tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Dirkje S. Postma, Marjan Kerkhof, H. Marike Boezen, Gerard H. Koppelman
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2011)

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) show similarities and substantial differences. The Dutch hypothesis stipulated that asthma and COPD have common genetic and environmental risk factors (allergens, infections, smoking), which ultimately lead to clinical disease depending on the timing and type of environmental exposures (Postma and Boezen, Chest 2004;126:96S-104S). Thus, a particular group of shared genetic factors may lead to asthma when combined with specific environmental factors that are met at a certain stage in life, whereas combination with other environmental factors, or similar environmental factors at a different stage in life, will lead toward COPD. Multiple genes have been found for asthma and COPD. In addition to genes unique to these diseases, some shared genetic risk factors exist. Moreover, there are both common host risk factors and environmental risk factors for asthma and COPD. Here we put forward, based on the data available, that genes that affect lung development in utero and lung growth in early childhood in interaction with environmental detrimental stimuli, such as smoking and air pollution, are contributing to asthma in childhood and the ultimate development of COPD. Additional genes and environmental factors then drive specific immunological mechanisms underlying asthma, and others may contribute to the ultimate development of specific subtypes of COPD (i.e., airway disease with mucous hypersecretion, small airway disease, and emphysema). The genetic predisposition to the derailment of certain pathways may further help to define subgroups of asthma and COPD. In the end this may lead to stratification of patients by their genetic make-up and open new therapeutic prospects.
Supratentorial low-grade glioma in adults: an analysis of prognostic factors and timing of radiation.
Authors: C Leighton, B Fisher, G Bauman, S Depiero, L Stitt, D MacDonald, G Cairncross
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1997)

To review the outcomes of patients with low-grade glioma diagnosed by modern imaging and treated at a center where postponing radiotherapy was common practice.We reviewed the records of patients (age > or = 18 years) with pathologically confirmed supratentorial low-grade fibrillary astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and mixed glioma treated at a regional cancer center in Canada between 1979 and 1995.Median survival for the entire group (N = 167; mean age 40.6 years) was 10.5 years with 5- and 10-year survival rates of 72% and 50%, respectively. Median progression-free survival was 4.9 years with 5- and 10-year progression-free rates of 50% and 12%, respectively. Overall and progression-free survivals were longer for patients with an oligodendroglioma or mixed glioma than with astrocytoma (median 13 v 7.5 years, P = .003; progression-free 5.6 v 4.4 years, p = .054). Age at diagnosis < or = 40 years, seizures at presentation, minimal residual tumor after surgery, Karnofsky performance status > or = 70, and oligodendroglioma or mixed glioma pathology were associated with significantly longer median survival on univariate and multivariate analyses. Radiotherapy deferred until tumor progression (v immediate radiotherapy) was associated with longer survival on univariate analysis, but an imbalance in other variables accounted for this advantage such that timing of radiotherapy was not an independent (favorable or adverse) prognostic factor on multivariate analysis.Patients with low-grade glioma diagnosed by modern imaging can be expected to live a long time; timing of radiotherapy may be a less important determinant of survival than nontreatment variables and residual tumor bulk.
Allergy myths lead to underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis, say specialists
Authors: J. Wise
Journal: BMJ (2015)

Urban myths and quackery have developed around allergies and put people needlessly at risk, say the authors of a new patient guide.

