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The fact that the Immune System, unlike the liver or the thyroid, is not a "separate" organ but one that is diffused in every organ apparatus or body system makes it an extremely distinctive and special organic system. This particularity stems from its being constantly in contact with the central nervous system, in other words, the brain; the two systems are able to communicate with each other in a very precise and reciprocal way. While it's true that the brain receives information from the immune system and sends it orders, the opposite is also true in that the immune system receives information from the brain, examines the external environment, and, depending on what happens during this "sentry duty", sends very precise orders to that same nervous system.
This fact was hardly known until 1980 but is today so well demonstrated that some scientists have even referred to the immune system as a sort of "brain in movement", almost as if the two functions were in reality two different expressions of the same organ.
Our knowledge of these aspects helps us to understand why an allergy, aside from the symptoms that we all recognize as allergic ones, can, for example also give rise to behavior changes or actual "nervous" diseases, or vice versa. This is due to the fact that a particular emotional state can positively or negatively influence a person's allergic reactions.
Psychoneuroimmunology, or rather, the science of the relationship between the immune system and the nervous system is a science whose solid bases have become even more rational and scientific today. The last few years have witnessed the acquisition and documentation of data relating to the interaction between a person's neuropsychic area and their immune system that is by now irrefutable.
Since 1984, for example, we have had the certainty that the immune system responds to conditioned responses (like the studies conducted on dogs by Pavlov), and that it could interfere with the immune system by way of a nervous stimulus. Therefore, that which was already suspected on a clinical and philosophical level was given a precise scientific definition.
When this article was published in 1984, it should have triggered strong reactions, however this type of scientific data didn't modify in any way the convictions of those who denied, then, now and will continue to deny the written proof of the relationship between the psyche and the immune system
Fortunately many scientists continue their research and clinical application regardless of the "die hard" skeptics. Today there is numerous data that explains this type of reciprocal interference between the two systems as well as on the clinical phenomena linked to food intolerances. Scientists such as Bienenstock and Blalock described and documented the interactions between the nervous and immune systems and pointed out that even though these studies have very important implications for research and the future of allergology, they are often overlooked by the medical world.
Rita Levi Montalcini, as we have stated, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1986 for her discovery of NGF (Nerve Growth Factor), cytokines that are produced by the body in response to moments of strong vital change, and that multiply a person's allergic reactivity in a considerable way.
Therefore, it shouldn't be surprising that techniques like Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) , Meditation or Yoga can be used as legitimate aids for the cure of allergic forms. But if a person prefers to rely on drugs, it's possible that even the cautious use of some psychological drugs could, for example, help to keep the allergic symptoms in check.
Doctor Attilio Speciani
Clinical Allergist and Immunologist
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