0000000000084128
AUTHOR
Daniela Castiglia
Pharmacological Management of Elderly Patients with Asthma–Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap Syndrome: Room for Speculation?
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two distinct diseases that share a condition of chronic inflammation of the airways and bronchial obstruction. In clinical settings, it is not rare to come across patients who present with clinical and functional features of both diseases, posing a diagnostic dilemma. The overlap condition has been termed asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS), and mainly occurs in individuals with long-standing asthma, especially if they are also current or former smokers. Patients with ACOS have poorer health-related quality of life and a higher exacerbation rate than subjects with asthma or COPD alone. Whether ACOS is a distinct nosological entity …
Serum surfactant protein D is a potential biomarker of lung damage in systemic sclerosis
Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) complicates the course of systemic sclerosis (SSc) up to two-third of the cases, representing the main cause of death in these patients. Assessment of lung involvement by HRCT and close monitoring of lung function are mandatory. At present no serologic biomarkers are validated for the assessment for lung damage in SSc. The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that the levels of surfactant are altered in SSc compared to healthy controls. To this aim serum levels of SP-A (Surfactant Protein A) and SP-D (Surfactant Protein-D) in serum were assessed. Methods: We enrolled 12 consecutive patients (M/F: 2/10) affected by scleroderma referred…
Inhalation therapy in the next decade
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