Vere CC, Streba CT, Streba LM, Ionescu AG, Sima F. Psychosocial stress and liver disease status. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(24): 2980-2986 [PMID: 19554650 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.15.2980]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Costin Teodor Streba, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, St. 1 Decembrie 1918, Bl. N11, Ap. 2, Craiova 200066, Dolj, Romania. costinstreba@gmail.com
Article-Type of This Article
Review
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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 28, 2009; 15(24): 2980-2986 Published online Jun 28, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.2980
Psychosocial stress and liver disease status
Cristin Constantin Vere, Costin Teodor Streba, Letitia Maria Streba, Alin Gabriel Ionescu, Felix Sima
Cristin Constantin Vere, Alin Gabriel Ionescu, Felix Sima, 1st Department of Internal Medicine, Emergency County Hospital of Craiova, Craiova 200322, Dolj, Romania
Costin Teodor Streba, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova 200349, Dolj, Romania
Letitia Maria Streba, 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, “Filantropia” University Hospital of Craiova, Craiova 200136, Dolj, Romania
Author contributions: Vere CC and Streba CT equally contributed to this work; Vere CC initiated the literature review; Vere CC and Streba CT conducted the literature review; Streba LM provided important guidance throughout the preparation of this manuscript; Ionescu AG and Sima F reviewed the text.
Correspondence to: Costin Teodor Streba, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, St. 1 Decembrie 1918, Bl. N11, Ap. 2, Craiova 200066, Dolj, Romania. costinstreba@gmail.com
Telephone: +40-722-389-906
Fax: +40-251-534523
Received: March 25, 2009 Revised: May 23, 2009 Accepted: May 30, 2009 Published online: June 28, 2009
Abstract
“Psychosocial stress” is an increasingly common concept in the challenging and highly-demanding modern society of today. Organic response to stress implicates two major components of the stress system, namely the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Stress is anamnestically reported by patients during the course of disease, usually accompanied by a decline in their overall health status. As the mechanisms involving glucocorticoids and catecholamines have been deciphered, and their actions on immune cell function deeper understood, it has become clear that stress has an impact on hepatic inflammatory response. An increasing number of articles have approached the link between psychosocial stress and the negative evolution of hepatic diseases. This article reviews a number of studies on both human populations and animal models performed in recent years, all linking stress, mainly of psychosocial nature, and the evolution of three important liver-related pathological entities: viral hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
