Annals of the American Thoracic Society
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Multicenter Study
A genome-wide association study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Hispanics.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have identified disease-susceptibility loci, mostly in subjects of European descent. ⋯ We have identified two novel loci (in or near the genes KLHL7/NUPL2 and DLG2) that may play a role in COPD pathogenesis in Hispanic populations.
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Based on preclinical data, cell-based therapy with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem (stromal) cells (MSCs) is a potentially attractive new therapeutic option for treating patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Small and large animal models of acute lung injury from endotoxin, live bacteria, and sepsis have shown that MSCs can decrease lung injury and increase survival. ⋯ Some of the beneficial effects are mediated by microvesicles. A phase 1 safety and dose-escalation trial was completed and a randomized, double-blind clinical trial is currently underway.
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Multicenter Study
Spectrum of critical illness in undocumented border crossers. The Arizona-Mexico border experience.
Approximately 150-250 migrants die each year while attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the Southwest United States. Many border crossers survive the journey, but some develop life-threatening medical complications. Such complications have been subject to little formal analysis. ⋯ Border crossers are a unique population of young individuals exposed to high temperatures and extreme conditions. Our review of border crosser admissions showed that most patients demonstrated signs of dehydration and leukocytosis, despite a normal median temperature. The median ICU stay was short, despite a high number of patients requiring ventilator support and surgical intervention. Only one death occurred in this cohort.
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Review
Confronting the frustrations of negative clinical trials in acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Despite robust successes in trials of mechanical ventilation, pharmacologic interventions in acute respiratory distress syndrome have been disappointing. Although ineffective therapy remains the compelling explanation for these negative trials, other possible explanations exist. ⋯ These options can be organized into strategies that increase sample size, increase the signal from the therapy, and reduce the noise or variation in the study. Each of the strategies to improve the likelihood of a positive clinical trial poses a potential tradeoff in generalizability, cost, sample size, signal, or noise.