Resp Res
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Characterisation of exacerbation risk and exacerbator phenotypes in the POET-COPD trial.
Data examining the characteristics of patients with frequent exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and associated hospitalisations and mortality are scarce. ⋯ The frequent exacerbator phenotype was closely associated with exacerbation-related hospitalisations, and exacerbation-related hospitalisations were associated with poorer survival.
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, fibrosing interstitial lung disease that primarily affects older adults. Median survival after diagnosis is 2-3 years. The clinical course of IPF may include periods of acute deterioration in respiratory function, which are termed acute exacerbations of IPF (AEx-IPF) when a cause cannot be identified. ⋯ The latest international treatment guidelines state that supportive care remains the mainstay of treatment for AEx-IPF, but also give a weak recommendation for the treatment of the majority of patients with AEx-IPF with corticosteroids. There is emerging evidence from clinical trials of investigational therapies that chronic treatment of IPF may reduce the incidence of AEx-IPF. Additional clinical trials investigating this are underway.
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Identification of serum proteins that track with disease course in sarcoidosis may have clinical and pathologic importance. We previously identified up-regulated transcripts for interferon-inducible chemokines CXCL9, and CXCL10, in blood of sarcoidosis patients compared to controls. The objective of this study was to determine whether proteins encoded by these transcripts were elevated in serum and identified patients with remitting vs. chronic progressive sarcoidosis longitudinally. ⋯ Interferon-γ-inducible chemokines, CXCL9 and CXCL10, are elevated in sarcoidosis and inter-correlated with each other. Chemokine levels correlated with measures of disease severity. Serial measurements of CXCL10 corresponded to clinical course.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Exercise training with negative pressure ventilation improves exercise capacity in patients with severe restrictive lung disease: a prospective controlled study.
Exercise training is of benefit for patients with restrictive lung disease. However, it tends to be intolerable for those with severe disease. We examined whether providing ventilatory assistance by using negative pressure ventilators (NPV) during exercise training is feasible for such patients and the effects of training. ⋯ Exercise training with NPV support is feasible for patients with severe restrictive lung diseases, and improves exercise capacity and health-related quality of life.
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Comparative Study
Preliminary characterizations of a serum biomarker for sarcoidosis by comparative proteomic approach with tandem-mass spectrometry in ethnic Han Chinese patients.
The diagnosis of sarcoidosis is still a significant challenge in China because of the need to exclude other diseases including granulomatous infections and malignancies that may be clinically and radiographically similar. The specific aim of the study is to search for serum protein biomarkers of sarcoidosis and to validate their clinical usefulness in differential diagnosis. ⋯ This is the first study to investigate serum protein markers in Chinese subjects with sarcoidosis. This study shows that the serum SAA expression profiles were different between the sarcoidosis and non-sarcoidosis groups. SAA may be a potential serum biomarker for ruling-out the diagnosis of sarcoidosis in Chinese subjects.