tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Maintenance after Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Chronic Lung Disease
Authors: Andrew L. Ries, Robert M. Kaplan, Roseann Myers, Lela M. Prewitt
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2003)

Pulmonary rehabilitation is beneficial for patients with chronic lung disease. However, long-term maintenance has been difficult to achieve after short-term treatment. We evaluated a telephone-based maintenance program after pulmonary rehabilitation in 172 patients with chronic lung disease recruited from pulmonary rehabilitation graduates. Subjects were randomly assigned to a 12-month maintenance intervention with weekly telephone contacts and monthly supervised reinforcement sessions (n = 87) or standard care (n = 85) and followed for 24 months. Except for a slight imbalance between sexes, experimental and control groups were equivalent at baseline and showed similar improvements after rehabilitation. During the 12-month intervention, exercise tolerance (maximum treadmill workload and 6-minute walk distance) and overall health status ratings were better maintained in the experimental group together with a reduction in hospital days. There were no group differences for other measures of pulmonary function, dyspnea, self-efficacy, generic and disease-specific quality of life, and health care use. By 24 months, there were no significant group differences. Patients returned to levels close to but above prerehabilitation measures. We conclude that a maintenance program of weekly telephone calls and monthly supervised sessions produced only modest improvements in the maintenance of benefits after pulmonary rehabilitation.
Improved Cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease With Short-Term D-Cycloserine Treatment
Authors: Guochuan E. Tsai, William E. Falk, Jeanette Gunther, Joseph T. Coyle
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1999)

Glutamatergic neurotransmission is important for memory and cognition and is severely affected in Alzheimer's disease. D-Cycloserine exhibits partial agonist activity at the glycine site of N-methyl-D-aspartate subtype glutamate receptor, facilitating activation of the receptor and improving cognition and memory.Seventeen patients with Alzheimer's disease received a three-phase, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 50 mg and 100 mg/day of D-cycloserine.D-Cycloserine was associated with significant improvement in scores on the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (improvement of 3.0 points) when given at a dose of 100 mg/day.D-Cycloserine has cognitive benefits for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Treatment of aluminum overload using a cartridge with immobilized desferrioxamine.
Authors: S Anthone, C M Ambrus, R Kohli, I Min, R Anthone, A Stadler, I Stadler, A Vladutiu
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (1995)

Intravenous desferrioxamine (DFO) is the method commonly used to treat aluminum toxicity. This laboratory has developed a hollow fiber device with immobilized DFO, an "Aluminum DFO-HP" (DFO-HP), for the purpose of removing aluminum without the chelator (DFO) entering the blood. With Food and Drug Administration approval, a polysulfone DFO-HP, placed in the extracorporeal circuit in series with the patient's customary dialyzer, was tested for its safety and ability to remove aluminum in patients with ESRD who had aluminum overload. During treatment with this device, no toxic reactions, side effects, or hematologic or clinical laboratory changes were seen other than those associated with dialysis. Average aluminum clearance with the DFO-HP device was 25.3 mL/min with a range of 7.2 to 52.4 mL/min, whereas aluminum clearance with the F-60 polysulfone high-flux dialyzer was 8.4 mL/min. Aluminum clearance of the cuprophane dialyzers in series with the DFO-HP was negligible. The amount of aluminum removed over a 2-h treatment with DFO-HP ranged from 94 to 628 micrograms, which corresponded to 32 to 199% of the initial aluminum in the circulation before that particular treatment. The excess 99% was provided from aluminum released from tissue sites into the circulation throughout the duration of the treatment. It is expected that, because of the efficiency and safety of the DFO-HP device, the time presently needed for aluminum depletion using intravenous DFO will be greatly shortened and the potential toxicity of intravenous DFO will be eliminated.
When to image post-thoracoscopy?
Authors: Arthee Yogendran, Uzma Faruqi, Sara Jamel, Claire Malcolm, Gihan Hettiarachchi, Alex West
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Introduction   Chest radiography day 1 post-thoracoscopy to review lung re-expansion is suggested by the British Thoracic Society  1 . Practice in the UK has been compared to areas where medical thoracoscopy is a day case procedure.   Objectives   To review the length of stay, time to lung re-inflation and survival interval following thoracoscopy in a district general hospital.   Methods   A retrospective study identified patients undergoing medical thoracoscopy between 01/06/2007 and 31/12/2011. Casenotes and electronic records were reviewed to obtain tissue diagnosis, imaging intervals and length of stay post-procedure. Images were reviewed to determine rates of lung re-inflation and fluid re-accumulation.   Results   123 patients were identified. Pleural biopsies were taken at 95% of procedures, with a diagnostic sensitivity of 97%. 47% of cases were positive for malignant mesothelioma. Time to initial chest radiography ranged from 0-4 days. First imaging at day 1 had 63% re-inflation compared to 78% at day 2 post-thoracoscopy. Persistent effusion was noted in 56 cases, pneumothorax in 11 and both were present in 21. Length of stay averaged 4.4 days, with 45% patients discharged within 2 days.   Conclusion   Overall 30% of patients had not achieved lung re-inflation at first imaging, up to 2 days post-thoracoscopy. Initial imaging on day 2 provides time for re-inflation whilst avoiding repeated chest radiographs.   1 Local Anaesthetic Thoracoscopy, BTS Pleural Disease Guideline, 2010.
<scp>FMS</scp> Kinase Inhibitors: Current Status and Future Prospects
Authors: Mohammed I. El‐Gamal, Hanan S. Anbar, Kyung Ho Yoo, Chang‐Hyun Oh
Journal: Medicinal Research Reviews (2012)

