European journal of clinical investigation
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Aug 2012
ReviewRegenerative pulmonary medicine: potential and promise, pitfalls and challenges.
Chronic lung diseases contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality of the population. There are few effective treatments for many chronic lung diseases, and even fewer therapies that can arrest or reverse the progress of the disease. ⋯ Cell-based regenerative therapies for lung diseases offer great promise, with preclinical studies suggesting that the next decade should provide the evidence necessary for their ultimate application to our therapeutic armamentarium.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Aug 2012
Assessment of the human faecal microbiota: II. Reproducibility and associations of 16S rRNA pyrosequences.
We conducted a pilot study of reproducibility and associations of microbial diversity and composition in faecal microbial DNA. ⋯ With sampling from various parts of a stool, both devices provided good reproducibility on overall microbial diversity and classification for the major phyla, but not for minor phyla. Implementation of these methods should provide insights into how broad microbial parameters, but not necessarily rare microbes, affect risk of various conditions.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Aug 2012
Assessment of the human faecal microbiota: I. Measurement and reproducibility of selected enzymatic activities.
The intestinal microbial community has major effects on human health, but optimal research methods are unsettled. To facilitate epidemiologic and clinical research, we sought to optimize conditions and to assess reproducibility of selected core functions of the distal gut microbiota, β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase bioactivities. ⋯ Optimal measurement of these core activities of the microbiota required a sufficient quantity of rapidly chilled or frozen specimens collected in phosphate buffered saline at pH7·0. Application of these methods to clinical and epidemiologic research could provide insights on how the intestinal microbiota affects human health.