American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2024
Epigenome-Wide Association Studies of COPD and Lung Function: A Systematic Review.
Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) results from gene-environment interactions over the lifetime. These interactions are captured by epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation. Objectives: To systematically review the evidence form epigenome-wide association studies related to COPD and lung function. ⋯ A few genes (n = 123; 2.6%) were replicated in blood and respiratory samples, suggesting that blood can recapitulate some changes in respiratory tissues. These findings have implications for future research. Systematic Review [protocol] registered with Open Science Framework (OSF).
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2024
ReviewAsthma Inception: Epidemiologic Risk Factors and Natural History Across the Life-Course.
Asthma is a descriptive label for an obstructive inflammatory disease in the lower airways manifesting with symptoms including breathlessness, cough, difficulty in breathing, and wheezing. From a clinician's point of view, asthma symptoms can commence at any age, although most patients with asthma-regardless of their age of onset-seem to have had some form of airway problems during childhood. ⋯ We conclude that early environmental insults in genetically vulnerable individuals inducing abnormal, pre-asthmatic airway responses are key events in asthma inception, and we highlight disease heterogeneity across ages and the potential shortsightedness of treating all patients with asthma using the same treatments. Although there are no interventions that, at present, can modify long-term outcomes, a precision-medicine approach should be implemented to optimize treatment and tailor follow-up for all patients with asthma.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2024
ReviewAerosolized Antibiotic Therapy in Mechanically Ventilated Patients.
Delivering antibiotics directly to the respiratory tract through inhalation to address lung infections has garnered clinical and scientific interest for decades, given the potential favorable pharmacokinetic profile of this administration route. Among critically ill patients, the burden of healthcare-associated pulmonary infections particularly drove continued interest in delivering inhaled antibiotics to intubated patients. We present a concise overview of the existing rationale and evidence and provide guidance for implementing inhaled antibiotics among ventilated critically ill patients, emphasizing insights from recent literature.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2024
ReviewContemporary Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A US Perspective.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complex fatal condition that requires aggressive treatment with close monitoring. Significant progress has been made over the last three decades in the treatment of PAH, but, despite this progress, survival has remained unacceptably low. In the quest to improve survival, therapeutic interventions play a central role. ⋯ S. patient population. This review also provides an expert opinion of the current treatment algorithm in important subgroups of patients with comorbidities from the U. S. perspective.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2024
ReviewPremalignant Progression in the Lung: Knowledge Gaps and Novel Opportunities for Interception of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement.
Rationale: Despite significant advances in precision treatments and immunotherapy, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. To reduce incidence and improve survival rates, a deeper understanding of lung premalignancy and the multistep process of tumorigenesis is essential, allowing timely and effective intervention before cancer development. Objectives: To summarize existing information, identify knowledge gaps, formulate research questions, prioritize potential research topics, and propose strategies for future investigations into the premalignant progression in the lung. ⋯ Results: This research statement identifies significant gaps in knowledge and proposes potential research questions aimed at expanding our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the progression of premalignant lung lesions to lung cancer in an effort to explore potential innovative modalities to intercept lung cancer at its nascent stages. Conclusions: The identified gaps in knowledge about the biological mechanisms of premalignant progression in the lung, together with ongoing challenges in screening, detection, and early intervention, highlight the critical need to prioritize research in this domain. Such focused investigations are essential to devise effective preventive strategies that may ultimately decrease lung cancer incidence and improve patient outcomes.