Abstract FMS , first discovered as the oncogene responsible for F eline M c D onough S arcoma, is a type III receptor tyrosine kinase that binds to the macrophage or monocyte colony‐stimulating factor ( M ‐ CSF or CSF ‐1). Signal transduction through that binding results in survival, proliferation, and differentiation of monocyte/macrophage lineage. Overexpression of CSF ‐1 and/or FMS has been implicated in a number of disease states such as the growth of metastasis of certain types of cancer, in promoting osteoclast proliferation in bone osteolysis, and many inflammatory disorders. Inhibition of CSF ‐1 and/or FMS may help treat these pathological conditions. This article reviews FMS gene, FMS kinase, CSF ‐1, IL ‐34, and their roles in bone osteolysis, cancer biology, and inflammation. Monoclonal antibodies, FMS crystal structure, and small molecule FMS kinase inhibitors of different chemical scaffolds are also reviewed.
Comorbidities of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome
Authors: Madhav Tamhankar, Murali Mohan, Ranganath Ramanjaneya, Tiyas Sen
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is often associated with unrecognized comorbidities. Persons of South Asian origin already have a higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension than in the developed world, and COPD prevalence is rising fast. We expected that the prevalence of comorbidities would be high in our population with OSA.

Methods: Patients at our referral hospital in India, proven by polysomnography to have moderate to severe OSA (Apnoea Hypopnoea Index (AHI) > 15/hour), were studied for important comorbidities: diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN) and COPD, diagnosed as per accepted guidelines (ADA, JNC VII, GOLD), or already on treatment. Results were compared with recent Indian prevalence data for these comorbidities.

Results: Moderate to severe OSA was present in 182/201 subjects (90.54%), and severe OSA in 169/201 subjects (84.08%). (Age: Mean 55.65 years Range 27 – 78 years). [Gender: Men 138 (68.7%) Women 63 (31.3%)}. The comorbidities were:

View this table:

Co-morbidities of Moderate and Severe OSAS





127/182 (69.8%) of those with moderate to severe OSA had both DM and HTN. All comorbidities exist at a much higher level in persons with moderate to severe OSA than in the general population [estimated prevalence: DM 9%, HTN 28.%, COPD (men 5%, women 2.7%)].

