American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyFosfomycin/tobramycin for inhalation in patients with cystic fibrosis with pseudomonas airway infection.
Fosfomycin/tobramycin for inhalation (FTI), a unique, broad-spectrum antibiotic combination, may have therapeutic potential for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). ⋯ FTI maintained the substantial improvements in FEV(1) % predicted achieved during the AZLI run-in and was well tolerated. FTI is a promising antipseudomonal therapy for patients with CF.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyThe influence of bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine strain on the immune response against tuberculosis: a randomized trial.
Approximately 100 million doses of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine are given each year to protect against tuberculosis (TB). More than 20 genetically distinct BCG vaccine strains are in use worldwide. Previous studies suggest that BCG vaccine strain influences the immune response and protection against TB. Current data on which BCG vaccine strain induces the optimal immune response in humans are insufficient. ⋯ There are significant differences in the immune response induced by different BCG vaccine strains in newborn infants. Immunization with BCG-Denmark or BCG-Japan induced higher frequencies of mycobacterial-specific polyfunctional and cytotoxic T cells and higher concentrations of Th1 cytokines. These findings have potentially important implications for global antituberculosis immunization policies and future tuberculosis vaccine trials.
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Vitamin D deficiency and asthma are common conditions that share risk factors such as African American ethnicity, inner-city residence, and obesity. This review provides a critical examination of current experimental and epidemiologic evidence of a causal association between vitamin D status and asthma or asthma morbidity, including potential protective mechanisms such as antiviral effects and enhanced steroid responsiveness. Because most published epidemiologic studies of vitamin D and asthma or asthma morbidity are observational, a recommendation for or against vitamin D supplementation as preventive or secondary treatment for asthma is not advisable and must await results of ongoing clinical trials. Should these trials confirm a beneficial effect of vitamin D, others will be needed to assess the role of vitamin D supplementation to prevent or treat asthma in different groups such as infants, children of school age, and ethnic minorities.