Nervous System Changes

What they are and why they occur

Chemotherapy can cause damage to your nervous system. Many nervous system problems get better within a year of when you finish chemotherapy, but some may last the rest of your life. Symptoms may include:

• Tingling, burning, weakness, or numbness in your hands or feet
• Feeling colder than normal
• Pain when walking
• Weak, sore, tired, or achy muscles
• Being clumsy and losing your balance
• Trouble picking up objects or buttoning your clothes
• Shaking or trembling
• Hearing loss
• Stomach pain, such as constipation or heartburn
• Fatigue
• Confusion and memory problems
• Dizziness
• Depression

Ways to manage

• Let your doctor or nurse know right away if you notice any nervous system changes. It is important to treat these problems as soon as possible.
• Be careful when handling knives, scissors, and other sharp or dangerous objects.
• Avoid falling. Walk slowly, hold onto handrails when using the stairs, and put no-slip bath mats in your bathtub or shower. Make sure there are no area rugs or cords to trip over.
• Always wear sneakers, tennis shoes, or other footwear with rubber soles.
• Check the temperature of your bath water with a thermometer. This will keep you from getting burned by water that is too hot.
• Be extra careful to avoid burning or cutting yourself while cooking.
• Wear gloves when working in the garden, cooking, or washing dishes.
• Rest when you need to.
• Steady yourself when you walk by using a cane or other device.
• Talk to your doctor or nurse if you notice memory problems, feel confused, or are depressed.
• Ask your doctor for pain medicine if you need it.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 25, 2008) — Just as fire engines arrive quickly at the scene to save people and property, the cells that fight viruses have to reach the site of an infection promptly to mount a protective response.

According to recent studies by University of Washington (UW) scientists, specialized types of white blood cells, a category called regulatory T cells, seem to help orchestrate this timely reaction to a virus invasion.

The Rudensky laboratory is noted for many contributions to the superhot field of regulatory T cells. These cells are important in controlling autoimmunity, a cellular self-attack that can lead to diseases like reactive arthritis. UW researchers and other scientists have shown that young mice deficient in regulatory T cells die from an aggressive form of autoimmunity that damages several organs.

Alexander Y. Rudensky, professor of immunology, noted the great clinical interest in the therapeutic potential of regulatory T cells. Evidence is growing on the role of regulatory T cells in keeping the body’s immune responses in check. Studies in lab animals suggest these cells might be harnessed to treat autoimmune diseases or reduce rejection of transplanted organs.

Researchers think that regulatory T cells might call a halt to immune responses as the body nears success in eliminating an infection. This suppression as the fight draws to an end would reduce tissue damage from robust immune responses.

But what happens early in infection? Does the immunity-suppressing function of regulatory T cells form an obstacle to organizing an attack on germs that have just invaded the body? Do regulatory T cells temporarily lose their suppression ability in reaction to viral-sensing mechanisms or other signals? In the recent Science Express study, researchers looked for a role for regulatory T cells during the start of a herpes simplex virus infection in mucus membranes.

When regulatory T cells are deficient in mice, the herpes simplex virus replicates rapidly in the mucus membranes and spreads to the spinal cord. Upon closer examination of these mice that lack regulatory T cells, the researchers found very little interferon, an anti-viral chemical that also boosts the immune response, at the infection site, even though it was found in the draining lymph nodes.

Also in the lymph nodes they noticed a sharp increase in certain chemokines, chemicals that stimulate immune cells to move in and cause inflammation. The presence of chemokines appeared to encourage the entry and retention of certain infection-fighting cells in the lymph nodes draining the site of infection, an ineffective place for the infection-fighting cells to be during the start of a viral attack.

The researchers also noticed a delay in killer cells, dendritic cells (the cells that capture and present foreign proteins to other immune cells), and T cells arriving at the site of infection, where they were supposed to go earlier to fulfill their virus-fighting roles. The researchers suggested that a possible reason for this tardiness is an alteration in the chemical cues necessary for these cells to migrate to the site of infection.

The authors described the finding of an immune-response promoting role for regulatory T cells during the early stages of a local infection as “unexpected,” considering the cells’ suppressor roles during later stages of an immune response.

Findings appear in the April 24 edition of Science Express. The authors of the study, “Coordination of Early Protective Immunity to Viral Infections by Regulatory T Cells,” are Jennifer M. Lund, senior fellow in immunology; Lianne Hsing, immunology graduate student; Thuy T. Pham, senior biology major; and Alexander Y. Rudensky, professor of immunology.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Washington, via EurekAlert!, a service

University of Washington (2008, April 25). Specialized White Blood Cells Coordinate First Responders To Viral Infection. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/04/080424152249.htm