Conclusion: Moderate to severe OSA is associated with a high prevalence of significant comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension and COPD. The prevalence is higher than a chance co-occurrence of common conditions in the general population. A search for OSA should be made in every patient with DM, HTN or COPD and vice versa.
Heterogeneity of cognitive-neurobiological determinants of resilience
Authors: Erno J. Hermans, Guillén Fernández
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2015)

Abstract In their target article, Kalisch and colleagues advocate a paradigm shift in research on stress-related mental disorders away from vulnerability factors and toward determinants of resilience. We endorse this shift but argue that their focus on “appraisal style” as the ultimate path to resilience may be too narrow. We illustrate this point by examining recent literature on the role of corticosteroids in resilience.
Association between beta2 adrenergic receptor (ADRβ2) haplotype pair and severe asthma in an Australian caucasian population
Authors: Li Ping Chung, Svetlana Baltic, Suzanna Temple, Grant Waterer, Philip Thompson
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

Background:  Studies in mild asthmatics showed adverse outcomes with chronic use of short or long acting beta agonists in individuals with  β2  adrenergic receptor ( ADRβ2)  polymorphisms including  ADRβ2 +46G>A. The extent to which  ADRβ2  polymorphisms contribute to severe asthma is unknown, hence the association of  ADRβ2  polymorphisms with asthma severity was investigated.   Methods:  Caucasians with mild (n=201) or severe asthma (n=118, defined by ATS criteria 2000) and non-asthmatics (n=200) were recruited. All subjects (mean age 53.1, 60% atopic) were genotyped for 12  ADRβ2  polymorphisms (-1023, -709, -654, -468, -367, -47, -20, +46, +79, +252, +491, +523). Haplotype frequency and haplotype pair was determined via PHASE.   Results:  Severe, mild and non-asthmatic cohorts were matched by age but distinguishable from each other in terms of symptoms, lung function, medication use and health care utilisation (p    Conclusions:  ADRβ2  haplotype pair 2/4 is associated with severe asthma. Known haplotypic difference in receptor expression and acute bronchodilator response in mild compared to severe asthmatics suggests a role for  ADRβ2  haplotypes in the development and/or treatment response in severe asthmatics.
High efficiency gene transfer is an efficient way of defining therapeutic targets: a functional genomics approach
Authors: B M J Foxwell, S Yoshimura, J Bondeson, F M Brennan, M Feldmann
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2001)

Dendritic cells are the most potent antigen presenting cells and key to many aspects of the immune function. Studying the intracellular signalling mechanism used by dendritic cells would provide an insight into the functioning of these cells and give clues to strategies for immunomodulation.Highly efficient adenoviral infection of dendritic cells for the delivery of transgenes was obtained. These viral vectors were used to introduce IkappaB alpha into dendritic cells for the inhibition of NF-kappaB. This was used to investigate the role of NF-kappaB in dendritic cell function.By blocking the NF-kappaB function a potent inhibition of the expression of costimulating molecules by dendritic cells with the concomitant loss of T cell stimulating function was demonstrated.The use of adenoviral vectors may be a useful way of studying the role of genes in dendritic cell function.
Epidemiology of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in adolescent athletes with and without asthma in Slovenia
Authors: Tita Butenko, Jasna Rodman, Malena Aldeco, Ana Kotnik Pirs, Uros Krivec
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2014)

Background:  Asthma and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) are common in highly trained athletes. An accurate evaluation with exercise bronchial provocation testing (EBPT) is necessary to justify specific treatment of EIB or EIB with asthma.   Aim:  To assess the incidence of EIB, EIB with asthma and vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) in adolescent athletes with dyspnea on exertion in Slovenia.   Methods:  We performed a two year retrospective chart review of highly trained adolescent athletes with dyspnea on exertion referred to our tertiary centre. Patients9 medical history and results of pulmonary function testing (PFT) were evaluated, including % predicted FEV1 (%FEV1), fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), methacholine challenge (MC) and EBPT. EIB was defined as ≥10% fall in %FEV1 from the pre-exercise level. VCD was diagnosed if exercise-induced inspiratory stridor was observed by a physician, or with flexible laryngoscopy during exercise.   Results:  40 highly trained athletes (57.5% girls) were reviewed in our centre (mean age 15.5 yrs., SD 2.3). %FEV1 showed normal lung function in all subjects, median FeNO level was 16.4 (IQR 10.7-36.1), 37.5% of athletes who had an MC performed had a positive result. Diagnosis of asthma was made in 25.0% of subjects prior to EBPT. The latter showed EIB in 32.5% and EIB with asthma in 7.5%. VCD was present in 27.5% of all athletes. Finally, 50.0% of athletes had neither EIB nor asthma.   Conclusion:  Half of the athletes had only subjective symptoms. Our data imply that although mostly negative, EBPT is mandatory in order to avoid overdiagnosed EIB with asthma and subsequent overtreatment.
Surgery for Intersex
Authors: Sarah Creighton
Journal: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (2001)

