bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Respiratory insufficiency and limb muscle weakness in adults with Pompe’s disease
Authors: Pellegrini N. , Laforet P. , Orlikowski D. , Pellegrini M. , Caillaud C. , Eymard B. , Raphael J-C. , Lofaso F. 
Published: November 2005

The objective of the present study was to prospectively evaluate relationships linking age, respiratory function and locomotor function in 29 outpatients with late-onset Pompe’s disease and to retrospectively determine clinical outcomes.Using univariate regression analysis, vital capacity (VC) was weakly, but significantly, correlated to shoulder motility, Walton score and lower-limb Modified Medical Research Council score. Six patients were able to walk without a walking aid and with only the help of a handrail on the stairs (Walton score = 3), although VC was <50%. No parameters were significantly correlated with age.As assessed retrospectively, VC and locomotion deteriorated over time in most patients. In contrast, among the 16 patients started on invasive or noninvasive ventilation with VC monitoring, eight had a VC increase at the first measurement time-point.The absence of correlation with age and the presence, in some patients, of severe respiratory insufficiency without severe limb girdle muscle weakness indicate that respiratory function should be monitored independently from the degree of peripheral muscle weakness. Mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy may improve vital capacity and should, therefore, be taken into account when evaluating treatments for the adult form of Pompe’s disease.
Social class in asthma and allergic rhinitis: a national cohort study over three decades
Authors: Bråbäck L. , Hjern A. , Rasmussen F. 
Published: November 2005

The aim of this study was to assess whether the association with social class differed between allergic rhinitis and asthma and whether these associations have changed over time.The Swedish Military Service Conscription Register was linked to two other national registers for 1,247,038 male conscripts in successive cohorts born between 1952 and 1977.The percentage of asthma cases associated with allergic rhinitis was 15% in the oldest cohort and 44% in the youngest cohort. Low socio-economic status (SES) was associated with an increased risk (assessed as odds ratio) of asthma without allergic rhinitis (1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11–1.17) but a slightly reduced risk of asthma with allergic rhinitis (0.96, 95% CI 0.93–1.00). The risk of allergic rhinitis was 0.84, 95% CI 0.82–0.85. A positive interaction between SES and year of birth occurred in all three conditions. Low SES was related to a reduced risk of asthma with allergic rhinitis in the earliest cohort (0.72, 95% CI 0.53–0.82) but a slightly increased risk in the most recent cohort (1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.14).In conclusion, the role of social class has changed over time. The steepest increase in asthma and allergic rhinitis occurred in conscripts with a low socio-economic status.
Protective effect of pneumococcal vaccine against death by pneumonia in elderly subjects
Authors: Vila-Córcoles A. , Ochoa-Gondar O. , Llor C. , Hospital I. , Rodríguez T. , Gómez A. 
Published: November 2005

The present study assessed the effectiveness of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine to prevent pneumonia and death in older adults in a first-time report between January and December 2002.A prospective cohort study was conducted including all individuals ≥65 yrs of age assigned to one of eight primary care centres in Tarragona, Spain (n = 11,241). The primary outcomes were community-acquired pneumonia (hospitalised or outpatient) and death from pneumonia. All pneumonias were validated by checking clinical records. The association between the pneumococcal vaccination and the risk of each outcome was evaluated by means of multivariate Cox proportional-hazard models, adjusted by age, sex, influenza vaccination status, comorbidity and immunological status.Pneumococcal vaccination did not alter the risk of hospitalisation from pneumonia (hazard ratio (HR): 0.80; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50–1.28) or overall pneumonia (HR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.56–1.31), but the vaccine was associated with considerable reductions of death risk from pneumonia (HR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.09–0.83).In conclusion, these results suggest that pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine may not be effective in reducing the incidence of pneumonia, but may be able to diminish the severity of the infection. These findings support the effectiveness of the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine to prevent mortality caused by pneumonia in older adults, providing a new argument to recommend systematic vaccination in the elderly.
Changes in the use of anti-asthmatic medication in an international cohort
Authors: Janson C. , de Marco R. , Accordini S. , Almar E. , Bugiani M. , Carolei A. , Cazzoletti L. , Cerveri I. , Corsico A. , Duran-Tauleria E. , Gislason D. , Gulsvik A. , Jõgi R. , Marinoni A. , Martínez-Moratalla J. , Pin I. , Vermeire P. , Jarvis D. 
Published: November 2005

