Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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Comparative Study
Alveolar nitric oxide concentration reflects peripheral airway obstruction in stable asthma.
Increased fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has been shown to reflect airway inflammation in asthma. Central airway NO flux (J'awNO; nL/s) and peripheral airway/alveolar NO concentration (CANO; ppb) can be calculated separately. CANO has been reported to reflect small airway inflammation. The aim of the present study is to correlate CANO levels with clinical and physiological parameters in patients with stable asthma. ⋯ CANO(TMAD) may be a more specific marker of peripheral airway obstruction than FeNO and J'awNO(TMAD) in stable asthma.
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Whether the therapeutic nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) derived from manual titration is the same as derived from automatic titration is controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare the therapeutic pressure derived from manual titration with automatic titration. ⋯ The results suggest that automatic titration pressure derived from REMstar Auto is usually higher than the pressure derived from manual titration.
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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are a population of tissue-resident adult progenitor cells that were originally identified in bone marrow, but have now been identified in many organs including the lung. Although their precise role in organ function remains incompletely defined, mounting evidence suggests that they are an important component of the parenchymal progenitor cell niche and orchestrate organ homeostasis and repair following injury. In this review, what is known about MSC biology will be outlined with particular emphasis on lung biology, and the therapeutic potential of MSC-based cell therapy will also be highlighted.
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Comparative Study
Study of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in patients with mild-to-moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in India.
To study the incidence and pattern of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in patients with mild-to-moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using dual-probe 24-h oesophageal pH recording. ⋯ There is an increased occurrence of GORD in patients with even mild-to-moderate COPD.
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The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic utility of pleural fluid N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), midregion pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) and midregion pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) for discriminating heart failure (HF)-associated effusions. ⋯ MR-proANP is as valuable a diagnostic tool as NT-proBNP for diagnosing or excluding HF as the cause of pleural effusion.