Table 1.

Studies relevant to far-infrared rays

Disease	Subjects	Exposure type	Duration	Primary parameters	Reference
CVD	Human	FIR sauna	2 weeks	FMD	16
CVD	Human	FIR sauna	2 weeks	8-epi-prostaglandin F2αSystolic blood pressure	28
CHF	Hamster	FIR sauna	4 weeks	eNOS mRNA and protein NO production	24
CHF	Human	FIR sauna	3 weeks	FMD 6MWD	17
DM	Human	Local FIR stimulation	2 weeks	8-epi-prostaglandin F2α	43
DM	Human	Local FIR stimulation	4 weeks	Cortisol Blood glucose Insulin	47
DM	Mouse	FIR sauna	5 weeks	Blood flow EPC mobilization and differentiation Oxidative stress	48
ESRD	Human	Local FIR stimulation	1 years	Qa AVF unassisted patency Incidence of AVF malfunction	55
CKD	Human	Local FIR stimulation	1 years	AVF PTA-unassisted patency AVG PTA-unassisted patency	59
CKD	Human	Local FIR stimulation	1 years	Rate of AVF maturation AVF unassisted patency	61
Hindlimb ischemia	Mouse	FIR sauna	5 weeks	Blood flow Capillary density eNOS expression NO production	7
PAD	Human	FIR sauna	10 weeks	Pain score Blood flow 6MWD	4
Testis ischemia	Rat	Local FIR stimulation	30 min	HO-1 protein Apoptosis of testis tissues	68

FIR: far-infrared; CVD: cardiovascular disease; FMD: flow-mediated endothelium-dependent dilation; CHF: chronic heart failure; eNOS: endothelial nitric oxide synthase; NO: nitric oxide; 6MWD, 6-min walk distance; DM: diabetes mellitus; EPC: endothelial progenitor cell; ESRD: end-stage renal disease; Qa: access flow; AVF: arteriovenous fistula; CKD: chronic kidney disease; AVG: arteriovenous graft; PTA: percutaneous transluminal angioplasties; PAD: peripheral arterial disease; HO-1: heme oxygenase-1.