Search results for "Function"
showing 10 items of 14432 documents
Airway inflammation in nonasthmatic amateur runners
2001
Elite athletes show a high prevalence of symptoms and signs of asthma, but no study has assessed the acute effects of endurance exercise on airway cells in nonasthmatic athletes. We measured exhaled nitric oxide (NO) and collected samples of induced sputum after 3% NaCl aerosol administration for 20 min in nonasthmatic middle-aged amateur runners after the Fourth Palermo International Marathon and 6–9 wk later (habitual training period) at baseline. After the marathon, exhaled NO ( n = 9 subjects) was higher [27 ± 9 parts/billion (ppb)] than at baseline (12 ± 4 ppb; P < 0.0005). Polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) counts in induced sputum were much higher in runners (91.2 ± 3.6% of total…
Airway remodelling assessed by sputum and high resolution computed tomography in asthma and COPD
2004
It is not known whether sputum elastase, metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and tissue-inhibitor metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 are related to structural changes of the airways, as assessed by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan. The relationships between these markers and the magnitude of structural changes of the airways in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were assessed. Induced sputum and HRCT scan were performed in 30 asthmatics (14 mild and 16 severe) and in 12 patients with COPD. A greater extent of HRCT scan abnormalities was found in COPD than in severe and mild asthmatics. HRCT scan abnormalities correlated with the degree of airway obstruction in COPD and in …
Outcome of patients with right heart thrombi: the Right Heart Thrombi European Registry
2015
Our aim was the assessment of the prognostic significance of right heart thrombi (RiHT) and their characteristics in pulmonary embolism in relation to established prognostic factors.138 patients (69 females) aged (mean±sd) 62±19 years with RiHT were included into a multicenter registry. A control group of 276 patients without RiHT was created by propensity scoring from a cohort of 963 contemporary patients. The primary end-point was 30-day pulmonary embolism-related mortality; the secondary end-point included 30-day all-cause mortality. In RiHT patients, pulmonary embolism mortality was higher in 31 patients with systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg than in 107 normotensives (42% versus 12%,…
Serum lipoproteins are not associated with the severity of asthma
2018
Abstract Background Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the bronchi with a complicated and largely unknown pathogenesis . In this context, an emerging role is attributed to the apolipoproteins which serve as structural components of plasma lipoproteins . Low density lipoproteins (LDL) may be involved in the inflammatory pathways of the asthmatic airways; in particular, small dense LDL (sdLDL) particles were associated with increased oxidative susceptibility compared to medium and large sized LDL. In our previous study, we found a positive correlation between forced expiratory volume 1 s (FEV 1) % predicted and larger LDL particles (LDL-1), and an inverse correlation between FEV1% p…
Functional assessment of the quality of human hepatocyte preparations for cell transplantation.
2008
Hepatocyte transplantation is an alternative therapy to orthotopic liver transplantation for the treatment of liver diseases. Good quality freshly isolated or cryopreserved human hepatocytes are needed for clinical transplantation. However, isolation, cryopreservation, and thawing processes can seriously impair hepatocyte viability and functionality. The aim of the present study was to develop a fast and sensitive procedure to estimate the quality of hepatocyte preparations prior to clinical cell infusion. To this end, cell viability, attachment efficiency, and metabolic competence (urea synthesis and drug-metabolizing P450 activities) were selected as objective criteria. Viability of hepat…
Is Health-Related Quality of Life Associated with Upper and Lower Airway Inflammation in Asthmatics?
2013
Background.Allergic diseases impair health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). However, the relationship between airway inflammation and HR-QoL in patients with asthma and rhinitis has not been fully investigated. We explored whether the inflammation of upper and lower airways is associated with HR-QoL.Methods.Twenty-two mild allergic asthmatics with concomitant rhinitis (10 males, 38 ± 17 years) were recruited. The Rhinasthma was used to identify HR-QoL, and the Asthma Control Test (ACT) was used to assess asthma control. Subjects underwent lung function and exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) test, collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC), and nasal wash.Results.The Rhinasthma Global Summary sc…
Quality of life, depression and fatigue in mildly disabled patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis receiving subcutaneous interferon bet…
2011
Background: The precise relationships among quality of life, depression, fatigue and cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) are complex and poorly understood. Objective: To assess the effects of subcutaneous interferon beta-1a on quality of life, depression and fatigue over 3 years in the COGIMUS study, and to examine the relationship between these outcomes and baseline cognitive status. Methods: COGIMUS was an observational 3-year trial assessing cognitive function in 459 patients with relapsing–remitting MS treated with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a. Results: In total, 331 patients completed the study (168 received interferon beta-1a, 44 µg subcutaneously three times weekly, a…
Bloating is associated with worse quality of life, treatment satisfaction, and treatment responsiveness among patients with constipation-predominant …
2016
Background The management of bloating is unclear and its relationship with patients' well-being and treatment satisfaction independent of other abdominal symptoms is uncharacterized. We evaluated the association of bloating with patient-reported outcomes. Methods Thirty-nine centers for functional gastrointestinal disorders joined the laxative inadequate relief survey. We enrolled 2203 consecutive outpatients with functional constipation (FC) or constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C) in two cross-sectional waves. Both wave 1 and 2 included the SF-12, the patient assessment of constipation-symptoms (PAC-SYM), and the treatment satisfaction questionnaire for medication (TSQ…
A comparison of the cheater detection and the unrelated question models: a randomized response survey on physical and cognitive doping in recreationa…
2016
PURPOSE:This study assessed the prevalence of physical and cognitive doping in recreational triathletes with two different randomized response models, that is, the Cheater Detection Model (CDM) and the Unrelated Question Model (UQM). Since both models have been employed in assessing doping, the major objective of this study was to investigate whether the estimates of these two models converge. MATERIAL AND METHODS:An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to 2,967 athletes at two triathlon events (Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, Germany). Doping behavior was assessed either with the CDM (Frankfurt sample, one Wiesbaden subsample) or the UQM (one Wiesbaden subsample). A generalized likelihood-rati…
Hip Muscle Strength Recovery after Hip Arthroscopy in a Series of Patients with Symptomatic Femoroacetabular Impingement
2014
International audience; Purpose: The aim of the study was to prospectively evaluate hip muscle strength in a series of patients with symptomatic FAI after hip arthroscopy. Methods: Hip muscle strength of eight patients (age: 29 +/- 10 years) was evaluated preoperatively and 2.5 years after hip arthroscopy, and was compared to eight matched controls. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) strength was measured for all hip muscle groups. At follow-up, we used the symptom-specific well-being outcome to assess the acceptability of the health state related to the hip. Results: Patients showed MVC strength increases for all hip muscles (9-59%, P<.05). At follow-up, only hip flexor MVC strength was l…