|
A broken heart can snuff out life
Sunday March 25, 2012 06:19:33 PM,
IANS
|
|
|
|
|
London: A broken
heart could snuff out life in the wake of bereavement, which
weakens our immune system and its ability to ward off infections,
says a study.
Scientists have found that emotional upheaval at the loss of a
loved one trigger suppression of parts of the immune system,
leaving grieving relatives more vulnerable to bacterial
infections.
The findings may help to explain anecdotal incidents of widows and
widowers who have died days or even hours after their spouse.
Former prime minister James Callaghan died of pneumonia aged 92 in
1995, just 10 days after Audrey, his wife of 67 years died.
Now immunologists at the University of Birmingham have found that
increased stress levels and depression brought on by grief can
interfere with the function of a type of white blood cell known as
neutrophils, which are responsible for fighting bacterial
infections like pneumonia, the Telegraph reported.
The impact becomes more pronounced in older adults as they lose
the ability to produce a hormone that can stave of this dampening
affect, meaning even previously healthy elderly people can fall
victim to disease following a bereavement.
Janet Lord, professor at Birmingham, who led the research, said:
"There are a lot of anecdotes about couples who were married for
40 years - when one of them passes away and then the other dies a
few days later. It seems there is a biological basis for this."
"Rather than dying of a broken heart, however, they are dying of a
broken immune system. They usually get infections," added Lord.
The researchers studied the immune systems and hormone levels of
48 healthy adults aged 65 and over. Half of the group had suffered
a major bereavement in the past 12 months.
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
 About 70 percent of India is poor: Top adviser
Debunking the government's claim that the number of
poor in India has come down, a top adviser has claimed that around
70 percent of the country's 1.2 billion population is poor, and
stressed the need for a
»
'Childhood
poverty remains a reality in India
People Without History: India's
Muslim Ghettos
|
|
|
|
Most Read |
|
 Tension at Telangana student's funeral procession
The
suicide of a student for separate statehood to Telangana has
brought the issue back into focus with a shutdown being observed
Sunday in Warangal district amid tension and some groups
»
|
|
Maoists release one abducted Italian
State Home Secretary U.N. Behera said the rebels released Claudio
Colangelo. "His health is apparently fine," Behera told IANS. The
government will continue efforts to secure the release of the
other Italian, Bosusco Paolo, and a Biju Janata Dal
»
Odisha talks halted as Maoists seize
legislator
|
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
Now fire in Bengal bus depot, minister says sabotage
Kolkata
continued to play with fire when the record room of the West
Bengal government-run Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC)
was destroyed by a blaze Sunday. A state minister later called it
a case of sabotage. » |
|
Urdu poetry blurs borders at Shankar-Shad
'mushaira'
Four
poets from Pakistan and India read contemporary Urdu poetry at the
48th Shankar Shad Mushaira here Saturday in an attempt to further
cultural and literary ties between India and Pakistan and raise
awareness
»
|
|
 Annan on
way to Russia, China as Syrian forces continue to bomb Homs
Even as the European Union slapped sanctions on the mother, sister
and influential wife of President Bashar Assad and the UN-Arab
League peace envoy Kofi Annan is on way to Russia and
»
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Prime
Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh releasing a book entitled “Hundred
Years”, at the Oxford University Press Centenary Celebrations,
in New Delhi on March 21 2012. Vice Chancellor University of
Oxford Prof. Andrew Hamilton is also seen.
(Photo:
Mukesh |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links