Related Articles

Pulmonary physiology: Future directions for lung function testing in COPD.

Respirology. 2014 Sep 25;

Authors: Brusasco V, Barisione G, Crimi E

Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term that encompasses different pathological conditions having excessive airflow limitation in common. A wide body of knowledge has been accumulated over the last century explaining the mechanisms by which airway (chronic bronchitis) and parenchymal (emphysema) diseases lead to an indistinguishable spirometric abnormality. Although the definition of emphysema is anatomical, early studies showed that its presence can be inferred with good approximation from measurements of lung mechanics and gas exchange, in addition to simple spirometry. Studies using tests of ventilation distribution showed that abnormalities are present in smokers with normal spirometry, although these tests were not predictive of development of COPD. At the beginning of the third millennium, new documents and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of COPD were developed, in which the functional diagnosis of COPD was restricted, for the sake of simplicity, to simple spirometry. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in separating bronchitic from emphysematous phenotype of COPD. For this purpose, high-resolution computed tomography scanning has been added to diagnostic work-up. At the same time, methods for lung function testing have been refined and seem promising for detection of early small airways abnormalities. Among them are the forced oscillation technique and the nitrogen phase III slope analysis of the multiple-breath washout test, which may provide information on ventilation inhomogeneity. Moreover, the combined assessment of diffusing capacity for nitric oxide and carbon monoxide may be more sensitive than the latter alone for partitioning diffusive components at parenchymal level.

PMID: 25257934 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles

Serum unsaturated free Fatty acids: potential biomarkers for early detection and disease progression monitoring of non-small cell lung cancer.

J Cancer. 2014;5(8):706-14

Authors: Zhang Y, He C, Qiu L, Wang Y, Zhang L, Qin X, Liu Y, Zhang D, Li Z

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Lung cancer (LC) is the deadliest cancer, with earlier stage patients having a better opportunity of long-term survival. The goal of this study is to screen less-invasive and efficient biomarkers for early detection of non-small cell LC (NSCLC).
MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed the simultaneous quantitative detection of six serum unsaturated free fatty acids (FFAs, C16:1, C18:3, C18:2, C18:1, C20:4, and C22:6) from 317 healthy controls, 78 patients with benign lung diseases (BLD), and 202 patients with NSCLC using chip-based direct-infusion nanoelectrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (CBDInanoESI-FTICR MS) in the negative ion mode. Multiple point internal standard calibration curves between the concentration ratios of individual fatty acids to internal standards (ISs, C17:1 as IS of C16:1, C18:3, C18:2, and C18:1 and C21:0 as IS of C20:4 and C22:6) and their corresponding intensity ratios were constructed, with correlation coefficient of > 0.99. Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare the differences in the levels of the FFAs between the patients and healthy controls.
RESULTS: Significantly decreased levels of the FFAs in NSCLC patients were observed compared with healthy controls and BLD patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that a combination of C16:1, C18:1, C18:3, C18:2, C20:4, and C22:6 could excellently differentiate patients with early-stage NSCLC from healthy controls plus BLD patients, with an AUC value of 0.933, a sensitivity of 84.2%, and a specificity of 89.1%. In addition, a biomarker panel (C16:1 and C18:1) was also confirmed preliminarily to monitor disease progression in NSCLC patients treated with icotinib, with a lead time between 8 and 48 weeks relative to clinical medical imaging.
CONCLUSION: A combination of C16:1, C18:1, C18:3, C18:2, C20:4, and C22:6 may be a powerful biomarker panel for the early detection of NSCLC and a combination of C16:1 and C18:1for disease progression monitoring of NSCLC.

PMID: 25258652 [PubMed]

Related Articles

A Prospective Study of Shortened Vitamin Supplementation Prior to Cisplatin-Pemetrexed Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Oncologist. 2014 Sep 26;

Authors: Takagi Y, Hosomi Y, Sunami K, Nakahara Y, Okuma Y, Yomota M, Shimokawa T, Nagamata M, Iguchi M, Okamoto H, Okamura T, Shibuya M

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prior supplementation with folic acid and vitamin B12 is required to reduce pemetrexed therapy toxicity; the recommended lead-in time is at least 7 days. On the basis of previous pharmacokinetic and clinical studies, we hypothesized that the lead-in time could be shortened to 24 hours, enabling earlier commencement of standard chemotherapy; thus, we planned the first prospective trial of this regimen.
METHODS: Patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer who had not previously received cytotoxic chemotherapy were enrolled. After measurement of homocysteine concentrations, the patients received 1,000 μg of vitamin B12 by intramuscular injection and began taking 350-500 μg of oral folic acid daily. Starting 24-48 hours after the vitamin B12 injection, the patients received intravenous 500 mg/m(2) pemetrexed and 75 mg/m(2) cisplatin for 4 cycles at 3 weekly intervals. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who developed neutropenia grade ≥3.
RESULTS: Thirty patients received chemotherapy starting within 48 hours of the vitamin B12 injection. No treatment-related deaths or grade 4 toxicity occurred. Neutropenia grade ≥3, other laboratory toxicities grade ≥3, and nonlaboratory toxicities grade ≥3 occurred in 6.7%, 13%, and 13% of patients, respectively. The baseline homocysteine concentrations were not higher in patients with grade ≥3 toxicities than in the remainder of the cohort (mean values, 8.6 and 10.7 μmol/L, respectively). The response rate to chemotherapy was 43%.
CONCLUSION: The shortened vitamin supplementation was well tolerated and retained antitumor efficacy. Analysis of baseline homocysteine concentrations confirmed the efficacy of short-term vitamin supplementation.

PMID: 25260366 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles

Iloprost reverses established fibrosis in experimental right ventricular failure.

Eur Respir J. 2014 Sep 26;

Authors: Gomez-Arroyo J, Sakagami M, Syed AA, Farkas L, Van Tassell B, Kraskauskas D, Mizuno S, Abbate A, Bogaard HJ, Byron PR, Voelkel NF

Abstract
Prostacyclin and its analogues improve cardiac output and functional capacity in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); however, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. We hypothesised that prostanoids have load-independent beneficial effects on the right ventricle (RV). Angio-obliterative PAH and RV failure were induced in rats with a single injection of SU5416 followed by 4 weeks of exposure to hypoxia. Upon confirmation of RV dysfunction and PAH, rats were randomised to 0.1 μg·kg(-1) nebulised iloprost or drug-free vehicle, three times daily for 2 weeks. RV function and treadmill running time were evaluated pre- and post-iloprost/vehicle treatment. Pulmonary artery banded rats were treated 8 weeks after surgery to allow for significant RV hypertrophy. Inhaled iloprost significantly improved tricuspid annulus plane systolic excursion and increased exercise capacity, while mean pulmonary artery pressure and the percentage of occluded pulmonary vessels remained unchanged. Rats treated with iloprost had a striking reduction in RV collagen deposition, procollagen mRNA levels and connective tissue growth factor expression in both SU5416/hypoxia and pulmonary artery banded rats. In vitro, cardiac fibroblasts treated with iloprost showed a reduction in transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-induced connective tissue growth factor expression, in a protein kinase A-dependent manner. Iloprost decreased TGF-β1-induced procollagen mRNA expression as well as cardiac fibroblast activation and migration. Iloprost significantly induced metalloproteinase-9 gene expression and activity and increased the expression of autophagy genes associated with collagen degradation. Inhaled iloprost improves RV function and reverses established RV fibrosis partially by preventing collagen synthesis and by increasing collagen turnover.

PMID: 25261325 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]