Prolonged chronic academic stress and its relationship with cytokine dysregulation in health science students.

Academic stress is a problem that affects students due to a number of factors that are considered stressors. These include academic overload and completion of assignments and exams, exacerbated by such external conditions as family, social and economic problems. Together, these can affect emotional and physical health, which may lead in the long term to developing a number of pathologies, given the alteration of immunological homoeostasis with which they are related. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of academic stress on the production of cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-10 in Morphology students in the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Universidad del Cauca during an academic period. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive longitudinal study was carried out with a population of 78 students studying Morphology, among the subjects with the highest academic load in the Physiotherapy, Medicine, Nursing and Phonoaudiology programs in the Faculty. Academic stress was assessed in the students by applying the Academic Stress Questionnaire (ASQ), and through quantification of the IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-10 cytokines using the ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technique in three "moments" of the academic semester: Moment 1: beginning of the academic semester; Moment 2: week of evaluations of 70% of the semester; Moment 3: week of final exams. RESULTS: The students perceived stress as "normal" at Moment 1, while at Moments 2 and 3 it was perceived as "quite a lot", with percentages of 48.7% and 50%, respectively. The predominant stressors were: "methodological deficiencies", "academic overload", and "exams", for the three moments of the study. "Physical exhaustion" was the most prevalent stress response at all three moments, followed by "irascible behaviour" (Moment 2 and 3), and "sleep disturbances" (Moment 3). To cope with the stress, the students resorted mainly to "planning and management of personal resources" in the three moments of the study. A progressive increase in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α and a decrease in IL-10 were observed at all three moments. A correlation was found between some questions belonging to the "methodological deficiencies", "beliefs about performance", "sleep disturbances", "physical exhaustion" and "irascible behaviour" dimensions with IL-6, IL-1ß, TNF-α and IL. -10. CONCLUSION: The morphology students suffer increased stress indicators (perceived stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines) throughout the academic period. The "methodological deficiencies", "academic overload" and "exams" stressors, together with "physical exhaustion", "sleep disturbances" and "irascible behaviour", possibly influence the production of the IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10 cytokines.

Infección por Herpes virus Humano tipo 6 relacionado con manifestaciones dermatológicas y fatiga crónica: serie de casos / Human Herpesvirus type 6 infection related to dermatological manifestations and chronic fatigue: case series

Resumen Introducción: Las manifestaciones clínicas más frecuentes causadas por el Herpes Virus Humano Tipo 6 (HHV-6) ocurren en niños menores de 2 años, presentan lesiones en piel tipo roséola o exantema súbito. En adultos, las manifestaciones clínicas relacionadas a HHV-6 son muy variables, y pueden sobreponerse con otras afecciones. Objetivo: Presentar una serie de casos de pacientes diagnosticados con infección activa por HHV-6, quienes mostraban manifestaciones neurológicas, dermatológicas y de fatiga crónica. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó análisis de historias clínicas de 6 pacientes que fueron diagnosticados con infección activa por HHV-6, a través de métodos moleculares. Resultados: Se reportan 6 pacientes que fueron diagnosticados con infección activa por HHV-6 mediante métodos moleculares, quienes presentaron manifestaciones clínicas comunes tales como: fiebre, cefalea, depresión, decaimiento, pérdida de memoria y concentración, dolor fibromuscular, dolor poliarticular, sueño no reparador, exantema, nevus rubí, liquen plano y parestesias. Conclusiones: A través de esta serie de casos se espera resaltar la importancia de identificar la infección activa por HHV-6 a través de métodos moleculares, y sensibilizar a la comunidad médica sobre el papel que juega el virus en la evolución de diversas patologías.

Abstract Introduction: The most frequent clinical manifestations of Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in children under 2 years of age are roseola-like skin lesions and sudden rash. In adults, the clinical manifestations associated with HHV-6 are highly variable and can overlap with other conditions. Objective: To present a case series of patients diagnosed with active HHV-6 infection, who showed neurological, dermatological and chronic fatigue manifestations. Materials and methods: An analysis of medical records of 6 patients who were diagnosed with active HHV-6 infection through molecular methods was performed. Results: 6 patients were diagnosed with active HHV-6 infection using molecular methods, who had common clinical manifestations such as fever, headache, depression, tiredness, loss of memory and concentration, fibromuscular pain, polyarticular pain, nonrestorative sleep, rash, ruby nevus, lichen planus and paresthesia. Conclusions: This case series highlights the importance of identifying active HHV-6 infection through molecular methods and creating awareness in the medical community of the role that the virus plays on the development of diverse pathologies.