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Objective: to analyze the workloads, strain processes and sickness absenteeism among nursing workers from a teaching hospital in the Brazilian Central-West., Method: a descriptive and cross-sectional study was developed with a quantitative approach, based on the theoretical framework of the social determination of the health-disease process. Data were collected between January and December 2009, based on records of complaints related to occupational exposure among nursing professionals, filed in the software Monitoring System of Nursing Workers' Health. For the sake of statistical analysis, relative and absolute frequencies of the variables and the risk coefficient were considered., Results: 144 notifications of occupational exposure were registered across the analysis period, which represented 25% of the total nursing population at the hospital. The physiological and psychic workloads were the most representative, corresponding to 37% and 36%, respectively. These notifications culminated in 1567 days of absenteeism for disease treatment., Conclusions: the findings evidence the impact of occupational illnesses on the absenteeism of nursing workers, and can be used to demonstrate the importance of institutional investments in occupational health surveillance.

Wilson disease is a hereditary disorder caused by mutations of the ATP7B gene, which leads to intoxication with copper as a result of an unbalance of copper homeostasis. The clinical manifestations resulting from this intoxication are related to the affectation of liver and the encephalon in most cases. Several animal models are currently available for the study of the malady. However, in such models no neurological symptoms are observed, which limits their use for the study of pathogenic effects of this disease on the central nervous system. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if copper feeding could induce a disease state in Drosophila melanogaster to model Wilson disease. The effect of the feeding of copper at the doses of 31 microM and 47 microM on the survival was initially evaluated. Next, behavioral experiments were conducted to determine whether the motor performance was altered by the 47 microM concentration. The results suggest that copper treatment decreases the viability of the flies. In addition, the decrease of viability was associated to an increase and decrease of spontaneous motor activity at early and late stages of the intoxication, respectively. Finally, the role of the dopaminergic neurotransmission system on the observed motor alterations was evaluated. The dopamine precursor L-dopa increased motor activity. In contrast, D2 receptor antagonist, Fluphenazine, was able to block both the increase and decrease of motor activity scores induced by copper. These results suggest that Drosophila melanogaster could be used as a model organism for the study of possible interventions with potential neuroprotective effects in Wilson disease.