A hormone, known as neuropeptide Y (NPY), can prevent our immune system functioning properly, according to new research from UNSW affiliated researchers, based at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
"Most of us expect to come down with a cold or other illness when we are under pressure, but until now we have mostly had circumstantial evidence for a link between the brain and the immune system," said the lead researcher, UNSW Conjoint Associate Professor Fabienne Mackay, who is based at the Garvan.
"During periods of stress, nerves release a lot of NPY and it gets into the bloodstream, where it inhibits the cells in the immune system that look out for and destroy pathogens (bacteria and viruses) in the body," said Professor Mackay.
The discovery came about through a collaboration between Mackay's immunology group and researchers in the Neurobiology program at the Garvan, led by UNSW Adjunct Associate Professor Herbert Herzog.
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