IUBio

The Real reason

dag.stenberg at helsinki.nospam.fi dag.stenberg at helsinki.nospam.fi
Sat Jan 16 07:53:52 EST 1999


F. Frank LeFever <flefever at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> In <369E2F6B.B881BD32 at ix.netcom.com> Richard (i.e., Peter) Sargent
> <dsargent at ix.netcom.com> writes: 
> I have been ill with the
> >malady called 'pneumonia' for about a week now.  ...
> >still have a clear head (stuffy nose, but I am pretty clear in mental
> >faculty).

> That may be, but there is a literature on cognitive effects of both
> viral and bacterial infections.  One mechanism seems to be upregulation
> of IL-1 in the brain, which can have direct antagonistic effects on
> some neural activities, and may even impair function by agonistic
> effects (e.g. by stress-like neurotransmitter depletion of some frontal
> areas which are activated by stress or by IL-1).

Maybe, yes. Still the mental effects vary. When I was doing military
service in 1966, I had pneumonia twice. The first time I took part in
all outdoor and studying activities, as I was afraid they would cut off
my leave. I managed quite well. The second time half a year later I was
assigned to medical care as a doctor in charge of the others, and that
went well, although I was quite tired.
  Ten years later I had lobar pneumonia, got it on a week's hike up
North, suffered for three weeks and then got it diagnosed and treated, 
as I was getting tired. All this time I did my usual work as Lecturer at
the University, as nobody wanted to take over my duties, and the
students were there. The one of the lung lobes collapsed, and I still
went about my duties for a week, before getting it blown up again by doing
hard physical construction work for two days (it did not start working
when I was resting).
  With this I want to say that mental (and even physical) capacity may
be rather good in a young anf fit person even during pneumonia.
  Now as I am nearly 58, I do find that a even common cold makes my mind
sluggish. No creative capacity, and if I give a lecture, it seems my 
students can tell the difference.

Dag Stenberg (talkative this Saturday, it seems).




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