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Stressful Events Damage Children's Immune Systems

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 08:09 CST

Stressful experiences on young children can impact their health beyond when the situation is resolved.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined the effects of stressful events on children's immune systems. Immune systems, they say, are not present at birth. How immune cells develop and are regulated and influenced by a person's early environment and rearing.

An evaluation of a group of adolescents with a history of physical abuse and stressful home environment revealed those children had higher levels of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) antibodies, showing their immune systems were compromised. About two-thirds of the United States population carries the virus, which causes cold sores and fever blisters. People with healthy immune systems are able to keep the virus in check, rarely showing symptoms. People with weak immune systems have trouble restraining the virus and produce antibodies against it.

"Even though these children's environments have changed, physiologically they're still responding to stress," Seth Pollak, senior author and a professor of psychology and pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was quoted as saying. "That can affect their learning and their behavior, and having a compromised immune system is going to affect these children's health."

SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009

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On the Net:

• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Source: Ivanhoe

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