Background
Social evaluative threat activates the HPA-axis system, namely cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) responses. Additionally, cognitive and behavioral models in social anxiety, which ...is aroused anxiety symptoms in social situations, indicate that negative cognitions have a role in the maintenance of symptoms. Thus, the present study examined the relationship between HPA-axis activity and cognitive features in social situations.
Method
We conducted the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) with 44 male participants and assessed HPA-axis responses, fear of negative evaluation, the estimated social cost, and self-perceptions of their speech performance, which are core negative cognitions in social situations.
Results
Results revealed that the cortisol-DHEA ratio significantly correlated with self-perceptions of participants’ speech performance (
r
= .30,
p
= .044) and the discrepancy between self-ratings and others’ ratings of the speech (
r
= .44,
p
= .003). After controlling for depressive symptoms, significant correlations remained (
r
= .39,
p
= .01 and
r
= .50,
p
= .001, respectively). In addition, the estimated social cost, assessed before the speech task, significantly correlated with both the AUCg cortisol (
r
= .38,
p
= .011) and cortisol-DHEA ratios (
r
= .40,
p
= .007).
Conclusion
These results suggest that estimating social costs in social situations, as well as distorted self-perceptions of that stressor, is related to dysfunctional endocrine regulation.
This study developed a method to detect teachers’ cognitive load fluctuation throughout lesson time by means of real-time measuring of skin conductance and peripheral skin temperature. Five ...elementary school teachers who participated in this study, crossing multiple grades and school subjects, wore the multimodal wearable devices, and conducted lessons. To demonstrate adequacy of the method, this study investigated the relations between these physiological psychological indices and teachers' body movements accompanied by teaching behavior, subjective ratings, and a retrospective interview using recorded videos. The results indicated that skin conductance and peripheral skin temperature values are insusceptible to teachers' physical movements, and the possibility of continuous measurement of teachers conducting lessons with various body movements. The results also suggested that class situations in which both teachers' skin conductance increases, and peripheral skin temperature decreases, could be interpreted as imposed cognitive overload.
Summary Organisms prefer to receive rewards sooner rather than later because they excessively discount the subjective value of future rewards, a phenomenon called delay discounting. Recent studies ...have reported an association between cortisol—which is secreted by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis—and delay discounting. However, no study has examined whether acutely induced psychosocial stress modulates delay discounting. Thus, the present study examined the effect of acute psychosocial stress and its hormonal and inflammatory correlates on the rate of delay discounting. To accomplish this purpose, we assessed the participants’ discounting rates using the questionnaire version with inter-temporal choice before and after an acute psychosocial stress task (the Trier Social Stress Test; TSST). The results demonstrated that TSST increased rates of delay discounting in only cortisol responders (not in non-responders), indicating the possible influence of the pathway from the HPA axis to the dopaminergic systems under acute stress. Furthermore, the findings of correlation analysis indicated a U-shaped relationship between baseline level of C-reactive protein and delay discounting rate, suggesting a complex relationship between inflammatory markers and delay discounting rate.
This study examined the impact of CD14++CD16+ monocytes on coronary plaque vulnerability, as assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and investigated their association with daily glucose ...fluctuation. Although increased CD14++CD16+ monocyte levels have been reported to increase cardiovascular events, their impact on coronary plaque vulnerability in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with or without diabetes mellitus (DM) remains unclear.
This prospective observational study included 50 consecutive patients with CAD, receiving lipid-lowering therapy and undergoing coronary angiography and OCT. Patients were divided into 3 tertiles according to the CD14++CD16+ monocyte percentages assessed by flow cytometry. Standard OCT parameters were assessed for 97 angiographically intermediate lesions (diameter stenosis: 30–70%). Daily glucose fluctuation was analyzed by measuring the mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE).
CD14++CD16+ monocytes negatively correlated with fibrous cap thickness (r = −0.508, p < 0.01). The presence of thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) was increased stepwise according to the tertile of CD14++CD16+ monocytes (0 tertile 1 vs. 5 tertile 2 vs. 10 tertile 3, p < 0.01). CD14++CD16+ monocytes were a significant determinant of TCFA (OR 1.279, p = 0.001). In non-DM patients, a significant relationship was found between CD14++CD16+ monocytes and MAGE (r = 0.477, p = 0.018).
CD14++CD16+ monocytes were associated with coronary plaque vulnerability in CAD patients with well-regulated lipid levels both in DM and non-DM patients. Cross-talk between glucose fluctuation and CD14++CD16+ monocytes may enhance plaque vulnerability, particularly in non-DM patients. CD14++CD16+ monocytes could be a possible therapeutic target for coronary plaque stabilization.
•Fibrous cap thickness was negatively correlated with CD14++CD16+ monocyte levels.•CD14++CD16+ monocyte levels was an independent predictor for TCFA.•MAGE scores were significantly higher in patients with TCFA than in those without.•CD14++CD16+ monocyte levels correlated with MAGE score in non-DM patients.
