Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Att drabbas av yrsel är ett komplext symptom med varierande bakgrundsorsaker. Yrsel utan fysiskt definierbar anledning, tex. Störning på balansorganen, är ofta förknippad med stress och psykisk ohälsa. Föreliggande studie genomfördes i form av sex intervjuer med syftet att undersöka hur det är att leva med yrsel och hur denna är relaterad till stress och psykisk ohälsa. Resultaten indikerade en koppling mellan yrsel, stress och symptom på utmattningssyndrom. Även andra åkommor  har i samband med yrseln framkommit såsom panikångest, depression, agrofobi och social tillbakadragenhet. Resultaten tolkas utifrån både Selyes stressteori GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome) och en teori av McEwen kring allostasisk belastning. Långvarig stress hos deltagarna indikeras som den utlösande faktor till yrseln som också resulterat i ytterligare symptom. Tidigare forskning stöder dessa samband mellan stress, yrsel och andra psykiska åkommor.

Delirium is a state of acute confusion and is common in hospitalized older adults. Delirium is associated with significant increases in morbidity and mortality, as well as healthcare costs. Delirium also is associated with functional and cognitive decline, as well as need for institutionalization and rehabilitation. Delirium can cause psychosocial distress for patients and families. While much is understood about the epidemiology of delirium, the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to the development of delirium are less clearly defined.The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of allostatic load (AL), a composite measure of primary (i.e. acute) stress mediators and secondary (i.e. chronic) stress outcomes and delirium in the hospitalized older adult. Development of the Allostatic Load & Delirium in Hospitalized Elderly model provided a theoretical framework for the study.Forty- four participants, ranging from 66 to 93 years of age (M = 76 years of age) were recruited from three intensive care units and enrolled once they were determined not to have a cognitive deficit or prevalent delirium, as assessed by the Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination and Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), respectively. Ten AL components reflective of acute and chronic stress were collected upon admission. Allostatic load was calculated as the sum of the number of components for which the participant was rated in the highest risk quartile. Allostatic load subsets based on acute and chronic components were also calculated. Incident delirium was assessed 48 -72 hours after admission with the CAM.Findings indicated that the incidence of delirium was 29.2%. The subset AL score based on components considered primary stress mediators was significantly related to delirium; however, no other variables were associated with delirium. Logistic regression modeling indicated that an AL subset of primary stress mediators did predict the incidence of delirium (OR 2.5, 95% CI = 1.12, 5.79; X2 (1) = 5.668, p < .05).The findings from this study exploring the relationship between AL and delirium in the hospitalized older adult suggest that an AL score based on primary mediators may be useful in predicting delirium in the hospitalized older adult.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) --University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at San Antonio, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

<p>Att drabbas av yrsel är ett komplext symptom med varierande bakgrundsorsaker. Yrsel utan fysiskt definierbar anledning, tex. Störning på balansorganen, är ofta förknippad med stress och psykisk ohälsa. Föreliggande studie genomfördes i form av sex intervjuer med syftet att undersöka hur det är att leva med yrsel och hur denna är relaterad till stress och psykisk ohälsa. Resultaten indikerade en koppling mellan yrsel, stress och symptom på utmattningssyndrom. Även andra åkommor har i samband med yrseln framkommit såsom panikångest, depression, agrofobi och social tillbakadragenhet. Resultaten tolkas utifrån både Selyes stressteori GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome) och en teori av McEwen kring allostasisk belastning. Långvarig stress hos deltagarna indikeras som den utlösande faktor till yrseln som också resulterat i ytterligare symptom. Tidigare forskning stöder dessa samband mellan stress, yrsel och andra psykiska åkommor.</p>

Att drabbas av yrsel är ett komplext symptom med varierande bakgrundsorsaker. Yrsel utan fysiskt definierbar anledning, tex. Störning på balansorganen, är ofta förknippad med stress och psykisk ohälsa. Föreliggande studie genomfördes i form av sex intervjuer med syftet att undersöka hur det är att leva med yrsel och hur denna är relaterad till stress och psykisk ohälsa. Resultaten indikerade en koppling mellan yrsel, stress och symptom på utmattningssyndrom. Även andra åkommor har i samband med yrseln framkommit såsom panikångest, depression, agrofobi och social tillbakadragenhet. Resultaten tolkas utifrån både Selyes stressteori GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome) och en teori av McEwen kring allostasisk belastning. Långvarig stress hos deltagarna indikeras som den utlösande faktor till yrseln som också resulterat i ytterligare symptom. Tidigare forskning stöder dessa samband mellan stress, yrsel och andra psykiska åkommor.

