Abstract
Acute mental stress elicits increases in plasma cytokine concentrations in humans, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We assessed the impact of beta-adrenergic blockade on plasma interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) responses in a parallel group, double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial involving 64 healthy young adult volunteers. Participants were administered 80 mg slow-release propranolol or placebo daily for 7 days before the stress testing session in which responses to 3 behavioural challenges (public speaking, mirror tracing, mental arithmetic) were evaluated. Propranolol administration was associated with reduced baseline levels of heart rate and IL-1Ra, and systolic blood pressure (BP) in men. Tasks stimulated increased plasma IL-6 concentrations sampled 45 min and 75 min after challenge, but these responses were blocked by propranolol in men (p < 0.001). Propranolol did not influence IL-6 responses in women, or IL-1Ra in either sex. Blood pressure and heart rate increased markedly during the tasks, but there was no differential stress reactivity in propranolol and placebo conditions. The results of the study support a role of sympathetic nervous system activation in stimulating acute IL-6 responses to stress, but only in men. The reasons for the differences between men and women remain to be resolved.
Highlights
Inflammation is involved in a range of serious health problems including coronary heart disease (CHD), some cancers, chronic pain, and depression (Elinav et al, 2013; Hansson and Hermansson, 2011; Louati and Berenbaum, 2015; Miller and Raison, 2016)
This placebo-controlled study evaluated the impact of 7 days treatment with the beta-blocker propranolol on acute inflammatory responses to mental stress
Treatment with propranolol resulted in attenuation of interleukin 6 (IL-6) responses to stress, but only in men and not women
Summary
Inflammation is involved in a range of serious health problems including coronary heart disease (CHD), some cancers, chronic pain, and depression (Elinav et al, 2013; Hansson and Hermansson, 2011; Louati and Berenbaum, 2015; Miller and Raison, 2016) Psychosocial factors such as early life trauma, low socioeconomic status (SES), caregiver strain and other adult stressors have been associated with low-grade systemic inflammation (Danese and Lewis, 2017; Kiecolt-Glaser et al, 2015; Rohleder, 2014; Stringhini et al, 2013). Another approach to investigating the pathways underlying acute inflammatory responses involves pharmacological blockade (Van Hedger et al, 2017). We hypothesised that 7 days of 80 mg propranolol would block stress-induced increases in inflammation and reduce systolic blood pressure (BP) and heart rate stress reactivity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
