When Stress Gets Physical

Our cells release substances in times of pressure called stress granules that can greatly affect our health, groundbreaking new research reveals. Learn how to sweep them away – and keep them from building up in the first place.

- Mirel Ketchiff

It starts when something stresses you: Whether it’s air pollution or a virus, your cells launch into repairand-recovery mode. As part of that process, the body whirs into action, producing proteins that help rebuild your cells and RNA, the chemical messengers that trigger the release of other health-promoting compounds. These RNA agents carry out the repair process by clumping together, forming stress granules.

When they do their job properly, these particles are actually beneficial, says Dr Benjamin Wolozin, a professor of pharmacology and neurology at Boston University School of Medicine and a co-founder of Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company focused on neurodegenerative disease. Stress granules protect the cells from damage, essentially creating a temporary shelter so the body can better repair itself, he says. Once the stressor is gone, the stress granules are easily swept away, a process that typically takes just 10 to 15 minutes.

But when something interferes with the cleanup operation, stress granules start to accumulate. And that build-up can cause some serious health problems. “Studies indicate that it may be linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular disease,” Dr Wolozin says.