Rationale: Intensive care unit (ICU) admission of a relative is a stressful event that may cause symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objectives: Factors associated with these symptoms need to be identified. Methods: For patients admitted to 21 ICUs between March and November 2003, we studied the family member with the main potential decision-making role. Measurements: Ninety days after ICU discharge or death, family members completed the Impact of Event Scale (which evaluates the severity of post-traumatic stress reactions), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and 36-item Short-Form General Health Survey during a telephone interview. Linear regression was used to identify factors associated with the risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Main results: Interviews were obtained for family members of 284 (62%) of the 459 eligible patients. Post-traumatic stress symptoms consistent with a moderate to major risk of PTSD were found in 94 (33.1%) family members. Higher rates were noted among f...

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1164/rccm.200409-1295OC

Risk of Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in Family Members of Intensive Care Unit Patients

Hair cortisol as a biological marker of chronic stress: current status, future directions and unanswered questions.

Psychoneuroendocrinological contributions to the etiology of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and stress-related bodily disorders: the role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways in which many cell types play a role. These cells are involved in the regulation of the airways inflammation and initiate the process of remodelling by the release of cytokines and growth factors. In the article the authors describe changes in airways wall in asthmatic patients and their clinical consequences.

Airway remodeling in asthma

Although it was originally believed that thyroid hormones enter target cells by passive diffusion, it is now clear that cellular uptake is effected by carrier-mediated processes. Two stereospecific binding sites for each T4 and T3 have been detected in cell membranes and on intact cells from humans and other species. The apparent Michaelis-Menten values of the high-affinity, low-capacity binding sites for T4 and T3 are in the nanomolar range, whereas the apparent Michaelis- Menten values of the low-affinity, high-capacity binding sites are usually in the lower micromolar range. Cellular uptake of T4 and T3 by the high-affinity sites is energy, temperature, and often Na+ dependent and represents the translocation of thyroid hormone over the plasma membrane. Uptake by the low-affinity sites is not dependent on energy, temperature, and Na+ and represents binding of thyroid hormone to proteins associated with the plasma membrane. In rat erythrocytes and hepatocytes, T3 plasma membrane carriers have been tenta...

/pdf/plasma-membrane-transport-of-thyroid-hormones-and-its-role-3leaw2hzjx.pdf

Plasma Membrane Transport of Thyroid Hormones and Its Role in Thyroid Hormone Metabolism and Bioavailability

The aim of this study was to establish morning and evening reference ranges for cortisol in saliva. Another objective was to compare the concentrations of the mainly free cortisol in saliva to thos ...

Cortisol in Saliva - Reference Ranges and Relation to Cortisol in Serum

Salivary cortisol was measured as an alternative to serum cortisol as a marker for adrenocortical function following insulin tolerance test, corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation and adreno-c ...

Salivary cortisol : an alternative to serum cortisol determinations in dynamic function tests

Salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to stress rating scales in a group of rescue workers

This study reveals, for the first time, an interspecific synchronization in long-term stress levels. Previously, acute stress, has been shown to be highly contagious both among humans and between individuals of other species. Here, long-term stress synchronization in dogs and their owners was investigated. We studied 58 dog-human dyads and analyzed their hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) at two separate occasions, reflecting levels during previous summer and winter months. The personality traits of both dogs and their owners were determined through owner-completed Dog Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) and human Big Five Inventory (BFI) surveys. In addition, the dogs’ activity levels were continuously monitored with a remote cloud-based activity collar for one week. Shetland sheepdogs (N = 33) and border collies (N = 25), balanced for sex, participated, and both pet dogs and actively competing dogs (agility and obedience) were included to represent different lifestyles. The results showed significant interspecies correlations in long-term stress where human HCC from both summer and winter samplings correlated strongly with dog HCC (summer: N = 57, χ2 = 23.697, P < 0.001, β = 0.235; winter: N = 55, χ2 = 13.796, P < 0.001, β = 0.027). Interestingly, the dogs’ activity levels did not affect HCC, nor did the amount of training sessions per week, showing that the HCC levels were not related to general physical activity. Additionally, there was a seasonal effect in HCC. However, although dogs’ personalities had little effects on their HCC, the human personality traits neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness significantly affected dog HCC. Hence, we suggest that dogs, to a great extent, mirror the stress level of their owners.

/pdf/long-term-stress-levels-are-synchronized-in-dogs-and-their-208rpo51om.pdf

Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners

Continuous recruitment and inappropriate activity of platelets in the airways may contribute to airway remodeling, a characteristic feature of inflammatory airway diseases that includes increased p ...

/pdf/platelets-stimulate-airway-smooth-muscle-cell-proliferation-fn4v5wjrbg.pdf

Ann-Charlotte B. Svensson Holm

Papers

Cortisol in Saliva - Reference Ranges and Relation to Cortisol in Serum

Salivary cortisol : an alternative to serum cortisol determinations in dynamic function tests

Salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to stress rating scales in a group of rescue workers

Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners

Platelets stimulate airway smooth muscle cell proliferation through mechanisms involving 5-lipoxygenase and reactive oxygen species