The aim of this study was to describe changes in pharmacotherapy for asthma since the early 1990s in an international cohort of young and middle-aged adults.A total of 28 centres from 14 countries participated in a longitudinal study. The study included 8,829 subjects with a mean follow-up time of 8.7 yrs. Change in the prevalence of use for medication was expressed as absolute net change (95% confidence interval) standardised to a 10-yr period.The use of anti-asthmatics was found to have increased by 3.1% (2.4–3.7%) and the prevalence of symptomatic asthma by 4.0% (3.5–4.5%). In the sample with asthma in both surveys (n = 423), the use of inhaled corticosteroids increased by 12.2% (6.6–17.8%). Despite this, only 17.2% were using inhaled corticosteroids on a daily basis at follow-up. Females with continuous asthma were more likely, compared with males, and smokers with asthma, to have started using inhaled corticosteroids since the first survey.The use of anti-asthmatics has increased in a pattern consistent with current consensus on treatment. However, despite increased use of inhaled corticosteroids, a large majority of subjects with symptomatic asthma do not use this treatment on a daily basis, particularly males and smokers with asthma.
Physiological and clinical effects of diurnal noninvasive ventilation in hypercapnic COPD
Authors: Díaz O. , Bégin P. , Andresen M. , Prieto M. E. , Castillo C. , Jorquera J. , Lisboa C. 
Published: November 2005

To assess the clinical impact of noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) on stable hypercapnic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, changes in exercise capacity, dyspnoea and simple physiological parameters were evaluated. The time course of these effects during treatment and recovery was also assessed.Patients were randomly allocated to NIMV (n = 27) or sham-NIMV (n = 15), applied 3 h·day−1, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks. A 6-min walking distance (6MWD), arterial blood gases, spirometry, pattern of breathing, mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1), and respiratory system impedance (P0.1/tidal volume (VT)/inspiratory time (tI)) were measured weekly during treatment and 2 weekly during follow-up. Transition dyspnoea index (TDI) was also measured.During NIMV, carbon dioxide arterial tension decreased progressively, concomitantly with a slow deep pattern of breathing, a proportional increase in the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), the forced vital capacity and significant reductions of P0.1and P0.1/VT/tI. The 6MWD improved by a mean of 76 m after NIMV, and by 73 m and 61 m 1 and 2 weeks, respectively, after treatment. Dyspnoea improved with a mean TDI of three points. Changes in 6MWD were highly related to TDI and to a lesser extent to changes in FEV1(r = 0.60).The current authors conclude that noninvasive mechanical ventilation has significant and sustained clinical impact in stable hypercapnic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Autoimmunity and pulmonary hypertension: a perspective
Authors: Nicolls M. R. , Taraseviciene-Stewart L. , Rai P. R. , Badesch D. B. , Voelkel N. F. 
Published: November 2005

The association between autoimmunity and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been appreciated for >40 yrs, but how autoimmune injury might contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease has only been examined in a case-specific manner.It is becoming increasingly clear that a variety of diverse clinical diseases, ranging from viral infections to connective tissue disorders, can culminate in pulmonary vascular pathology that is indistinguishable. Is there a hitherto unappreciated biology that unites these seemingly unrelated conditions?The answer to this question may come from the increasing body of evidence concerned with the central importance of regulatory T-cells in preventing inappropriate B-cell activity. Two striking similarities between conditions associated with severe angioproliferative pulmonary hypertension are a defect in the CD4 T-cell compartment and auto-antibody production. Pathogenic auto-antibodies targeting endothelial cells are capable of inducing vascular endothelial apoptosis and may initiate the development of PAH.The present review will focus on what is known about autoimmune phenomena in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients, in order to better consider whether an early loss of self-tolerance followed by autoimmune injury could influence the early development of severe angioproliferative pulmonary hypertension.
Effects of exacerbations and seasonality on exhaled nitric oxide in COPD
Authors: Bhowmik A. , Seemungal T. A. R. , Donaldson G. C. , Wedzicha J. A. 
Published: November 2005

Exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) appears to be associated with airway inflammation seen in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present authors studied the effects of exacerbation, season, temperature and pollution on eNO.eNO was measured seasonally and at exacerbations in 79 outpatients suffering from COPD (mean forced expiratory volume in one second = 42%). The effects of exacerbation symptoms, physiological and environmental parameters were analysed.Stable eNO levels were correlated positively with arterial oxygen tension. Median levels were found to be lower in smokers (5.3 ppb) than in ex- or nonsmokers (6.8 ppb). Levels were higher during October to December (6.9 ppb) than in April to June (4.6 ppb). Levels were also higher during 68 exacerbations in 38 patients (7.4 ppb) than in stable conditions (5.4 ppb), independent of the effects of smoking. The rise in eNO was greater in exacerbations that were associated with colds, a sore throat or dyspnoea combined with a cold.In conclusion, exhaled nitric oxide levels were higher in colder weather and in the autumn, perhaps related to the increased prevalence of viral infection at this time of year. The levels were lower in more severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Exhaled nitric oxide levels were raised at the onset of exacerbation, particularly in the presence of a cold.
Choice of endogenous control for gene expression in nonsmall cell lung cancer
Authors: Liu D. W. , Chen S. T. , Liu H. P. 
Published: November 2005

This study attempts to identify a suitable endogenous control gene for real-time RT-PCR in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues.Expression of seven common endogenous control genes (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), v-abl Abelson murine leukaemia viral oncogene homologue 1, beta-2-microglobulin, hypoxanthin phosphoribosyltransferase 1 (HPRT1), phosphoglycerate kinase 1, peptidylprolyl isomerase A, and ribosomal protein, large, P0) in 18 heterogenous NSCLC tumour specimens, 10 normal lung tissues and six NSCLC cell lines were analysed by quantitative RT-PCR. The variances and correlation coefficients of cycle threshold (Ct) value of each control gene in three tissue groups and subgroups were compared. The difference and correlation coefficients between the Ct value for each control gene and the mean Ct value of the remaining control genes were calculated.The GAPDH gene transcript showed the least variance and linear regression analysis demonstrated that GAPDH and HPRT had the strongest correlation in pooled tumour and normal lung tissues. Furthermore, GAPDH expression value showed stringent correlation and had the lowest difference with the mean expression value of the remaining endogenous control genes.Among the seven common endogenous control genes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is the most suitable for quantitative RT-PCR reaction in nonsmall cell lung cancer tissue samples.
Macrophages induce an allergen-specific and long-term suppression in a mouse asthma model
Authors: Vissers J. L. M. , van Esch B. C. A. M. , Hofman G. A. , van Oosterhout A. J. M. 
Published: November 2005

Increasing evidence suggests that macrophages (Mφ) play a crucial downregulatory role in the initiation and progression of allergic asthma. Recently, the current authors demonstrated that ovalbumin (OVA)-loaded Mφ (OVA-Mφ) suppress subsequent OVA-induced airway manifestations of asthma and that this effect could be potentiated upon selective activation. In the present study, the authors further delineated the underlying pathway by which Mφ exert this immunosuppressive effect.To examine the migration of OVA-Mφ, cells were labelled with 5′chloromethylfluorescein diacetate (CMFDA) and were administered (i.v.) into OVA-sensitised BALB/c mice. After 20 h, the relevant organs were dissected and analysed using fluorescent microscopy. Allergen-specificity was investigated by treating OVA-sensitised mice with keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH)-Mφ activated with immunostimulatory sequence oligodeoxynucleotide (ISS-ODN). By lengthening the period between treatment and challenge to 4 weeks it was examined whether OVA-Mφ exerted an immunosuppressive memory response.Strikingly, CMFDA-labelled Mφ were not trapped in the lungs, but migrated to the spleen. ISS-ODN-stimulated KLH-Mφ failed to suppress OVA-induced airway manifestations of asthma. Moreover, treatment with ISS-ODN-stimulated OVA-Mφ was still effective after lengthening the period between treatment and challenge.These data demonstrate that allergen-loaded macrophages can induce an indirect immunosuppressive response that is allergen-specific and long lasting, which are both hallmarks of a memory lymphocyte response.
Primary airway epithelial cell culture from lung transplant recipients
Authors: Forrest I. A. , Murphy D. M. , Ward C. , Jones D. , Johnson G. E. , Archer L. , Gould F. K. , Cawston T. E. , Lordan J. L. , Corris P. A. 
Published: November 2005

