Association between disease-related factors and balance and falls among the elderly with COPD: a cross-sectional study

Background and aims: To investigate the relationship between disease-related factors and balance, and a history of falls in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: Thirty-six patients with COPD and twenty healthy individuals were studied. Pulmonary function (pulmonary function test), hypoxemia (analysis of arterial blood gases), history of falls and tripping (number of falls and tripping in the past year), balance (Berg's Balance Scale-BBS), quadriceps femoris muscle strength (manual muscle test), and exercise capacity (6-minute walking test-6MWT) were assessed. Results: BBS scores were significantly different between groups (p=0.001). BBS scores, frequency of falls and tripping were correlated in COPD patients (p <= 01). BBS score and frequency of falls were correlated with dyspnea and peripheral oxygen saturation measured after the 6MWT, partial arterial oxygen pressure, and arterial oxygen saturation values in COPD patients (p<0.05). Conclusions: According to our results, hypoxemia, dyspnea and fatigue are disease-related factors, which are related with balance impairment and falls in COPD patients. For this reason, we suggest that assessment of and training to improve balance impairment among the elderly with COPD should be a component of pulmonary rehabilitation programs in clinical practice. (Aging Clin Exp Res 2011; 23: 372-377) (C)2011, Editrice Kurti

Primary pulmonary extranodal marginal zone lymphoma/low grade B-cell lymphoma of MALT type combined with well-differentiated adenocarcinoma

We describe a rare case of extranodal marginal zone/low-grade B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) combined with areas of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. In addition, the MALT lymphoma was synchronously systemic, with involvement of the lung, stomach and duodenum. Free full text available at www.tumorionline.i

Comparison of Short Form-36 Health Survey and Nottingham Health Profile in moderate to severe patients with COPD

Objective To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed by Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) on the basis of lung function and exercise capacity parameters in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

The importance of pulmonary function tests in adenotonsillectomy indications

Children who had undergone adenotonsillectomy for recurrent adenotonsillitis showing no signs of clinical or radiological obstructive manifestations were evaluated with pulmonary function tests before, and one month after the operation. In relation to the result obtained by function tests, 60% of 45 cases (27) had the findings of mild obstructive pulmonary disease whereby these findings were in transient character that vanished after the operation. The following parameters were measured and found that they were all increased, mean FVC from 82.22±6.82 to 93.11±7.81 (p<0.01), mean PEF from 77.60±8.38 to 88.60±5.57 (P<0.01), mean FEVI from 74.28±11.68 to 90.15±7.28 (p<0.01), mean FEF 25 from 71.44±11.53 to 83.53±6.40 (p<0.01), mean FEF 50 from 69.53±14.53 to 84.37±7.72 (p<0.01), mean FEF 75 from 70.08±12.15 to 85.48±7.15 (p<0.01). In conclusion, pulmonary function tests could reveal the obstructive effects of adenotonsillar hypertrophy with no clinical or radiological obstructive findings, and could be useful in surgical indications of adenotonsillar hypertrophy dur to recurrent infections in children. © 1993 Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation

The effect of in-patient chest physiotherapy in lung cancer patients

The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of the in-patient chest physiotherapy (ICP) in patients with lung cancer

Photodynamic therapy as an adjunct to systemic treatment in a case with unilateral presumed vascularized choroidal tuberculous granuloma

Intraocular tuberculosis cannot be diagnosed easily in some clinical circumstances. A 29-year-old otherwise healthy woman who was initially misdiagnosed and treated empirically with systemic steroids and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim for toxoplasmosis was referred to us for severe visual loss. We instituted quadruple antituberculosis treatment upon chest medicine consultation as all attempts, including consecutive intravitreal antibiotic injections, could not prevent the enlargement of lesion. Systemic antituberculosis treatment halted the fulminant course but the granuloma became vascularized. Because photodynamic therapy (PDT) has very recently been shown to reduce viable mycobacterial cells in animal experiments we performed PDT, and the vascularized tuberculous granuloma was successfully treated. PDT may have an antimycobacterial effect besides its well-known antiangiogenic effect. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Survivin expression in non-small-cell lung carcinomas: Correlation with apoptosis and other apoptosis-related proteins, clinicopathologic prognostic factors and prognosis

The role of survivin that regulates the biological behavior of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is still controversial. We aimed to investigate survivin expression in NSCLC and to define any correlation with expressions of p53, bcl-2, bax, apoptotic index (AI), tumor cell proliferation, clinicopathologic variables, and overall survival. Tumors of 63 patients with NSCLC were examined for expressions Of survivin, p53, bcl-2, bax, and Ki-67 by immunohistochemistry. Al was also evaluated. Results for each antibody were correlated with each other, and with clinicopathologic variables including age, sex, histologic subtype, TNM (T: primary tumor, N: regional lymph node metastasis, M: distant metastasis) stage, lymph node status, smoking history, and prognosis. Nuclear survivin expression was inversely correlated with p53 expression (P 0.04, r = 0.367), and tumor stage (P = 0.03, r = - 0.273), and positively correlated with tumor cell proliferation (P = 0.009, r - 0.329). Cytoplasmic survivin expression positively correlated with smoking history (P = 0.02, r = 0.282). survivin/bax ratio was inversely correlated with Al (r: - 0.004). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, TNM stage (P <= 0.001), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.04), and Ki-67 index (P <= 0.001) were associated with Survival, whereas survivin was not. In multivariate analysis, only TNM stage was an independent predictor. Although survivin and other apoptosis-related protein expressions fail to predict the clinical outcome, the present findings suggest that survivin is involved in tumor cell apoptosis and proliferation and may play a role in critical steps of cancer progression in NSCLC