Just seeing someone who is sick can increase proinflammatory cytokines

Those interested in how image and perception modify gene expression and immune function will appreciate this paper recently published in the journal Psychological Science.

"An experiment...tested the hypothesis that the mere visual perception of disease-connoting cues promotes a more aggressive immune response."

The experimental subjects were exposed to either photographs depicting symptoms of infectious disease or photographs of guns.

"After incubation with a model bacterial stimulus, participants’ white blood cells produced higher levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the infectious-disease condition, compared with the control (guns) condition."

This may not be the first study to demonstrate this effect, but the authors assert...

"These results provide the first empirical evidence that visual perception of other people’s symptoms may cause the immune system to respond more aggressively to infection."

It's well known that though we can cognitively discriminate between a photo depicting infection and the immediate material presence of it, our autonomous physiological response does not. Now consider the significance for autoimmune disease when there is hyperarousal of attention to the possibility of infection. This is one of the reasons why I am convinced that dogmatically insisting on a diagnosis of chronic infection (such as Lyme disease) when the most sensitive and advanced tests provide zero evidence—and at the same time demonstrable autoimmune phenomena are present—is doing patients a disservice.