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Recent legislative successes allowing expanded access to recreational and medicinal cannabis have been associated with its increased use by the public, despite continued debates regarding its safety within the medical and scientific communities. Despite legislative changes, cannabis is most commonly used by smoking, although alternatives to inhalation have also emerged. Moreover, the composition of commercially available cannabis has dramatically changed in recent years. ⋯ Additionally, we review major histopathologic alterations related to smoked cannabis and define specific areas in animal models and human clinical translational investigations that could benefit from additional development. Given that cannabis has an ongoing classification as a schedule I medication, federal funding to support investigations of modern cannabis use in terms of medicinal efficacy and safety profile on lung health have been elusive. It is clear, however, that the effects of inhaled cannabis on lung health remain uncertain and given increasing use patterns, are worthy of further investigation.
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Long-term outcomes after stepping down asthma medications are not well described. ⋯ In a large, claims-based, real-world study setting, 32% of individuals have an asthma exacerbation in the 2 years following a step-down event.
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Immune cell infiltration associated with tumor capsule disruption and tumor budding has been shown to reflect invasiveness, metastasis, and unfavorable prognosis in colorectal cancer. We investigated the influence of tumor budding on prognosis and its association with the immune microenvironment in lung adenocarcinoma. ⋯ Tumor budding is an independent prognostic factor of stage I lung adenocarcinoma and correlates with the protumor immune microenvironment. Our findings advocate investigating tumor-immune cell interactions at the invading edge as a biologic driver of tumor aggressiveness.
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Tobacco smoke exposure, airway resistance and asthma in school-age children: The Generation R Study.
Tobacco smoke exposure has been associated with early childhood asthma symptoms. We assessed the associations of tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy and childhood with wheezing patterns, asthma, airway interrupter resistance (Rint), and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (Feno) in school-age children and whether birth characteristics explained the associations. ⋯ Continued maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with increased risks of asthma outcomes in school-age children, whereas childhood tobacco smoke exposure was associated with higher Rint. Birth characteristics may explain part of these associations.
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Airway IL-1β and systemic inflammation as predictors of future exacerbation risk in asthma and COPD.
The innate inflammatory pathways involved in the frequent exacerbator phenotypes of asthma and COPD are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate airway innate immune activation and systemic inflammation as predictors of exacerbations in asthma and COPD. ⋯ Airway IL-1β and systemic inflammation are associated with frequent exacerbations and may mediate a vicious cycle between previous and future exacerbations in COPD. Treatment strategies aimed at attenuating these inflammatory pathways to reduce COPD exacerbations deserve further investigation.