American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2011
ReviewThe National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) Part II: Lessons learned about lung volume reduction surgery.
Substantial information regarding the role of lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in severe emphysema emanates from the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT). The NETT was not a crossover trial and therefore was able to examine the effects of optimal medical management and LVRS on short- and long-term survival,as well as lung function, exercise performance, and quality of life. ⋯ After the NETT, newer investigation has focused on bronchoscopic endobronchial interventions and other techniques less invasive than LVRS to achieve lung reduction. In this review, we summarize what we currently know about the role of LVRS in the treatment of severe emphysema as a result of insights gained from the NETT and provide a brief review of the newer techniques of lung volume reduction.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2011
ReviewThe state of genome-wide association studies in pulmonary disease: a new perspective.
With rapid advances in our knowledge of the human genome and increasing availability of high-throughput investigative technology, genome-wide association (GWA) studies have recently gained marked popularity. As an unbiased approach to identifying genomic regions of importance in complex human disease, the results of such studies have the potential to illuminate novel causal pathways, guide mechanistic research, and aid in prediction of disease risk. The use of a genome-wide approach presents considerable methodological and statistical challenges, and properly conducted studies are essential to avoid false-positive results. ⋯ Perhaps most fundamentally, the association signals identified have not yet been traced to causal variants. This perspective will review the current state of GWA studies in pulmonary disease. We begin with an introduction to the hypothesis, principles, and limitations of this type of genome-wide approach, highlight key points from available studies, and conclude by addressing future approaches to better understand the genetics of complex pulmonary disease.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Oct 2011
ReviewThe National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT): Part I: Lessons learned about emphysema.
The National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) was a multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial that compared optimal medical treatment, including pulmonary rehabilitation, with optimal medical treatment plus lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). It was the largest and most complete collection of patient demographic, clinical, physiological, and radiographic data ever compiled in severe emphysema. NETT investigated the effects of optimal medical management and LVRS on short- and long-term survival, as well as lung function, exercise performance, and quality of life. ⋯ Because the major purpose of NETT was to compare bilateral LVRS with optimal medical treatment in emphysema, patients enrolled into NETT were comprehensively characterized and selected to have a specific window of airflow obstruction and hyperinflation and to lack significant comorbidities. The NETT patient population’s restrictive features offer distinct advantages (well-characterized predominant emphysematous phenotype) and disadvantages (lack of comorbidities and significant chronic bronchitis) that must be considered when interpreting the implications of these results. Herein, we provide a summary of the major NETT findings that provide insight into the evaluation and medical treatment of emphysema.