Summary

The interaction among the various systems, especially the nervous, immune, and endocrine ones in stress situations has been increasingly studied and can give us important tools for the treatment of metabolic stress conditions. The vision of the systems absolutely integrated implies that manipulating them may have positive or negative effects, depending on the clinical situation. Alpha-adrenergic stimuli lead to an anti-inflammatory state, whereas the beta-adrenergic stimulation has inflammatory effects. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis is a powerful effector in stress conditions, secreting cortisol, the most potent anti-inflammatory agent known so far. The interference of the mental and psychological state in the immune-endocrine responses highlights the complexity of a system that has just begun to be elucidated. When we get a more comprehensive view of these interactions and are able to interfere more precisely in these mechanisms, a great deal of benefits to our patients can be expected.