While the stress response represents an example of allostasis that enables the organism to cope with environmental and psychosocial challenges, its chronic activation imposes an allostatic load that contributes to the cumulative wear and tear of the system and induces negative mental and physical health outcomes. Nonetheless, the underlying basis of the stress-disease connection is still poorly understood and represents a gap in the knowledge that requires further research. We investigated the effects of chronic glucocorticoid stimulation in three independent human primary fibroblast lines, as an in vitro model of chronic psychosocial stress. By deploying a longitudinal, high-frequency, repeated-measures strategy across their entire lifespan, we were able to determine that chronically stressed cells present a significant increase in their total energy expenditure and that this stress-induced hypermetabolism is linked to an acceleration of their biological aging. Expanding from our results and placing emphasis on the energetic costs associated with the activation of the stress response, we proposed the “Energetic Model of Allostatic Load”. This model proposes that chronic stress causes a redirection of the energetic resources towards allostatic responses and away from growth, maintenance, and repair processes, which in turn leads to the accumulation of damage that will further contribute to the development of disease and increased risk of mortality. Finally, we highlighted new avenues to quantify allostatic load and its link to health via the integration of systemic and cellular energy expenditure measurements together with classic biomarkers, that could contribute to further advances in the stress field.

Injury causes increased pain sensation in humans and animals but the mechanisms underlying the emergence of persistent pathological pain states, which arise in the absence of on-going physical damage, are unclear. Therefore, elucidating the physiological regulation of such intractable pain is of exceptional biomedical importance. It is well known that endogenous activation of µ-opioid receptors (MORs) provides relief from acute pain but the consequences of prolonged endogenous opioidergic signaling have not been considered. Here we test the hypothesis that the intrinsic mechanisms of MOR signaling promote pathological sensitization of pain circuits in the spinal cord. We found that tissue inflammation produces agonist-independent MOR signaling in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which tonically represses hyperalgesia for months, even after complete recovery from injury and re-established normal pain thresholds. Disruption of this constitutive activity with MOR inverse agonists reinstated pain and precipitated cellular, somatic and aversive signs of physical withdrawal. This phenomenon required N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation of calcium-sensitive adenylyl cyclase type 1. Thus, we present a novel mechanism of long-lasting opioid analgesia that regulates the transition from acute to chronic pain while, in parallel, generates physical dependence. In conclusion we propose that the prevalence of chronic pain syndromes may result from a failure in constitutive signaling of spinal MORs and a loss of endogenous analgesic control.

No description available.

BACKGROUND:This paper proposes a novel model for homeopathic remedy action on living systems. Research indicates that homeopathic remedies (a) contain measurable source and silica nanoparticles heterogeneously dispersed in colloidal solution / (b) act by modulating biological function of the allostatic stress response network (c) evoke biphasic actions on living systems via organism-dependent adaptive and endogenously amplified effects / (d) improve systemic resilience.DISCUSSION:The proposed active components of homeopathic remedies are nanoparticles of source substance in water-based colloidal solution, not bulk-form drugs. Nanoparticles have unique biological and physico-chemical properties, including increased catalytic reactivity, protein and DNA adsorption, bioavailability, dose-sparing, electromagnetic, and quantum effects different from bulk-form materials. Trituration and/or liquid succussions during classical remedy preparation create "top-down" nanostructures. Plants can biosynthesize remedy-templated silica nanostructures. Nanoparticles stimulate hormesis, a beneficial low-dose adaptive response. Homeopathic remedies prescribed in low doses spaced intermittently over time act as biological signals that stimulate the organism's allostatic biological stress response network, evoking nonlinear modulatory, self-organizing change. Potential mechanisms include time-dependent sensitization (TDS), a type of adaptive plasticity/metaplasticity involving progressive amplification of host responses, which reverse direction and oscillate at physiological limits. To mobilize hormesis and TDS, the remedy must be appraised as a salient, but low level, novel threat, stressor, or homeostatic disruption for the whole organism. Silica nanoparticles adsorb remedy source and amplify effects. Properly-timed remedy dosing elicits disease-primed compensatory reversal in direction of maladaptive dynamics of the allostatic network, thus promoting resilience and recovery from disease.SUMMARY:Homeopathic remedies are proposed as source nanoparticles that mobilize hormesis and time-dependent sensitization via non-pharmacological effects on specific biological adaptive and amplification mechanisms. The nanoparticle nature of remedies would distinguish them from conventional bulk drugs in structure, morphology, and functional properties. Outcomes would depend upon the ability of the organism to respond to the remedy as a novel stressor or heterotypic biological threat, initiating reversals of cumulative, cross-adapted biological maladaptations underlying disease in the allostatic stress response network. Systemic resilience would improve. This model provides a foundation for theory-driven research on the role of nanomaterials in living systems, mechanisms of homeopathic remedy actions and translational uses in nanomedicine.