American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · May 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialCXCR2 Antagonist MK-7123-A Phase 2 Proof-of-Concept Trial for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
An antagonist (MK-7123) of the cytokine receptor CXCR2 reduces neutrophil chemotaxis and thus may alleviate airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ Treatment with MK-7123 50 mg versus placebo led to significant improvement in FEV1 in patients with COPD, suggesting clinically important antiinflammatory effects with CXCR2 antagonism, although dose-related discontinuations were observed because of ANC decreases with MK-7123. Greater response was observed in smokers versus ex-smokers. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 01006616).
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · May 2015
Controlled Clinical TrialThe Effects of Exercise on Right Ventricular Contractility and Right Ventricular - Arterial Coupling in Pulmonary Hypertension.
Exercise tolerance is decreased in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). It is unknown whether exercise intolerance in PH coincides with an impaired rest-to-exercise response in right ventricular (RV) contractility. ⋯ In contrast to control subjects, patients with PH were unable to increase Ees during submaximal exercise. Failure to compensate for the further increase in Ea during exercise led to deterioration in Ees/Ea. Furthermore, ΔPAP did not reflect ΔEes but rather the change in heart rate.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · May 2015
Clinical TrialImpaired Antibody-mediated Protection and Defective IgA B Cell Memory in Experimental Infection of Adults with Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
Despite relative antigenic stability, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) reinfects throughout life. After more than 40 years of research, no effective human vaccine exists and correlates of protection remain poorly defined. Most current vaccine candidates seek to induce high levels of RSV-specific serum neutralizing antibodies, which are associated with reduced RSV-related hospitalization rates in observational studies but may not actually prevent infection. ⋯ This observed specific defect in IgA memory may partly explain the ability of RSV to cause recurrent symptomatic infections. If so, vaccines able to induce durable RSV-specific IgA responses may be more protective than those generating systemic antibody alone.