美國(guó)研究人員7日說(shuō)，與生活在族群中的小白鼠相比,，那些孤獨(dú)和精神壓力大的小白鼠更容易罹患乳腺癌。這一研究表明，孤獨(dú)對(duì)健康有很大影響,。
主導(dǎo)這項(xiàng)研究的美國(guó)耶魯大學(xué)研究員格蕾琴·赫米斯當(dāng)天在接受路透社采訪時(shí)說(shuō)，她與芝加哥大學(xué)的瑪莎·麥克林托克一起進(jìn)行了這項(xiàng)研究,，接受實(shí)驗(yàn)的小白鼠從一出生就被從族群中分離出來(lái),。兩人經(jīng)過(guò)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，兩組小白鼠都患上乳腺腫瘤,，但被隔離的小白鼠比族群中的小白鼠患上乳腺腫瘤的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)高3倍,，而且它們的腫瘤更多、更大,，致命的可能性也更大,。
赫米斯說(shuō)，導(dǎo)致這種結(jié)果的首要原因是精神壓力無(wú)法疏解,，而此前的很多研究已表明,，孤獨(dú)感對(duì)人體健康有害。
研究顯示,，精神壓力可引發(fā)人體致癌基因的生長(zhǎng),。赫米斯和麥克林托克的研究證實(shí)了這一點(diǎn),，那些感到恐懼和焦慮的小白鼠更易患腫瘤，更易死亡,。
她們發(fā)現(xiàn),，被隔離的小白鼠體內(nèi)產(chǎn)生的一種壓力荷爾蒙——腎上腺酮更多，而乳腺組織可接收這種壓力荷爾蒙,。赫米斯認(rèn)為,，這些壓力荷爾蒙可能直接促進(jìn)了乳腺腫瘤的生長(zhǎng)。
麥克林托克表示,，這些研究也許能幫助解釋為什么生活在犯罪率高的社區(qū)的女性,、特別是生活在這種環(huán)境中的黑人女性比其他女性罹患乳腺癌的時(shí)間更早。
她們的研究成果發(fā)表在美國(guó)《國(guó)家科學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)》月刊上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PNAS May 18, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0811949106
Peripheral tumors induce depressive-like behaviors and cytokine production and alter hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation
Leah M. Pyter,1, Vanessa Pineros, Jerome A. Galang, Martha K. McClintock and Brian J. Prendergast
Department of Psychology, Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, 940 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
A strong and positive correlation exists between chronic disease and affective disorders, but the biological mechanisms underlying this relationship are not known. Here we show that rats with mammary cancer exhibit depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in the absence of overt sickness behaviors. The production of proinflammatory cytokines, known to induce depressive-like behaviors, was elevated in the periphery and in the hippocampus of rats with tumors compared with controls. In tumor-bearing rats, circulating corticosterone, which inhibits cytokine signaling, was suppressed following a stressor, and gene expression of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors was elevated. The results establish that tumors alone are sufficient to trigger changes in emotional behaviors. Dampened glucocorticoid responses to stressors may exacerbate the deleterious effects of tumor-induced cytokines on affective states.