Making Sense of Allergies , written by allergy specialists and published by the charity Sense About Science, aims to help the public make sense of the evidence and refute some of the misconceptions surrounding the subject.1

The guide warns that many allergy tests sold on the high street …
The cost of caring for end-stage kidney disease patients
Authors: F J Bruns, P Seddon, M Saul, M L Zeidel
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (1998)

The costs of care for end-stage renal disease patients continue to rise because of increased numbers of patients. Efforts to contain these costs have focused on the development of capitated payment schemes, in which all costs for the care of these patients are covered in a single payment. To determine the effect of a capitated reimbursement scheme on care of dialysis patients (both hemodialysis [HD] and peritoneal dialysis [PD]), complete financial records (all reimbursements for inpatient and outpatient care, as well as physician collections) of dialysis patients at a single medical center over 1 year were analyzed. For the period from July 1994 to July 1995, annualized cost per dialysis patient-year averaged $63,340, or 9.8% higher than the corrected estimate from the U.S. Renal Data Service (USRDS; $57,660). The "most expensive" 25% of patients engendered 44 to 48% of the total costs, and inpatient costs accounted for 37 to 40% of total costs. Nearly half of the inpatient costs resulted from only two categories (room charges and inpatient dialysis), whereas other categories each made up a small fraction of the inpatient costs. PD patients were far less expensive to care for than HD patients, due to reduced hospital days and lower cost of outpatient dialysis. Care for a university-based dialysis population was only slightly more expensive than estimates predicted from the USRDS. These results validate the USRDS spending data and suggest that they can be used effectively for setting capitated rates. Efforts to control costs without sacrificing quality of care must center on reducing inpatient costs, particularly room charges and the cost of inpatient dialysis.
Finding the Rhythm of Sudden Cardiac Death
Authors: Karim Sallam, Yingxin Li, Philip T. Sager, Steven R. Houser, Joseph C. Wu
Journal: Circulation Research (2015)

Sudden cardiac death is a common cause of death in patients with structural heart disease, genetic mutations, or acquired disorders affecting cardiac ion channels. A wide range of platforms exist to model and study disorders associated with sudden cardiac death. Human clinical studies are cumbersome and are thwarted by the extent of investigation that can be performed on human subjects. Animal models are limited by their degree of homology to human cardiac electrophysiology, including ion channel expression. Most commonly used cellular models are cellular transfection models, which are able to mimic the expression of a single-ion channel offering incomplete insight into changes of the action potential profile. Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes resemble, but are not identical, adult human cardiomyocytes and provide a new platform for studying arrhythmic disorders leading to sudden cardiac death. A variety of platforms exist to phenotype cellular models, including conventional and automated patch clamp, multielectrode array, and computational modeling. Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes have been used to study long QT syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and other hereditary cardiac disorders. Although induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes are distinct from adult cardiomyocytes, they provide a robust platform to advance the science and clinical care of sudden cardiac death.
The protein DJ-1 in malignant pleural effusions due to lung cancer: Levels and correlations with oxidative stress biomarkers
Authors: George Vavougios, Theodora Kerenidi, Irene Tsilioni, Konstantinos Gourgoulianis
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

BACKGROUND: DJ-1 is a multifunctional protein in lung cancer and a regulator of the oxidative stress response in pneumonocytes.  AIM: The aim of the present study was to determine DJ-1s levels in malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) and detect possible correlations with oxidative stress biomarkers.  METHODS: Forty lung cancer patients, mean age 65±10 years with cytologically proven MPEs were enrolled in this study. Pleural fluid (PF) and peripheral blood samples were collected, followed by a routine analysis of biochemical parameters. DJ-1, Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) and 8-Isoprostane levels in PF samples were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.  RESULTS: The median value of DJ-19s levels was 826 ng/mL (Interquartile Range: 482 - 1010 ng/mL). DJ-1 levels correlated with SOD1 and 8-Isoprostane levels (Spearman9s rho =-0.476, P=0.002 and Spearman9s rho =-0.264, P=0.033, respectively). Furthermore, DJ-1 levels correlated with PF lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, Spearman9s rho =-0.497, P=0.001), LDH PF to blood ratio (Spearman9s rho =-0.392, P=0.012) and total cell count (Spearman9s rho =-0.325, P=0.041). Finally, patients over 65 years displayed higher DJ-1 levels than younger patients (875 ng/mL vs 607 ng/mL respectively, P= 0.037).  CONCLUSIONS: DJ-19s correlations with oxidative stress biomarkers may imply the presence of a pathophysiological mechanism of antioxidant regulation intrinsic to MPEs due to lung cancer.
The Drosophila subobscura Adh genomic region contains valuable evolutionary markers.
Authors: G Marfany, R Gonzàlez-Duarte
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (1992)

