Stressed to Death: Mental tension ages cells

A study puts evidence behind the old theory that stressful experiences can give a person gray hair. Scientific data now indicate that prolonged psychological stress might cause a person's cells to age, and possibly die, faster than normal. Past studies have shown that a protein called telomeres is a cells timekeeper. This could be the clue we need to find out.

It also protects the ends of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides enzymes take off a tiny portion of telomeres. When they are broken down to nubs, the cells stop dividing and die. Scientists have long known that stress can harm a person's health by, for instance, lowering immunity or raising blood pressure. A team of scientists recruited 58 healthy women between the ages of 20 and 50. All the women were mothers of at least one child, 39 members of the group were primary caregivers for a child who was chronically ill with a disease such as cerebral palsy. They all answered a survey on how much day-to-day stress she recieved in her life. Mothers with chronically ill children reported to have more stress than regular mothers. The team measured telomere length in immune cells called mononucleocytes collected from blood samples of each volunteer. From the telomere lengths, the researchers estimate that cells from the highly stressed women resembled cells of low-stressed volunteers who were 10 years older. Further tests showed that women who reported higher stress also had more free radical damage to their cells than women under less psychological strain did. The results "make sense," says Fred Goldman, a pediatric oncologist who studies telomere biology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. "We know that people who are stressed out look haggard. … If we have less stress in our lives, we might live longer."

telomeres- A compound structure at the end of a chromosome.

cerebral palsy- A condition marked by impaired muscle coordination.

haggard- Looking exhausted, and unwell.

http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/stressed_to_death.html