Search results for "Respiratory Medicine"
showing 10 items of 1534 documents
Spontaneous gastroesophageal reflux and airway patency during the night in adult asthmatics
2000
Controversies still exist on the role of nighttime gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in precipitating nocturnal asthma. We tested the relationship between GER and nocturnal bronchoconstriction by continuously and simultaneously monitoring both respiratory resistances and esophageal pH in seven asthmatics with moderate to severe GER disease. Twenty-nine GER episodes were found during the study night lasting more than 5 min (LGER) and 72 not longer than 5 min (SGER). Both long (LGER) and short (SGER) gastroesophageal refluxes were able to maintain significantly higher lower respiratory resistances (RLR) at the resolution of each GER episode (RLR(e)) with respect to baseline values. RLR, expressed…
Omalizumab in patients with severe persistent allergic asthma in a real-life setting in Germany
2009
Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody indicated in Europe for the treatment of uncontrolled severe persistent allergic (IgE-mediated) asthma despite optimal therapy with inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta(2) agonists. Between 2005 and 2007 280 patients (58% female, mean age 44+/-16 yrs., 46% on oral corticosteroids, median serum IgE level 235IU/ml) who met the EU criteria for add-on therapy with anti-IgE were treated prospectively with omalizumab by 134 physicians as part of a post-marketing surveillance trial and were followed-up for 6 months. The median follow-up time was 195 days, the patients were treated with a median dose of 450mg omalizum…
Differences in sensitivity, maximal response and position of the concentration-response curve to methacholine between asthmatics, patients with aller…
1998
The aim of this study was to detect differences in maximal response and position of the concentration-response curves to methacholine between asthmatics and subjects with allergic rhinitis. A total of 228 adults (107 mild asthmatics, 96 allergic rhinitics and 25 healthy control subjects) were challenged with methacholine. The test was interrupted when FEV1 dropped by more than 40% or when the highest concentration of methacholine (200 mg ml-1) had been administered. Concentration-response curves were characterized by their PC20 (concentration of methacholine that produced 20% fall in FEV1 = airway sensitivity), and if possible, by their EC50 (concentration of methacholine that produced 50% …
Cigarette Smoking, But Not Sensitization toAlternaria, Is Associated with Severe Asthma in Urban Patients
2001
Hereditary susceptibility and allergen exposure have been identified as general risk factors for asthma. However, risk factors for severe asthma still remain to be identified. To further assess and quantify risk factors associated with severe asthma in adult patients apart from clinical exacerbations, 306 randomly selected subjects (mean age 40+/-17 years, 46% males) presenting to an inner city pulmonary practice between 1995 and 1996 were retrospectively investigated. Of these, 117 patients were atopic, 112 had current asthma, and 22 asthmatics had severe asthma. Risk factors associated with atopy were family history of atopy and any domestic pet ownership (OR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.64-6.1). Asth…
Rapid left ventricular filling in untreated hypertensive subjects with or without left ventricular hypertrophy
1992
In this study, independent contribution of age, HR, BMI, casual and ambulatory blood pressure, LVM and LVEF in evaluating diastolic filling have been investigated in 34 never-treated hypertensive patients and in 15 healthy normotensive subjects. All the subjects were free from coronary artery disease, valvular disease, heart failure, renal disease and psychiatric problems. All the hypertensive subjects (never treated) were subgrouped according to presence or absence of LVH. The PFR decreased significantly and tPFR increased significantly in hypertensive patients in comparison with normotensive subjects and they did not change in the presence vs absence of LVH. The PFR was inversely correlat…
Glutathione and glutathione peroxidase in sputum samples of adult patients with cystic fibrosis
2004
AbstractBackground: Reduced glutathione (GSH) is a major antioxidant in the lung. In cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, extracellular GSH levels of lower airways, obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), were reported to be lower than non-CF individuals. Methods: Upper airway secretions of stable adult CF patients (29 spontaneous and 13 induced sputum) and non-CF individuals (14 healthy and 12 asthmatics; all induced sputum) were analyzed for total glutathione (i.e. the sum of reduced, GSH, and oxidized, GSSG, forms), GSH and GSSG levels by enzymatic kinetic assay. Results: In CF, both spontaneous and induced sputum samples were comparable in total glutathione levels which were surprisingly hi…
Predicting hypoxia in cystic fibrosis patients during exposure to high altitudes
2006
Abstract Background For patients with cystic fibrosis (CF)-related partial respiratory insufficiency and reduced arterial oxygen tension at ground level, the mild hypobaric environment on commercial jet aircraft poses the risk of severe hypoxemia. Thus, physicians should be able to estimate the extent of in-flight hypoxia. Objectives To derive tools for estimating the expected drop in arterial oxygen partial pressure (paO 2 ) and oxygen saturation (saO 2 ) in young adult CF patients with mild to moderate airway obstruction during exposure to the hypobaric conditions aboard commercial aircraft and to test the predictive power of a hypobaric chamber simulation. Methods Blood gases of 12 CF pa…
Contractile effects of arginine analogues on human internal thoracic and radial arteries
2000
Abstract Objectives: Plasma levels of endogenous guanidino-substituted analogues of L -arginine are increased in various pathologic conditions. In the present study we determined the effects of some of these compounds on basal and stimulated release of nitric oxide in human internal thoracic and radial arteries. Methods: Rings of human internal thoracic and radial arteries were obtained from 16 multiorgan donors. The rings were suspended in organ baths for isometric recording of tension. Results: N G -monomethyl L -arginine (10 –6 to 10 –3 mol/L) and N G ,N G -dimethyl L -arginine (10 –6 to 10 –3 mol/L) caused concentration- and endothelium-dependent contractions. Maximal force of contracti…
pT2 Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus: Early or Advanced Cancer?
2013
Background There is an increasing trend to include patients with esophageal carcinoma invading the muscularis propria (pT2) in neoadjuvant therapy regimens. But it is unclear which patients have prognostic benefit from this strategy. The aim of this study was to assess the prognosis and prognostic factors in patients with pT2 esophageal adenocarcinoma to further optimize treatment strategies. Methods Included were patients with pT2 esophageal adenocarcinoma treated operatively at three centers specializing in upper gastrointestinal surgery. There were 159 patients (139 male) without induction therapy; median age was 64.5 years. Survival was analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis. …
Asthma control in severe asthmatics under treatment with omalizumab: A cross-sectional observational study in Italy
2015
Few data are available on the proportion of asthmatics achieving a good asthma control (according GINA guidelines) and on the level of airway inflammation during omalizumab treatment. The aim of this cross-sectional national observational study was to assess the level of control (according to GINA guidelines) achieved in a group of asthmatics on omalizumab treatment, and to characterize the factors that influence the lack of control. We studied 306 asthmatics under omalizumab treatment for a median of 32 months (range 4-120). The level of control according to GINA was good in 25.2%, partial in 47.1% and poor in 24.5% of patients (data were missing for the remaining 3.2%). Comparison between…