We have sequenced 4 kb of the genomic region comprising the Adh (Alcohol dehydrogenase) gene of Drosophila subobscura. In agreement with other species which belong to the same subgenus, two structural genes, Adh and Adh-dup, are contained in this region. The main features of these two genes of D. subobscura have been inferred from the sequence data and compared with the homologous region of D. ambigua and D. pseudoobscura. Drosophila subobscura Adh and Adh-dup differ from those of D. ambigua at a corrected estimation of 10.1% and 12.5%, respectively, while from those of D. pseudoobscura they differ by 9.5% and 8.1%, respectively. Our data suggest that Adh and Adh-dup are evolving independently, showing a species-specific pattern. Moreover, particular features of some regions of these genes make them valuable evolutionary hallmarks. For instance, replacement substitutions in the third exon of Adh may indicate the branching of the melanogaster-obscura groups, whereas replacement substitutions in the third exon of the Adh-dup could be used to assess speciation within the obscura group.
Chemotherapeutic Effects on Mammalian Tumor Cells. IV. Frequency of Alteration in Leukemia L1210 Kinetics Following Alkylating Agent and Antimetabolite Therapy&lt;xref ref-type="fn" rid="FN1"&gt;2&lt;/xref&gt;
Authors: Ralph E. Johnson, Walter G. Hardy
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1966)
Acute lower respiratory tract infection and vitamin D status in children
Authors: Ayse Tana Aslan, Tugba Eyuboglu, Ozlem Gulbahar, Secil Ozkan
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Childhood acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) is one of the most common reason for morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries. Predisposing factors include season, nutrition, suboptimal immunization, lower socioeconomic status, prematurity, underlying disease, tobacco exposure and vitamin D deficiency.  Vitamin D deficiency is the 25(OH)D levels below   In this study we aimed to describe vit D status in children with lower respiratory infection. Between November 2010 and February 2011 63 children with acute lower respiratory infection between 0.5-5 years of age and 59 age matched children without respiratory symptoms were enrolled in the study. Both study and control groups received vitamin D prophylaxis for one year and they have no predisposing factors for ALRI. Vitamin D status of children with acute lower infection (mean 34,9 ng/ml) were compared with children without ALRI (mean 37,2 ng/ml). No difference was found between the patient and the control group (p=0,38). In the patient group 17 patients diagnosed to have ALRI again after February 2011 – after one year period. In terms of ALRI recurrence, statistically significant difference was found between vitamin D status normal and insufficient patients (p= 0,003).  In conclusion although there was no association between vitamin D status and childhood ALRI, significant association was found between vitamin D status and ALRI recurrence. Larger serial studies are needed for precise results.
Flightless I Homolog Represses Prostate Cancer Progression through Targeting Androgen Receptor Signaling
Authors: Tao Wang, Wen Song, Yuan Chen, Ruibao Chen, Zhuo Liu, Licheng Wu, Mingchao Li, Jun Yang, Liang Wang, Jihong Liu, Zhangqun Ye, Chenguang Wang, Ke Chen
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2015)

