Articles: function.
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A 30-year-old man developed unexplained rhabdomyolysis, persistently increased creatine kinase and severe debilitating muscle cramps. After a nondiagnostic neurologic evaluation, he was referred for a muscle biopsy, to include histology/histochemistry, a myoglobinuria panel, and a caffeine halothane contracture test. ⋯ His identical twin brother, who was suffering from similar complaints, was found to share the same mutation. They each require oral dantrolene therapy to control symptoms, despite difficulty in identifying health care providers familiar with treating this disorder.
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FEV1, measured using spirometry, provides a straightforward, widely available, and inexpensive global measurement of airflow limitation and lung function. For decades, FEV1 has remained the main intermediate endpoint used in research studies and for the development of new chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) therapies. Not surprisingly, treatments that acutely improve FEV1 dominate as COPD therapies. ⋯ In individual patients and in COPD cohort studies, thoracic imaging using X-ray computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging (conventional (1)H as well as hyperpolarized noble gases such as (129)Xe, (3)He, and inhaled O2 and (19)F) can be used to directly visualize the structural and functional consequences of COPD and thus provide a clearer picture of COPD mechanisms, disease progression, and response to therapy. We briefly describe pulmonary imaging methods that provide a way to visualize and quantify, with high spatial and temporal resolution, regional ventilation abnormalities, gas trapping, emphysema, and airway remodeling in COPD. Finally, we discuss the implications of recent imaging findings and their impact on future biomarker and therapy research aimed at improving COPD outcomes.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jul 2014
Untargeted Lipidomic Analysis in COPD: Uncovering Sphingolipids.
Cigarette smoke is the major risk factor in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Lipidomics is a novel and emerging research field that may provide new insights in the origins of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as COPD. ⋯ Expression of lipids from the sphingolipid pathway is higher in smokers with COPD compared with smokers without COPD. Considering their potential biologic properties, they may play a role in the pathogenesis of COPD.
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The aim of this PhD thesis was to provide a continuous method to monitor myocardial function during cardiac surgery with the superior sensitivity of ultrasonic technique and the continuity of electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring. ⋯ The provided ultrasound system could give continuous real-time monitoring of myocardial function, and detect myocardial dysfunction with superior sensitivity than ECG or hemodynamic monitoring. This could be used for improved monitoring of myocardial function during cardiac surgery.