The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations are associated with increased airway and systemic inflammation, though relationships between exacerbation recovery, recurrent exacerbation and inflammation have not been previously reported. In the present study, inflammatory changes at COPD exacerbations were related to clinical nonrecovery and recurrent exacerbations within 50 days. Serum interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), sputum IL-6 and IL-8 were measured in 73 COPD patients when stable, at exacerbation and at 7, 14 and 35 days post-exacerbation. ⋯ Nonrecovery of symptoms at chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation is associated with persistently heightened systemic inflammation. The time course of systemic inflammation following exacerbation is different between frequent and infrequent exacerbators. A high serum C-reactive protein concentration 14 days after an index exacerbation may be used as a predictor of recurrent exacerbations within 50 days.
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Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with oxygen desaturation to a varying degree. A patent foramen ovale (PFO) may allow interatrial right-to-left shunting. The hypothesis of the current study was that oxygen desaturation will occur more often, in proportion to the frequency of respiratory disturbances, in OSA subjects with PFO than in those without. ⋯ The prevalence of large PFO was nine out of 15 (60%) in the high proportional desaturation group versus two out of 15 (13%) in the low proportional desaturation group. The median number of passing bubbles was positively correlated to minimum oxygen saturation among those with PFO. In conclusion, oxygen desaturation occurs more often, in proportion to the frequency of respiratory disturbances, in obstructive sleep apnoea subjects with a patent foramen ovale than in those without.
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Interstitial pneumonias have recently been associated with mutations in the gene encoding surfactant protein C (SFTPC). In particular, SFTPC mutations have been reported in a number of familial forms of pulmonary fibrosis and in infants with interstitial lung diseases. The present study searched for SFTPC mutations in adult patients with sporadic idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. ⋯ Only two frequent nonsynonymous variants, T138N and S186N, were detected. Allele frequencies of both variations as well as of other identified noncoding alterations did not differ significantly between the diverse patient groups and control subjects. In conclusion, mutations in the gene encoding surfactant protein C are not common in sporadic cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, suggesting that the mutated gene does not play an important role in the pathogenesis of these forms of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.
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Brief oxygen therapy is commonly used for resuscitation at birth or prevention of hypoxaemia before procedures during the neonatal period. However, O(2) may severely depress breathing, especially when administered repeatedly. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of repeated hyperoxia on breathing control in newborn mice. ⋯ Furthermore, hyperoxia increased total apnoea duration, as compared with the baseline value. In newborn mice, repeated hyperoxia increasingly depressed breathing. This finding further supports a need for stringent control of oxygen therapy, most notably repeated oxygen administration in the neonatal period for premature newborn infants and those carried to term.
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8-Isoprostane is a potential in vivo marker for oxidant burden, but its usefulness in induced sputum of smokers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been investigated. The current study investigated 58 subjects comprising 11 never-smokers, 11 ex-smokers, 13 healthy current smokers and 23 COPD with stage 0-III disease (according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criteria). 8-Isoprostane was determined from induced sputum by enzyme immunoassay. Sputum 8-isoprostane levels were similar in the never-smokers and ex-smokers, but were elevated in the healthy smokers compared with nonsmokers, and in those with stage I-III COPD. ⋯ There was a correlation between sputum 8-isoprostane level and lung function parameters (forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity and sputum neutrophils. In conclusion, sputum 8-isoprostane levels correlate with the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, they do not appear to differentiate healthy smokers from those who are at risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage 0).