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Background and Objectives: Endothelial function plays a key role in determining the clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis. Recent reports have shown that healthy elderly subjects with higher trait anxiety tend to have heightened risks of atherosclerotic lesions and cardiovascular disease. The present study was intended to examine whether an association exists between trait anxiety and endothelial function in healthy young and elderly subjects.Methods: This study examined 26 young male and 30 elderly male subjects using brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) - a non-invasive ultrasound method - to evaluate endothelial function by measuring the dilation responses of vascular smooth muscle to the nitric oxide produced by endothelial cells following hyperemia.Results: A significant negative correlation was observed between the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-trait score as a parameter of anxiety and the percentage change of FMD (%FMD) in the elderly subjects, but not in the young subjects. The elderly subjects showed significantly lower %FMD than the young subjects.Conclusion: These results suggest the possibility that trait anxiety is a predisposing risk factor for cardiovascular damage that might, over a long period, induce atherosclerotic lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The current standard treatment for locally advanced, unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) and durvalumab administration. Although reports have indicated that the prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma is poorer than that of adenocarcinoma, real-world data are currently inadequate. Methods The present study analyzed patients with stage III NSCLC who received CCRT at the study center between April 2018 and February 2022. These patients were retrospectively classified into adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma groups for an analysis of the progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and patient background factors, including the age, performance status, smoking history, and pre-CCRT laboratory data. Results A total of 109 patients were included for the analysis; 25 were excluded, and 44 and 40 patients were classified into the adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma groups, respectively. The median PFS was significantly longer in the adenocarcinoma group than in the squamous cell carcinoma group [27.9 (95% confidence interval (CI): 15.2-not achieved) vs. 9.63 (95% CI: 5.88-13.9) months; p<0.01]. Similarly, the median OS was significantly longer in the adenocarcinoma group than in the squamous cell carcinoma group [not achieved (95% CI: 48.1-not achieved) vs. 23.8 (95% CI; 14.6-not achieved) months; p<0.01]. In the multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis, the histological type was the only prognostic factor for the PFS (p<0.05) and OS (p<0.05). Conclusion The median PFS and OS were poorer in patients with squamous cell carcinoma than in those with stage III NSCLC treated with CCRT and durvalumab. The histological type was an independent factor affecting the PFS and OS.

The effect of antidepressants and mood stabilizers on serum levels of adiponectin was investigated. Fluvoxamine (30 and 50 mg/kg/day) or lithium (40 and 60 mg/kg/day) was dissolved in distilled water and administered orally to rats every day for 4 weeks. Fluvoxamine (50 mg/kg/day) alone significantly elevated the serum level of adiponectin, but no significant difference was found between other drug-treated groups and the control group. This difference of these drugs' effectiveness on serum adiponectin might contribute to their differences of action mechanisms and therapeutic effects.

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), which is also called fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-7, belongs to the FGF family. KGF is not commonly produced by human cancer cells, but the KGF receptor (KGFR) is expressed in most cancer cells and particularly highly expressed in well-differentiated types of cancer. Recently, it has been reported that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A expression is induced by KGF in pancreatic cancer cells. VEGF-A is produced by some cancer cells and plays important roles in the angiogenesis and metastasis of cancer cells including those in the colorectum. In this study, we examined whether recombinant human KGF (rhKGF) induces major angiogenic growth factors including VEGF-A, FGF-2 and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in human colorectal cancer cells (HCT-15), which express a high level of KGFR, but a low or negligible level of KGF. rhKGF significantly increased the VEGF-A expression level in a serum-free medium of HCT-15 cells, but FGF-2 and HGF expression levels were too low to detect. Furthermore, the expression levels of the angiogenic growth factors were evaluated in KGF-transfected HCT-15 cells, which were induced to stably overexpress KGF by KGF gene transfection and mock-transfected cells (Mock). KGF and VEGF-A expression levels in the cells and the protein concentrations in serum-free medium were significantly higher in KGF-transfected HCT-15 cells than in Mock cells. In contrast, the FGF-2 and HGF mRNA expression levels were not significantly different between KGF-transfected HCT-15 cells and Mock cells and the protein concentrations in serum-free medium of the cells were below the detection level. These findings suggest that administration of rhKGF and over-expression of endogenous KGF genes in colorectal cancer cells increase VEGF-A production and may relate to angiogenesis in cancer.