PLoS medicine
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Although statins reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease, they are expensive. How should trial evidence on statins be applied to a resource-poor setting?
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a devastating complication of numerous underlying conditions, most notably sepsis. Although pathologic vascular leak has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ARDS and sepsis-associated lung injury, the mechanisms promoting leak are incompletely understood. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), a known antagonist of the endothelial Tie-2 receptor, was originally described as a naturally occurring disruptor of normal embryonic vascular development otherwise mediated by the Tie-2 agonist angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1). We hypothesized that Ang-2 contributes to endothelial barrier disruption in sepsis-associated lung injury, a condition involving the mature vasculature. ⋯ Our results identify a critical role for Ang-2 in disrupting normal pulmonary endothelial function.
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The detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) usually requires the implementation of often rigorous infection-control measures. Prompt identification of an MRSA epidemic is crucial for the control of an outbreak. In this study we evaluated various early warning algorithms for the detection of an MRSA cluster. ⋯ Rapid MRSA outbreak detection, based on epidemiological and spa typing data, is a suitable alternative for classical approaches and can assist in the identification of potential sources of infection.