Slacker or Sick

dancpsu writes "Researchers at Temple University's College of Health Professions found that early nerve damage caused by repetitive strain injuries can trigger "sick worker" syndrome -- often mistaken for poor performance. They discovered that nerve injuries caused by low-force, highly repetitive work can be blamed on an onslaught of cytokines -- proteins that help start inflammation. Unexpectedly, the researchers also found that the cytokines affected the rats' psychosocial responses. At three weeks, even before the rats experienced pain from their wrist injuries, they began to self-regulate their work behavior. By five weeks to eight weeks, when cytokine production reached "peak" levels, some rats curled up in a ball and slept in between tasks."

Comments

Cytokines

[Red Flayer]

Here's some more info on Cytokines:

http://microvet.arizona.edu/Courses/MIC419/Tutoria ls/cytokines.html

I wish TFA was a little more specific on which kind of cytokines they found... I guess we'll have to wait for the human studies.

Really, though, this should be no surprise. It's been known for some time that stress to the body results in immunological cytokine release.

The symptoms (pre-RSS) that they mention, like depression, fatigue, etc, are eerily similar to Epstein-Barr... I wonder if the immne system is revved up by the repetitive motions (hence feeling sick), or inhibited, like the EBV toxin.

Re:Cytokines

[Red Flayer]

Nope. Serum cytokines means cytokines in the blood, that's all. So that statement can be interpreted as meaning that they observed elevated levels of cytokines that are normally found in the blood.

Re:Cytokines

[walders]

Not really... Serum cytokines simply means that's where they measured them. They aren't necessarily specific to the blood: the cells that release them are equally capable of releasing them in tissue. These cytokines appear to be released from damaged nerve tissue.

The significance of them being in the serum is that they are circulating and are able to have systemic effects rather than just local (e.g tissue) effects.

They don't list the cytokines becuase the publication is a news site for medics. If the work is good enough, it'll be published in a respectable journal somewhere with details of cytokines and levels. You won't have to wait for the human study. Most rodent cytokines have a human equivalent and vice versa (with some notable exceptions (IL-8 for one)). The human study will just be ensuring that this effect does cross over.

It isn't unusual to see cytokine release from stressed or damaged tissue. It is unusual to see physosocial effects. The key observation is that some behaviour, thought to be plain laziness or 'mental' problems, may actually be explained by more basic physiological explanations.

Re:Treatments?

[nido]

... so I was talking to my cranial osteopath while he was working on me... "Do these 'lesions' ever come back?" He responded immediately with a "no", then paused, and corrected himself - "well, if they don't fix the work environment they will", and he modeled how a secretary might hold the phone up to their ear with their shoulder as an example of how someone might reinduce trauma in their myofascial tissue.

(the $10k slashdot post)
(not all osteopaths are equally talented - that'll be another $500, please. :^] )
(a very small portion of "cranio-sacral therapists" are also good with modern osteopathic technique)

Re:Rats?

[Suicyco]

Usually this crap book is sent around by the PHB's as a preemptive strike against layoffs down the line.

It basically tells you that it is a good thing to get fired and you are a pussy if you don't want to get fired. I once worked for a corporation that bought crates of these books, gave one to every employee during "training" and then layed off a third of the company at the end of the quarter.