From the student in the schools to the CEO of a multinational company, every individual in the modern world suffers from stress nowadays. Stress is one of the greatest killers of the 21st century. Without stress in our daily life, humans would not be suffering from most of the diseases, that they do now. Mankind has tried from ancient times to combat stress using different approaches like – Medications, Meditation and Holistic approach to healthcare, with variable success.
The efforts of modern medicine have had a variable level of success in combating stress. But wouldn’t it be better if the whole of the human race, became immune to adverse effects of stress or even didn’t develop stress at all? It seems that a team of scientists working in the University of Colorado Boulder (located in Boulder, Colorado, United States) is trying hard to develop an anti-stress vaccine, which can provide a stress free life for people.
There is a multitude of health problems which are either caused by or aggravated by stress. Some of the important ones are -
More than 18 million people die of Cardio Vascular Disease each year and 1.13 Billion people worldwide suffer from hypertension (increased blood pressure). Higher blood pressure and heart disease are directly related to stress. Heart rate and blood flow are increased in stress as is the release of triglycerides and cholesterol into the bloodstream. It is quite well own that stress can precipitate heart attacks.
This problem which is closely related to heart disease is also associated with stress. Increased levels of the hormone cortisol are released in stress, which increases fat deposition in the abdomen.
Stress can increase breathing difficulty in bronchial asthma. Children of parents with high levels of stress do also have chances of developing Asthma.
In the condition of stress, hormonal changes take place to increase blood glucose levels. This is done by the release of more glucagon & adrenalin, along with higher levels of growth hormones and cortisol levels. If this condition persists for a prolonged period of time, devastating effects on the body can occur. A study has shown that prolonged stress can increase the chances of developing diabetes in men by up to 45%.
It would be highly obvious that people suffering from stress also have other psychological disorders like – anxiety, depression, memory impairment, post-traumatic stress disorders and sleep dysfunction.
Gastrointestinal ulcers are made worse by stress & Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are aggravated.
It is believed that a higher amount of cortisol released in stress is responsible for the delayed wound healing seen in these conditions.
Signs and symptoms of aging are not aggravated just in physical appearance due to stress but even changes in chromosomal levels have been observed. Elderly people taking care of their sick spouses had 63% greater rate of death than people of the same age group, who were not facing this stress.
The hero of our story is a bacterium living in the soil (besides the scientists who carried out this experiment). Yes, bacteria are mostly known to cause diseases, but not all of them are bad. In fact, some of them are quite beneficial for us humans. The hero of the experiment is also one such bacterium – Mycobacterium vaccae, a bacterium living on the dead and decaying organic matter of the soil.
This bacterium has some remarkable properties when it comes to health concerns of animals (yes, the experiment and its benefits till now is restricted to animals only), the bacterium has shown some remarkable beneficial effects. It decreases inflammation & controls the immune response in an organism, along with increased resistance to stress; all by virtue of fatty acid present in the bacteria.
The experiment started sometime back when a team of scientist from the University of Colorado Boulder (in Boulder, Colorado, United States) proved how Mycobacterium vaccae reduces stress associated reactions in mice. In the initial tests, a mouse was injected with a heat-killed preparation of the bacterium – Mycobacterium vaccae. Later when they were exposed to a stressful situation, they displayed much less anxiety than would be possible in such a situation. Inflammation in some other peripheral organs like Colon (large intestine) induced by stress, were also seen to decrease.
Since then many other tests have been done, giving more insights to the sequence of events producing the results. Male rats were injected with the bacterium (Mycobacterium vaccae) 3 times in a weekly interval. 8 days after the last injection, interleukin 4 (an anti-inflammatory protein) was found to be significantly increased in the hippocampus area of the brain. Here it would be prudent to mention that, Hippocampus is a small area located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain, and has an important function of regulating emotions, learning, and memory.
