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Review Article
Seminars in Medicine of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
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Volume 338:171-179 January 15, 1998 Number 3
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Protective and Damaging Effects of Stress Mediators
Bruce S. McEwen, Ph.D.

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Over 60 years ago, Selye1 recognized the paradox that the physiologic systems activated by stress can not only protect and restore but also damage the body. What links these seemingly contradictory roles? How does stress influence the pathogenesis of disease, and what accounts for the variation in vulnerability to stress-related diseases among people with similar life experiences? How can stress-induced damage be quantified? These and many other questions still challenge investigators.

This article reviews the long-term effect of the physiologic response to stress, which I refer to as allostatic load.2 Allostasis — the ability to achieve stability through change3 . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Physiologic Response to Stress

Allostasis and Allostatic Load

Examples of Allostatic Load

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Systems

The Brain

The Immune System

Implications of Allostatic Load in Human Society

Therapeutic Implications

Discussion


Source Information

From the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, Box 165, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, NY 10021, where reprint requests should be addressed to Dr. McEwen.

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