American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2000
Frequent genetic alterations at the microsatellite level in cytologic sputum samples of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease of unknown etiology associated with DNA damage and malignancy. Bronchogenic carcinoma is the cause of death in 10% to 13% of IPF patients. Microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) are frequently detected in cancers. ⋯ None of the healthy subjects exhibited genetic alterations in the studied markers. No correlation was found between the detected genetic alterations and age, disease duration, blood gases, or spirometric parameters of the patients. Our findings suggest that the genetic alterations that we studied are frequent in IPF, are apparently unrelated to the severity of the disease, and may be related to tumorigenesis.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2000
Twice weekly isoniazid and rifampin treatment of latent tuberculosis infection in Canadian plains Aborigines.
Six months of twice weekly directly observed isoniazid and rifam-picin treatment of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection was implemented to improve the outcome of treatment. A total of 591 infected aborigines without previous tuberculosis or treatment of latent TB infection received twice weekly isoniazid and rifampicin for 6 mo from 1992 to 1995. The outcome was compared with 403 infected aborigines without previous tuberculosis or treatment of latent TB infection who received self-administered isoniazid daily for 1 yr from 1986 to 1989. ⋯ The rate of side effects was higher for directly observed treatment patients, 136/1,000 patient-years of drugs, compared with 39/ 1,000 patient-years for self-administered treatment patients. Life-threatening side effects such as skin allergic reactions and hepatitis were the same in both groups. A regimen of 52 doses of directly observed twice weekly isoniazid and rifampicin is an effective and well-tolerated regimen to improve the outcome of the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection in a population with a high rate of default with daily self-administered isoniazid.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2000
Onset and remission of allergic rhinitis and asthma and the relationship with atopic sensitization and smoking.
The aim of this study was to assess the influence of some risk factors for onset and remission of allergic rhinitis and asthma in Swedish adults. A random sample of 1,370 subjects, age 20 to 44 yr was investigated by means of postal questionnaires in 1990 and 1993. Skin prick tests were conducted in 1991-1992. ⋯ Onset of asthma was strongly associated with allergic rhinitis among atopics (OR = 5.7), but onset of asthma and rhinitis also tended to be related among nonatopics (OR = 3.5). A strong association between smoking and onset of asthma was found among nonatopics (OR = 5.7). In conclusion, sensitization to pollens and pets were risk factors for onset of allergic rhinitis, whereas allergic rhinitis, sensitization to pets, and smoking were risk factors for onset of asthma.