Academic stress, immunological reaction, and academic performance among students of nursing and physiotherapy.

The associations among health status, health behavior, and changes in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) specific salivary antibodies during academic stress were investigated in relation to academic achievement among nursing and physiotherapy students. Fifty-four first year students donated saliva samples and completed a pencil and paper questionnaire before (t1), during two term examinations (t2 and t3), and after grades were posted (t4). An increase in the level of specific salivary HCMV IgG and IgA antibodies from t1 to t2, and a decrease from t2 to t4 were related to academic success.

Human herpesvirus 8 infection among various population groups in southern Israel.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of antibodies to human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) or Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus among Israeli and Ethiopian subjects.

Methods: Serum samples were obtained from 98 Israeli Jewish students aged 18-30 years, 100 HIV-1-seronegative Ethiopian immigrants to Israel of the same age, and 100 HIV-1-seronegative Ethiopian children 1-12 years old upon their arrival in southern Israel. Plasma samples were obtained from 3 hospitalized patients with multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) as positive controls.