Rejection really can break your heart and inflame your guts

Here is a digest of a paper by George M. Slavich et al. at UCLA which indicates a clear causal link between the stress from feeling socially rejected and inflammation. This reports one of his many papers looking at the effects of mind-body interaction and would appear to be very relevant to the repeated flares characteristic of  IBD, (the autoimmune conditions known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which includes Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis). Being the reluctant Black Sheep really does seem to have an inflammatory effect!

Image courtesy of uwillreadnews.blogspot
 http://uwillreadnews.blogspot.com/2010/08/rejection-affects-health.html  
Here is an abstract from the original paper:
"Although stress-induced increases in inflammation have been implicated in several major disorders, including cardiovascular disease and depression, the neurocognitive pathways that underlie inflammatory responses to stress remain largely unknown. To examine these processes, we recruited 124 healthy young adult participants to
complete a laboratory-based social stressor while markers of inflammatory activity were obtained from oral fluids..........
For the full paper click here:

 http://www.georgeslavich.com/pubs/Slavich_PNAS_2010.pdf

Vulnerability is essential for mental health

I was writing a new post about the effect on the body of internalising feelings rather than expressing them. I have found that Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis in particular and other autoimmune conditions in general such as psoriasis appear to respond in particular to the stress that results from being a different persona from the one being lived. This video talks in a very clear way about the importance of living from  your "Core Self" (Copyright) as I talk about in my BUDI(TM) program.
First watch this; it illustrates so well how modern day humans often block off feelings and live behind the person we think we ought to be. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.htm
Ted Talks are a wonderful resource and Brene Brown really does her opportunity justice. Enjoy, and please tell me what you think! - Joy

IBD: Stress causes flares of IBD—how much evidence is enough?

IBD: Stress causes flares of IBD—how much evidence is enough?

As you know, I'm already convinced of this- this conviction underpins my work in helping people achieve remission of their  Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis and other autoimmune disease symptoms.  

Here is a link to the teaser for an article by Jane M. Andrews & Gerald Holtmann. Subscription to the paper is $18, which I will gladly pay and summarise for you (copyright laws permitting) if there is sufficient interest. Please leave your comments below if you would like to hear more about their findings. 

IBD: Stress causes flares of IBD—how much evidence is enough?

P.S. HAVING LOOKED FURTHER INTO THE RELATED STUDIES THAT THESE TWO PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED IN, I THINK THE ABOVE TITLE IN THE PUBLICATION LINK BELOW IS MISLEADING. I'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED WITH MY SUBSEQUENT FINDINGS. SORRY - I TAKE CARE IN CHECKING THE INTEGRITY OF MY INFORMATION - THIS ONE GOT THROUGH THE NET.- JOY

http://www.nature.com/nrgastro/journal/v8/n1/full/nrgastro.2010.208.html

Image courtesy of roadtojersey.blogspot

New Crohn's wonder drug - 40% success rate?

40% of the people on this drug "positively responded" after 5 weeks.
Better tolerated.
http://clinicaltrials.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/news/txcell-announces-positive-results-of-ovasave-in-crohns-disease-271011

Sapho Syndrome associated with Ulcerative Colitis

Sapho syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder associated with Ulcerative Colitis and to a lesser extent, Crohn's Disease. Here are two resource links:
The first is an article written by a sufferer http://www.ihaveuc.com/ulcerative-colitis-and-sapho-syndrome/ with a couple of contributions and comments from other sufferers. 
Here is another link to a more formal article http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1297319X10000126 
Further, see this astonshing research paper of a women who developed Sapho syndrome after being treated with Remicade - which is usually used to treat Sapho syndrome: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/SaphoSyndrome
Hope these help! - Joy

Eye problems associated with Crohn's and Colitis

It is generally accepted that certain eye problems can be a complication of IBD including episcleritis (inflammation and redness of the white of the eye) and iritis (inflammation of the iris). Iritis needs to be treated by an opthalmologist. Episcleritis occurs in 3-4% of IBD patients and iritis occurs in 0.5-3% of IBD patients (mainly males with Ulcerative Colitis). Please seek medical advice if you are at all concerned. None of my information is intended to constitute or replace medical advice. http://www.eyecasualty.co.uk/maincontent1/episcleritis.html