The physical features determining the sex of an individual are the karyotype, the internal and external sexual organs, the gonads and the secondary sexual characteristics which appear at puberty. Intersex conditions occur when there is a defect in the normal process of sexual maturation that results in abnormalities in any of these features. The management of these conditions is in the midst of great change. Every aspect is currently under review including diagnostic techniques, timing and nature of treatment including surgery, and information given to the patients. The true incidence of most of these conditions is unknown and great secrecy still surrounds them.
Indian minister denies plan for nurse practitioners to fill doctor gap
Authors: C. Travasso
Journal: BMJ (2015)

The Indian government has no current plans to introduce nurse practitioners, Arun Kumar Panda, additional secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has said. 

Clarifying earlier reports in the media,1 Panda told The BMJ that allowing nurses to prescribe some drugs was simply one of many possible solutions that the government was considering to …
Histopathologic Differences Between Liver Tumors in Untreated (C57BL/6 × C3H)F&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt; (B6C3F&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt;) Mice and Nitrofen-Fed Mice&lt;xref ref-type="fn" rid="FN2"&gt;2&lt;/xref&gt;
Authors: K. L. Hoover, J. M. Ward, S. F. Stinson
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1980)

A comparison was made of the histologic characteristics of naturally occurring and Nitrofen-induced liver tumors in (C57BL/6 × C3H)F1 (B6C3F1) mice. Whereas induced tumors generally consisted of solid sheets or nodules of frequently enlarged eosinophilic hepatocytes containing enlarged and/or hyperchromatic nuclei, the spontaneous neoplasms consisted predominantly of small basophilic cells containing oval or round nuclei and frequently arranged in trabeculae 1–2 cells wide. Within the livers of Nitrofen-treated animals, foci of hepatocytes resembling those within the tumor masses were also observed in the nonneoplastic areas. Metastases were not present in the lungs of any controls, whereas small emboli or large masses of neoplastic hepatocytes were present in incidences up to 29% in treated mice with tumors. This bioassay provides evidence that, in some cases, liver tumors in treated mice are morphologically different from those in controls and suggests that Nitrofen induces unique liver tumors rather than acts as a promoter of spontaneous neoplasms.
The dietary antioxidant quercetin boosts pulmonary antioxidant defenses
Authors: Agnes Boots, Catrin Albrecht, Brandstaette Olga, Maja Hullmann, Irmgard Foerster, Guido Haenen, Aalt Bast, Roel Schins
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

We have demonstrated that single oral supplementation of the dietary antioxidant quercetin reduces oxidative stress in sarcoidosis patients. Apart from its direct oxidant scavenging properties, quercetin has also been suggested to boost endogenous antioxidant defenses indirectly by activation of redox sensitive signaling pathways. Therefore, we investigated the effect of orally applied quercetin on pulmonary redox balance.  C57BL/6J mice were sacrificed 3 or 16 hours after receiving an oral quercetin bolus (4 mg/animal). Total antioxidant capacity, quercetin concentration and the expression of nuclear factor erythroid derived (Nrf)2-regulated antioxidant genes were evaluated. The possible influence of Nrf2was also explored  in vitro  by treating quercetin-preloaded BEAS-2B human bronchial epithelial cells with the pro-fibrotic trigger bleomycin.  Total quercetin concentrations in plasma and lung tissue displayed a rapid but transient increase, which was associated with enhanced total antioxidant capacity. After 16 hours, amplified pulmonary mRNA levels of various antioxidant genes including catalase, superoxide dismutase, heme oxygenase 1 and γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase were observed. Additionally, oral quercetin administration increased Nrf2 gene expression. In the BEAS-2B cells, quercetin also activated Nrf2 and, interestingly, this induction was augmented by bleomycin. Moreover, quercetin pre-treatment inhibited bleomycin-induced ROS production.  In conclusion, our results indicate that oral quercetin may exert beneficial effects by boosting pulmonary antioxidant defenses and suggest a possible involvement of Nrf2 herein. The therapeutic value of our findings is currently explored in a murine fibrosis model.
Control of Breathing in Health and Disease
Authors: H. Folgering
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2005)