When these animals were exposed to stress, they were found to have 1) lower levels of alarmin – a stress-induced protein (which makes the brain sensitive to developing inflammation) and 2) higher expression of receptors, responsible for keeping the brain’s immune cells in an anti-inflammatory state. The final result was that the rats were much less anxious when exposed to stress.
After the latest study, the team of scientists from University of Colorado Boulder has been successful in identifying and isolating (and also chemically synthesizing) a fatty acid known as 10 (Z) - hexadecenoic acid from the bacteria – Mycobacterium vaccae, that is responsible for creating the beneficial effects observed. This fatty acid was seen to bind tightly with the receptors on immune cells, and thus inhibiting further action of chemicals (which causes inflammation) on these cells (as the receptors were no longer available for binding). Thus, these specially prepared immune cells were resistant to a further inflammatory stimulus. Thus, using the fatty acid from the bacteria would help in developing a vaccine, which by preventing inflammation in the brain would protect against stress.
The team responsible for the study believe that Mycobacterium vaccae, may not be the only bacteria present in the soil, which has such remarkable properties. They believe it is quite possible that there may be many other unrecognized strains of bacteria also present in the soil which may have similar beneficial qualities, about which the world is yet to find out.
It seems in the olden days, when the elders in the family told children to go and play outside, there was really an inherent scientific benefit associated with the act. The scientific term used to describe this benefit was the – Hygiene Hypothesis. The term was coined for the first time by the British scientist – David Strachan in 1989. The theory which is certainly controversial believes that lack of exposure to the microorganism in childhood of people in the present generation (due to changed lifestyle compared to people living earlier), is responsible for higher rates of allergy (including asthma) and other manifestations of the impaired immune system.
The theory has been refined in modern times, where researchers have postulated that it is not lack of exposure to disease-causing microorganism, but to the beneficial microorganism living in the soil that is responsible for many deleterious effects on health (including mental health) of people as seen in modern societies. So according to the scientists responsible for the research, the agricultural/hunting habits of our ancestors may have had a positive effect on their immune system, enabling them to suppress the harmful inflammation.
According to Professor Christopher Lowry, the lead scientist in the project, children who grow up in villages, where there is ample exposure to bacteria-laden dust and animals, have a stronger and healthier immune system and may have less chances of development of inflammatory disease and stress-related mental disorders later in life, than children who grew up in the cities without any exposure to nature. Here it would be important to add that Mycobacterium vaccae was isolated from the first time from the mud on the shoreline of Lake Kyoga in Uganda.
Mycobacterium vaccae, the bacterium used in the experiment, does create an anti-inflammatory state in the Hippocampus of the brain of the rodents, enabling them to handle stress better. However, transmitting this same trait to humans, without any side effects would be easier said than done. Even if such a vaccine is developed for use in humans, first it has to be ensured that it does not cause any undesirable disease or allergy in the individual receiving the vaccine.
Switching from antidepressant medications to a vaccine for stress would have unpredictable compliances from both the health professionals and patients concerned. The commercial viability of producing the vaccine in large industrial scale is also a factor that can’t be overlooked. All these steps are going to take time. The scientists involved in the research project themselves believe that the vaccine wouldn’t be available for human use till next 10 to 15 years.
The whole experiment is based on the fact that hopefully in the future, immunization with the beneficial bacteria (Mycobacterium vaccae) will produce a long-lasting anti-inflammatory effect on the brain, which would enable humans to be much tougher and stronger to handle stress, both physically and psychologically.
Besides, people are shaped by the challenges they face in life and the way they react to them. If the stress is not developed in the individual facing a challenge, would it bring out the best (or the worst) in them? Would it be always beneficial to remain calm and peaceful, when faced with imminent danger? The correct threat assessment has helped people many times, to escape the danger that they were facing. Would dulling the response always work out in the individual’s favor? These are the questions which only time would answer. Till then we just have to wait for the results. Meanwhile, we wish all the best, to the team of scientists working on the project.