Abstract Purpose: Flightless I (FLII), member of the gelsolin superfamily of actin-remodeling proteins, functions as a transcriptional coregulator. We aim to evaluate a tumor-suppressive function of FLII in regulating androgen receptor (AR) in prostate cancer progression. Experimental Design: We examined FLII protein and mRNA expression in clinical prostate cancer specimens by immunohistochemistry. Kaplan–Meier analysis was conducted to evaluate the difference in disease-overall survival associated with the expression levels of FLII and AR. Prostate cancer cells stably expressing FLII or shRNA knockdown were used for functional analyses. Immunoprecipitation, Luciferase reporter, and immunofluorescence staining assays were performed to examine the functional interaction between FLII and AR. Results: Our analysis of the expression levels of FLII in a clinical gene expression array dataset showed that the expression of FLII was positively correlated with the overall survival of prostate cancer patients exhibiting high levels of AR expression. Examination of protein and mRNA levels of FLII showed a significant decrease of FLII expression in human prostate cancers. AR and FLII formed a complex in a ligand-dependent manner through the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of AR. Subsequently, we observed a competitive binding to AR between FLII and the ligand. FLII inhibited AR transactivation and decreased AR nuclear localization. Furthermore, FLII contributed to castration-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer cell growth through AR-dependent signaling, and reintroduction of FLII in prostate cancer cells sensitized the cells to bicalutamide and enzalutamide treatment. Conclusions: FLII plays a tumor-suppressive role and serves as a crucial determinant of resistance of prostate cancer to endocrine therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 22(6); 1531–44. ©2015 AACR.
The evaluation of the efficacy and safety of phospholipids' inhalation in patients with bronchial asthma (BA): A prospective randomized placebo-controlled study
Authors: Alexander Lisitsa, Igor Klimanov, Svetlana Soodaeva, Alexander Averyanov, Oleg Kuzovlev
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Background. The new method of BA treatment based on the reparation of damaged cell membranes by phospholipids was proposed.  The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of phospholipids9 inhalation (PhLI) in BA patients during the 24-week course of treatment.  Materials and methods. The prospective, single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was performed. 58 patients (age 67.5±12.3; male 68.3%) with partly controlled and uncontrolled BA were enrolled (FEV1>50%). Group1 contains 30 patients who received a PhLI by compressor nebulizer once a day in addition to traditional therapy; group2 - 28 patients who received a traditional therapy only (control). The lung function test was performed in each clinical visit, as well as PEF measurements were performed twice daily by the patient itself. Usage of short-acting β2-agonists and the asthma symptoms score were also determined.  Results. It was shown the statistically significant increase of FEV1 level in group1 compared with control (79.3±8.7 vs 72.9±9.2%; p=0.01). The PEF increase was also determined in group 1 (557.0±120.6 vs 486.3±98.3 l/min; p=0.03). The strong correlation between these two parameters was observed (r=0.94; p=0.0052). The number of inhalations of bronchodilator reliever medication was significantly lower in group 1 (1.7±0.8 vs 2.9±1.6; p=0.027) as well as asthma symptoms score (4.2±1.1 vs 6.3±1.0; p=0.01).  Conclusion. The results obtained demonstrate that a phospholipids9 inhalation in addition to traditional therapy of BA has a significant positive effect both in clinical status and lung function test in patients with BA.
Volumetric capnography for assessing ventilation inhomogeneity in infants with BPD
Authors: Christoph Häcki, Sotirios Fouzas, Philipp Latzin, Elena Proietti, Roland Neumann, Sven Schulzke, Urs Frey, Edgar Delgado-Eckert
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is characterized by structural lung changes which may affect ventilation distribution. Volumetric capnography (VC) has been used in adults to provide information on ventilation homogeneity and ventilation-over-perfusion status. The aim of this study was to assess the value of VC in assessing ventilation homogeneity in infants with BPD.  Methods: Lung function (tidal breathing - multiple breath washout) parameters from 132 healthy infants (94 term, 38 preterm) and 66 infants with moderate or severe BPD were compared. Expiratory capnograms were obtained by mainstream capnography over 100 tidal breaths. The slopes of phases II (SII) and III (SIII) were calculated by linear regression on emprirically chosen intervals as follows: For SII between 5 and 60% of the end-expiratory CO2 fraction and for SIII between 40, 50, or 60 and 95% of the expiratory volume. The correlation between these indices and lung clearence index (LCI) was also assessed.  Results: Both SIII and SII were steeper in BPD infants. The SIII40-95% was associated with the higher between-groups difference (Healthy 65 [49-80], BPD 108 [69-171]; P  Conclusions: VC might be used as a simpler and faster alternative to the inert gas washout techniques for assessing ventilation inhomogeneity in infants with BPD.
Endoscopic resection of an endobronchial hypernephroma metastasis using a polypectomy snare
Authors: D Themelin, P Duchatelet, W Boudaka, V Lamy
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (1990)

