs (lymph nodes, spleen) also present reduced functionality. Therefore, cells derived, matured, or residing in these tissues decline in number and function. These changes have been identified in experimental models, in vitro conditions, peripheral blood, and biopsies via biomarkers such as cell phenotype, stimulus-induced proliferation, cytokines and antibodies levels. Telomere length and telomerase activity also decline in bone marrow-derived and peripheral blood cells and have been shown to play a role in immunosenescence. More recently, the investigation of short non-coding RNA molecules (microRNAs; miRNAs) pointed to this system as a possible control of aging-related mechanisms. Data obtained on these markers for aging individuals could lead to the generation of a marker panel for pathology prediction, to indicate interventions, and to evaluate the efficacy of interventions. Interventions such as nutrition supplements, exercise, vaccination (different dose, concentration of antigen, adjuvants) have been proposed to circumvent age-related diseases. Considering the heterogeneity in the aging process, further investigation is vital before the indication of interventions for aging individuals. As the extension of life expectancy is a reality, it is a challenge to understand how the aging population copes with the remodelling of the organism and how interventions could provide longevity in good health.