American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jul 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyNonlinear exercise training in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is superior to traditional exercise training. A randomized trial.
The optimal exercise training intensity and strategy for individualized exercise training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not clear. ⋯ NLPE results in greater improvements in cycle endurance and health-related quality of life in patients with severe COPD than traditional training methods. Clinical trial registered with www.trialregister.nl (The Netherlands Trial Register; NTR 1045).
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jul 2013
ReviewMesenchymal stem cells and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Potential for clinical testing.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, debilitating, and fatal lung disease characterized by interstitial fibrosis with decreasing lung volumes and hypoxemic respiratory failure. The prognosis for patients with IPF is poor and the quest to find effective therapies has been unsuccessful. Despite several clinical trials over the past decade, there are no U. ⋯ Some, but not all, preclinical studies in animal models of lung fibrosis suggest that MSCs might be effective in the treatment of IPF. Given the safety and ease of MSC administration in other patient populations, the results in preclinical animal models of IPF, and the major need for novel therapeutic options in this devastating disease, we propose that carefully designed clinical trials of MSCs for the treatment of patients with IPF are appropriate. Establishing safety in the setting of IPF is the first priority in early clinical trials followed by clinical and biological measures of efficacy.
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jul 2013
Effects of allergic phenotype on respiratory symptoms and exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) guidelines make no recommendations for allergy diagnosis or treatment. ⋯ Among individuals with COPD, evidence of an allergic phenotype is associated with increased respiratory symptoms and risk of COPD exacerbations.
-
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jul 2013
Computed tomographic measures of pulmonary vascular morphology in smokers and their clinical implications.
Angiographic investigation suggests that pulmonary vascular remodeling in smokers is characterized by distal pruning of the blood vessels. ⋯ Smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is characterized by distal pruning of the small blood vessels (<5 mm(2)) and loss of tissue in excess of the vasculature. The magnitude of these changes predicts the clinical severity of disease.