American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2005
ABCA3 mutations associated with pediatric interstitial lung disease.
ABCA3 is a member of the ATP-binding cassette family of proteins that mediate the translocation of a wide variety of substrates, including lipids, across cellular membranes. Mutations in the gene encoding ABCA3 were recently identified in full-term neonates with fatal surfactant deficiency. ⋯ ABCA3 mutations cause some types of interstitial lung disease in pediatric patients.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2005
Simvastatin inhibits cigarette smoking-induced emphysema and pulmonary hypertension in rat lungs.
In cigarette smoking-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, structural and functional derangements are characterized by parenchymal destruction and pulmonary hypertension. Statins are 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase inhibitors that have been used as lipid-lowering agents. These drugs also have additional pharmacologic properties, including antiinflammation, scavenging reactive oxygen species, restoring endothelial function, and antithrombogenesis, all of which can counteract the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. ⋯ Simvastatin ameliorated the structural and functional derangements of the lungs caused by cigarette smoking, partly by suppressing inflammation and matrix metalloproteinase-9 induction and preventing pulmonary vascular abnormality. These findings indicate that statins may play a role in the treatment of cigarette smoking-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2005
Quality of life, physical disability, and respiratory impairment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) leads to progressive, generalized paresis, and to respiratory failure in the second decade of life. The assumption that severe physical disability precludes an acceptable quality of life is common, but has not been specifically evaluated in DMD. ⋯ Quality of life in DMD is not correlated with physical impairment nor the need for noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation. The surprisingly high quality of life experienced by these severely disabled patients should be taken into consideration when therapeutic decisions are made.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2005
Derivation and validation of a prognostic model for pulmonary embolism.
An objective and simple prognostic model for patients with pulmonary embolism could be helpful in guiding initial intensity of treatment. ⋯ Our rule accurately classifies patients with pulmonary embolism into classes of increasing risk of mortality and other adverse medical outcomes. Further validation of the rule is important before its implementation as a decision aid to guide the initial management of patients with pulmonary embolism.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2005
Tailored education may reduce health literacy disparities in asthma self-management.
Although inadequate health literacy has been associated with lower asthma medication knowledge and worse metered-dose inhaler (MDI) technique, the relationship between health literacy and the capacity to learn asthma self-management skills is unknown. ⋯ These findings suggest that inadequate health literacy is a surmountable barrier to learning and remembering key asthma self-management skills.