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RESEARCH CONNECTS A "TYPE C" COPING STYLE TO IMMUNE SYSTEM MOLECULES IMPLICATED IN HIV PROGRESSION | |
| Contact: Lydia Temoshok, PhD Phone: 410-706-2621 Email: temoshok@umbi.umd.edu Embargoed until: March 3, 2004 |
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Vancouver, BC, Canada - Connections between a "Type C" style of coping with stress and beta-chemokines, key molecules which latch onto and block one of the main HIV co-receptors or doorways by which the dominant HIV strain enters cells, are being investigated in 200 HIV patients followed over 5 years in an outpatient clinic in inner-city Baltimore. The research is funded through a highly competitive National Institutes of Health grant awarded to Lydia Temoshok, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Director of the Behavioral Medicine Program, Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore. In collaboration with colleagues in Rome, Dr. Temoshok published a study in 2002 showing that HIV patients exhibiting a strong Type C style of coping with stress (emotionally inexpressive, less able to recognize their own needs and feelings, and thus less able to deal effectively with stressful situations) had faster HIV disease progression 6 and 12 months later. Preliminary data to be presented at the March 2005 American Psychosomatic Society meeting by Dr. Temoshok and her colleagues show a strong and significant relationship between Type C coping and lower production of the two most important beta-chemokines which are associated with a more favorable clinical status in HIV. If this strong relationship between Type C coping and dysregulated HIV-specific chemokine production is upheld in the longitudinal study, it suggests that interventions to change maladaptive Type C coping could constitute a safe and effective HIV treatment strategy. The development of synthetic molecules or drugs that mimic the receptor-blocking characteristics of beta-chemokines are a current focus of intense biomedical and pharmaceutical efforts. The thrust of Dr. Temoshok's research suggests that behavioral interventions to change maladaptive Type C coping could enhance-naturally and without potential side effects-- the production of the body's own HIV-protective chemokines. | |
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Psychosomatic Medicine is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, published bimonthly. For information about the journal, contact Vicki White, Managing Editor for Manuscript Production,
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