The relation between anger coping strategies, anger mood and somatic complaints in children and adolescents

Attempts to explain the experience of somatic complaints among children and adolescents suggest that they may in part result from the influence of particular strategies for coping with anger on the longevity of negative emotions. To explore these relationships British (n = 393) and Dutch (n = 299) children completed a modified version of the Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ), and two additional questionnaires assessing anger mood and somatic complaints. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that for both the UK and Dutch samples two coping styles, Social support-seeking and Rumination, made a significant contribution to somatic complaints, over and above the variance explained by anger mood. A tendency to repeatedly think or talk about an angering event as a way of coping seems to underlie the observed negative health effects. In addition, tentative support is given for a broader range of strategies to cope with anger than just the traditionally studied anger-out and anger-in styles. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits alpha 4, alpha 7 and beta 2 in human internal mammary arteries of non-smokers and smokers

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are widely expressed in non-neuronal tissue, but data about their expression in vascular tissue are rare. To study the expression of nAChR α4, α7 and β2 in endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in human arteries of smokers and non-smokers, arteriae thoracicae internae dissected for coronary artery bypass grafting were analysed immunhistochemically and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). ECs of the tunica intima and the vasa vasorum as well as the VSMCs of the tunica media showed clear staining for nAChR α4, α7 and β2, without significant differences between non-smokers and smokers in all vascular layers. Further verification of nAChR α4, α7 and β2 expression of whole-tissue homogenates using PCR analysis showed no differences in the subtype expression between non-smokers and smokers. This provides an important basis for further investigations using positron electron tomography (PET) tracers for imaging of nAChRs in vascular health and disease