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Human factors/ergonomics research can help workers avoid carpal tunnel syndrome

A group of human factors/ergonomics researchers have conducted the first study that systematically identifies how one contributor to carpal tunnel syndrome -- carpal tunnel pressure -- can be examined in detail to establish limits on how much a wrist can be flexed before nerve damage sets in.

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Keywords: human, factors, ergonomics, research, workers, avoid, carpal, tunnel, syndrome, factor, ergonomic, worker

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1. Undergraduate research shows leaderless honeybee organizing
   06-11-2007 · EurekAlert!
   A new finding by an undergraduate scientist and a senior bee researcher gives new insight on the organization of honeybee colonies, which exhibit behavior rivaling human cultures in social complexity. The study reveals that major colony management activities are directed anonymously by hive workers using a nonspecific signal that modulates worker and queen behavior, and may have implications important for understanding other complex phenomena, from brain activity to terrorist networks.
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2. Mayo Clinic researchers find evidence for traumatic cause of carpal tunnel syndrome
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3. Down syndrome: It's not just the age factor
   10-12-2006 · EurekAlert!
   Whether or not a pregnant woman will give birth to a child with Down syndrome is not simply a matter of how old she is. Although it is a fact that as women get older, they are more likely to have a child with Down syndrome, other factors also play a role. The research is published in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften this week.
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4. Growth hormone is not the anti-aging bullet for healthy adults
   01-15-2007 · EurekAlert!
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5. Lane departure warning systems help drowsy drivers avoid crashes
   10-16-2006 · EurekAlert!
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6. Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
   02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
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7. Human factors researchers test voting systems for seniors that can improve voting accuracy and speed
   12-27-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Human factors researchers at Florida State University have identified ways to improve electronic voting accuracy among older voters while also shortening waiting time at the polls. The results of their study were published in the fall 2007 issue of Ergonomics in Design.
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8. DMP1 deletion cooperates with oncogenic K-ras in lung cancer
   10-15-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Scientists have identified the transcription factor DMP1 as a pivotal tumor suppressor for both human and mouse lung cancers, especially in carcinomas that exhibit intact Arf-p53 pathways. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 2007 issue of Cancer Cell, may lead to development of new drug therapies for lung cancer.
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9. Extended work hours should factor into return to job after injury
   01-16-2008 · EurekAlert!
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10. Genome-wide search unearths surprising clues for diabetes and triglycerides
    04-26-2007 · EurekAlert!
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