Stress Medicine and Human Health

Stress is an nonspecific adaptive response to endogenous or exogenous stimuli, which is commonly applied by organisms to maintain their internal homeostasis and normal physiological functions. When the extent of stress response surpasses the threshold that the organism can adjust to, a variety of physiological or psychological diseases can be induced by stress response. Stress medicine focuses on investigating the mechanisms underlying the development and progression of the diseases induced by stress response, aiming to find ways to prevent and treat stress-related diseases. Here, we will start with an introduction of stress response, then review the recent advances of stress medicine by discussing the latest research advances in the regulatory mechanisms and biological functions of stress response under various physiological or pathological conditions.