Exposure to humour may reduce cortisol (anti-inflammatory hormone) in people with lupus

When people with systemic lupus erythematosus laugh, their levels of cytokines do not decrease but there are some suggestions of lowered cortisol secretion, scientists report in the European Journal of Rheumatology.
Cortisol is an anti-inflammatory hormone. And cytokines are molecules that help regulate the immune response.
We know that humour can influence the release of cortisol (an anti-inflammatory hormone). And laughter is associated with a decreased production of inflammatory cytokines in healthy people and in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
So a research team looked at the effects of humour on levels of cytokines and cortisol in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
A total of 58 women with SLE were recruited from a lupus clinic in Canada (patients were excluded if they were pregnant or had current infection). Half watched 120 minutes of comedy and the others watched 120 minutes of a documentary. Measurements of cytokine and cortisol levels were taken before, during and after watching the material.
Those who watched the humour did not have decreased cytokine levels, but there were some suggestions of lowered cortisol secretion in the humour group.
The researchers comment:
“In contrast to what has been published for rheumatoid arthritis, we saw no clear effects of humor in altering cytokine levels in SLE, although interesting trends were seen for lower cortisol levels after humor intervention compared with the control group.

Click here to read the original research.

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Image credit: Sean Jackson