A 69 yr old male patient developed an acute respiratory distress. The emergency bronchoscopic examination showed a polypoid tumour obstructing the left main bronchus. A snare used for colorectal polypectomy was introduced through the bronchofibrescope to remove the tumour. The patient then dramatically improved. No side effects were observed. Histopathological examination showed metastasis from a hypernephroma. This simple technique is useful for bronchial deobstruction, when the tumour is accessible with a snare.
Evaluation of three categorical sputum colour charts: is less more?
Authors: Pieter Goeminne, Sandrien Abbeel, David Ruttens, Lieven Dupont
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

Introduction: Sputum colour charts (SCC) are used in the follow-up of patients with bronchiectasis. The best known are the chart by Murray et al. (mSCC) with 3 categories and the one by Stockley et al. (sSCC) with 9 categories. (1,2) We compared these SCC with a new chart containing 17 categories (nSCC)(abstract n° 852384), comparing intra-rater reliability (IntraRR) and inter-rater reliability (InterRR).  Methods: Twenty cystic fibrosis patients were asked to collect their morning sputum. All samples were scored 5 times in a random order by 2 blinded raters, scoring for the 3 SCC. IntraRR and InterRR was analyzed by calculating the kappa.  Results: All 3 charts had significant IntraRR (all p  Conclusion: Higher InterRR is seen when the SCC contains less categories. IntraRR reliability was independent of number of categories. SCC cannot contain more than 10 categories to remain reliable.  1 Murray MP et al. Eur Respir J 2009;34:361-4  2 Stockley RA et al. Thorax 2001;56:366-72.
A high-resolution allelotype of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL)
Authors: Urban Novak, Elisabeth Oppliger Leibundgut, Jörg Hager, Dominique Mühlematter, Martine Jotterand, Celine Besse, Nicolas Leupin, Daniel Ratschiller, Jeanette Papp, Gina Kearsey, Stefan Aebi, Hans Graber, Rolf Jaggi, Jean-Marc Lüthi, Sandrine Meyer-Monard, Mark Lathrop, Andreas Tobler, Martin F. Fey
Journal: Blood (2002)
Integration of the level of D-dimer (D-d) with Wells criteria to improve the prediction of pulmonary embolism (PE) before CT angiography of the lung (CTAL)
Authors: Olga Derzac, Simona Croiteru, Yaniv Dotan, Elad Schiff, Arie Oliven
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2014)

Rationale : The Wells criteria are recommended to improve pre-CTAL probability of PE. However, the criterion whether an alternative diagnosis is less likely than PE (alternative vs PE question), is often equivocal. Also, it is well documented that the likelihood of PE increases with increasing D-d levels, but only the cut-off to normal level is recommended to assess the need for CTAL.   Methods : Wells criteria and D-d levels of 200 consecutive patients who underwent CTAL were used to assess A. How often is the answer to the alternative vs PE question ambiguous and how such cases should be scored. B. If and how can integration of the level of D-d improve the pre-CTAL probability score for PE.   Results : PE was diagnosed in 29 (14.5%) of the patients. The answer to the alternative vs PE question was equivocal in 41% of all patients. The Wells score was higher in the PE group (4.4±2.0 vs. 1.7±1.5, p   Conclusions : When the answer to the alternative vs PE question is unclear, no scoring should be given, thereby providing more weight to other criteria and D-d. Integrating the absolute level of D-d into the clinical decision may improve the pre-CTAL positive predictive value without reducing the negative predictive value.