jay gw
1st December 2004, 12:09 PM
Senay reports that a new study in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides more evidence that chronic psychological stress speeds up the biological aging process.
Researchers compared the white blood cells in women who experienced severe long-term stress from caring for chronically-ill children to those of women who cared for healthy children. They found that the cells of women who reported chronic stress aged 10 years faster than than those of women who were not stressed out.
The researchers measured the wear and tear on the chromosomes within the white blood cells, specifically the length of structures called telomeres at the ends of the chromosomes. Telomeres get shorter and shorter each time a cell divides. This gradual shortening is seen as a kind of biological clock, because the cells eventually lose their ability to reproduce, which results in signs of aging such as wrinkles, diminished eyesight, and eventually, organ failure and death.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4192419
Researchers compared the white blood cells in women who experienced severe long-term stress from caring for chronically-ill children to those of women who cared for healthy children. They found that the cells of women who reported chronic stress aged 10 years faster than than those of women who were not stressed out.
The researchers measured the wear and tear on the chromosomes within the white blood cells, specifically the length of structures called telomeres at the ends of the chromosomes. Telomeres get shorter and shorter each time a cell divides. This gradual shortening is seen as a kind of biological clock, because the cells eventually lose their ability to reproduce, which results in signs of aging such as wrinkles, diminished eyesight, and eventually, organ failure and death.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4192419