Immunology

Neuroendocrine Immunology

Neuroendocrine factors are thought to play a major role in the gender-specific difference in development of certain disorders, including autoimmune or inflammatory diseases that have a 2- to 10-fold higher incidence in females compared to males. Neuroendocrine factors, innate immunity, adaptive immunity, antigen-presenting cells, lymphocytes which ncreasing body of evidence demonstrates that there is bidirectional communication between the neuroendocrine and immune systems. Interactions between these systems results in a variety of outcomes, including the well documented “sickness behavior” elicited by cytokines of the immune system that can enter the brain or activate second messengers that modify neuronal activity