Over 60 years ago, Selye1 recognized the paradox that the physiologicsystems activated by stress can not only protect and restorebut also damage the body. What links these seemingly contradictoryroles? How does stress influence the pathogenesis of disease,and what accounts for the variation in vulnerability to stress-relateddiseases among people with similar life experiences? How canstress-induced damage be quantified? These and many other questionsstill challenge investigators.
This article reviews the long-term effect of the physiologicresponse 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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