Long-term survival in lung transplantation is limited by the development of obliterative bronchiolitis, a condition characterised by inflammation, epithelial injury, fibroproliferation and obliteration of bronchioles leading to airflow obstruction. To investigate the role of the bronchial epithelium in the pathogenesis of obliterative bronchiolitis the current study aimed to establish primary bronchial epithelial cell cultures (PBEC) from lung allografts.Four to six bronchial brushings were obtained from sub-segmental bronchi of lung allografts. Cells were seeded onto collagen-coated plates and grown to confluence in bronchial epithelial growth medium.Bronchial brushings (n = 33) were obtained from 27 patients. PBECs were grown to confluence from 12 out of 33 (39%) brushings. Failure to reach confluence was due to early innate infection. Bacteria were usually isolated from both bronchoalveolar lavage and culture media, but a separate population was identified in culture media only.Primary culture of bronchial epithelial cells from lung transplant recipients is feasible, despite a high rate of early, patient-derived infection. Latent infection of the allograft, identified only by bronchial brushings, may itself be a persistent stimulus for epithelial injury. This technique facilitates future mechanistic studies of airway epithelial responses in the pathogenesis of obliterative bronchiolitis.
Melatonin, immune function and aging
Authors: Srinivasan V , Maestroni GJM , Cardinali DP , Esquifino AI , Perumal SR Pandi , Miller SC 
Published: November 2005

AbstractAging is associated with a decline in immune function (immunosenescence), a situation known to correlate with increased incidence of cancer, infectious and degenerative diseases. Innate, cellular and humoral immunity all exhibit increased deterioration with age. A decrease in functional competence of individual natural killer (NK) cells is found with advancing age. Macrophages and granulocytes show functional decline in aging as evidenced by their diminished phagocytic activity and impairment of superoxide generation. There is also marked shift in cytokine profile as age advances, e.g., CD3+ and CD4+ cells decline in number whereas CD8+ cells increase in elderly individuals. A decline in organ specific antibodies occurs causing reduced humoral responsiveness. Circulating melatonin decreases with age and in recent years much interest has been focused on its immunomodulatory effect. Melatonin stimulates the production of progenitor cells for granulocytes-macrophages. It also stimulates the production of NK cells and CD4+ cells and inhibits CD8+ cells. The production and release of various cytokines from NK cells and T-helper lymphocytes also are enhanced by melatonin. Melatonin presumably regulates immune function by acting on the immune-opioid network, by affecting G protein-cAMP signal pathway and by regulating intracellular glutathione levels. Melatonin has the potential therapeutic value to enhance immune function in aged individuals and in patients in an immunocompromised state.
Comparison of laboratory and immediate diagnosis of coagulation for patients under oral anticoagulation therapy before dental surgery
Authors: Kruse-Loesler Birgit , Kelker Matthias , Kleinheinz Johannes 
Published: November 2005

Abstract

Background
Dental surgery can be carried out on patients under oral anticoagulation therapy by using haemostyptic measures. The aim of the study was a comparative analysis of coagulation by laboratory methods and immediate patient diagnosis on the day of the planned procedure.

Methods
On the planned day of treatment, diagnoses were carried out on 298 patients for Prothrombin Time (PT), the International Normalised Ratio (INR), and Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT). The decision to proceed with treatment was made with an INR < 4.0 according to laboratory results.

