• Firas S Ahmed, Xian-cheng Jiang, Joseph E Schwartz, Eric A Hoffman, Joseph Yeboah, Steven Shea, Kristin Marie Burkart, and R Graham Barr.
• Department of Medicine and.
• Biomarkers. 2014 May 1;19(3):207-13.

ContextCeramide causes endothelial apoptosis and emphysema-like changes in animal models.ObjectivesTest if plasma sphingomyelin, a major precursor of ceramide, would predict longitudinal increase in the percentage of emphysema-like lung on computed tomography (CT).Materials And Methods3840 participants had their plasma sphingomyelin measured at baseline examination and their pulmonary emphysema measured on cardiac CT scans at baseline and on follow-up visits. Mixed effects models were used to adjust for potential confounders.ResultsOne standard deviation increase in sphingomyelin predicted a 0.12% per year (95% CI: 0.02-0.22; p = 0.019) greater increase of percent emphysema.Discussion And ConclusionHigher plasma levels of sphingomyelin predicted greater annual increase in quantitatively measured percent emphysema.

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