An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives

by Matt Richtel

The seminal 1982 study done by the Glasers involved seventy-five medical students. The study measured the level of the subjects’ natural killer cells and their antibodies. The students were tested prior to exams, then on final-exam days, and then, sometime later, when they returned from vacation. “When Ron saw the results, he didn’t believe it.” After the exam, “the antibody levels were so high he didn’t trust the data.” The numbers were even higher for the lonelier students. “The stress of exams was bad for everybody, but worse for the lonelier students,” Kiecolt-Glaser explained. There also was a severe reaction involving the natural killer cells too. Remember that these are among the first-line defenders in the immune system—the heavy artillery. During exams, there was a sharp fall in the number of natural killer cells that circulated outside the bone marrow. The stress of exams was suppressing a key part of the immune system.