Results
Planned treatment did not go ahead in 2.7% of cases. Postoperatively, 14.8% resulted in secondary bleeding, but were able to be treated as out-patients. 1.7% had to be treated as in-patients. The average error between the immediate diagnosis and the laboratory method: 95% confidence interval was -5.8 ± 15.2% for PT, -2.7 ± 17.9 s for PTT and 0.23 ± 0.80 for INR. The limits for concordance were 9.4 and -21.1% for PT, 15.2 and -20.5 s for PTT, and 1.03 and -0.57 for INR.

Conclusion
This study showed a clinically acceptable concordance between laboratory and immediate diagnosis for INR. Concordance for PT and PTT did not meet clinical requirements. For patients under oral anticoagulation therapy, patient INR diagnosis enabled optimisation of the treatment procedure when planning dental surgery.
Episodic memory-related activation in schizophrenia: meta-analysis
Authors: Achim Amélie M. , Lepage Martin 
Published: November 2005

BackgroundNumerous studies have examined the neural correlates of episodic memory deficits in schizophrenia, yielding both consistencies and discrepancies in the reported patterns of results.AimsTo identify in schizophrenia the brain regions in which activity is consistently abnormal across imaging studies of memory.MethodData from 18 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were combined using a recently developed quantitative meta-analytic approach.ResultsRegions of consistent differential activation between groups were observed in the left inferior prefrontal cortex, medial temporal cortex bilaterally, left cerebellum, and in other prefrontal and temporal lobe regions. Subsequent analyses explored memory encoding and retrieval separately and identified between-group differences in specific prefrontal and medial temporal lobe regions.ConclusionsBeneath the apparent heterogeneity of published findings on schizophrenia and memory, a consistent and robust pattern of group differences is observed as a function of memory processes.
Course and predictors of weight gain in people with first-episode psychosis treated with olanzapine or haloperidol
Authors: Zipursky Robert B. , Gu Hongbin , Green Alan I. , Perkins Diana O. , Tohen Mauricio F. , McEvoy Joseph P. , Strakowski Stephen M. , Sharma Tonmoy , Kahn René S. , Gur Raquel E. , Tollefson Gary D. , Lieberman Jeffrey A. 
Published: November 2005

BackgroundSubstantial weight gain is common with many atypical antipsychotics.AimsTo evaluate the extent, time course and predictors of weight gain and its effect on study retention among people with first-episode psychosis treated with olanzapine or haloperidol.MethodSurvival analysis assessed time to potentially clinically significant weight gain (⩾7%) and the effect of weight gain on study retention. Weight gain during the 2-year study was summarised using last-observation-carried-forward (LOCF), observed cases and study completion approaches.ResultsAfter 2 years of treatment, LOCF mean weight gain was 10.2 kg (s.d.=10.1) for olanzapine (n=131) and 4.0 kg (s.d.=7.3) for haloperidol (n=132); observed cases mean weight gain was 15.4 kg (s.d.=10.0) for olanzapine and 7.5 kg (s.d.=9.2) for haloperidol. Change in body mass index was significantly predicted only by treatment group (P< 0.0001).ConclusionsOlanzapine was associated with significantly greater weight gain than haloperidol, with both leading to greater weight gain than previously described.
Mortality in individuals who have had psychiatric treatment
Authors: Kisely Stephen , Smith Mark , Lawrence David , Maaten Sarah 
Published: November 2005

BackgroundMost studies of mortality in psychiatric patients have investigated inpatients rather than those attending outpatient clinics or primary care, where most receive treatment.AimsTo evaluate the mortality risk in mental illness for patients in contact with psychiatric services or primary care (n=221 048) across Nova Scotia (population 936 025).MethodA population-based record-linkage analysis was made of the period 1995–2000, using an inception cohortto calculate mortality rate ratios.ResultsThe mortality rate was 1.74, with increased ratios for all major causes of death. Male mortality was almost double that of females after controlling for demographic factors, treatment setting and place of residence. Patients of lower income, in specialist psychiatric settings, and with dementia or psychoses were also at greater risk. However, in absolute numbers, 72% of deaths occurred in patients who had only seen their general practitioner.ConclusionsMortality risk is increased in all psychiatric patients, not just those who have received in-patient treatment.