1) Shen-Orr is a very thorough, un-full-of-shit researcher,
2) I like how they used CyTOF in a novel capacity here, and
3) depressed people do tend to get sick more often.
That said, some of the largest divergences between mice and primates are in the brain, so it would be wise to exercise caution when generalizing these findings to humans.
If you need the full paper and have misplaced your subscription credentials, I hope you would not resort to plugging the DOI into http://sci-hub.bz like so:
Because that would be wrong. Publishers need hot tubs in their 3rd bathrooms, just like Deans and coaches do.
The methods section is included in that version (papers without methods are like dehydrated water). Read it for yourself, don't listen to some blowhard on the Interwebs (i.e., me).
as a big proponent of the cytof, i'm not sure that these guys used it in a novel capacity or even used it in its area of greatest strength... based off of what i can see, they did some simple immunophenotyping with less than a dozen markers, which traditionally be more suited for flow cytometry-- which they also used to detect GFP in a different section.
i like that the cytof is getting more popular, but people need to understand that the logistical commitment and jankiness of the system means that it should really only be used for its greatest strength: simultaneous detection of 30 variables on a small scale basis.
The code for Citrus is on GitHub (see online methods). The data was deposited into Cytobank, so if it isn't already available, you could ask them to release it (Cytobank is sort of like GEO for flow/CyTOF data). It's pretty transparent.
Most of the libraries for analyzing CyTOF data are already open (from Fluidigm). Did you already check for their data on Cytobank?
Granted Nat Med is not as demanding re: reproducibility as say eLife or Bioinformatics, but they're not complete shits like Cell Press either. Ask the authors to open the Cytobank data if they haven't. I don't see why they wouldn't.
This is an amazing study and a great step forward in our understanding of biology and previously mysterious mind-body connections. Besides helping to explain at least part of the classic Placebo Effect, it also opens the door to a great deal of potential both for making existing treatments more efficacious (by supplementing them with reward system intervention) and for new treatments (utilizing the brain reward system to influence immunological response).
The study seems very well-constructed and powerful. They demonstrate that direct stimulation of reward neuralchemistry produces specific and varied immune system responses, and also discover the pathways for this effect. They demonstrate causality well and also show that if the specific pathway they identify (the sympathetic nervous system connecting to lymphatic cells) is blocked, the increased immunological response no longer follows the neural reward stimulation. This seems really, really well done and it's high-impact science.
Upon reading the study, I wondered what might have created this mind-body link, in evolutionary terms. It turns out the authors considered this question as well. From the SciHub piece on this paper: "Many activities that are known to stimulate reward-system signaling in the VTA, including engaging in sex, socializing and traveling, markedly increase exposure to pathogens. Therefore, it can be envisioned, as the authors suggest, that coupling the reward center to the immune system would offer a selective advantage, which helps to explain the intertwining of these two systems from an evolutionary perspective."
So there's basically a social selection sub-system running in the background.
Perhaps this sub-system extends to people (unknowingly) "outing" themselves to other instances of the sub-system--should they become something akin to free radicals, or a negative factor to it.
Wish i could read the actual paper. I've been in a really low spot for almost a year. The startup I was working at went under, and I took a job I hate. Every morning I'm sick to my stomach thinking about stepping into that office, and all day long I find it increasingly hard to actually get work done. I have no motivation. As my depression has gotten worse, I've become constantly sick. At first I thought it was because my son was in daycare, but my wife seems to avoid most of it. Just the other day my son got foot and mouth disease, something common in children but rare in adults. Of course my wife is fine, but I somehow get it.
I thought it had been conclusively shown that stress reduces the ability of our immune system to fight off disease. Start looking for another job, take some time off or spend more time on a hobby if you're able. Easier said that done most of the time but you owe it to yourself and those close to you. Hope you pull through.
I hear you. I have been thru the same cycle. The one thing that got me thru it was my kids. Let loving, caring, raising them and your family be your own true motivation. It will always be there. Also find a project you love, see if a hacker space around you is active. So many amazing things going on in the world.
As for jobs, well I tend to be underemployed. Its hard to find companies with vision who are not fun by fools. The upside to that is it leaves me more time to work at my passion!
Perhaps it's just part of an ancient social ritual--where the sub-system recognizes the doctor type (basically a checkpoint in the system) as an authoritative verification of usefulness to society.
Or alternatively, the presence of social support means you're not in any immediate danger of starvation so you can afford to assign some more energy to running the immune system.
Paywalled - my brain's reward system feels like it was kicked hard - so if I get sick next week, can I blame my poor immunity and susequent sickness on nature.com's paywall?
This effect has been observed for thousands of years - an ancient proverb says “A joyful heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
I was going to see if it could be torn apart but
1) Shen-Orr is a very thorough, un-full-of-shit researcher,
2) I like how they used CyTOF in a novel capacity here, and
3) depressed people do tend to get sick more often.
That said, some of the largest divergences between mice and primates are in the brain, so it would be wise to exercise caution when generalizing these findings to humans.
If you need the full paper and have misplaced your subscription credentials, I hope you would not resort to plugging the DOI into http://sci-hub.bz like so:
http://sci-hub.bz/10.1038/nm.4133
Because that would be wrong. Publishers need hot tubs in their 3rd bathrooms, just like Deans and coaches do.
The methods section is included in that version (papers without methods are like dehydrated water). Read it for yourself, don't listen to some blowhard on the Interwebs (i.e., me).