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Biomedical subjects

E A Workman

Publications and source records attributed to E A Workman.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Psychoneuroimmunology: where are we, where are we going?

We have reviewed briefly the current status of research on central nervous system-immune system interactions, focusing attention on the neural and humoral pathways by which CNS and IS communicate and interact and on the effects of stress and psychiatric illness on immune function. It is evident that CNS-IS communication occurs by direct innervation of lymphoid organs and by means of hormones, neuropeptides and cytokines. There is also clear evidence that humoral substances each of which were thought to be the product of one specific cell type are elaborated and secreted by a variety of cell types. This observation suggests a new unified concept of CNS-IS interactions with mediators of these interactions being produced ubiquitously and acting on cells of the two systems. In examining the effects of stress on IS it has become apparent that stress of various types can have a depressive effect on immune functions, primarily at the level of T lymphocytes and NK cells. This suggests that the defense mechanisms affected by stress are those which are responsible for cytotoxic effector responses. These findings are interesting in that they support older studies implicating stress in the pathogenesis and/or the clinical course of neoplastic diseases. Further support for a role of stress-induced immunodepression in morbidity comes from a very interesting, recent prospective study showing that stress will affect susceptibility to viruses. Finally, exploration of the mechanisms of stress-induced immunodepression, suggests that a variety of mediators which regulate lymphocyte interactions and activation may be affected, perhaps at the level of gene expression.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

T-lymphocyte polyclonal proliferation: effects of stress and stress response style on medical students taking national board examinations.

This study investigated the effects of stress and stress response style on T-lymphocyte polyclonal proliferation (TLPP). The TLPP levels of 15 medical students taking NBME Part I were compared to those of a matched (on age and sex) sample of students not taking exams and hospital employees. All subjects completed the Impact of Events Scale to measure recent stress levels and style of responding to stress. TLPP data for both experimental and control groups, pre- and post-boards, were analyzed via a 2 X 2 factorial analysis of variance. Results indicated a significant main effect for the NBME stress vs control conditions and a significant interaction between stress response style (avoidance vs intrusion) and NBME stress vs control conditions. TLPP levels were significantly depressed (relative to the controls) for the NBME stress group 1 week after examinations. Furthermore, those students whose stress response style was characterized by intrusion were significantly more immunosuppressed than those characterized by an avoidance stress response style. Four- and six-week follow-up measures of TLPP were taken on 10 and 11 NBME group students, respectively. Follow-up results, analyzed via t tests, indicated that TLPP levels were significantly suppressed for 4 weeks but returned to initial normal levels at 6 weeks. Results are discussed in terms of needed research examining the mechanism of stress intruders' susceptibility to stress-induced immunosuppression and the possible clinical significance of brief periods of stress-induced decrements in TLPP levels.

Adult↗