The initial process of atherosclerotic development has not been systematically evaluated. This study aimed to observe atherosclerotic progression from normal vessel wall (NVW) to atherosclerotic ...plaque and examine local factors associated with such progression using > 5-year long-term follow-up data obtained by serial optical coherence tomography (OCT). A total of 49 patients who underwent serial OCT for lesions with NVW over 5 years (average: 6.9 years) were enrolled. NVW was defined as a vessel wall with an OCT-detectable three-layer structure and intimal thickness ≤ 300 μm. Baseline and follow-up OCT images were matched, and OCT cross sections with NVW > 30° were enrolled. Cross sections were diagnosed as “progression” when the NVW in these cross sections was reduced by > 30° at > 5-year follow-up. Atherogenic progression from NVW to atherosclerotic plaque was observed in 40.8% of enrolled cross sections. The incidence of microchannels in an adjacent atherosclerotic plaque within the same cross section (6.7 vs. 3.3%;
p
= 0.046) and eccentric distribution of atherosclerotic plaque (25.0 vs. 12.6%;
p
< 0.001) at baseline was significantly higher in cross sections with progression than in those without. Cross sections with progression exhibited significantly higher NVW intimal thickness at baseline than cross sections without progression (200.1 ± 53.7 vs. 180.2 ± 59.6 μm;
p
< 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of microchannels in an adjacent atherosclerotic plaque, eccentric distribution of atherosclerotic plaque, and greater NVW intimal thickness at baseline were independently associated with progression at follow-up. The presence of microchannels in an adjacent atherosclerotic plaque, eccentric distribution of atherosclerotic plaque, and greater NVW intimal thickness were potentially associated with initial atherosclerotic development from NVW to atherosclerotic plaque.
•Salivary IL-6 levels are elevated for 20min following acute psychosocial stress.•Individuals with sustained elevation of IL-6 levels showed a lower cortisol response.•A greater IL-6 response was ...associated with a higher heart rate during the task.
Although interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been investigated frequently in stress research, knowledge regarding the biological processes of IL-6 in association with psychosocial stress remains incomplete. This study focused on salivary IL-6 and reports its temporal variation and biological correlates following acute psychosocial stress. Fifty healthy young adults (39 male and 11 female students) were subjected to the psychosocial stress test ‘Trier Social Stress Test’ (TSST), wherein the participants were asked to deliver a speech and perform a mental arithmetic task in front of 2 audiences. Collection of saliva samples, measurement of heart rate, and assessment of negative moods by visual analogue scales were conducted before, during, and after TSST. Salivary IL-6 levels increased by approximately 50% in response to the TSST and remained elevated for 20min after the stress tasks were completed. Cluster analyses revealed that individuals with sustained elevation of IL-6 levels following the TSST exhibited a lower cortisol response compared to individuals with lower IL-6 levels. In the correlation analyses, a greater IL-6 response was associated with a higher heart rate during the mental arithmetic task (r=.351, p<.05) and with a lower cortisol response (r=−.302, p<.05). This study demonstrates that salivary IL-6 levels are elevated for a relatively long period following acute psychosocial stress, and suggests that sympathetic activity and cortisol secretion are involved in elevation of salivary IL-6 levels.
Peri-strut low-intensity area (PLIA) assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been reported as a potential marker of abnormal neointimal healing. We aimed to evaluate the impact of PLIA on ...clinical events and its risk factors.
We enrolled 264 consecutive patients treated with an everolimus-eluting stent (EES) who underwent follow-up OCT six to 12 months after stenting. Target lesion revascularisation (TLR) was evaluated at a mean 42.6 months after stenting. PLIA was identified in 102 patients; 162 patients did not exhibit PLIA. Multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis indicated that the presence of PLIA (PLIA+) was an independent risk factor for an increased incidence of TLR (hazard ratio HR: 4.608, p=0.003). In both the early (<1 year) and late (>1 year) phases, the incidence of TLR was significantly higher in the PLIA+ group (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). In the Cox hazard regression analysis, current smoking and increased C-reactive protein level were independently associated with PLIA+ (HR: 1.737, p=0.009; HR: 2.435, p=0.008, respectively).
The presence of PLIA on midterm OCT was associated with TLR after EES implantation. Detailed stent assessment by midterm OCT may help to predict stent failure in patients treated with EES.
•ALTAIR: Phase IV, open-label, randomized, parallel-group, single-center study.•Alirocumab arm: alirocumab 75mg every 2 weeks added to rosuvastatin 10mg/day.•Standard-of-care arm: rosuvastatin ...10mg/day.•Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging at baseline and at week 36 (post-treatment).•Main outcome measure: change in thickness of the fibrous cap (blinded OCT analysis).
Although a recent clinical trial demonstrated that alirocumab, a proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, significantly reduces the incidence of acute coronary events, the impact of alirocumab on plaque stabilization remains uncertain. The Efficacy of ALirocumab for Thin-cap fibroatheroma in patients with coronary Artery disease estImated by optical coherence tomogRaphy (ALTAIR) study will investigate the effect of alirocumab on thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) in Japanese patients who underwent recent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
ALTAIR is a phase IV, open-label, randomized, parallel-group, single-center study involving blinded optical coherence tomography (OCT) image analysis in Japanese adults hospitalized for PCI and having suboptimal control of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (>70mg/dL) despite statin therapy. Patients will be randomized (1:1) to the alirocumab arm (alirocumab 75mg every 2 weeks added to rosuvastatin 10mg/day) or the standard-of-care arm (rosuvastatin 10mg/day, with initiation and/or dose adjustment of non-statin lipid-lowering to achieve an LDL-C target of <70mg/dL). OCT imaging will be conducted at baseline and at week 36 (post-treatment). The primary objective is to compare the alirocumab and standard-of-care arms regarding the change in TCFA fibrous-cap thickness after 9 months of treatment.
The outcomes of ALTAIR (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03552432) will provide insights into the effect of alirocumab on plaque vulnerability following PCI in patients with suboptimal LDL-C control despite stable statin therapy.
PDF