Where does anergy collide?

In immunology, anergy is a state of functional unresponsiveness in which a lymphocyte that has met its antigen without the required second signal remains alive but cannot be activated to respond. Schwartz's 2003 T cell anergy sets out how the absence of costimulation drives a T cell into this lasting, antigen-specific silence that helps enforce self-tolerance. The referent is a regulated non-responsive state of an immune cell, distinct from a general lack of bodily or mental energy that shares only the root meaning of being without action.[1]

Unit

The depth and persistence of a lymphocyte's failure to respond to its antigen

Recovery means

Anergy can be reversed by signals such as interleukin-2 or restored costimulation, distinguishing it from cell death

Measured by

Shown by loss of proliferation and cytokine output on antigen re-exposure, despite the cell remaining viable

In psychiatry, anergy (anergia) is a clinical lack of energy marked by reduced drive and physical and mental fatigue, commonly described as a feature of depressive and some psychotic states. Sadock, Sadock, and Ruiz's Kaplan & Sadock's synopsis of psychiatry lists it among the signs of lowered activity and motivation seen in mood disorder. The referent is a symptom of diminished energy in a person, an entirely different construct from an immune cell held in a switched-off state, joined to it only by the word's meaning of being without energy.[2]

Unit

The reported and observed degree of reduced energy and drive

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Assessed clinically through interview and symptom rating of fatigue, drive, and activity level