Search results for "Inflammation."
showing 10 items of 2627 documents
Alternative mechanisms for tiotropium
2009
Tiotropium is commonly used in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although largely considered to be a long-acting bronchodilator, its demonstrated efficacy in reducing the frequency of exacerbations and preliminary evidence from early studies indicating that it might slow the rate of decline in lung function suggested mechanisms of action in addition to simple bronchodilation. This hypothesis was examined in the recently published UPLIFT study and, although spirometric and other clinical benefits of tiotropium treatment extended to four years, the rate of decline in lung function did not appear to be reduced by the addition of tiotropium in this study. This article summ…
Diagnóstico y tratamiento de las bronquiectasias
2008
Bronchiectasis is the end result of several different diseases that share principles of management. The clinical course usually involves chronic bronchial infection and inflammation, which are associated with progression. The cause of bronchiectasis should always be investigated, particularly when it can be treated. We recommend evaluating etiology, symptoms, bronchial colonization and infection, respiratory function, inflammation, structural damage, nutritional status, and quality of life in order to assess severity and to monitor clinical course. Care should be supervised by specialized units, at least in cases of chronic bronchial infection, recurrent exacerbations, or when there is a ca…
Effects of inhaled corticosteroids in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
2011
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been described as a heterogeneous multifactorial disorder associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the peripheral airways and with variable morphologic, physiologic and clinical phenotypes. This notion of the disease is actually poorly supported by data, and there are substantial discrepancies and a weak correlation between inflammation, structural damage, functional impairment and degree of clinical symptoms. This problem is compounded by a poor understanding of the complexity and intricacies on the inflammatory pathways in COPD. Despite the evidence for efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on selected clinical endpoints in …
Advances in asthma pathophysiology: stepping forward from the Maurizio Vignola experience
2015
Maurizio Vignola was a superb and innovative researcher, who wrote seminal papers on the biology of airway epithelium in asthma. Inflammation and remodelling were the main topics of his research, mostly conducted in biopsy specimens from patients with asthma of variable severity, encompassing the entire spectrum of the disease from mild to severe asthma. His observations contributed to define the biology of asthma as we know it today, and opened the way to the personalised treatment of asthma. His group has successfully continued to investigate the biology and clinical aspects of bronchial asthma, with major interest in the clinical use of biomarkers to monitor disease activity, and in the …
Metabolic aspects of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.
2009
Insulin resistance is often associated with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and could contribute to cardiovascular risk in OSAS. Sleep loss and intermittent hypoxia could contribute to the pathogenesis of the metabolic alterations associated with obesity, a common feature of OSAS. The biology of the adipocyte is being increasingly studied, and it has been found that hypoxia negatively affects adipocyte function. In November 2007, the European Respiratory Society and two EU COST Actions (Cardiovascular risk in OSAS (B26) and Adipose tissue and the metabolic syndrome (BM0602)), held a Research Seminar in Du¨sseldorf, Germany, to discuss the following: 1) the effects of hypoxia on glu…
Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide: Comparison of different analysers
2010
Background and objective: Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) is used as a surrogate marker to monitor eosinophilic airway inflammation, assist in diagnosis, and support treatment decisions for asthma patients. The aim of this study was to compare five NO analysers: Medisoft (M), Aerocrine Niox (N), Aerocrine Niox flex (NF), Aerocrino Niox mino (NM) and EcoMedics (E). Methods: In 85 subjects (25 asthma patients, 25 COPD patients, 35 healthy volunteers; median age 36.5 years, range 23–79, 47% female), three NO measurements per individual were performed, using each analyser according to the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society guidelines. Subjects evaluated the devices on the basis …
Obstructive sleep apnea and cancer: a complex relationship
2020
Purpose of review Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been recognized as a risk factor for cancer mainly through hypoxia, based on studies that did not distinguish among cancer types. The purpose of this review is to discuss the most recent data on epidemiology and pathophysiology of the OSA-cancer association. Recent findings According to epidemiological studies, OSA may have different influences on each type of cancer, either increasing or decreasing its incidence and aggressiveness. Time spent with oxygen saturation below 90% appears the polysomnographic variable most strongly associated with unfavorable effects on cancer. Experimental studies support the role of hypoxia as an important ri…
Divergent effects of biolistic gene transfer in a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation.
2007
Particle-mediated epidermal delivery (PMED) of allergen genes efficiently prevents systemic sensitization and suppresses specific immunoglobulin E synthesis. We investigated in a mouse model of allergic airway disease the effect of PMED on the elicitation of local inflammatory reactions in the lung. BALB/c mice were biolistically transfected with plasmids encoding beta-galactosidase (betaGal) as model allergen under control of the DC-targeting fascin promoter and the ubiquitously active cytomegalovirus promoter, respectively. Mice were challenged intranasally with betaGal-protein with or without intermediate sensitization with betaGal adsorbed to aluminiumhydroxide. Subsequently, local cyto…
Molecular chaperones and mirnas in epilepsy: Pathogenic implications and therapeutic prospects
2021
Epilepsy is a pathologic condition with high prevalence and devastating consequences for the patient and its entourage. Means for accurate diagnosis of type, patient monitoring for predicting seizures and follow up, and efficacious treatment are desperately needed. To improve this adverse outcome, miRNAs and the chaperone system (CS) are promising targets to understand pathogenic mechanisms and for developing theranostics applications. miRNAs implicated in conditions known or suspected to favor seizures such as neuroinflammation, to promote epileptic tolerance and neuronal survival, to regulate seizures, and others showing variations in expression levels related to seizures are promising ca…
Novel therapeutical approaches to managing atherosclerotic risk
2021
Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial vascular disease that leads to inflammation and stiffening of the arteries and decreases their elasticity due to the accumulation of calcium, small dense Low Density Lipoproteins (sdLDL), inflammatory cells, and fibrotic material. A review of studies pertaining to cardiometabolic risk factors, lipids alterations, hypolipidemic agents, nutraceuticals, hypoglycaemic drugs, atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation was performed. There are several therapeutic strategies including Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, inclisiran, bempedoic acid, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), and nutraceuticals t…