Control of Breathing in Health and Disease     Edited by M.D. Altos and Y. Kawakami     Published by Marcel Decker, New York, USA     Pages: 755. Price: £136.55, 201 euros. ISBN: 0-8247-9854-6    

This is a comprehensive book on a topic that is not as popular as it once was in physiology during the pre-molecular and pre-genetic era. Control of breathing is often a problem in pulmonology, intensive care units and anaesthesiology. Medical specialists working in these fields should be knowledgeable about these problems, and should have easy access to a reference book in order to …
Effectiveness of a telemedicine program in the quality of spirometries in primary care centres
Authors: Nuria Marina, Elena Lopez de Santamaria, Larraitz Garcia, Sandra Pedrero, Marta Inchausti, Amaia Urrutia, Juan B. Galdiz
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

Introduction:  Many studies have demostrated a low quality of S in primary care, carrying wrong diagnosis and treatment. Spirometry (S) quality control can be difficult because it is not an easy test.   Aims:  1.To evaluate the effectiveness of a Telemedicine Program to assure the S quality in Primary Care Centers (PCC). 2.To evaluate if there is agreement between functional diagnosis and clinical diagnosis.   Material/Methods:  We included 15 PCC, with 2-3 nurses in each of them. We use a Telemedicine Program (Linkcare Spiro®). The quality of S was evaluated by the Functional Respiratory Laboratory according to standard guidelines and a report was given in high quality S. The quality was evaluated using a scale grade from D and F (poor quality) to A and B (excellent quality).   Results:  During 9 months 1.894 S were collected. We observed an improvement in all PCC.  We have obtained clinical parameters in 640 patients, 321 with previous clinical diagnosis in PCC. 94/321 (29.3%) presented COPD diagnosis, with normal S in 24/94 (25.5%). In according to new diagnosis (319 patients), 119 patients presented anormal S, not only for parameters of obstruction but also for restriction.   Conclusions:  1. The Telemedicine Program improve the quality of S in all centers. 2. The Telemedicine Program is usefull as a continues training program for nurses. 3. We observed disagreement in 25.5% of COPD diagnosis.
The role of the regulated retrotransposon transcriptome in asthma
Authors: N. Miglino, M. Roth, Michael Tamm, P. Borger
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Rationale: Genetic studies identified over 200 asthma susceptibility genes that associate with the asthmatic pathology. In the light of the novel functions for mobile DNA elements, we propose that complex diseases, such as asthma, may result from transposed and transposable elements (TEs) which integrate in asthma susceptibility genes or in their regulatory elements.  Objectives: To investigate whether TEs may cause asthma. Therefore, we performed (i) in-silico analysis of TEs in selected asthma susceptibility genes which could potentially function as transcription modulators; (ii) establish CAGE libraries (cap analysis of gene expression) using human lung tissue of asthma patients and of healthy controls; and (iii) analyze the transcriptome of the lung tissue CAGE libraries.  Methods: The gene sequence of twelve asthma susceptibility genes (DPP10, CYFP2, HLAG, GPRA, SFRS8, PHF11, ADAM33, PCDH1, CH13L1, ORMDL3, PDE4D, DENN1B) were analyzed in silico for the presence of TEs. In addition, we analyzed the 1009000 59-upstream bp region in order to localize TEs that can potentially act as alternative promoters/enhancers.  Results: In silico analysis showed that the TE content in the 12 analyzed gene ranged from 8% (ADAM33) to 49% (GPRA). Within the 12 genes we observed a significant gene-specific distribution of the TE types (SINE, LINE, LTR). The analysis of the upstream 59-regions showed that the TE content ranged from 28% to 58%.  Outlook: DNA sequencing of the named genes will reveal differences in TE content in asthma vs. control. CAGE analysis will enable us to compare the retrotransposon transcriptome of asthma and controls.
Relationship of Apolipoproteins A-1 and B, and Lipoprotein(a) to Cardiovascular Outcomes
Authors: John J. Albers, April Slee, Kevin D. O'Brien, Jennifer G. Robinson, Moti L. Kashyap, Peter O. Kwiterovich, Ping Xu, Santica M. Marcovina
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2013)