Chinese Med J Peking
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Chinese Med J Peking · Jan 2014
Determinants of health-related quality of life worsening in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at one year.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and has been the leading cause of death in China. Patients with COPD have significant decrements in their health-related quality of life (HRQL). It is necessary to identify the factors involved in worsening HRQL in order to improve the HRQL of COPD patients. However, evidence from longitudinal studies is limited. The aim of the study was to evaluate the determinants of the deterioration of HRQL in patients with COPD. ⋯ MRC dyspnea grade and the number of exacerbations impair the HRQL of patients with COPD.
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Chinese Med J Peking · Jan 2014
Comparison between two types of "Scheuermann disease-like people": thoracolumbar disc herniation patients and healthy volunteers with radiological signs of Scheuermann's disease.
Scheuermann's disease (SD) is a spinal disorder and includes both a classic form and an atypical form. Interestingly, its existence among the general population as well as the disc disease patients is common. One of our previous studies showed that about 18% of the hospital staff members meet the SD criteria. On the other hand, another study has demonstrated that 95.2% of the symptomatic thoracolumbar disc herniation (STLDH) patients meet the SD criteria, which suggests that STLDH is very likely a special form of SD. The purpose of this study was to discriminate the factors contributing to the development of STLDH by comparing STLDH patients with the healthy SD-like hospital staff members. ⋯ Higher body weight, higher body mass index, larger thoracolumbar kyphosis, and more Schmorl's nodes and irregular endplates on MR may be associated with the development of STLDH in "SD-like people."
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Chinese Med J Peking · Jan 2014
Effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ on sepsis induced acute lung injury.
Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are the first steps in the development of multiple organ failure induced by sepsis. A systemic excessive inflammatory reaction is currently the accepted mechanism of the pathogenesis of sepsis. Several studies have suggested a protective role of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-β/δ (PPAR-β/δ) in related inflammatory diseases. But the role of PPARβ/δ in ALI remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the role and possible mechanism of PPARβ/δ in ALI induced by sepsis. ⋯ PPARβ/δ plays a protective role in sepsis induced ALI via suppressing excessive inflammation.
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Chinese Med J Peking · Jan 2014
Distinct properties and metabolic mechanisms of postresuscitation myocardial injuries in ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest versus asphyxiation cardiac arrest in a porcine model.
The two most prevalent causes of sudden cardiac death are ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest (VFCA) and asphyxiation cardiac arrest (ACA). Profound postresuscitation myocardial dysfunction has been demonstrated in both VFCA and ACA animal models. Our study aimed to characterize the two porcine models of cardiac arrest and postresuscitation myocardial metabolism dysfunction. ⋯ Compared with VFCA, ACA causes more severe myocardium injury and metabolism hindrance, therefore they should be treated as different pathological entities.