Articles: function.
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Stress can play an important role in etiology of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and altering the immune system. The current study examined the influence of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met genotypes on salivary markers of HPA axis (cortisol), SNS (α-amylase), and immune (IgA) systems in women with FMS. ⋯ The results suggest that women with FMS with the Met/Met genotype exhibit greater disturbed activity of the SNS and humoral immune system. These results provide initial evidence of a link between Val158Met polymorphism and dysfunctions in the SNS and humoral immune system in women with FMS.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2014
Persistent Effects of Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy on Lung Function and Asthma in Adolescents.
The extent to which maternal smoking in pregnancy (MSP) has persisting effects on respiratory health remains uncertain and the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. Alterations in immune function have been proposed as a mechanism contributing to respiratory disease. ⋯ MSP increases risk of asthma and wheezing in adolescence; mechanisms go beyond reducing lung function and exclude altering immune function or enhancing atopy.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2014
Deficiency of MDA5 Results in Exacerbated Chronic Post-Viral Lung Inflammation.
Respiratory viral infections can result in the establishment of chronic lung diseases. Understanding the early innate immune mechanisms that participate in the development of chronic postviral lung disease may reveal new targets for therapeutic intervention. The intracellular viral sensor protein melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) sustains the acute immune response to Sendai virus, a mouse pathogen that causes chronic lung inflammation, but its role in the development of postviral chronic lung disease is unknown. ⋯ MDA5 modulates the development of chronic lung inflammation by regulating the early inflammatory response in the lung.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2014
ReviewHigh-Resolution CT of Interstitial Lung Disease: A Continuous Evolution.
Before the advent of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), the role of imaging, chest radiography in particular, in the management of patients with interstitial lung disease was limited. In the past 25 years, this has radically changed. HRCT has transformed the diagnostic landscape by providing detailed cross-sectional imaging of the lungs, which permit ready identification of a variety of different interstitial lung diseases. ⋯ Recently, HRCT data have been integrated with pulmonary function in staging models to predict prognosis particularly in idiopathic fibrosing lung disease. This article reviews these stages of evolution. The emergence of the multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis will also be considered.