Clinical Significance of Seasonal Patterns of Immune Function and Disease (original) (raw)

2002, Cambridge University Press eBooks

As the seasons change, animals face alterations in environmental stressors. In particular, the prevalence and intensity of pathogenic infection are often seasonal. This book presents evidence that infection is cyclical with the seasons and that this phenomenon is mirrored in cycles of immune function. The goal of this book is to identify the mechanisms by which the immune system is bolstered to counteract seasonally recurrent stressors, such as extreme temperature reductions and food shortages. The authors consider how such environmental changes create energetically demanding conditions that can compromise host immunity and lead to illness and death. Specifically, stress, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and human cancers are examined, and the role of hormones such as melatonin and glucocorticoids is considered. The book begins with an overview of seasonality, biological rhythms and photoperiodism, and basic immunology, and continues with the characterization of seasonal fluctuations in disease prevalence, energetics, and endocrinology as they relate to immune function. Finally, the clinical significance of seasonal patterns in immune function is addressed to emphasize the role that seasonal changes in host immunity and hormones may play in the development and treatment of infections. This is the first monograph to examine seasonal immune function from an interdisciplinary perspective. Practitioners as well as advanced undergraduates and graduate students in biology, immunology, human and veterinary medicine, neuroscience, endocrinology, and zoology will find its approach both insightful and relevant.