Increased angiopoietin-1 improves nailfold capillary morphology in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objective: Raynaud's phenomenon is a common symptom of systemic sclerosis. We previously reported that elbow heating increases angiopoietin-1 in the fingertips and alleviates Raynaud's phenomenon. Angiopoietin-1 levels decrease in patients with systemic sclerosis with severe capillary damage.

Heating of the neck or elbows alleviates Raynaud's phenomenon but has different effects on different types of patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: We previously reported that heating of the neck or elbows alleviated Raynaud's phenomenon in patients with systemic sclerosis and upregulated capillary extension factor angiopoietin-1 (Angpt-1) in the fingertips. In this study, we investigated which cases responded better to the effect of heating of the neck or elbows.

Methods: The pre- to postheating change in the visual analogue scale (ΔVAS) for Raynaud's phenomenon was examined for correlation with age, disease duration, autoantibodies, disease types, corticosteroid dose, capillaroscopic nailfold capillary damage, fingertip Angpt-1 concentrations at baseline, and increased rate of Angpt-1 concentration.

Proximal heat stress up-regulates angiopoietin-1 in fingers and reduces the severity of Raynaud's phenomenon in systemic sclerosis: a single-centre pilot study.

Objectives: Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is a peripheral vascular disorder that frequently occurs in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Although therapeutic heating seems reasonable given that RP is elicited by cold stimuli, the effects of heating are still unclear. We examined the effects of heating applied on various body parts in SSc patients with RP of fingers.

Treatment of severe pneumonia by hinokitiol in a murine antimicrobial-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia model.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is often isolated from patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Antibiotics are the primary line of treatment for pneumococcal pneumonia; however, rising antimicrobial resistance is becoming more prevalent. Hinokitiol, which is isolated from trees in the cypress family, has been demonstrated to exert antibacterial activity against S.

Protective effect of hinokitiol against periodontal bone loss in ligature-induced experimental periodontitis in mice.

Objective: The overall objective of this study was to investigate the effects of hinokitiol on periodontal bone loss in a murine model of experimental periodontitis and evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of hinokitiol in vitro.

Design: Periodontitis was induced by tying a silk ligature around the maxillary second molar of mice for 8 days. Hinokitiol was injected once a day for 7 days into the palatal gingiva of the ligated molar.