Pheromones and immunity: the smelly t-shirt study

It is now recognized that pheromones play a role in conveying the genetic makeup and health of a prospective reproductive partner. Major histocompatibility complex (MCH) genes are among the most diverse of all genes, constituting, in essence, a genetic signature of the individual. MHC genes help the body to recognize its own healthy cells, to identify invading pathogens and to reject foreign tissues.

MHC genes also give each individual a unique odor that can be detected. Among mice it is well known that MHC genes play an important role in mate selection. Inbred mice, identical except for MHC genes, prefer the odor of closely related nest mates. Once they enter puberty these mice show a marked preference to mate with mice whose MHC genes are most unlike their own.

Once pregnant these mice revert to their early preferences and return to nest with males with similar MHC genes. Scientists speculate that nesting with relatives ensures not only help in nursing and raising the young but also offers protection from strange and potentially dangerous males. The preference for MCH-dissimilar mates is also seen as important for reducing the risks of inbreeding and genetic diseases.

To see if MHC genes play a role in human mate selection, Klaus Wedekind, a zoologist at Switzerland’s Bern University, conducted a unique experiment involving smelly T-shirts. Wedekinds’ team recruited 49 women and 44 men who were screened to assure they carried a wide array of MHC genes. Each man was given a clean T-shirt and instructed to sleep in the shirt for two nights to thoroughly saturate the material with his scent.

The shirts were then gathered and placed in cardboard boxes with sniffing holes in the tops. Each woman was brought into the lab at the midpoint of their menstrual cycles and presented with a choice of seven boxes to sniff. Three boxes contained T-shirts from MHC-similar males, three from MHC-dissimilar males, and the last box contained a clean shirt as a control. The women were asked to smell the boxes and rate them as smelling either pleasant or unpleasant. The researchers discovered that the women preferred the scent of men with dissimilar MHC genes. Many of the women also commented that the MHC-dissimilar shirts reminded them of their boyfriends, both past and present.

Breakthrough in human pheromones

Cosmetics purporting to contain pheromones have been around for a number of years, each promising to increase one’s sexual attractiveness and prowess. In fact many of these cosmetics, packaged as perfumes and colognes, did contain a real pheromone, called androstenone. Derived from pig saliva, androstenone has been shown to be extremely effective pheromone, causing an almost immediate and uncontrollable mating reaction —if you happen to be a pig. And though one may argue that humans often behave in a piggish manner, thankfully we do not respond to porcine pheromones.

The real breakthrough in human pheromones had to wait until 1986 when researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia isolated and synthesized the first working human pheromone. The result of this research is now available as the first human-derived, clinically tested pheromone, EroScent™.

Using EroScent

EroScent is packaged in a convenient roll-on applicator that is used to gently apply a small amount of human pheromone directly under the wearer’s nose. Only a small amount of EroScent is required, as it takes but a few molecules to activate the limbic system. Since pheromones don’t have to travel through the bloodstream, EroScent begins to act immediately.

The human VNO has been shown to be connected directly to the limbic system, that part of the brain that is responsible for exploration, flight or fight, for identifying with the environment and reacting to it. By applying EroScent under the nose one is directly stimulating one’s own limbic system and keying into the region of the brain that controls our emotions, mood and desires.

Why use EroScent?

Modern humans possess a highly refined sense of personal hygiene. We bath or shower almost daily, removing any trace of our natural pheromones. We drench ourselves in deodorants and fragrances to further mask any natural scent. And as if to add insult to injury, we cover ourselves from head to toe in clothes, blocking the very skin that produces our natural pheromones. In short, we do everything within our power to hide or mask our sixth sense and short circuit our ability to communicate chemically.

EroScent gives us the ability to reestablish a sense of chemical comfort and well-being with those close to us.

What to expect when you use EroScent

The pheromones in EroScent work primarily by stimulating the limbic system of the wearer. While there is a secondary effect on members of the opposite sex, most of the effect takes place in the person wearing EroScent. People using EroScent have reported a wide range of benefits, including:

Elevated mood: Women in particular seem to suffer a loss in self-confidence and sexuality following age-related drops in pheromone production. Both men and women who describe themselves as feeling depressed and “down in the dumps” report an improved sense of well being and a more positive and energetic outlook on life when wearing EroScent. Researchers, excited by the therapeutic benefits of human pheromones in restoring sexuality and improving self-esteem, are also looking into using human pheromones to alleviate panic attacks and mood disorders.

• Enhanced sexual attractiveness: In a double-blinded study testing the human pheromones contained in EroScent, 20 women received pheromones three times a week. The women receiving the pheromones, applied topically, reported a significantly higher rate of sexual contact with men than women using a placebo. A second double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted in 1998 found that men who received human pheromones tended to also have more sexual contact with women than the men who applied the placebo.
• Enhanced romantic relationships: EroScent works via the reproductive endocrine system to enhance existing sexual cues and improve chances for enjoying a satisfying romantic life. One man reported that he and his spouse, caught in the doldrums of a long-term marriage, had drifted apart and were only having sex on average about five times per year. “Since I’ve been using the pheromone straight, it’s five times a week!”
• Enhanced working relationships: A journalist researching human pheromones decided to try EroScent to test the results for herself. “I immediately noticed that the people I work with were looking at me and smiling more than usual. I finally realized that it was me—that I was making more eye contact with them and sending a message of confidence I didn’t normally project.”

Real life —the twins test

To test the effectiveness of pheromones in real-life, ABC News conducted an impressive if somewhat unscientific test in March of 1988. Two sets of identical twins—two sisters and two brothers—were taken to a popular New York bar. Human pheromone was applied to one of the twins in each pair, while the other got plain witch hazel. Neither twin knew what they received. The only rules for the test were that they were to trade places throughout the evening, and they couldn’t make the first move toward contacting other bar patrons.

The results for the men came out about even—a handful of women approached each of them. This isn’t unusual, as fewer women will approach a strange man in a bar. But the results for the women were more dramatic. Shari, the twin wearing the witch hazel, was approached by 11 different men over the course of the evening. But Stasea, wearing the human pheromone, was chatted up by 30 different men, nearly three times as many as her identical twin sister.

Shari noted that “People didn’t even want to talk to me, and my sister got all the attention. It was incredible, truly.” Stasea’s reaction to the pheromone was that “They didn’t just talk, they were ENTHRALLED with me!”

Concluding the report, ABC News Medical Corespondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman asked “about the situation in the bar,” to which reporter Bill Ritter said, “The results astonished us. We can’t deny what we saw happen in the bar.”

Conclusion: better living through chemistry

Many factors influence our attractiveness to others. Physical attractiveness, age, health, fitness, social status and character are but a few components known to affect one’s perceived attractiveness by a potential mate. Only recently have researchers been able to uncover the unseen chemistry that controls our mating strategies—unconscious odors and undetectable odors that comprise the human “sixth sense.” The human pheromones contained in EroScent directly energize the limbic system of the wearer to boost confidence, stimulate the libido, enhance romantic possibilities and contribute to an increased sense of well-being.

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References

Articles of Interest from Smart Publications Health & Wellness Update

• Human Pheromones: The Science Behind the Scent of Attraction
• Nature’s Most Irresistible Sexual Signal - Human Sexual Pheromones!
• Pheromones Enhance Mood, Self-Esteem, and Social Confidence … Instantly