Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sleep Loss Affects the Immune System

Sleep loss affects the immune system's inflammatory response and might contribute to conditions ranging from heart disease and disbetes to arthritis, new research has found. In studies published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, two scientific teams showed the interaction between disrupted sleep and the performance of the immune system. Inflammatory occurs when the immune system rushes infection-fighting white blood cells that promote healing. But a variety of conditions can cause the immune system to respond when it's not warranted, causing damage to healthy tissue and cells. Losing even night hurts! The new studies add to understanding about sleeps role in modifying the response of immune cells. One team UCLA, did a lab study that looked at 30 healthy *****s, comparing blood and DNA samples taken after three nights of uninterrupted sleep and after a fourth night when the subject were kept awake most of the time. The results showed that white blood cells produced significantly greater amounts of two disease-fighting proteins after a night of sleep loss. The study shows that even a modest loss of sleep for a single night increases inflammation, which is a key factor for the onset of cardiovascular disease and autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis," said lead author Dr. Michael Irwin. In the other sturdy, University of Chicago researchers looked at the sleep habits and quality of sleep among 161 black patients being treated for type 21, insulin-resistant, diabetes. Sleep and Health!! They found that, on average, the patients were getting about six hours of sleep a night, with only 6 percent getting eight hours, and most had poor control of their blood sugar. "There's an underniable relationship between sleep and health," said Dr. Phyllis Zee, a professor of neurology and director of the sleep disorders center at Northwestern University and co-author of an editorial in the journal that urged doctors to routinely evaluates habits of patients. "Treating a sleep disorder may have an impact on the condition you're trying to teat, like heart disease or diabetes." Scripps Howard New Service.



Posted by Briley Knox

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