Bless Your Body ~ It's Your Health. Own It!

Researchers from Duke University and scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have identified a molecular pathway indicated in stress-related damage to the genome, which contains biological information encoded in its DNA.

The article states that evidence indicates chronic stress eventually leads to DNA damage, resulting in neuropsychiatric conditions, miscarriages, cancer, and aging.

The study indicates that even the “fight or flight” response to stress raises the heart rate and blood glucose levels, causing significant damage under prolonged conditions.

The new findings suggest that chromosome rearrangement and a build-up of DNA damage are the primary cause of miscarriages, congenital defects, and mental retardation.

Published in the journal Nature on August 21, 2011, the new findings could explain the development of certain human disorders, and possibly offer a model for prevention and therapy.

The following side quote was posted next to the article:

“Our results raise the possibility that such therapies might reduce some of the deleterious DNA-damaging consequences of long-term stress in humans.”
— Robert J. Lefkowitz

It will be interesting to follow this and see what model for prevention, and “therapy” will be offered. My first thought when reading this was “Why not examine the real issue which is stress and find ways to effectively deal with the root cause?” No doubt there will be some synthetic chemical medicinal therapy cooked up in the lab by Big Pharma and offered up through the medical and mental health industry, causing severe long term side effects.

We must remember what stress is and find out what is causing it, then eliminate it or at least minimize it. Drugs will not heal the effects of stress, they will just mask it and eventually do more damage to our health. The epidemic of anti-depressants and the long term effects of these drugs has proven this.

Source: The Scripps Research Institute