Stress and the gastrointestinal tract - I. Stress and hepatic inflammation

Stress is an ever-present part of modern life. The "stress response" consti tutes an organism's mechanism for coping with a given stress and is mediate d via the release of glucocorticoids and catecholamines. Patients often com plain of stress-related worsening of their liver disease; however, the inte rrelationship between stress and hepatic inflammation is incompletely under stood and has received little scientific attention. Considering the broad i mpact glucocorticoids and catecholamines have on immune cell function, it i s very likely that stress has a significant impact on the hepatic inflammat ory response. This themes article discusses studies of the stress response and its peripheral effectors (glucocorticoids and catecholamines) in liver disease and their impact on hepatic inflammation and outlines potential are as for future scientific investigation.