Stress Found to Accelerate Chromosome Aging

th3d0ct0r writes "Various sources report that according to the findings of a science team led by Elissa Epel at the University of California, SF, stress can cause accelerated aging of cells. The mecanism seems to be linked to oxidative stress at cellular level, that keeps the enzyme telomerase from regenerating the chromosomial telomere caps which shorten a bit during each replication cycle. Telomere caps are known to be a very important factor determining the replication capacity of every cell. Once these caps are gone,a cell goes to a state of senescence, and ultimately dies. People exposed to prolonged periods of stress have been shown to have significantly shorter telomere caps on the chromosomes of their white blood cells."

Comments

I am curious

[Murphy Murph]

I am curious what how this relates to the effect of stress on the immune system.

Is the immune system weakened somehow by this?
Are a weakened immune system and this shortening of the telomeres both symptoms of another problem?
Are the telomeres shortened in these white blood cells because the immune system has been running it's self to rags due to stress?
Or is the fact they found this shortening in white blood cells a red herring?

Then again, this was a study of 58 women. Not a very large sample, and I'm male - so I'm safe.

(I always was jealous of my sisters as a child. I found it unfair that sharks were man-eaters.)