American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2012
Multicenter StudyDepressive symptoms and impaired physical function after acute lung injury: a 2-year longitudinal study.
Survivors of acute lung injury (ALI) frequently have substantial depressive symptoms and physical impairment, but the longitudinal epidemiology of these conditions remains unclear. ⋯ Incident depressive symptoms and impaired physical function are common and long-lasting during the first 2 years after ALI. Interventions targeting potentially modifiable risk factors (e.g., substantial depressive symptoms in early recovery) should be evaluated to improve ALI survivors' long-term outcomes.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2012
Statins and pulmonary fibrosis: the potential role of NLRP3 inflammasome activation.
The role of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) in the development or progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) is controversial. ⋯ Statin use is associated with ILA among smokers in the COPDGene study and enhances bleomycin-induced lung inflammation and fibrosis in the mouse through a mechanism involving enhanced NLRP3-inflammasome activation. Our findings suggest that statins may influence the susceptibility to, or progression of, ILD. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 00608764).
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2012
The Parker B. Francis Fellowship Program: analysis of 31 years of career development support.
The Parker B. Francis (PBF) Fellowship Program has supported more than 750 M.D., M.D./Ph.D., and Ph.D. fellows since 1976, but there is little information about the effectiveness of the program in fostering successful careers and producing important research. ⋯ The PBF Program has been highly successful in producing a large number of scientific and clinical leaders in pulmonary and critical care medicine. The results provide comprehensive data about the success of this career development program and provide a model for programs designed to build the workforce in pulmonary and critical care medicine.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2012
Prognostic factors of 634 HIV-negative patients with Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease.
The prognostic factors of Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD) are not clearly defined. ⋯ The first-line treatment regimen was not associated with all-cause mortality. FC or FC+NB disease, BMI less than 18.5 kg/m(2), and anemia were negative prognostic factors for both all-cause and MAC-specific mortality.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2012
Surfactant protein-D regulates effector cell function and fibrotic lung remodeling in response to bleomycin injury.
Surfactant protein (SP)-D and SP-A have been implicated in immunomodulation in the lung. It has been reported that patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) often have elevated serum levels of SP-A and SP-D, although their role in the disease is not known. ⋯ These data suggest that alveolar SP-D regulates numbers of macrophages and fibrocytes in the lungs, profibrotic cytokine expression, and fibrotic lung remodeling in response to BLM injury.